Overview
- Cannabis, also known asmarijuana , is a plant grown in many parts of the world (seeQuestion 1).
- The use ofCannabisfor medicinal purposes dates back to ancient times (seeQuestion 3).
- By federal law, possessingCannabisis illegal in the United States (seeQuestion 1).
- In the United States,Cannabisis acontrolled substance that requires special licensing for its use (seeQuestion 1 andQuestion 3).
- Cannabinoids are activechemicals inCannabisthat causedrug -like effects throughout the body, including thecentral nervous system and theimmune system (seeQuestion 2).
- Cannabinoids can be taken by mouth,inhaled , or sprayed under the tongue (seeQuestion 5).
- Cannabisand cannabinoids have been studied in the laboratory and the clinic for relief of pain,nausea andvomiting ,anxiety , and loss ofappetite (seeQuestion 6 andQuestion 7).
- Cannabisand cannabinoids may have benefits in treating thesymptoms ofcancer or theside effects of cancertherapies (seeQuestion 7).
- Two cannabinoids (dronabinol and nabilone) areFDA approved for theprevention or treatment ofchemotherapy -related nausea and vomiting (seeQuestion 7 andQuestion 10).
- Cannabishas been shown to kill cancercells in the laboratory and to affect the immune system. However, there is no evidence thatCannabis'effects on the immune system help the body fight cancer (seeQuestion 6).
- At this time, there is not enough evidence to recommend that patients inhale or ingestCannabisas a treatment for cancer-related symptoms or side effects of cancertherapy (seeQuestion 7).
- Cannabisis not approved by theU.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use as a cancer treatment (seeQuestion 9).
Questions and Answers About Cannabis
What is Cannabis?
Cannabis, also known as marijuana , is a plant from Central Asia that is grown in many parts of the world today. In the United States, it is a controlled substance and has been classified as a Schedule I agent (a drug with increased potential for abuse and no known medical use).
By federal law, possessing Cannabis (marijuana), is illegal in the United States.
What are cannabinoids?
Cannabinoids are active chemicals in Cannabis that cause drug-like effects throughout the body, including the central nervous system and the immune system
They are also known as phytocannabinoids. The main active cannabinoid in Cannabis is delta-9-THC. Another active cannabinoid is cannabidiol, which may relieve pain and lower inflammation without causing the "high" of delta-9-THC.
Cannabinoids may be useful in treating the side effects of cancer and cancer treatment.
Other possible effects of cannabinoids include:
- Anti-inflammatoryactivity.
- Blockingcellgrowth.
- Preventing the growth ofblood vessels that supplytumors.
- Antiviralactivity.
What is the history of the medical use of Cannabis?
The use of Cannabis for medicinal purposes dates back at least 3,000 years. It came into use in Western medicine in the 19th century and was said to relieve pain, inflammation, spasms , and convulsions.
In 1937, the U.S. Treasury began taxing Cannabis under the Marijuana Tax Act at one dollar per ounce for medicinal use and one hundred dollars per ounce for recreational use. The American Medical Association (AMA) opposed this regulation of Cannabis and did not want studies of its potential medicinal benefits to be limited.
In 1942, Cannabis was removed from the U.S. Pharmacopoeia because of continuing concerns about its safety. In 1951, Congress passed the Boggs Act, which included Cannabis with narcotic drugs for the first time.
Under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970, marijuana was classified as a Schedule I drug. Other Schedule I drugs include heroin, LSD, mescaline, methaqualone, and gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB).
Although Cannabis was not believed to have any medicinal use, the U.S. government distributed it to patients on a case-by-case basis under the Compassionate Use Investigational New Drug (IND) program between 1978 and 1992.
In the past 20 years, researchers have studied how cannabinoids act on the brain and other parts of the body. Cannabinoid receptors (molecules that bind cannabinoids) have been discovered in brain cells and nerve cells in other parts of the body. The presence of cannabinoid receptors on immune system cells suggests that cannabinoids may have a role in immunity.
If Cannabis is illegal, how do some cancer patients in the United States use it?
Though federal law prohibits the use of Cannabis, 16 states and the District of Columbia permit its use for certain medical conditions.
How is Cannabis administered?
Cannabis may be taken by mouth or may be inhaled . When taken by mouth (in baked products or as an herbal tea), the main psychoactive ingredient in Cannabis (delta-9-THC) is processed by the liver , making an additional psychoactive chemical (a substance that acts on the brain and changes mood or consciousness).
When Cannabis is smoked and inhaled, cannabinoids quickly enter the bloodstream.
The additional psychoactive chemical is produced in smaller amounts than when taken by mouth.
A growing number of clinical trials are studying a medicine made from a whole-plant extract of Cannabis that contains specific amounts of cannabinoids. This medicine is sprayed under the tongue.
Have any preclinical (laboratory or animal) studies been conducted using Cannabis or cannabinoids?
Preclinical studies of cannabinoids have investigated the following activities:
Antitumor activity
- Studies in mice and rats have shown that cannabinoids may inhibittumor growth by causing cell death, blocking cell growth, and blocking the development of blood vessels needed by tumors to grow.Laboratory andanimal studieshave 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 thecolon and may have potential in reducing the risk ofcolon cancer, and possibly in its treatment.
- A laboratory study of delta-9-THC inhepatocellular carcinoma (liver cancer) cells showed that it damaged or killed the cancer cells. The same study of delta-9-THC inmouse models of liver cancer showed that it hadantitumor effects. Delta-9-THC has been shown to cause these effects by acting onmolecules that may also be found innon-small cell lung cancer cells andbreast cancercells.
Stimulating appetite
- Many animal studies have shown that delta-9-THC and other cannabinoids stimulateappetiteand can increase food intake.
Pain relief
- Cannabinoid receptors (molecules that bind cannabinoids) have been studied in the brain,spinal cord , andnerveendings throughout the body to understand their roles in pain relief.
- Cannabinoids have been studied for anti-inflammatoryeffects that may play a role in pain relief.
Have any clinical trials (research studies with people) of Cannabis or cannabinoid use by cancer patients been conducted?
No clinical trials of Cannabis as a treatment for cancer in humans have been found in the CAM on PubMed database maintained by the National Institutes of Health.
Cannabis and cannabinoids have been studied in clinical trials for ways to manage side effects of cancer and cancer therapies, including the following:
Nausea and vomiting
- Delta-9-THC taken by mouth: Two cannabinoid drugs approved in the United States are available under the namesdronabinol andnabilone . Both dronabinol and nabilone are approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment ofchemotherapy -relatednausea andvomiting in patients who have notresponded tostandard therapy. Many clinical trials have shown that both dronabinol and nabilone worked as well as or better than some of the weaker FDA-approved drugs to relieve nausea and vomiting. Newer drugs given for chemotherapy-related nausea have not been directly compared withCannabisor cannabinoids in cancer patients.
- Inhaled Cannabis: Three small trials have studied inhaled Cannabisfor the treatment of chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting. Various study methods and chemotherapy agents were used with mixed results. There is not enough information to interpret these findings.
Stimulating appetite
- Delta-9-THC taken by mouth: A clinical trial compared delta-9-THC (dronabinol) and a standard drug (megestrol ) in patients withadvanced cancer and loss of appetite. Results showed that delta-9-THC was not as effective in increasing appetite or weight gain in advanced cancer patients compared with standardtherapy . However, a clinical trial of patients with HIV/AIDS and weight loss found that those who took delta-9-THC had increased appetite and stopped losing weight compared with patients who took aplacebo.
- InhaledCannabis: There are no published studies of the effect of inhaledCannabison cancer patients with loss of appetite. Studies of healthy people who inhaledCannabisshowed that they consumed morecalories, especially high-fat and sweet snacks.
Pain relief
- Combining cannabinoids withopioids : Results from a small study of 21 patients withchronic pain (mostly from non-cancerconditions ) show that adding vaporizedCannabis to slow-releaseoxycodone ormorphine gave patients better pain relief, even though in some instancesbloodlevels of opioids were lower afterCannabiswas added.
- Delta-9-THC taken by mouth: Two small clinical trials oforal delta-9-THC showed that it relieved cancer pain. In the first study, patients had good pain relief as well as relief of nausea and vomiting and better appetite. A second study showed that delta-9-THC could be given indoses that gave pain relief comparable tocodeine . Higher doses of delta-9-THC were found to be more calming than codeine. Anobservational study of nabilone also showed that it relieved cancer pain along with nausea,anxiety , anddistresswhen compared with no treatment. Neither dronabinol nor nabilone is approved by the FDA for pain management.
- WholeCannabisplant extract medicine: A study of a whole-plant extract ofCannabisthat contained specific amounts of cannabinoids, which was sprayed in the mouth, found it was effective in patients with advanced cancer whose pain was not relieved by strong opioids alone.
- InhaledCannabis: A study of inhaledCannabisin patients withHIV -relatedperipheral neuropathy found better pain control in theCannabisgroup than in the placebo group. To date, no clinical trials have studied cannabinoids in the treatment of chemotherapy-relatedneuropathyin patients with cancer.
Anxiety and sleep
- InhaledCannabis: A smallcase seriesfound that patients who inhaled marijuana had improved mood, improved sense of well-being, and less anxiety.
- WholeCannabisplant extract spray: A trial of a whole-plant extract ofCannabisthat contained specific amounts of cannabinoids, which was sprayed under the tongue, found that patients had improved sleep quality.
Have any side effects or risks been reported from Cannabis and cannabinoids?
Adverse side effects of cannabinoids may include:
- Rapid beating of the heart.
- Lowblood pressure.
- Muscle relaxation.
- Bloodshot eyes.
- Sloweddigestion and movement of food by thestomach andintestines.
- Dizziness.
- Depression.
- Hallucinations.
- Paranoia.
Both Cannabis and cannabinoids may be addictive.
Symptoms of withdrawal from cannabinoids may include:
- Irritability.
- Trouble sleeping.
- Restlessness.
- Hot flashes.
- Nausea and cramping (rarely occur).
These symptoms are mild compared to withdrawal from opiates and usually lessen after a few days.
Is Cannabis approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use as a cancer treatment in the United States?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved Cannabis for use as a cancer treatment.
Are Cannabis or cannabinoids approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use as a treatment for cancer-related symptoms or side effects of cancer therapy?
Cannabis is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of any cancer-related symptom or side effect of cancer therapy.
Two cannabinoids (dronabinol and nabilone) are approved by the FDA for the treatment of chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting in patients who have not responded to standard therapy.
Current Clinical Trials
Check NCI's list of cancer clinical trials for cancer CAM clinical trials on marijuana, nabilone, dronabinol and nabiximols that are actively enrolling patients.
General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.
Changes to This Summary (03 / 20 / 2012)
The PDQ cancer information summaries are reviewed regularly and updated as new information becomes available. This section describes the latest changes made to this summary as of the date above.
Editorial changes were made to this summary.
In writing Cancer Information Summaries, PDQ Editorial Boards review current evidence. They do not make recommendations or develop guidelines. Their work is editorially independent of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). This summary on Cannabis and cannabinoids does not represent a policy statement of NCI or NIH. The summary statement represents an independent review of the literature; that review is not influenced by NCI or any other federal agency.
Evaluation of CAM Approaches
It is important that the same rigorous scientific evaluation used to assess conventional approaches be used to evaluate CAM therapies. The National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) are sponsoring a number of clinical trials (research studies) at medical centers to evaluate CAM therapies for cancer.
Conventional approaches to cancer treatment have generally been studied for safety and effectiveness through a rigorous scientific process that includes clinical trials with large numbers of patients. Less is known about the safety and effectiveness of complementary and alternative methods. Few CAM therapies have undergone rigorous evaluation. A small number of CAM therapies originally considered to be purely alternative approaches are finding a place in cancer treatment—not as cures, but as complementary therapies that may help patients feel better and recover faster. One example is acupuncture. According to a panel of experts at a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Conference in November 1997, acupuncture has been found to be effective in the management of chemotherapy-associated nausea and vomiting and in controlling pain associated with surgery. In contrast, some approaches, such as the use of laetrile, have been studied and found ineffective or potentially harmful.
The NCI Best Case Series Program, which was started in 1991, is one way CAM approaches that are being used in practice are being investigated. The program is overseen by the NCI's Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM). Health care professionals who offer alternative cancer therapies submit their patients' medical records and related materials to OCCAM. OCCAM conducts a critical review of the materials and develops follow-up research strategies for approaches deemed to warrant NCI-initiated research.
Questions to Ask Your Health Care Provider About CAM
When considering complementary and alternative therapies, patients should ask their health care provider the following questions:
- What side effects can be expected?
- What are the risks associated with this therapy?
- Do the known benefits outweigh the risks?
- What benefits can be expected from this therapy?
- Will the therapy interfere with conventional treatment?
- Is this therapy part of a clinical trial?
- If so, who is sponsoring the trial?
- Will the therapy be covered by health insurance?
To Learn More About CAM
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) facilitates research and evaluation of complementary and alternative practices, and provides information about a variety of approaches to health professionals and the public.
| | | | | | NCCAM Clearinghouse |
| Post Office Box 7923 Gaithersburg, MD 20898–7923 |
| Telephone: 1–888–644–6226 (toll free) 301–519–3153 (for International callers) |
| TTY (for deaf and hard of hearing callers): 1–866–464–3615 |
| Fax: 1–866–464–3616 |
| E-mail: info@nccam.nih.gov |
| Web site:http://nccam.nih.gov |
NCCAM and the NIH National Library of Medicine (NLM) jointly developed CAM on PubMed, a free and easy-to-use search tool for finding CAM-related journal citations.
As a subset of the NLM's PubMed bibliographic database, CAM on PubMed features more than 230,000 references and abstracts for CAM-related articles from scientific journals.
This database also provides links to the Web sites of over 1,800 journals, allowing users to view full-text articles. (A subscription or other fee may be required to access full-text articles.)
CAM on PubMed is available through the NCCAM Web site. It can also be accessed through NLM PubMed bibliographic database by selecting the "Limits" tab and
choosing "Complementary Medicine" as a subset.
Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine
The NCI Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM) coordinates the activities of the NCI in the area of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). OCCAM supports CAM cancer research and provides information about cancer-related CAM to health providers and the general public via the NCI Web site.
National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Information Service
U.S. residents may call the NCI Cancer Information Service toll free at 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237) Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. A trained Cancer Information Specialist is available to answer your questions.
Food and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates drugs and medical devices to ensure that they are safe and effective.
| Food and Drug Administration |
| 5600 Fishers Lane |
| Rockville, MD 20857 |
| Telephone: 1–888–463–6332 (toll free) |
| Web site:http://www.fda.gov/ | | |
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces consumer protection laws. Publications available from the FTC include:
- Who Cares: Sources of Information About Health Care Products and Services
- Fraudulent Health Claims: Don't Be Fooled
| Consumer Response Center |
| Federal Trade Commission |
| CRC-240 |
| Washington, DC 20580 |
| Telephone: 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357) (toll free) |
| TTY (for deaf and hearing impaired callers): 202-326-2502 |
| Web site:http://www.ftc.gov/ |
About PDQ
PDQ is a comprehensive cancer database available on NCI's Web site.
PDQ is the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) comprehensive cancer information database. Most of the information contained in PDQ is available online at NCI's Web site. PDQ is provided as a service of the NCI. The NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health, the federal government's focal point for biomedical research.
PDQ contains cancer information summaries.
The PDQ database contains summaries of the latest published information on cancer prevention, detection, genetics, treatment, supportive care, and complementary and alternative medicine. Most summaries are available in two versions. The health professional versions provide detailed information written in technical language. The patient versions are written in easy-to-understand, nontechnical language. Both versions provide current and accurate cancer information.
The PDQ cancer information summaries are developed by cancer experts and reviewed regularly.
Editorial Boards made up of experts in oncology and related specialties are responsible for writing and maintaining the cancer information summaries.
The summaries are reviewed regularly and changes are made as new information becomes available. The date on each summary ("Date Last Modified") indicates the time of the most recent change.
PDQ also contains information on clinical trials.
A clinical trial is a study to answer a scientific question, such as whether one treatment is better than another. Trials are based on past studies and what has been learned in the laboratory. Each trial answers certain scientific questions in order to find new and better ways to help cancer patients.
During treatment clinical trials, information is collected about the effects of a new treatment and how well it works.
If a clinical trial shows that a new treatment is better than one currently being used, the new treatment may become "standard." Patients may want to think about taking part in a clinical trial. Some clinical trials are open only to patients who have not started treatment.
Listings of clinical trials are included in PDQ and are available online at NCI's Web site. Descriptions of the trials are available in health professional and patient versions. Many cancer doctors who take part in clinical trials are also listed in PDQ.
For more information, call the Cancer Information Service 1-800-4-CANCER (1-800-422-6237).
Last Revised: 2012-03-20
If you want to know more about cancer and how it is treated, or if you wish to know about clinical trials for your type of cancer, you can call the NCI's Cancer Information Service at 1-800-422-6237, toll free. A trained information specialist can talk with you and answer your questions.
Cannabis and Cannabinoids (PDQ®): Complementary and alternative medicine - Patient Information [NCI]
This information is produced and provided by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
The information in this topic may have changed since it was written. For the most current information, contact the National Cancer Institute via the Internet web site at http://cancer.gov
or call 1-800-4-CANCER.
Source:
Cannabis and Cannabinoids (PDQ®): Complementary and alternative medicine - Patient Information [NCI]
http://www.healthlinkbc.ca/kb/content/nci/ncicdr0000688139.html
cannabis growing is illegal in some countries but I think It should not be illegal in those countries because If their are any negative points by growing this then on the other hand there are also some positive points.
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