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‘CBD supports the immune system’: Austrian clinic reports promising results from cannabis trial on Covid-19 ICU patients

RT | February 4, 2021

Researchers in Austria’s Klagenfurt Clinic are reporting promising results from CBD trials on Covid-19 ICU patients that show reduced inflammation and quicker recovery times.

Cannabidiol or CBD oil was used as part of the overall course of treatment for Covid-19 patients in the hospital’s ICU over the course of three weeks.

Rudolf Likar, head of intensive care medicine at the clinic, started by administering a dose of 200 milligrams of CBD per day which later increased to 300 milligrams.

“We have seen that the inflammation parameters in the blood go down and people leave the hospital faster than the comparison group,” Likar said. “CBD supports the immune system.”

CBD oil’s anti-inflammatory effects reportedly surpass those of other widely used drugs because cannabidiol crosses the blood-brain barrier and staves off some of the dramatic neurological damage associated with so-called “long Covid.”

According to reports in Austrian media, Likar suspects the cannabidiol in CBD oil blocks the ACE2 receptor through which the SARS-CoV-2 virus gains access to human cells and begins self-replicating, with dire consequences for human health.

A study of the anti-inflammatory effects of CBD oil is ongoing at the Klagenfurt Clinic, but the results so far look promising.

“We are now evaluating the data and the data is looking relatively good. We’ll probably use this routinely now because it doesn’t have any side effects,” Likar said, adding that similar research into the efficacy of CBD oil in helping to treat Covid-19 is underway in Israel.

February 4, 2021 Posted by | Economics, Science and Pseudo-Science, Timeless or most popular | , | Leave a comment

After Decades of Denial National Cancer Institute Finally Admits that “Cannabis Kills Cancer”

By Jay Syrmopoulos | The Free Thought Project | August 21, 2015

After decades of claiming that cannabis has no medicinal value, the U.S. government is finally admitting that cannabis can kill cancer cells.

Although still claiming, “there is not enough evidence to recommend that patients inhale or ingest cannabis as a treatment for cancer-related symptoms or side effects of cancer therapy,” the admission that “cannabis has been shown to kill cancer cells in the laboratory,” highlights a rapidly changing perspective on medicinal cannabis treatments.

In the most recent update to the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) website included a listing of studies, which indicated anti-tumor effects of cannabis treatment.

Preclinical studies of cannabinoids have investigated the following activities:

Antitumor activity
• Studies in mice and rats have shown that cannabinoids may inhibit tumor growth by causing cell death, blocking cell growth, and blocking the development of blood vessels needed by tumors to grow. Laboratory and animal studies have shown that cannabinoids may be able to kill cancer cells while protecting normal cells.
• A study in mice showed that cannabinoids may protect against inflammation of the colon and may have potential in reducing the risk of colon cancer, and possibly in its treatment.
• A laboratory study of delta-9-THC in hepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) cells showed that it damaged or killed the cancer cells. The same study of delta-9-THC in mouse models of liver cancer showed that it had antitumor effects. Delta-9-THC has been shown to cause these effects by acting on molecules that may also be found in non-small cell lung cancer cells and breast cancer cells.
• A laboratory study of cannabidiol (CBD) in estrogen receptor positive and estrogen receptor negative breast cancer cells showed that it caused cancer cell death while having little effect on normal breast cells. Studies in mouse models of metastatic breast cancer showed that cannabinoids may lessen the growth, number, and spread of tumors.
• A laboratory study of cannabidiol (CBD) in human glioma cells showed that when given along with chemotherapy, CBD may make chemotherapy more effective and increase cancer cell death without harming normal cells. Studies in mouse models of cancer showed that CBD together with delta-9-THC may make chemotherapy such as temozolomide more effective.

The NCI, part of the U.S. Department of Health, advises that ‘cannabinoids may be useful in treating the side effects of cancer and cancer treatment’ by smoking, eating it in baked products, drinking herbal teas or even spraying it under the tongue.

The site goes on to list other beneficial uses, which include: anti-inflammatory activity, blocking cell growth, preventing the growth of blood vessels that supply tumors, antiviral activity and relieving muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis.

Several scientific studies have given indications of these beneficial properties in the past, and this past April the US government’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) revised their publications to suggest cannabis could shrink brain tumors by killing off cancer cells, stating, “marijuana can kill certain cancer cells and reduce the size of others.”

“Evidence from one animal study suggests that extracts from whole-plant marijuana can shrink one of the most serious types of brain tumors,” the NIDA said. “Research in mice showed that these extracts, when used with radiation, increased the cancer-killing effects of the radiation.”

Research on marijuana’s potential as a medicine has been stifled for decades by federal restrictions, even though nearly half of the states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical marijuana in some form.

Although cannabis has been increasingly legalized by states, the federal government still classifies marijuana as a Schedule 1 drug — along with heroin and ecstasy — defining it as having no medical benefits and a potential for abuse.

The vast majority of the $1.4 billion spent on marijuana research, by the National Institute of Health, absurdly involves the study of abuse and addiction, with only $297 million being spent researching potential medical benefits.

Judging by the spending levels, it seems the feds have a vested interest in keeping public opinion of cannabis negative. Perhaps “Big Pharma” is utilizing their financial influence over politicians in an effort to maintain a stranglehold on the medical treatment market.

August 22, 2015 Posted by | Corruption, Economics, Science and Pseudo-Science | , | 2 Comments

US Jails People for Cannabis While Govt Promotes It as Cancer Treatment

Sputnik – August 21, 2015

Cannabis is, in fact, extremely effective in fighting cancer, the US government admitted last week. The drug, illegal throughout most of the United States, is now recommended by the government’s official cancer advice website.

Criminalized by the US federal government since 1937, cannabis is being advertised by the US Department of Health as “useful in treating the side effects of cancer and cancer treatment” on the agency’s official cancer advice website.

The National Cancer Institute claims cannabinoids, which are the active chemicals in cannabis, can be smoked, inhaled, eaten in baked products, drank in herbal teas, or even sprayed under the tongue as treatment.

The drug can do even more than just treat side effects. Cannabis can also act as an anti-inflammatory agent, prevent the growth of cancer cells, block the flow of blood vessels to tumours, and help relieve muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis.

The results were based partially on lab tests which showed the decline of cancer cells in mice after exposure to cannabis.

Some activists in the mass media, as well as Hollywood stars, have long touted the medical benefits of the drug.

In response to the multiple scientific studies which have proven marijuana’s efficacy, the US Food and Drug Administration recently approved two cancer treatment drugs which contain cannabinoids.

Several states, including California, New York, and Maine have already legalized marijuana for medical purposes. Four states, as well as the District of Columbia, have legalized the drug for recreational use, although it remains prohibited by federal law.

Despite these studies, as well as a general push for decriminalization across the country, the US penal system imprisons a shocking number of individuals for nonviolent crimes related to marijuana.

In 2013 alone, 609,423 individuals were arrested for possession of a substance which is now recommended by the US Department of Health.

Background:

US Study Concludes Marijuana Can Kill Cancer Cells

August 20, 2015 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Science and Pseudo-Science, Timeless or most popular | , , | 2 Comments

Hundreds of Economists: Marijuana Prohibition Costs Billions, Legalization Would Earn Billions

By Ezekiel Edwards and Rebecca McCray | ACLU Criminal Law Reform Project | April 26, 2012

Over 300 economists, including three Nobel Laureates, recently signed a petition that encourages the president, Congress, governors and state legislatures to carefully consider marijuana legalization in America. The petition draws attention to an article by Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron, whose findings highlight the substantial cost-savings our government could incur if it were to tax and regulate marijuana, rather than needlessly spending billions of dollars enforcing its prohibition.

Miron predicts that legalizing marijuana would save $7.7 billion per year in government expenditure on enforcement, in addition to generating $2.4 billion annually if taxed like most consumer goods, or $6 billion per year if taxed similarly to alcohol and tobacco. The economists signing the petition note that the budgetary implications of marijuana prohibition are just one of many factors to be considered, but declare it essential that these findings become a serious part of the national decriminalization discussion.

The advantages of marijuana legalization extend far beyond an opportunity to make a dent in our federal deficit. The criminalization of marijuana is one of the many fights in the War on Drugs that has failed miserably. And while it’s tempting to associate only the harder, “scarier” drugs with this botched crusade, the fact remains that marijuana prohibition is very much a part of the battle. The federal government has even classified marijuana as a Schedule 1 substance (its most serious category of substances), placing it in a more dangerous category than cocaine. More than 800,000 people are arrested for marijuana use and possession each year, and 46 percent of all drug prosecutions across the country are for marijuana possession. Yet this costly and time-consuming targeting of marijuana users by law enforcement and lawmakers has done little to quell use of the drug.

The criminalization of marijuana has not only resulted in a startlingly high number of arrests, it also reflects the devastating disparate racial impact of the War on Drugs. Despite ample evidence that marijuana is used more frequently by white people, Blacks and Latinos account for a grossly disproportionate percentage of the 800,000 people arrested annually for marijuana use and possession. These convictions hinder one’s ability to find or keep employment, vote or gain access to affordable housing. The fact that these hard-to-shake consequences – bad enough as they are — are suffered more frequently by a demographic that uses marijuana less makes our current policies toward marijuana all the more unfair, unwise and unacceptable.

Our marijuana policies have proven ineffective, expensive and discriminatory. Our courtrooms, jails and prisons remain crowded with nonviolent drug offenders. And yet, the government persists in its costly, racist and counterproductive criminalization of marijuana. We learned our lesson decades ago with alcohol prohibition; it is long overdue for us to do the same with marijuana prohibition. In the face of Miron’s new report, and its support from hundreds of economists, we are hopeful that not only will the national conversation surrounding marijuana change, but so will our disastrous policies.

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April 27, 2012 Posted by | Civil Liberties, Economics | , , , , , | Leave a comment