Medical marijuana is a topic that has received much attention, both positive and negative, in recent years. With many states legalizing the drug’s medicinal use and others legalizing its recreational use, the topic deserves some much needed scientific attention. A previous blog discussing medical marijuana and its alternatives from ssvendse (link: http://cobbersonthebrain.areavoices.com/2014/10/06/if-you-want-to-party-with-mary-jane-just-say-so/) does not give the full picture when it comes to the potential use of medical marijuana.
How do the cannabinoids like THC and cannabidiol, the active ingredients in marijuana, work? As my neurochemistry class found out last week from an article, the body contains receptors on the cells called cannabinoid receptors. These receptors are found in the brain as well as in other parts of the body like the immune system. The cannabinoid receptors are activated by substances called endocannabinoids which are naturally made by the body. The two most researched of these are AEA and 2-AG. THC and other cannabinoids act like these naturally made substances and activate the cannabinoid receptors.
Cannabinoid receptors, called CB1 and CB2 receptors, in turn cause things to happen in the cell that eventually results in the halting of cell growth and sometimes cell death. These receptors are more common in cells such as cancer cells and immune system cells. Thus, cannabinoids such as AEA and THC are currently being researched for their potential use in treatments of cancer. Other lesser known cannabinoids such as cannabidiol, like ssvendse mentions, have been researched for this purpose as well.
THC has been shown to treat some cancers in mice, since the drug will preferentially go to cancer cells due to their higher amounts of cannabinoid receptors. Of course, one downside is that the immune system cells are also targeted by cannabinoids. Medical marijuana which contains helpful cannabinoids such as THC and cannabidiol may therefore prove effective at treatment of certain cancers. Some downsides include that cannabinoids attack the immune system as well as the cancer and marijuana in high concentrations can cause psychoactive effects.
Though ssvendse purports that only purified cannabidiol should be considered the valid form of medicinal cannabinoid and that marijuana in its natural form is really about people wanting to get high, I propose that society should allow both options as valid medical treatments without assuming people merely want the drug for its euphoric effect. Almost all powerful medical drugs used today have psychoactive effects: morphine (which is an opiate), Vicodin, and anesthetics to name a few. Marajuana falls into a similar category or a drug that has both medicinal and psychoactive effects. This does not mean that every patient who would like these drugs for medicinal purpose just wants to “party with the drug,” it merely means that for these patients, the benefits outweigh the negative side effects.
Sure, a more purified version of cannabidiol is also effective for medicinal purposes, but the recently FDA approved version is the only one of its kind and was thus given an Orphan Drug Designation which gives this drug a cap on the market for seven years. This is usually when new drugs are very expensive. This drug is also only approved for one exclusive type of cancer and is not as much of a miracle drug as ssvendse may have you believe. Medical marijuana should therefore not be discounted due to its economic availability and broader uses in the medical field. A drug cannot be dismissed as a party drug merely due to a “high” feeling that it causes, if that were the case, we would have to put many modern medicines on the shelf for just the people who have ulterior motives than treatment of disease.
References:
B.M. Fonseca et al. Prostaglandins & other Lipid Mediators (2013) 102–103:13–30
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/patient/page2
Marijuana and Cancer Treatment: What is he smoking?
