Medical Marijuana in BC (a little about me)-

First off, I haven't been tested for anything. But, I know that I have some type of social anxiety, depression, PTSD or Bipolar disoders. I don't want to get into the details here. I won't get tested because, I'm affraid they will do any number of things to me like, lock me away(hospitalize), diagnose me wrong, pump me full of drugs that may cause my condition to get worse, unnessasarily judge me and my condition(bias).

Before anyone thinks my fears are unwarranted, I can provide proof to back up what i'm saying.

I have been smoking tobacco cigarettes on and off for 8-9 years and it has allways calmed and relaxed me, it changes my thoughts from constant worry to more love and relax toward my situation and people around me. I recently quite because of health concerns and I don't plan to start again. I find MJ helps keep me centered and is even better than smoking tobacco. When I started to smoke MJ I didn't even want to have a tobacco cigarette, I tried and it made me feel gross. There has been alot of times when I did not have access to marijuana because of legality and some other issues(laced weed). So I would start smoking again after 3 years of quiting, just to deal with the stress. I had to quite smoking cigarettes because of serious health concerns. I was having sharp chest and heart pains, a hard time breathing and it was making me feel gross and I was often sick.

I would feel much safer and comfortable with growing my own clean marijuana than any other harder, perscribed drugs which oftentimes make the patient worse off woth horrible side effects.

Would it be possible for me to get a diagnosis and obtain a MMJ Card?
I don't want to take perscribed drugs. I don't like the side effects and I would rather not like to become an emotional zombie. I'm a very sensative and spiritual person. I do not want to lose my sensativity, emotions, compassions, ect. I just want to stop the extreme social anxiety and the depression this causes me.

ScienceDaily (Apr. 17, 2007) — The active ingredient in marijuana cuts tumor growth in common lung cancer in half and significantly reduces the ability of the cancer to spread, say researchers at Harvard University who tested the chemical in both lab and mouse studies.
See also: Health & Medicine

• Lung Cancer
• Lung Disease
• Cancer

Plants & Animals

• Mice
• Molecular Biology
• Cell Biology

Reference

• Metastasis
• Tumor suppressor gene
• Tumor
• Heat shock protein

They say this is the first set of experiments to show that the compound, Delta-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), inhibits EGF-induced growth and migration in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expressing non-small cell lung cancer cell lines. Lung cancers that over-express EGFR are usually highly aggressive and resistant to chemotherapy.
THC that targets cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 is similar in function to endocannabinoids, which are cannabinoids that are naturally produced in the body and activate these receptors. The researchers suggest that THC or other designer agents that activate these receptors might be used in a targeted fashion to treat lung cancer.
"The beauty of this study is that we are showing that a substance of abuse, if used prudently, may offer a new road to therapy against lung cancer," said Anju Preet, Ph.D., a researcher in the Division of Experimental Medicine.
Acting through cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2, endocannabinoids (as well as THC) are thought to play a role in variety of biological functions, including pain and anxiety control, and inflammation. Although a medical derivative of THC, known as Marinol, has been approved for use as an appetite stimulant for cancer patients, and a small number of U.S. states allow use of medical marijuana to treat the same side effect, few studies have shown that THC might have anti-tumor activity, Preet says. The only clinical trial testing THC as a treatment against cancer growth was a recently completed British pilot study in human glioblastoma.
In the present study, the researchers first demonstrated that two different lung cancer cell lines as well as patient lung tumor samples express CB1 and CB2, and that non-toxic doses of THC inhibited growth and spread in the cell lines. "When the cells are pretreated with THC, they have less EGFR stimulated invasion as measured by various in-vitro assays," Preet said.
Then, for three weeks, researchers injected standard doses of THC into mice that had been implanted with human lung cancer cells, and found that tumors were reduced in size and weight by about 50 percent in treated animals compared to a control group. There was also about a 60 percent reduction in cancer lesions on the lungs in these mice as well as a significant reduction in protein markers associated with cancer progression, Preet says.
Although the researchers do not know why THC inhibits tumor growth, they say the substance could be activating molecules that arrest the cell cycle. They speculate that THC may also interfere with angiogenesis and vascularization, which promotes cancer growth.
Preet says much work is needed to clarify the pathway by which THC functions, and cautions that some animal studies have shown that THC can stimulate some cancers. "THC offers some promise, but we have a long way to go before we know what its potential is," she said.




American Association for Cancer Research (2007, April 17). marijuana Cuts Lung Cancer Tumor Growth In Half, Study Shows.