Pubdate: Fri, 03 Apr 2009
Source: West Australian (Australia)
Copyright: 2009 West Australian Newspapers Limited
Contact: http://drugsense.org/url/NDVd3p30lJ
Website: http://www.thewest.com.au
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/495
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mmj.htm (Cannabis - Medicinal)
Cited: Spanish study http://www.jci.org/articles/view/37948

MARIJUANA CURE FOR CANCER?

(AFP) The main chemical in marijuana appears to aid in the 
destruction of brain cancer cells, offering hope for future 
anti-cancer therapies, researchers in Spain wrote in a study.

The authors from the Complutense University in Madrid, working with 
scientists from other universities, found that the active component 
of marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), causes cancer cells to 
undergo a process called autophagy - the breakdown that occurs when 
the cell essentially self-digests.

The research, which appears in the April edition of US-published 
Journal of Clinical Investigation, demonstrates that THC and related 
"cannabinoids" appear to be "a new family of potential antitumoral agent."

The authors wrote that the chemical may prove useful in the 
development of future "antitumoral agents."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom