As October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, citizens of Ohio should reflect upon the words of Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and his official state policy on Medical Marijuana - “The governor feels that the predominant opinion of the medical community is that there are existing medicines available that provide appropriate patient care“... “So based on that opinion and the current research, he feels this type of legislation doesn’t seem necessary or warranted“ - and realize he is DEAD wrong - "the latest research is proving that cannabinoids, as part of this bodily system, play a mitigating role in breast cancer." That is consistent with historical findings that cannabinoids may have cancer-fighting qualities:

What begs discussion on the occasion of California’s historic vote, which the whole world is watching, is that cannabis has been shown in hundreds of laboratory studies over the past ten years not only to be physiologically harmless, but also to be the most potent anti-cancer agent found in nature. No other natural substance holds the cancer-stopping power of cannabis and that's a proven fact.

In addition, cannabinoids, the active ingredients in marijuana, shrink and prevent the spread of tumors far more effectively than synthetic chemotherapy agents, for the simple reason that they destroy cancer cells without damaging healthy cells, a feat that widely prescribed chemotherapy cocktails can't duplicate.

This is something for politicians to think about as they wrap-up their campaigning for the November 2nd election, and position themselves for 2012 (President Obama) - it is time to cancel your Flat Earth Society memberships and join the modern world supporting developing a cannabis economy in Ohio - it is worth developing a medical marijuana cluster here that may lead to our healthcare providers development new methods for preventing cancer for 1,000,000s of people - it is worth creating 10,000s of jobs - there is hope - yes we can - bring Ohio change we may believe in!

We need this in Ohio far more than California... Mr. President, will you please educate Governor Strickland on this issue, when you are rallying together for change and the votes of citizens of Ohio, this weekend in Cleveland...

Could Legalizing Marijuana in California Help Cure Breast Cancer?

An urgent issue for Breast Cancer Awareness Month: the clock is ticking for the 207,000 women expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer this year alone.

October 26, 2010  |  

 

For 70 years, we've been taught that marijuana has no accepted medical use and that its high potential for abuse demands absolute prohibition. Medical research has been nearly impossible since obtaining the substance for legitimate studies is restricted by the federal government.

 

But for a moment, forget the anti-drug ads of stoned teenagers passing the bong and click instead on the National Library of Medicine's website, “Pubmed.gov.” Look under "breast cancer and cannabinoid” and you will find studies in scientific journals like Breast Cancer Research and Treatment that should warrant immediate action: “Our data demonstrate the efficacy of CBD in pre-clinical models of breast cancer. The results have the potential to lead to the development of novel non-toxic compounds for the treatment of breast cancer metastasis…”

A study in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics says, “These results indicate that CB1 and CB2 receptors could be used to develop novel therapeutic strategies against breast cancer growth and metastasis." And this from the journal Molecular Cancer: "these results provide a strong preclinical evidence for the use of cannabinoid-based therapies for the management of ErbB2-positive breast cancer." What’s more, this basic research also extols the safety of potential cannabinoid therapies.

The science behind these studies finds that the human body contains its own internal system interrelated with molecules in the cannabis plant—AKA marijuana. A neurological signaling structure called the endocannabinoid system is now known to govern numerous bodily processes like appetite, pain, and even the birth of new brain cells. Cannabinoid receptors, called CB1 and CB2, are located in various cell membranes and activated by the body’s own cannabinoid molecules (endocannabinoids), as well as those unique to the cannabis plant (THC, CBD) and synthetically-derived cannabinoids like Marinol®.

And now, the latest research is proving that cannabinoids, as part of this bodily system, play a mitigating role in breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a frightening diagnosis that will confront about 1 in 8 American women this year. Some 40,000 will die from it. An unusual lump in a breast can grow through four increasingly incurable stages and sometimes into other tissue. Therapies involve invasive surgery, heavy radiation, and toxic chemotherapy. Current anti-cancer drugs may kill cancer cells, but they also destroy non-cancerous tissue and damage heart muscle. Intractable nausea and vomiting comprise just one side effect. The disease may be worse than the cure but the cure can also kill.

But suppose some scientist has just come out of the jungle with an unknown plant that holds this much promise. It would be featured in the nightly news and on the front page of every newspaper. Well, we now have before us scientific clues that seem to point toward a revolution in breast cancer treatment, yet the government still manages to bury this amazing discovery.