Cannabis Might Reverse Heart Failure, University of Hawaii Study Finds
By
Arjun Walia
Arjun Walia
In Brief
- The Facts:New research
is showing that TRPV1, a cannabinoid receptor found abundantly in the
heart may be key in slowing down and potentially even reversing heart
failure.
- Reflect On:With so many medical applications and the potential to treat and even cure a wide variety of diseases, why has there been such a lack of research, funding and clinical trials when it comes to medical marijuana?
Cannabis
could potentially slow and even reverse heart failure via TRPV1, a
cannabinoid receptor. This is according to research led by a team at the
University of HawaiĘ»i John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM). Alexander Stokes, a JABSOM assistant professor in cell and molecular biology, said “the potential medical benefits of using cannabis-based therapies for the treatment of heart disease are promising.”
TRPV1 is showing long-term effective
reversal of heart failure when the substance is administered orally. The
key here is orally, this doesn’t mean that you can smoke cannabis and
it will be good for your heart, in fact, it may very well have a
negative effect if you do that. “TRPV1 has primarily been studied as a
pain receptor,” said Stokes. “The receptors are abundant in the heart,
and we are excited to show that if we inhibit its function with oral
doses of drugs, we can reverse some effects of heart failure.”
The findings were published in the journal Channels.
A Big Topic Right Now
The topic of medical marijuana is a big
one right now, especially in Canada where it was recently legalized. For
years, there’s been a negative stigma attached to the substance, and
when one dives deep into the subject it’s quite easy to see why.
Cannabis, often called marijuana, has potential to treat and possibly
even cure a wide range of diseases, but because of prohibition, the
studies examining the medicinal aspects of the herb have been very
limited. This is very unfortunate, for a number of reasons, and also
very suspicious.
If we look at cancer, for example,
multiple studies have clearly shown its potential to completely destroy
cancer cells, many in vitro studies have clearly demonstrated this
potential, without question. They’re not hard to find and have been
published in abundance. Here
is a video of Dr. Christina Sanchez, a molecular biologist at
Compultense University in Madrid, Spain, explaining how THC (the main
psychoactive constituent of the cannabis plant) can completely kill
cancer cells. THC is simply one constituent of cannabis. It has been
shown to be effective for multiple diseases as well, while other
diseases are better treated with CBD, another constituent within
cannabis. This begs the question, why have there been no, or at least so
few, clinical trials set up as a result?
This hasn’t stopped people taking
matters into their own hands though. There are numerous examples all
over the internet of people claiming that cannabis oil, for example,
cured their cancer. But from a scientific perspective this isn’t
evidence, it’s simply anecdotal and as a result of a lack of research we
cannot officially say cannabis kills cancer. We can only say that it
has tremendous potential and that a lot more research is needed.
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Pharma vs Cannabis
When a pharmaceutical drug shows even
less than half of the potential that marijuana has shown, clinical
trials are set up right away. Just imagine if the same resources that
are poured into conventional cancer treatments were given to medical
marijuana’s potential to treat cancer, among a wide range of other
diseases. If that were to happen, we would know much more. But the lack
of research continues. Is it because if scientists were to discover what
strain, method of delivery and all of the other factors that require
more research that are needed to treat disease, cannabis could become an
effective treatment for cancer? What would happen to conventional
treatments? Would people have to pay for their treatment if it was
disclosed how to, for example, make cannabis oil in the right way for a
specific cancer? Maybe this has something to do with it?
Big pharma would lose billions. It’s definitely something to think about.
What’s happening right now with the
legalization of marijuana is that components of it are allowed to be
studied. It seems that drugs will be developed to synthesize certain
components of the plant, and the drugs themselves can then be patented.
This is how big pharma will ultimately make money off of medical
marijuana.
The Challenge With Government Control Of Cannabis
It’s great to see people with
Parkinson’s, Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, Epilepsy, cancer and more
have tremendous success with medical marijuana. What’s unfortunate is
that mainstream medical marijuana will be in the hands of big pharma, it
already is. We will not know how it’s grown, how it’s been manipulated,
and what’s been changed. It’s simply being used for profit, because at
the end of the day that’s what it’s all about in our current
infrastructure. We have a sick care industry, not a health care
industry.
A free, open and caring society, a
health care industry that truly cares about health could use multiple
natural substances to completely wipe out the need for any
pharmaceutical drug. There are massive amounts of foods, herbs and
plants that, if studied in full, could completely eliminate our
dependence on the corporation.
“The medical profession is being bought by the pharmaceutical industry, not only in terms of the practice of medicine, but also in terms of teaching and research. The academic institutions of this country are allowing themselves to be the paid agents of the pharmaceutical industry. I think it’s disgraceful.”
– Arnold Seymour Relman (1923-2014), Harvard professor of medicine and former Editor-in-Chief of The New England Medical Journal (source)
Important Thoughts To Consider About Cannabis
The other side of the coin is that heavy
cannabis use, although not lethal, can be dangerous and potentially
damaging to young brains that are not fully developed, and perhaps to
those who use it on a regular basis in ways we do not yet understand.
It’s not as harmful as alcohol abuse or
smoking cigarettes, but there is still a lot that we don’t know.
Legalization in Canada at least have led to the idea that it’s
completely safe and beneficial for everybody. This is also, most likely,
not true. We need to get past the idea that it’s something healthy for
everybody, and even healthy to smoke cannabis on a regular basis. But
when it comes to the medicinal aspects of cannabis, for several
diseases, there is a very serious discussion to be had here as it’s
again, already helping many people around the world with their cancer,
with their epilepsy, etc.
With many people losing trust in the
medical industry, it’s easy to see why they are turning to growing their
own cannabis, testing doses, and methods of delivery, etc. For some,
it’s a shot in the dark but worth a try.
We are not advocating that it’s healthy
to use cannabis recreationally and that it will not have any negative
effects, we are simply stating that it’s a head scratcher how such a
potent medical plant that clearly has multiple medical applications has
been ignored and prohibited from research and professionally treating
many diseases with it.
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