Cristina S\u00e1nchez has spent over ten years researching the therapeutic potential of cannabis. However, this biologist from the Complutense University of Madrid and member of the Spanish Observatory of Medicinal Cannabis has encountered a major obstacle: the reluctance of the medical community and the inconsistency of politicians. S\u00e1nchez will participate this weekend in Ir\u00fan (Gipuzkoa), at Expogrow, one of the major events on the cannabis culture calendar, where she will discuss how information generated in laboratories about the therapeutic potential of cannabis is translated into clinical trials and the need to make the leap to clinical research, that is, trials with human subjects.<\/p>\n
Does cannabis have therapeutic potential?<\/strong><\/p>\n Absolutely. It has great potential. We work in cancer research, and what we've found is that certain compounds in the plant produce antitumor effects. It's important to note that we haven't conducted human trials, but we have tested it on animals and seen that it works. We were studying the effect of marijuana cannabinoids on the energy metabolism of cells, and we chose to use tumor cells because they grow uncontrollably. When we started the trials, these cells began to die. These compounds were killing the tumor cells. It's a kind of programmed suicide of the cancer cells. There are now two human trials underway: one in the UK and one in Israel.<\/p>\n Currently, in Spain, cancer patients can benefit from cannabis for other purposes.<\/strong><\/p>\n It works very well as a palliative, combating the side effects of chemotherapy, such as nausea and vomiting. It also works quite well as an appetite stimulant, which helps patients undergoing therapies that negatively impact their quality of life. Cannabinoids also have an analgesic effect, are anxiolytic, and aid sleep. In other words, cancer patients can benefit from cannabis to combat the side effects of their treatments, but we cannot say it is antitumor because this has not been demonstrated in humans.<\/p>\n Listening to him, the bad reputation that cannabis has seems unfair. What is being done in other countries?<\/strong><\/p>\n In preclinical research, just before human trials, Spain is a world leader. However, we lag far behind in the transition to clinical trials. We are also behind in patient access to cannabis as medicine. In the United States, half the country already has it regulated; in South America, more and more countries are regulating the therapeutic use of cannabis\u2026 In Spain, we are waiting for someone to decide to regulate it. But politicians don't even have it in their platforms. And it's urgent. The world is full of examples; all we have to do is see what works and incorporate it in Spain. The idea is to convey to all stakeholders that patients are already using cannabis for therapeutic purposes, and this needs to be regulated because the products they have access to are not controlled; we don't know their quality.<\/p>\n Currently, those patients are using an illegal drug.<\/strong><\/p>\n That's right. The problem is compounded by the fact that some people who are not in good physical condition are consuming cannabis, and it's especially concerning that the products they're using are not of good quality.<\/p>\n Psychiatrists emphasize how harmful cannabis use is for minors and patients with psychiatric conditions.
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\nAt one time, marijuana was included on lists of substances that had no therapeutic benefit and, instead, a high potential for addiction. As a result, research on it ceased, and it disappeared from the medical field.<\/p>\n
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\nThese are two groups that require careful attention because cannabinoids affect the development of the central nervous system. That said, there is a group that uses cannabis and is paving the way for its legalization in many countries: families of children with refractory epilepsy (which does not respond to conventional treatments). There have been very positive results.<\/p>\n