A Biochemist Cancer Survivor Explains How Cannabis KILLS Cancer!

I’m often asked how cannabis kills cancer.  If you’ve ever wondered just how cannabis (more specifically the cannabinoids in cannabis) actually kills cancer and puts it into remission, this article will explain the process in detail.

There are at least 85 cannabinoids in cannabis.  Cannabinoids are chemical compounds found in cannabis.  Most people are aware of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), which is the one and only cannabinoid that is psychoactive – it makes you feel “high”.  Another well-known and studied cannabinoid is CBD (Cannabidiol), which is NOT psychoactive, but has become highly celebrated for its effectiveness with epilepsy and in dramatically reducing seizures.

Both THC and CBD are necessary to remedy critical health conditions such as Cancer. Both compounds help kill cancer cells in different ways.  THC primarily induces apoptosis, or the programmed death of cancer cells, which do not die like regular cells but instead form tumors. CBD kills cancer cells by another method and also inhibits angiogenesis, a chemical process which results in the growth of new blood vessels which feed tumors.

I’ll let a biochemist and cancer survivor explain in detail. Dennis Hill had Stage 4 Prostate Cancer and put it into remission using Full Extract Cannabis Oil (FECO) – which I can make available to you.   His article and video follows.

How Cannabinoids Kill Cancer – Dennis Hill

This brief survey touches lightly on a few essential concepts. Mostly I would like to leave you with an appreciation that nature has designed the perfect medicine that fits exactly with our own immune system of receptors and signaling metabolites to provide rapid and complete immune response for systemic integrity and metabolic homeostasis.

~Dennis Hill

How It Works (Abstract)

There is a plentiful supply of research articles and personal testaments that show the efficacy of cannabis effecting cancer remission. However, only a few points to the mechanism by which the cancer cells die. To understand this better we need to know what metabolic processes provide life to the cells.

There are two structures in most cells that sustain life; one is the mitochondria, and the other is the endoplasmic reticulum. The mitochondria primarily produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP) that provides the necessary energy. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a loosely bound envelope around the cell nucleus that synthesizes metabolites and proteins directed by the nuclear DNA that nourish and sustain the cell.

Let us look first at tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and observe that THC is a natural fit for the CB1 cannabinoid receptor on the cancer cell surface. When THC hits the receptor, the cell generates ceramide that disrupts the mitochondria, closing off energy for the cell.

Disruption of the mitochondria releases cytochrome c and reactive oxygen species into the cytosol, hastening cell death. It is notable that this process is specific to cancer cells. Healthy cells have no reaction to THC at the CB1 receptor. The increase in ceramide also disrupts calcium metabolism in the mitochondria, completing the demise to cell death.

The other cannabinoid we know is effective in killing cancer cells is cannabidiol (CBD). The primary job of CBD in the cancer cell is to disrupt the endoplasmic reticulum through wrecking of the calcium metabolism, pushing calcium into the cytosol. This always results in cell death. Another pathway for CBD to effect cancer cell death is the Caspase Cascade, which breaks down proteins and peptides in the cell. When this happens the cell cannot survive. Again, these processes are specific to cancer cells, no normal cells are affected.

Reference:

1. The Journal of Neuroscience, February 18, 2009 • 29(7):2053–2063 • 2053

Cannabidiol Targets Mitochondria to Regulate Intracellular Calcium Levels.

Duncan Ryan, Alison J. Drysdale, Carlos Lafourcade, Roger G. Pertwee, and Bettina Platt.

School of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, United Kingdom.

2. Mol Cancer Ther July 2011 10; 1161

Cannabidiol Induces Programmed Cell Death in Breast Cancer Cells by Coordinating the Cross-talk between Apoptosis and Autophagy

Ashutosh Shrivastava, Paula M. Kuzontkoski, Jerome E. Groopman, and Anil Prasad.

Division of Experimental Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.