How Cannabis was Shown Successful in Shrinking Glioma Brain Cancer Tumors

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Cannabis is one of the most talked about drug in the modern world. Unfortunately, it is for all the wrong reasons. Call it the powerful lobbying or the willful ignorance, but the world today sees cannabis as a recreational drug and something hippies and addicts would use. The truth is, however, far from it.

A number of ancient cultures have had traditionally used cannabis for medicinal purpose. Since not all of them could be wrong at the same time, it does raise the question: Is cannabis useful for medicinal purposes?

The answer is yes. Cannabis is herbs in the essence, and they have a variety of components (more than 80, in fact) that could react differently to different situations and bring about different results.

Brain cancer is one of the severest forms of tumors that exist in humans, and they are the hardest to treat via surgery. Around 9% of the total cancers are cases of brain cancer. Yet, brain cancer has one of the least success rates among all the cancers.

However, new researches have shed light to the possibility of killing the tumors with the help of a single drug. And as you might have guessed, the drug is cannabis. But yet, cannabis is not a mainstream medicine, despite all the claims. Why is it so? Let's find out.

What is Cannabis?
Cannabis, commonly known as 'Marijuana', is a psychotic drug extracted from Cannabis plant. Cannabis has traditionally been used as a medicinal herb, although for the past century or so it has been identified solely as a recreational drug. Recent studies have revealed that it can prove extremely beneficial in treating the cancerous tumor of the brain, which has otherwise gone fatal in most of the cases.

What are Gliomas?
High-Grade Gliomas is one such type of cancer in the cranial regions which have shown constant improvements to the extents of remission on treatment with pure cannabis extracts. It should be noted that 80% of all malignant brain tumors known are Gliomas.  
Based on the affected region and age of the subject, Gliomas are further categorized into:

• Astrocytomas: This type of brain cancer originates in the star-shaped cells of the cerebral portion of the brain called 'astrocytes'. Even though it might look new, Astrocytomas is the most common type of brain cancers known.
• Ependymomas:Such tumor arises in the 'ependyma', one of the tissues in the CNS (Central Nervous System).  Ependyma is found in the spinal in the case of adults while is intracranial in the case of children.  Even though more severe than astrocytomas, this type of brain cancer is rare in adults. However, ependymomas is quite common among children and young adults.  
• Oligodendrogliomas:This brain cancer is believed to have been originated from the oligodendrocytes of the brain. It is said that Oligodendrogliomas is one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer.

How does Cannabis help?
Cannabis, though considered a recreational drug by ignorance, can actually be a magic herb. Here is how cannabis helps out in various brain cancers:

In case of Astrocytomas 

• Pure Cannabis oil contains 2 vital cannabinoids, THC(Tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (Cannabidiol).
• The combination of these two key ingredients helps in cutting down the oxygen supply to the malignant tumor cells thereby initiating the process of 'auto-digestion' in which the brain cells begin to starve and ultimately die due to lack of proper amounts of oxygen.

In case of Ependymomas

• Several tests conducted to treat Ependymomas by a low-carb diet and CBD have proven beneficial.
• The cannabidiol(CBD) constituent found in the Cannabis help achieve 'autophagy' or auto-digestion in the neurons/brain cells.

In case of Oligodendrogliomas

• Tests have shown that Cannabis along with chemotherapy (radiation treatment) have proven effective to wipe out the tumor brain cells.
• The pre-requisite of this technique is to allow the subject to undergo radiation treatment first followed by treatment with Cannabis.
• Post-irradiation, treatment with cannabinoids like CBD and THC help interfere with the ability of the cancerous cells to self-heal from the harmful effects of irradiation.

Current Scenario
New developments were made earlier this year when GW Pharmaceuticals came out with various medical-uses of cannabis, the most prominent of them being the application for curing brain cancer.
With the approval of the US government, chances are high that their success might encourage others to research further into the benefits of cannabis.

Conclusion:

Cannabis is one of the most vilified drugs in human history, which is why its application in killing brain tumors is still in doubt. Despite all the benefits, the stigma and legal issues associated with the use of cannabis prevents it from being a mainstream solution. However, there is still hope that people might see sense in the near future and recognize cannabis to be the wonderful herb it is.

Sources:
http://www.medicaldaily.com/cannabis-shrinks-brain-tumors-associated-highly-aggressive-form-cancer-310720
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/may/02/study-cannabis-cannabidiol-cbd-ability-to-help-children-brain-tumours
https://www.medicaljane.com/2014/11/29/cannabinoids-as-treatment-for-high-grade-gliomas/