Medicinal pot: Cancer Fighter

In story "Medicinal pot not harmful" ( June 17 ), Jean-Paul Collett of UBC says: "People only turn to cannabinoids after they have tried something else. At this point, you can't take it as a first choice."

This just shows how biased "traditional" medical services are.

A plant that has been used successfully for 5,000 years is considered "alternative."

But the "standard" pharmaceuticals that pot users are trying to avoid have only been around 100 or so years.

It should be noted that Cesamet and Marinol have absolutely no cannabis in them.

They are synthetic mimics of cannabis, which is why they are so poorly received.

Sativex does contain cannabis, but only certain compounds, not the whole plant medicine. Which is why recent testing has shown it to be less than effective.

Recent science out of Germany shows how cannabinoids stimulate the body's production of TIMP-1, which helps healthy cells resist cancer invasion.

Source: Province, The(CN BC)
Copyright: 2008 Canwest Publishing Inc.
Contact: The Province