CANNABINOIDS MAY FIGHT CANCER

In response to Gary Smith's March 18 letter, I am a recent leukemia
survivor. FDA approved cancer drugs that I was given, for me, caused
horrific and unbearable side effects. According to a 1998 JAMA
article, pharmaceutical side effects kill at least 106,000 Americans
per year.

The compounds under study in cannabis, such as THC, are called
"cannabinoids." Right now the world's pharmaceutical corporations are
investing millions researching cannabinoid drugs for their impressive
anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. All vertebrates possess
an internal marijuana system, called the endocannabinoid system, which
is now proven to regulate homeostasis for every organ system in the
entire body. Curious people should go to www.pubmed.gov, the U.S.
National Library of Medicine, and type "cannabinoids" and "cancer"
into the search engine. You will find over 600 recent references that
for the most part show not only the cancer-cell killing properties of
cannabis but also that it possesses important anti-metastatic
activity. Similar references can be found for autoimmune diseases and
virtually all age-related and inflammatory illnesses.

I strongly recommend all videos available on YouTube.com for a Dr.
Robert Melamede Ph.D., the Chairman of Biology at the University of
Colorado at Colorado Springs. Another good reference is U.S. Patent
#6,630,507 awarded to the U.S. government in 2003.

Russ Richter

Billings