After years of denial, the National Institute of Drug Abuse has finally admitted that marijuana does kill certain cancer cells – including those cells in brain tumors. Marijuana has also been found to reduce the size of other tumors, which is not completely possible with cancer chemotherapy/radiation therapies.

The possibility of marijuana-based anticancer treatment has been around since the mid-1970s, which was coined by a study that reported potential antitumor (Lewis lung adenocarcinoma) properties of marijuana components such as cannabinol, delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta9-THC), and delta8-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta8-THC).

Invivo and invitro tumor model studies have shown that cannabinoids cause tumor shrinkage by arresting the cell cycle, preventing cell survival mechanisms, and activating programmed cell death (apoptosis) in the tumor cells. These actions are elicited by influencing vital cell-signaling pathways, including proapoptotic pathways, in addition to hormone and growth-factor receptor modulation.

One notable study has reported some important anti-tumorigenic mechanisms of cannabinoids – such as inhibition of cell migration,...