The Pot Cure?

[FOTD]

I'd say that the cancer cells get stoned and slow down giving the relentless red blood cells time to do their work.

Marijuana Active Ingredient Stimulates Cancer Cell Death
Spanish study finds THC triggers autophagy, the cellular process leading to cell death

http://www.modernmedicine.com/modernmedicine/Modern+Medicine+Now/Marijuana-Active-Ingredient-Stimulates-Cancer-Cell/ArticleNewsFeed/Article/detail/591443?contextCategoryId=40139

FRIDAY, April 3 (HealthDay News) -- Treatment with the active ingredient of marijuana, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), can destroy human and mouse cancer cells by stimulating autophagy, the natural process leading to cell death, according to a report in the April 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation.


Maria Salazar, of Complutense University in Madrid, Spain, and colleagues cultured a human glioma cell line (U87MG) and mouse cancer cells, then treated the study cells with THC. The researchers examined treated and untreated cells under electron microscope for comparison. Immunostaining was performed to detect markers for endoplasmic reticulum stress response, a cellular process that stimulates autophagy and cell death. The researchers also examined biopsy tissue from two glioblastoma multiforme patients who were treated with THC.

The investigators found that the THC treatments induced ceramide accumulation, eukaryotic translation and phosphorylation that activated an endoplasmic reticulum stress response in the THC-treated cells, a pathway that led to autophagy. Cells displaying increased autophagy also were observed in the tumor samples obtained from the two THC-treated glioblastoma patients. Conversely, in cells in which the autophagy process was genetically inhibited or inhibited by drugs, the THC was ineffective, the report indicates.

"These findings describe a mechanism by which THC can promote the autophagic death of human and mouse cancer cells and provide evidence that cannabinoid administration may be an effective therapeutic strategy for targeting human cancers," the authors write.

[Rico]

Hunter............r.i.p.

Still the only author to ride on "Air Force One, and with the Hells Angels"

[Conan71]

And Hunter, after years of pot abuse, died a perfectly happy man, didn't he?

[FOTD]

And Hunter, after years of pot abuse, died a perfectly happy man, didn't he?

Better hope you're not in constant pain and dependent on pain medication when you get old and in the way.
He abused alcohol and other substances. You can't abuse pot. That's a fact. Alcohol caused Hunter's demise like so many others in society today. Now, go run and have your beer.

[MH2010]

Better hope you're not in constant pain and dependent on pain medication when you get old and in the way.
He abused alcohol and other substances. You can't abuse pot. That's a fact. Alcohol caused Hunter's demise like so many others in society today. Now, go run and have your beer.

You can't abuse pot?  It's a fact?  Can you go ahead and cite your scientific source for this "fact"?

[mjchamplin]

"The trunk of the car looked like a mobile police narcotics lab. We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker half full of cocaine, and a whole galaxy of multi-colored uppers, downers, screamers, laughers . . . and also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls . . . Not that we needed all that for the trip, but once you get locked into a serious drug collection, the tendency is to push it as far as you can. The only thing that really worried me was the ether. There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible and depraved than a man in the depths of an ether binge. And I knew we'd get into that rotten stuff pretty soon." -Hunter S. Thompson, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

I think it's safe to say he had more than a pot problem. He certainly wasn't a role model by any stretch of the imagination, but he was a hell of a writer.

As far as abusing pot, I've always thought it was like anything else. There are those who can use it safely, and there are those who will abuse it. But I feel the same way about a lot of things.

[FOTD]

You can't abuse pot?  It's a fact?  Can you go ahead and cite your scientific source for this "fact"?

What might be the indications of pot abuse?

[custosnox]

So stoned from the time they wake up to the time they go to bed that nothing is ever accomplished? 

[FOTD]

So stoned from the time they wake up to the time they go to bed that nothing is ever accomplished? 

Laziness.

Try again.

[custosnox]

Laziness.

Try again.

Actually no, inactivity is a side effect of smoking pot.  While MJ won't kill you out right like our good friend the cigarette (I have earned the right to talk about those however I want btw, I'm now a week and three days without), but it does effect the mind and emmotions.

[FOTD]

Actually no, inactivity is a side effect of smoking pot.  While MJ won't kill you out right like our good friend the cigarette (I have earned the right to talk about those however I want btw, I'm now a week and three days without), but it does effect the mind and emmotions.

There's too many other factors that effect the mind and emotions than mere use.

Nic is in your DNA. But continued luck with that.

No inactivity may be a side effect for some. It triggers activity for some....especially, the creative.

[PepePeru]

Actually no, inactivity is a side effect of smoking pot.  While MJ won't kill you out right like our good friend the cigarette (I have earned the right to talk about those however I want btw, I'm now a week and three days without), but it does effect the mind and emmotions.

You can go to nearly any doctor and be prescribed a synthetic concoction of chemicals that's whole purpose is to effect the mind & emotions.

Inactivity...I've known plenty of folks that live in abject squalor b/c of their laziness....and it's not from smoking reefer. 

In fact, most of the people I hung out w/ in college smoked weed daily, all graduated, some have gone on to advanced degrees and all are gainfully employed members of society.

So again.  You might have a friend that's a lazy POS that happens to smoke weed that you can point and say 'WEED DID THIS'  without considering (s)he might just be a lazy POS with or without it.

[custosnox]

Nic is in your DNA. But continued luck with that.

Can you please explain that comment?

[custosnox]

You can go to nearly any doctor and be prescribed a synthetic concoction of chemicals that's whole purpose is to effect the mind & emotions.

Inactivity...I've known plenty of folks that live in abject squalor b/c of their laziness....and it's not from smoking reefer. 

In fact, most of the people I hung out w/ in college smoked weed daily, all graduated, some have gone on to advanced degrees and all are gainfully employed members of society.

So again.  You might have a friend that's a lazy POS that happens to smoke weed that you can point and say 'WEED DID THIS'  without considering (s)he might just be a lazy POS with or without it.

I never said that lazyness doesn't cause inactivity, however I have known plenty of pot heads that once they smoke they don't really care about getting anything done.  So yeah, once a day, or a couple of times a day you can still get things done, however, if you have people smoking pot like their cigarettes, then your going to have a dramatic increase in those that don't give a damn (hense my original comment of being stoned from the time they wake up to the time they go to bed)

[TheArtist]

A the effects were only on certain types of cancer cells, brain cells.  And only for a certain chemical in Marijuana and would likely have to be injected into the brain.

Lots of things can be very poisonous yet in some instances be medically useful. Many cancer medicines will hurt you normally, its a matter of trying to kill the cancer before the medicine or the cancer kills you.  Plus marijuana has other chemicals and there are mixtures of chemicals that can have deleterious synergistic effects.

To try and cite this study as some possible reason why smoking marijuana could be a good thing would show an incredible amount of simple minded ignorance. Its similar to the logic of someone putting asprin directly on an aching tooth or sore.

But since we are sharing articles... Some other recent ones.


Marijuana Use Linked To Increased Risk Of Testicular Cancer
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090209075631.htm



Daily Consumption Of Cannabis Predisposes To Appearance Of Psychosis And Schizophrenia, Study Finds
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090325132328.htm


Marijuana Use Takes Toll On Adolescent Brain Function, Research Finds
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081014111156.htm

Teens who smoke marijuana at least once a month are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than non-users;
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509105348.htm
The new report, "Teen Marijuana Use Worsens Depression: An Analysis of Recent Data Shows 'Self-Medicating' Could Actually Make Things Worse," shows the following:

Teens who smoke marijuana at least once a month are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than non-users;
Using marijuana can cause depression and other mental illnesses;
The percentage of depressed teens is equal to the percentage of depressed adults, but depressed teens are more likely than depressed adults to use marijuana and other illicit drugs;
Teen girls who use marijuana daily are more likely to develop depression than girls who do not use marijuana;
Depressed teens are also more likely than non-depressed teens to engage in other risky behaviors such as daily cigarette use and heavy alcohol use.
"Don't be fooled into thinking that pot is harmless," said Dr. Drew Pinksy, internist, addiction expert, and host of VH1's Celebrity Rehab. "Marijuana is an addictive drug. Teens who are already depressed and use marijuana may increase their odds of suffering from even more serious mental health problems."

In fact, the potency of smoked marijuana has risen consistently over the past decades and higher potency translates into serious health consequences for teens. Some studies show that higher potency marijuana may be contributing to an increase in the number of American teens seeking treatment for marijuana dependence. The risks associated with recent and long-term marijuana use include schizophrenia, other forms of psychosis, and even suicide. "Not only are adolescents at greater risk for drug abuse, but they may suffer more consequences," said Nora D. Volkow, M. D., Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "There is also some evidence that in vulnerable teens-because of genetic factors-the abuse of marijuana can trigger a schizophreniform disorder."