By: Sarah Brooks
May 16, 2019
Forward-thinking countries have recognized the healing benefits of cannabis. The most recent legislation of medicinal and recreational marijuana legalization was in Canada in October 2018.
The approved operation of retail stores this year in one of the biggest cities in the country, Ontario, has proven that a lot are in favor of this high-caliber plant. Consumers are no longer limited in purchasing from mail-order marijuana delivery services such as Get Kush dispensary.
On top of this, manufacturers have also been pushing this advocacy at a maximum. Other derivatives of cannabis plants such as cannabis oil are making waves in the health care industry. The efficient ability of cannabis oil in mitigating several health issues such as epilepsy, chronic pain, inflammation, anxiety, diabetes, neurological disorders, and even cancer will never go unnoticed.
Is Cannabis Oil Legal?
According to the Controlled Substances Act, all derivatives of cannabis with zero to less than 0.3 percent THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) are considered legal. Cannabis plants may vary in THC and CBD content. So depending on the plant source, cannabis oils which have zero to less than 0.3 percent are acceptable.
The potency of cannabis oil will vary on the source and extraction method as well. Some extraction methods are isolates extraction, alcohol extraction, or CO2 extraction. Extracting from a whole cannabis plant which has a CBD-dominant content is said to have the highest yield of cannabinoids.
When getting the higher end of the spectrum from extraction, this highly-potent cannabis oil can interact with the body?s endocannabinoid system. The endocannabinoid system has everything to do with the regulation of different body functions including mood, behavior, appetite, pain, sleep, energy, and more. In addition, the endocannabinoid system is also responsible for cell growth and apoptosis.
And since cancer is due to the abnormal proliferation and mutation of cells, the medicinal cannabinoids in cannabis oil is known to help kill abnormal cancer cells especially in the early stages of cancer.
How CBD Oil Helps in Apoptosis
Apoptosis is a natural process in the body where the cells are destroyed as part of a particular organism?s growth. As mentioned, cancer cells grow as an abnormal process in the body because they no longer acknowledge the body?s signals that encourage or destroy cell growth.
As these cells grow and divide, they become more uncontrollable. And since they no longer respond to apoptosis, they tend to expedite cell proliferation and ignore the other signals from ?normal cells.? That is why the endocannabinoid system is an extremely important system in the body because it also helps in modulating cell growth and death.
As cancer cells reproduce faster than the endocannabinoid system can handle, the cancer cells invade through the normal tissues and spread throughout the body. This process is called metastasis.
The endocannabinoid system has two primary receptors. One is the CB1 receptors which are mostly found in the brain, and the other one is the CB2 receptors which are primarily found in the immune system.
THC is the active compound in cannabis that binds to the CB1 receptors and is responsible for mood, behavior, and other cerebral functions. On the other hand, CBD latches onto the CB2 receptors and tells these receptors if there are ?invaders? that are detrimental to the body.
The apoptotic process by these receptors is achieved through the de novo synthesis of ceramide and sphingolipid that promote cell destruction.
Once they bind together, the receptor activation can then help the endocannabinoid system in signaling an antitumorigenic warning. Which means, it impairs cancer development through inhibiting reproduction, metastasis, and tumor angiogenesis.
Conclusion
Although further studies have yet to be reviewed to prove these claims, the cannabinoids in cannabis oil have undeniably helped cancer patients one way or another. Chemotherapy patients have also turned to cannabis oil for alleviating their post-chemo side effects such as nausea, vomiting, fatigue, inflammation, neuropathic pain, immune suppression, and loss of appetite.
