A federal health agency is acknowledging that a sizable portion\u2014between about 20 percent and 40 percent\u2014of people being treated for cancer are using cannabis products to manage side effects from the condition and associated treatment.<\/p>\n
Such widespread uptake by patients raises concerns that use is outpacing scientific knowledge on efficacy and risks, the agency said in a blog post published on Wednesday, but added that rescheduling marijuana could help remove current barriers to research to address the \u201cscientific evidence deficit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to findings from several of the studies, anywhere from about 20% to 40% of people being treated for cancer use cannabis or cannabinoids,\u201d the National Cancer Institute (NCI) post says, \u201coften broadly referred to as medical marijuana\u2014to help manage side effects like nausea, pain, sleeplessness, anxiety, and stress.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe growing popularity of cannabis products among people with cancer has tracked with the increasing number of states that have legalized cannabis for medical use,\u201d it continues. \u201cBut research has lagged on whether and which cannabis products are a safe or effective way to help with cancer-related symptoms and treatment-related side effects.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nearly 3 in 4 Americans now live in a state where medical marijuana is legal, the post says, citing a Pew Research Center study from February.<\/p>\n
Mohab Ibrahim, a physician and the medical director of the Comprehensive Center for Pain and Addiction at the University of Arizona Health Sciences, noted in the NCI post that some evidence shows marijuana can suppress a person\u2019s immune system, especially when used long-term, or interact negatively with other medications, for example increasing drowsiness.<\/p>\n
He explained that federal prohibition makes it \u201cchallenging to test cannabis products in clinical settings,\u201d the post<\/a> says in a section about the \u201ccannabis-and-cancer information gap,\u201d noting that Ibrahim and others \u201csaid they hope cannabis will eventually be reclassified as a schedule 2 or 3 drug, which would likely open the doors for more studies.\u201d<\/p>\n A series of new studies is putting a spotlight on the growing use of #cannabis<\/a> among #CancerSurvivors<\/a> and some of the trend\u2019s downstream effects. Learn more: https:\/\/t.co\/z1PHwJUSZ0<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/qz8owNLJA4<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 NCI Cancer Control (@NCICancerCtrl) October 16, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Among the research cited in the new NCI post is a series of scientific reports published last month in NCI\u2019s journal JNCI Monographs. The package of 14 articles detailed the results of broad, federally funded cannabis surveys of cancer patients from a dozen agency-designated cancer centers across the country<\/a>\u2014including in areas where marijuana is legal, permitted only for medical purposes or still outlawed.<\/p>\n A main finding of one study led by NCI researchers, for example, is that patients\u2019 \u201creported use of cannabis since diagnosis varied only slightly by legal status.\u201d Of those surveyed between September 2021 and August 2032, 34.3 percent of patients who resided in states where marijuana was legal reported using the substance, compared to 31.5 percent in medical-only states and 24.7 percent in states where cannabis was illegal.<\/p>\n In all, just under a third (32.9 percent) of patients reported using cannabis, with respondents reporting that they used marijuana primarily to treat cancer- and treatment-related symptoms such as difficulty sleeping, pain and mood changes. The most common perceived benefits \u201cwere for pain, sleep, stress and anxiety, and treatment side effects,\u201d the report says.<\/p>\n Separately, another recent study, in the journal Discover Oncology, concluded that a variety of cannabinoids\u2014including delta-9 THC, CBD and cannabigerol (CBG)\u2014\u201cshow promising potential as anticancer agents through various mechanisms,\u201d<\/a> for example by limiting the growth and spread of tumors. Authors acknowledged that obstacles to incorporating cannabis into cancer treatment remain, however, such as regulatory barriers and the need to determine optimal dosing.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, other research on the possible therapeutic value of lesser-known compounds in cannabis found that a number of minor cannabinoids may have anticancer effects on blood cancer<\/a>\u00a0that warrant further study.<\/p>\n That research, published in the journal BioFactors, looked at minor cannabinoids and multiple myeloma (MM), testing responses in cell models to the cannabinoids CBG, CBC, CBN and CBDV as well as studying CBN in a mouse model.<\/p>\n \u201cTogether, our results suggest that CBG, CBC, CBN, and CBDV can be promising anticancer agents for MM,\u201d authors wrote, \u201cdue to their cytotoxic effect on MM cell lines and, for CBN, in\u00a0in vivo\u00a0<\/em>xenograft mouse model of MM.\u201d<\/p>\n While\u00a0cannabis is widely used to treat certain symptoms of cancer and some side-effects<\/a> of cancer treatment, there\u2019s long been interest in the possible effects of cannabinoids on cancer itself.<\/p>\n As a 2019 literature review found, the majority of the studies have also been based on in vitro experiments, meaning they did not involve human subjects but rather isolated cancer cells from humans, while some of the research used mice. Consistent with the latest findings, that study found cannabis showed potential in slowing the growth of cancer cells<\/a>\u00a0and even killing cancer cells in certain cases.<\/p>\n A separate study found that some cases, different types of cancer cells affecting the same part of the body\u00a0appeared to respond differently to various cannabis extracts<\/a>.<\/p>\n A scientific review of CBD earlier this year also\u00a0touched on \u201cthe diverse anticancer properties of cannabinoids\u201d<\/a>\u00a0that the authors said present \u201cpromising opportunities for future therapeutic interventions in cancer treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n Research published late last year found that\u00a0marijuana use was associated with improved cognition and reduced pain<\/a>\u00a0among cancer patients and people receiving chemotherapy<\/p>\n While cannabis produces intoxicating effects, and that initial \u201chigh\u201d can temporarily impair cognition, patients who used marijuana products from state-licensed dispensaries over two weeks actually started reporting clearer thinking, the study from the University of Colorado found.<\/p>\n Late last year, the National Institutes of Health awarded researchers $3.2 million to\u00a0study the effects of using cannabis while receiving immunotherapy for cancer treatment<\/a>, as well as whether access to marijuana helps reduce health disparities.<\/p>\n Federal courts are also considering\u00a0two separate lawsuits on legal access to therapeutic psilocybin among cancer patients<\/a>\u00a0in end-of-life care.<\/p>\n Millions Of Americans With Depression Could Be Eligible For Psilocybin Therapy If Approved By FDA, Study Shows<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The post Federal Agency Notes Widespread Medical Marijuana Use By Cancer Patients, Saying Rescheduling Can \u2018Open The Doors\u2019 To More Research<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
A federal health agency is acknowledging that a sizable portion\u2014between about 20 percent and 40 percent\u2014of people being treated for cancer are using cannabis products to manage side effects from the condition and associated treatment. Such widespread uptake by patients raises concerns that use is outpacing scientific knowledge on efficacyContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,15462],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78382"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78382"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78383,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78382\/revisions\/78383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Federal Agency Notes Widespread Medical Marijuana Use By Cancer Patients, Saying Rescheduling Can \u2018Open The Doors\u2019 To More Research<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"