The largest study ever conducted on the medical use of cannabis to treat and manage cancer was published.
Researchers at the USA’s Whole Health Oncology Institute (WHOI) and Chopra Foundation conducted a metaanalysis on thousands of medical cannabis studies to see if they could reach a consensus about its therapeutic potential and safety profile as well as role in treating cancer. More than 10,000 peer-reviewed papers were used in the exercise, along with sentiment analysis.
The study found that medical marijuana is effective in treating cancer, improving health, and reducing cancer-related symptoms.
“The aggregated correlation strength of cannabis across all cancer topics indicates that support for medical cannabis is 31.38× stronger than opposition to it.”
In addition to the benefits of treatment and addressing side effects such as chemotherapy or conventional therapies, an interesting observation is that cannabis’ anti-carcinogenic potency was well supported, suggesting there may be a consensus. The researchers noted, however, that certain topics like remission had weaker or less clear associations.
The overall picture, however, is a good one.
The researchers state, “The consistency of correlations strengthens cannabis’s potential as an adjunct to palliative care and as anticarcinogenic agents redefine the consensus on cannabis as medical intervention.”
It is clear that the findings contradict the belief that medical marijuana has no recognized medical uses. This was one of its criteria for being classified as Schedule I in the USA, along with heroin, LSD and MDMA.
One of the limitations that the study admitted was its use of sentiment analyses, which inevitably include inaccuracies. This study relied also on machine-learning.
Whole Health Oncology Institute defines itself as a credible organisation that offers comprehensive information regarding the integration of treatments for cancer, such as medicinal cannabis. Chopra Foundation conducts scientific research on the impact of mind-body practices and health on wellbeing.
The research, entitled “Metaanalysis of Medical Cannabis Outcomes and Associations with Cancer” has been published Frontiers in Oncology is a journal that publishes research on cancer.
Trivia: This study points out that the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung recommended medical cannabis in his pharmacopeia as early as 2737 BC for various ailments such rheumatisms, gout and malaria.