Irvin Rosenfeld, a 56-year old stockbroker, lit up his 115,000th joint...

rubadub

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/man-sets-marijuana-record-smokes-115000-joints-provided/story?id=9159281

Irvin Rosenfeld Has Recieved Over 115,000 Joints from the Federal Government
Medicial Marijuana User Smokes 12 Joints a Day; Is One of Four to Get Weed From Feds


-Irvin Rosenfeld, a 56-year old stockbroker from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., doesn't look like a record-setting pothead, but last week he woke up, turned on CNBC, and lit up his 115,000th joint.

If you think his dealer is thrilled to have a client who has smoked 10 to 12 joints a day for the past 28 years, you're wrong. Rosenfeld, who suffers from a rare form of bone cancer, isn't your typical weed smoker, and his dealer isn't your typical drug pusher. He gets his joints -- 300 at a time, one shipment every 25 days -- courtesy of the United States federal government.

"I don't know that I've broken a record, but I've certainly set one. No one else in the world can document having smoked 115,000 cannabis cigarettes – let alone the ones I smoked before that. I'm living proof that medical cannabis is real medicine. We need to get medicine in the hands of patients who really need it," said Rosenfeld.

Ironically, the government that supplies Rosenfeld with medical marijuana has for decades denied the drug's efficacy, penalized those states that legalized medicinal cannabis and -- until just months ago -- actively prosecuted suppliers in those states.

Rosenfeld said the drug acts as "a muscle relaxant, an anti-inflammatory, a painkiller and keeps tumors from growing."

What it does not do, he said, is get him high.

"I don't get high. I need the medicine; I'm not getting any euphoria," he said.

Rosenfeld said the marijuana allows him to maintain a normal life. He's been married for 36 years, goes to work every day, volunteers teaching disabled children to sail, and is working on a book.

His clients, he said, know about his marijuana use and are impressed by his doggedness.

"I always ask them, 'Have you ever met anyone who has taken on the federal government and won? If you want that kind of expertise and work ethic, then hire me.'"

When Rosenfeld began receiving marijuana from the federal government in 1982, he became the second patient to benefit under a narrowly defined "compassionate protocol" that supplied glaucoma and cancer patients with cannabis until the Federal Drug Administration's Investigational New Drug Program was disbanded a decade later.

Today, Rosenfeld is one of only four patients who continue to receive weed from the federal government. He is the longest surviving member of the program.

He uses the marijuana to treat two conditions -- one called multiple congenital cartilaginous exostosis, the other pseudohypoparathyroidism. They cause painful tumors to grow on his bones. His experience, he said, has led him to become one of the nation's most vocal proponents of medical marijuana use.

He has testified before the legislatures of several of the 13 states that have legalized cannabis for medicinal purposes and has for nearly three decades fought the federal government to allow him to continue to use pot.

Though marijuana -- even for medicinal use -- is outlawed under federal law, the government began supplying a handful of patients with the drug in the late 1970s. When the program was outlawed in 1992, Rosenfeld fought to continue receiving the drugs.

Diagnosed when he was 10 years old, Rosenfeld found marijuana helped with his pain when he tried it for the first time as a college student in the 1970s. Desperate not to use an illegal substance, he petitioned the Federal Drug Administration for five years to let him receive government-grown marijuana.

Every month for the last 28 years, Rosenfeld has received 300 joints from the government, sealed in large tins and delivered to his local pharmacy. The marijuana comes from cannabis plants grown by the government on a small farm at the University of Mississippi. The plants are sent to Raleigh, N.C., where the National Institute of Drug Addiction dries them and prepares the cigarettes.

The federal government has traditionally cracked down on states that allow medical marijuana. When the bulk of the program it ran was shut down in the early 1990s, Rosenfeld twice sued and won to be allowed access to federally-grown weed.

Despite the federal government's efforts to grow and produce high quality marijuana, the government's position is decidedly against its use.

The Drug Enforcement Agency does not refer to medical marijuana on its Web site without putting the word "medical" in quotes, and insists there is little science to support the use of smoking marijuana for medicinal purposes.

genericguy

wonder how many smokers have celebrated their 115,000th cigarette?

My name is URL

The plants are sent to Raleigh, N.C., where the National Institute of Drug Addiction dries them and prepares the cigarettes.

I had to lol at that part

roneythetube

Irv is a great guy -

I have seen him interviewed in a few documentaries on medical marijuana and he comes across as a real nice, hardworking guy who has a very serious illness but has not allowed it to get in the way of building a good career and life for himself.

The fact that he has access to the only medicine (herbal marijuana) that can ease his medical condition is a crucial factor in this man having a reasonable quality of life.....nice on Irv!:)

(now if only the law could be changed so that EVERYONE worldwide who needs this medicine had access to it)

roneythetube

My name is URL wrote: »

I had to lol at that part

though apparently the quality of the herb that he gets is very poor when compared to what is available from the MMJ clinics in California.

Wertz

The psychosis must be a bitch to live with...

wudangclan

Wertz wrote: »

The psychosis must be a bitch to live with...

He can always get a divorce.:pac:

Wertz

article wrote:

The Drug Enforcement Agency does not refer to medical marijuana on its Web site without putting the word "medical" in quotes, and insists there is little science to support the use of smoking marijuana for medicinal purposes.

The old vested interests clamouring to justify their jobs.
God forbid some bunch of idiot liberal politicians decides to lighten their work load and threaten their salaries...

dr.bollocko

At this point I would advise any posters making bold claims about the medical benefits of marijuana to back them up with relevant links. Sucks being the fun spoiling mod but them's the rules.

InKonspikuou2

I smoke marijuana. Do i need to back that up with a link?

dr.bollocko

InKonspikuou2 wrote: »

I smoke marijuana. Do i need to back that up with a link?

No just some rizlas and pixies CDs.
I have now changed the warning to indicate that I meant bold medical claims about marijuana.
There are links out there btw. Read a few of them.

roneythetube

dr.bollocko wrote: »

At this point I would advise any posters making bold claims about marijuana to back them up with relevant links. Sucks being the fun spoiling mod but them's the rules.

eh ok....how long do you have? Cos I can post thousands of links, reports, science based research etc on the proven medicinal benefits to marijuana.

To begin with a recent report read this article

For Immediate Release: November 10th, 2009

AMA Report Recognizes Medical Benefits of Marijuana, Urges Further Research
Largest and oldest U.S. physician-based group reverses long-held position on medical marijuana

http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=5838

The ASA website (American for Safe Access) where the above link is from, is a good place to start for information on this topic
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/

orourkeda

Junkie

dr.bollocko

roneythetube wrote: »

eh ok....how long do you have? Cos I can post thousands of links, reports, science based research etc on the proven medicinal benefits to marijuana.

To begin with a recent report read this article

For Immediate Release: November 10th, 2009

AMA Report Recognizes Medical Benefits of Marijuana, Urges Further Research
Largest and oldest U.S. physician-based group reverses long-held position on medical marijuana

http://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=5838

The ASA website (American for Safe Access) where the above link is from, is a good place to start for information on this topic
http://www.safeaccessnow.org/

Well now that's just exactly ok by me.

roneythetube

My mother-in-law has Alzheimer's disease and we have found that medical marijuana has helped her condition in a variety of ways...These links below give some scientific information on how medical marijuana helps treat Alzheimers.

It is heart-breaking that prohibition prevents us from getting access to this medicine as often as we need it.

Parent Category: ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE
Alzheimer's is the most common form of dementia. It is incurable, degenerative, and a terminal disease.


Links Sort by: Hits | Alphabetical
A Molecular Link between the Active Component of Marijuana and Alzheimer's Disease Pathology.

Bottom line-Compared to currently approved drugs prescribed for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, THC is considerably superior.


- Read more
http://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/ebm/record/17140265/abstract/A_Molecular_Link_between_the_Active_Component_of_Marijuana_and_Alzheimer's_Disease_Pathology
not rated yet(0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: )
Alzheimer's disease; taking the edge off with cannabinoids?

cannabinoids offer a broadapproach for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease by protecting the brain cells and reducing inflammation, and also supporting the brain's repair mechanisms by increasing neurotrophins and making new brain cells.
- Read more
http://www.nature.com/bjp/journal/v152/n5/full/0707446a.html
not rated yet(0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: )
Anti-inflammatory property of the cannabinoid agonist WIN-55212-2 in a rodent model of chronic brain inflammation

2006

Bottom line- "Our results emphasize the potential use of CBr agonists in the regulation of inflammatory processes within the brain; this knowledge may lead to the use of CBr agonists in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases associated with chronic neuroinflammation, such as Alzheimer disease."
- Read more
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1852513&tool=pmcentrez
not rated yet(0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: )
Cannabidiol in vivo blunts ?-amyloid induced neuroinflammation by suppressing IL-1? and iNOS expression

Bottom line- "on the basis of the present results, CBD, a drug well tolerated in humans, may be regarded as an attractive medical alternative for the treatment of AD (Alzheimer's Disease), because of its lack of psychoactive and cognitive effects."
- Read more
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2189818&tool=pmcentrez
not rated yet(0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: )
Cannabinoid receptor stimulation is anti-inflammatory and improves memory in old rats

Bottom line- A synthetic cannabinoid, WIN-55212-2, improved memory and reduced inflammation in old rats.
- Read more
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez
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Cannabinoids reduce the progression of Alzheimer's disease in animals

Cannabinoids prevented the damaging effects of amyloid plaques on nerve cells and reduced inflammation.
- Read more
http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/bulletin/ww_en_db_cannabis_artikel.php?id=187#1
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Dronabinol in the treatment of agitation in patients with Alzheimer's disease with anorexia

Bottom line- Dronabinol (synthetic THC) calmed patients with anorexia in 31 out of 48 of patients who got no relief from other medications. No bad side effects were reported.
- Read more
http://www.cannabis-med.org/studies/ww_en_db_study_show.php?s_id=61
not rated yet(0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: )
Effects of dronabinol on anorexia and disturbed behavior in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Bottom line- Dronabinol (synthetic THC) is a promising new drug which may be useful not only for treatment of anorexia but also to lessen disturbed behavior in patients with Alzheimer's disease. Side effects included euphoria, sleepiness and tiredness, but did not require discontinuation of therapy.
- Read more
http://www.cannabis-med.org/studies/ww_en_db_study_show.php?s_id=59
not rated yet(0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: )
Inflammation and aging: can endocannabinoids help?

Bottom line- "the role of neuroinflammation has attracted attention due to its slow onset, chronic nature and its possible role in the development of many different neurodegenerative diseases...we will discuss the growing evidence supporting a role for the endocannabinoid system in the regulation of chronic brain inflammation associated with AD"
- Read more
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2408719&tool=pmcentrez
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Marijuana may block Alzheimer's

An easy to read newspaper article covering the study in "MARIJUANA SLOWS ALZHEIMER'S DECLINE"
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n307/a10.html THC prevents amyloid plaque from forming and reduces imflamation.
- Read more
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4286435.stm
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Marijuana reduces memory impairment

2008

Bottom line- "Could people smoke marijuana to prevent Alzheimer's disease if the disease is in their family? We're not saying that, but it might actually work. What we are saying is it appears that a safe, legal substance that mimics those important properties of marijuana can work on receptors in the brain to prevent memory impairments in aging."
- Read more
http://www.healthnewstrack.com/health-news-811.html
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MARIJUANA SLOWS ALZHEIMER'S DECLINE

This article says that THC reduces amyloid plaque and also inflammation. Rats' brains were injected with amyloid to create a condition similar to Alzheimers. The controls and the rats that also got THC were still able to learn. The others couldn't .
- Read more
http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n307/a10.html
not rated yet(0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: )
Marijuana's Active Ingredient Shown to Inhibit Primary Marker of Alzheimer's Disease

Bottom line- THC is considerably superior inhibiting amyloid plaque than several currently approved drugs for treating Alzheimer's!
- Read more
http://www.pacifier.com/~alive/articles/ca060809.htm
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Open-label study of dronabinol in the treatment of refractory agitation in Alzheimer's disease

The bottom line- The results from the psych tests showed that dronabinol (synthetic THC) was an effective treatment to calm Alzheimer's patients in a rest home setting.
- Read more
http://www.cannabis-med.org/studies/ww_en_db_study_show.php?s_id=92
not rated yet(0 Reviews. Rating: Total Votes: )
Prevention of Alzheimer's Disease Pathology by Cannabinoids: Neuroprotection Mediated by Blockade of

The results show that cannabinoid receptors are important in the progress of Alzheimer's and that cannabinoids succeed in preventing the damage occurring in the disease.
- Read more
http://www.jneurosci.org/cgi/content/abstract/25/8/1904
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THC inhibits primary marker of Alzheimer's disease

Bottom line- THC slows the formation of amyloid plaque, the primary physical marker for Alzheimer's disease.
- Read more
http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/bulletin/ww_en_db_cannabis_artikel.php?id=225#3
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US Patent 6630507 - Cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants

(Dig who the "Assignee" is! So much for the claim that cannabis has no medical value!)
- Read more
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/6630507/fulltext.html

InKonspikuou2

This variety of weed works wonders for your sex life.

here

roneythetube

My own father died of cancer on Sunday morning. We buried him today.

Modern medicine (chemo etc) was not able to help treat his cancer. Perhaps if he had access to medical marijuana he might have had a better chance of living?

The science below shows clearly that marijuana can CURE CANCER.

(sorry mods for the long posts and links but this is something people are entitled to know about. How many of us have had someone they know die from cancer?)

Review articles in medical literature

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ja01062a046
Isolation, Structure, and Partial Synthesis of an Active Constituent of Hashish.
Y. Gaoni, R. Mechoulam J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1964, 86 (8), pp 1646–1647.April 1964

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/616322
Cancer Biochem Biophys. 1977;2(2):51-4.
In vivo effects of cannabinoids on macromolecular biosynthesis in Lewis lung carcinomas. Friedman MA.

Cannabinoids represent a novel class of drugs active in increasing the life span mice carrying Lewis lung tumors and decreasing primary tumor size. In the present studies, the effects of delta9-THC, delta8-THC, and cannabidiol on tumor macromolecular biosynthesis were studied. These drugs inhibit thymidine-3H incorporation into DNA acutely, but did not inhibit leucine uptake into tumor protein. At 24 h after treatment, cannabinoids did not inhibit thymidine-3H incorporation into DNA, leucine-3H uptake into protein or cytidine-3H into RNA.

http://americanmarijuana.org/Guzman-Cancer.pdf
http://www.nature.com/nrc/journal/v3/n10/abs/nrc1188.html
Nature Reviews Cancer 3, 745-755 (October 2003)

CANNABINOIDS: POTENTIAL ANTICANCER AGENTS by Manuel Guzmán
Cannabinoids — the active components of Cannabis sativa and their derivatives — exert palliative effects in cancer patients by preventing nausea, vomiting and pain and by stimulating appetite. In addition, these compounds have been shown to inhibit the growth of tumour cells in culture and animal models by modulating key cell-signalling pathways. Cannabinoids are usually well tolerated, and do not produce the generalized toxic effects of conventional drugs.

Cannabinoids, the active components of Cannabis sativa and their derivatives, act in the organism by mimicking endogenous substances, the endocannabinoids, that activate specific cannabinoid receptors. Cannabinoids exert palliative effects in patients with cancer and inhibit tumour growth in laboratory animals.

The best-established palliative effect of cannabinoids in cancer patients is the inhibition of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Today, capsules of 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (dronabinol (Marinol)) and its synthetic analogue nabilone (Cesamet) are approved for this purpose.

Cannabinoids inhibit tumour growth in laboratory animals. They do so by modulating key cell-signalling pathways, thereby inducing direct growth arrest and death of tumour cells, as well as by inhibiting tumour angiogenesis and metastasis.

Cannabinoids are selective antitumour compounds, as they can kill tumour cells without affecting their non-transformed counterparts. It is probable that cannabinoid receptors regulate cell-survival and cell-death pathways differently in tumour and non-tumour cells.

Cannabinoids have favourable drug-safety profiles and do not produce the generalized toxic effects of conventional chemotherapies.

http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/journal/en_2006_02_1.pdf
Cannabinoids: potential antitumoral agents? Manuel Guzmán Madrid, Spain

http://www.brainlife.org/reprint/2008/sarfaraz_s080115.pdf
[Cancer Res 2008;68(2):339–42]

Cannabinoids for Cancer Treatment: Progress and Promise. Sami Sarfaraz et al University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin

Cannabinoids are a class of pharmacologic compounds that offer potential applications as antitumor drugs, based on the ability of some members of this class to limit inflammation, cell proliferation, and cell survival. In particular, emerging evidence suggests that agonists of cannabinoid receptors expressed by tumor cells may offer a novel strategy to treat cancer. Here, we review recent work that raises interest in the development and exploration of potent, nontoxic, and nonhabit forming cannabinoids for cancer therapy. Cannabinoid Receptors:

"there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that cannabinoids can be explored as chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of cancer. In view of the fair safety profile of most cannabinoids together with their antiproliferative action on tumor cells, clinical trials are required to determine whether cannabinoids could be used for the inhibition of tumor growth in a clinical setting. If this could be established, then one can hope that nontoxic, nonhabit forming cannabinoids could be developed as novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of cancer."

http://www.geocities.com/cannabinoidscience/Cancer.html
Cannabinoids as Anti-Cancer Agents.

There is now abundant evidence that cannabinoids can inhibit tumor growth, in a variety of tumor types, both in vitro and in vivo (Guzman, 2003). The primary cannabinoids in cannabis, THC and cannabidiol, have also proven to be potent antioxidants (Hampson et al, 1998), which may reduce some types of cancers. Surprisingly, promising experimental results were first reported by Munson et al (1975) over a quarter or a century ago. Their results showed THC dose-dependent increase in survival time and inhibition of tumor growth in mice with Lewis lung adenocarcinoma, but were little pursued until recently, following the discovery of the cannabinoid receptors.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16250836
Mini Rev Med Chem. 2005 Oct;5(10):941-52.
Cannabinoids and cancer. Kogan NM. Hebrew University, Pharmacy School, Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products, Israel.

Marijuana has been used in medicine for millennia, but it was not until 1964 that delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta9-THC), its major psychoactive component, was isolated in pure form and its structure was elucidated. Shortly thereafter it was synthesized and became readily available.

However, it took another decade until the first report on its antineoplastic activity appeared. In 1975, Munson discovered that cannabinoids suppress Lewis lung carcinoma cell growth. The mechanism of this action was shown to be inhibition of DNA synthesis. Antiproliferative action on some other cancer cells was also found. In spite of the promising results from these early studies, further investigations in this area were not reported until a few years ago, when almost simultaneously two groups initiated research on the antiproliferative effects of cannabinoids on cancer cells: Di Marzo's group found that cannabinoids inhibit breast cancer cell proliferation, and Guzman's group found that cannabinoids inhibit the growth of C6 glioma cell. Other groups also started work in this field, and today, a wide array of cancer cell lines that are affected is known, and some mechanisms involved have been elucidated.

http://mct.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/full/6/11/2921
http://safeaccess.ca/research/cbd_breast_cancer.pdf
Molecular Cancer Therapeutics 6, 2921, November 1, 2007.
Research Articles: Therapeutics, Targets, and Development

Cannabidiol as a novel inhibitor of Id-1 gene expression in aggressive breast cancer cells. Sean D. McAllister, Rigel T. Christian, Maxx P. Horowitz, Amaia Garcia and Pierre-Yves Desprez California Pacific Medical Center, Research Institute, San Francisco, California

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7098340.stm
Cannabis compound 'halts cancer' BBC News Nov 2007.

A compound found in cannabis may stop breast cancer spreading throughout the body, US scientists believe. The California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute team are hopeful that cannabidiol or CBD could be a non-toxic alternative to chemotherapy. Unlike cannabis, CBD does not have any psychoactive properties so its use would not violate laws, Molecular Cancer Therapeutics reports. CBD works by blocking the activity of a gene called Id-1 which is believed to be responsible for the aggressive spread of cancer cells away from the original tumour site - a process called metastasis.

http://erc.endocrinology-journals.org/cgi/content/abstract/15/2/391
Endocrine-Related Cancer 15 (2) 391 -408  
Endocannabinoids in endocrine and related tumours Maurizio Bifulco et al; Napoli, Italy

The 'endocannabinoid system', comprising the cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors, their endogenous ligands, endocannabinoids and the enzymes that regulate their biosynthesis and degradation, has drawn a great deal of scientist attention during the last two decades. In particular, they are able to inhibit cell growth, invasion and metastasis of thyroid, breast and prostate tumours. The chief events of endocannabinoids in cancer cell proliferation are reported highlighting the correspondent signalling involved in tumour processes: regulation of adenylyl cyclase, cyclic AMP-protein kinase-A pathway and MEK-extracellular signal-regulated kinase signalling cascade.

"There is compelling evidence that endo/cannabinoids may regulate the growth and spread of normal and neoplastic tissues."

http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/djm268v1
Journal of the National Cancer Institute December 25, 2007

Inhibition of Cancer Cell Invasion by Cannabinoids via Increased Expression of Tissue Inhibitor of Matrix Metalloproteinases-1. Robert Ramer, Burkhard Hinz Affiliation of authors: Institute of Toxicology and Pharmacology, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19047095
Clin Cancer Res. 2008 Dec 1;14(23):7691-700.
Cannabinoid receptor activation induces apoptosis through tumor necrosis factor alpha-mediated ceramide de novo synthesis in colon cancer cells.
Cianchi F et al. University of Florence, Florence, Italy.

PURPOSE: Cannabinoids have been recently proposed as a new family of potential antitumor agents. The present study was undertaken to investigate the expression of the two cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, in colorectal cancer and to provide new insight into the molecular pathways underlying the apoptotic activity induced by their activation. CONCLUSIONS: The present study shows that either CB1 or CB2 receptor activation induces apoptosis through ceramide de novo synthesis in colon cancer cells.

Endo-Cannabinoids as Anti-Cancer Agents

http://www.spandidos-publications.com/or/article.jsp?article_id=or_17_4_813
Endocannabinoids as emerging suppressors of angiogenesis and tumor invasion (Review) MAURIZIO BIFULCO et al. Napoli, Italy August 7, 2006

The 'endocannabinoid system' is involved in a broad range of functions and in a
growing number of pathological conditions. There is increasing evidence that endocannabinoids are able to inhibit cancer cell growth in culture as well as in animal models.

However, endocannabinoids are now emerging as suppressors of angiogenesis and tumor spreading since they have been reported to inhibit angiogenesis, cell
migration and metastasis in different types of cancer, pointing to a potential role of the endocannabinoid system as a target for a therapeutic approach of such malignant diseases. The potential use of cannabinoids to retard tumor growth and spreading is even more appealing considering that they show a good safety profile, regarding toxicity, and are already used in cancer patients as palliatives to stimulate appetite and to prevent devastating effects such as nausea, vomiting and pain.

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=9653194
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998 July 7; 95(14): 8375–8380. PMCID: PMC20983
The endogenous cannabinoid anandamide inhibits human breast cancer cell proliferation. Luciano De Petrocellis and Vincenzo Di Marzo et al. Naples, Italy; The anti-proliferative effect of anandamide was not due to toxicity or to apoptosis of cells but was accompanied by a reduction of cells in the S phase of the cell cycle. In conclusion, we have shown that anandamide is a potent and selective inhibitor of the proliferation of HBC cells and that activation of a cannabinoid receptor, whose occurrence had never been described previously in these cells, is at least in part responsible for this effect.

http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/full/318/3/1375
Antitumor Activity of Plant Cannabinoids with Emphasis on the Effect of Cannabidiol on Human Breast Carcinoma. JPET 318:1375-1387, 2006
Vincenzo Di Marzo et al. Napoli, Italy

Cannabidiol is nonpsychotropic. Indeed, C. sativa contains at least 400 chemical components, of which 66 have been identified to belong to the class of the cannabinoids To date, cannabinoids have been successfully used in the treatment of nausea and vomiting (for review, see Robson, 2005), two common side effects that accompany chemotherapy in cancer patients. Nevertheless, the use of cannabinoids in oncology might be somehow underestimated since increasing evidence exist that plant, synthetic, and endogenous cannabinoids (endocannabinoids) are able to exert a growth-inhibitory action on various cancer cell types.

Results obtained in a panel of tumor cell lines clearly indicate that cannabidiol is the most potent inhibitor of cancer cell growth. Both cannabidiol and the cannabidiol-rich extract inhibited the growth of xenograft tumors obtained by s.c. injection into athymic mice of human MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma or rat v-K-ras-transformed thyroid epithelial cells and reduced lung metastases deriving from intrapaw injection of MDA-MB-231 cells.

Judging from several experiments on its possible cellular and molecular mechanisms of action, we propose that cannabidiol lacks a unique mode of action in the cell lines investigated. At least for MDA-MB-231 cells, however, our experiments indicate that cannabidiol effect is due to its capability of inducing apoptosis via: direct or indirect activation of cannabinoid CB2. Our data support the further testing of cannabidiol and cannabidiol-rich extracts for the potential treatment of cancer.

In conclusion, our data indicate that cannabidiol, and possibly Cannabis extracts enriched in this natural cannabinoid, represent a promising nonpsychoactive antineoplastic strategy. In particular, for a highly malignant human breast carcinoma cell line, we have shown here that cannabidiol and a cannabidiol-rich extract counteract cell growth both in vivo and in vitro as well as tumor metastasis in vivo. Cannabidiol exerts its effects on these cells through a combination of mechanisms that include either direct or indirect activation of CB2 and TRPV1 receptors and induction of oxidative stress, all contributing to induce apoptosis.

Mice treated with either pure cannabidiol or the cannabidiol-rich extract exhibited significantly smaller tumors in comparison with control mice. A strong and statistically significant antitumor effect was observed