A non-toxic, non-psychoactive compound in marijuana may block the progress of metastatic breast cancer, according to a new study by researchers in California."This is a new way to treat a patient that is not toxic like chemotherapy or radiotherapy. It is a new approach for metastatic cancer," said lead researcher Sean D. McAllister, an associate scientist at the California Pacific Medical Center Research Institute in San Francisco.The compound found in cannabis, called cannabidiol (CBD), inhibits a gene, Id-1, that researchers believe is responsible for the metastatic process that spreads cells from the original tumor throughout the body.

Opting for a musical metaphor, senior researcher Pierre-Yves Desprez likened Id-1 to "an [orchestra] conductor. In this case, you shoot the conductor, and the whole orchestra is going to stop. If you shoot the violinist, the orchestra just continues to play."

In humans, the Id-1 gene is found only in metastatic cancer cells, said Desprez, a staff scientist at the institute. Before birth, they are present and involved in the development of human embryos, but after birth, they go silent -- and should stay that way, he said.

But in metastatic cancer "when [the genes] wake up, they are very bad," he said. "They push the cells to behave like embryonic cells and grow. They go crazy, they proliferate, they migrate." Desprez said, "We need to be able to turn them off."

More evidence that Cannabis is the wonder plant.

Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was confronted head-on Saturday over the issue of medical marijuana. At a campaign stop in Dover, New Hampshire, Romney was asked about medical marijuana by wheel chair bound Clayton Holton, who has muscular dystrophy.

"I have the support of five of my doctors saying I am living proof that medical marijuana works. I am completely against legalizing it for everyone but there is medical proof that medical marijuana works" Holton told Romney.

Romney suggested he use synthetic marijuana instead, but Holton said, "It makes me sick. I have tried it and it makes me throw up."

He then asked, "Will you arrest me and my doctors if I get medical marijuana?"

"I'm not in favor of medical marijuana being legal," Romney told Holton curtly, then deliberately turned his back on him to say "Hi, how are you" to other members of the audience.

]]> http://www.cannabisjunction.com/mitt-romney-confronted-about-medical-marijuana/feed/ 0 http://www.cannabisjunction.com/mri-bong/ http://www.cannabisjunction.com/mri-bong/#comments Fri, 05 Oct 2007 09:46:37 +0000 Cannabis Junction http://www.cannabisjunction.com/mri-bong/

Scientists at Harvard Medical School recently built a device designed to allow you to smoke weed inside an MRI scanner. The Device allows researchers to observe activity in the brain, and doing so while smoking tobacco or pot could enhance our understanding of addiction and how to treat it.

Blaise Frederick constructed a makeshift water pipe inside of a picnic cooler, then ran 2.4 meters of tubing to a plastic facemask that rests inside of the scanner. Since the mask is made from materials that are not magnetic, it will not interfere with the imaging.

His colleagues have tested the device on 9 volunteers at McLean Hospital. Frederick and his team will receive a grant to conduct further studies with marijuana..

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