Cannabidiol – A new hope for breast cancer patients?

Cannabidiol (CBD) has been found to be a hopeful non-toxic alternative to chemotherapy to breast cancer patients. Tha California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute team has published their reports in Molecular Cancer Therapeutics.

They stressed the fact that CBD lacks the psychoactive properties of Cannabis and as such would not violate any Narcotics regulations. However they mention that the research should not be taken as a license to start smoking Marijuana. It is highly unlikely that one can get the amounts of CBD needed for the anti-cancer effect by smoking Cannabis.

CBD works by blocking the activity of the Id-1 gene that is responsible for the aggressive spread of advanced breast cancers, a process called as metastasis. CBD had shown hope in blocking the spread of aggressive human brain cancers. The alternative options for breast cancer patients with metastasis is chemotherapy which is extremely toxic and can lead to severe nausea, hair loss and infections. CBD can offer a non-toxic option but needs further research to confirm its benefits.