You’ve probably heard claims about how cannabis and various cannabinoids found in the cannabis plan may have anti-cancer properties. These anecdotal reports from people and suggestions range from cannabinoids being helpful with some of the side effects of cancer. Of course, not all of these claims are researched, supported by the medical community or FDA and not backed by science, and most of the people that are passing around these claims are either playing a game of telephone tag with real scientific studies or are just repeating what they heard their friends or family tell them. Let’s take a look at what the actual scientific studies have said about this, and you can determine for yourself what the results may mean. One thing is for sure, there is a lot more research and study that needs to go into further exploring this.  Additionally, the FDA and the medical community will need to weigh in and make some final decisions about how this all plays out. Until then, all of this is a perspective based on some studies and anecdotal evidence. As always, if you feel this is something you want to consider, we always recommend you consult with your healthcare practitioner.

Scientific Studies About CBD and Cancer

It’s fascinatingly complicated and would be difficult to explain the intricacies concisely, but to put it in the simplest and shortest way possible, there are a plethora of different things that can happen within your body that may cause cancer. You’re probably already aware that there are many different types of cancer that can affect your body in a lot of different ways. 

Something that is heavily associated with cancer is tumors, and there have been a few studies that might just point to CBD possibly having some anti-proliferative properties that may potentially lead to the tumor becoming a lot smaller based on studies but not yet regulated or approved. In fact, some studies might even suggest that CBD has properties that may cause tumors to go into regression while still existing within the patient that needs validation from the medical community.

At this time there isn’t enough evidence for the FDA to support these kinds of claims, so it might be a little while before we find out for sure. At the time of writing, the FDA has only approved one very specific CBD-based medication for seizures. This medication contains highly purified CBD and isn’t the same thing as what you would buy at the store or online. That really just means that the FDA is still investigating other types of claims for the potential positive effects of CBD.  And, by no means are we suggesting that CBD can or may cure cancer but with its many natural healing properties, it may be something on the horizon that, after extensive research, could be considered.

Studies on CBN and Cancer

While CBN might not be quite as popular as CBD, it was actually the first cannabinoid to be isolated from the cannabis plant. It was isolated at the end of the 19th century and was among the first three cannabinoids to be researched, the three being CBD, CBN, and THC. While it is among the earliest cannabinoids that were studied, there’s actually not quite as much information available about CBN.

As of recently, a majority of the studies performed on cannabinoids and cannabis itself have been to figure out once and for all if it actually has the hypothesized and possibly claimed anti-cancer properties that some scientists think it might. CBN is a weak antagonist for your cannabinoid receptors, so hopes for its possible anti-cancer properties aren’t as high as they are with CBD.

That being said, there have been some promising studies done about the effects of CBN combined with other cannabinoids, such as Delta-9 THC and Delta-8 THC. In particular, they found that it could slow the growth of brain tumors in mice after 20 consecutive days of treatment. Unfortunately, without enough human trials, it’s unclear if that effect could translate to humans, but many scientists are very hopeful and are looking forward to the day that they can do more human trials. 

Studies on CBG and Cancer

The last cannabinoid that we’ll be looking at today is CBG. This cannabinoid was discovered in 1964, so it’s definitely among the more recently discovered. Fortunately for us, there have still been plenty of studies on CBG and its possible effects on cancer. Unfortunately, much like CBN and CBD, there haven’t been enough human trials to say for sure how it may affect cancer in humans.

One of the things that scientists are most interested in with CBG is its possible potential to slow a certain and very aggressive type of brain cancer called Glioblastoma. Patients that are diagnosed with this type of brain cancer usually have about 16 months to live, and that number hasn’t changed much over the years. Some reports have claimed that CBG may stop some of the hallmark progressions of other forms of brain cancer. There has been some very promising research on this, including a couple of human trials, but unfortunately, there hasn’t been enough research in humans to say for sure if it is a viable solution. And, until further insight and approval from the FDA and the medical community is done, this is not something that is approved and any support or help it provides is purely anecdotal.

What You Can Take Away From This Article

Scientists are working day and night to find out if cannabinoids might have the anti-cancer effects that they hope that they do, but these things take time. Without the proper human trials, it’s hard to say for sure if it’s something that will work for everyone and in the long term. At the moment, most of the data that we have is spotty at best and done with tests on mice and such. The scientific world is very excited to continue this research, but studies like this can take months or even years to do. In the meantime, all we can do is wait with bated breath to find out what the professionals discover after they do a lot more rigorous testing on the subject.