Scientists believe that the cannabinoids in Sativex can actually defeat brain cancer

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Sativex has played a significant role in marijuana history. It is the first cannabis-derived medicine to be legalized in many countries around the world, including the UK, Spain, USA, Canada and New Zealand.

However, the benefits of the drug could be about to expand. The UK health authority and cancer charities have announced they will start a study to see if Sativex can help slow the progression of brain cancer.

A non-profit organization called the Brain Tumor Charity is hoping to fund the three-year study of 232 people with glioblastoma, which is believed to affect 2,200 people in England each year. This money depends on the organization getting approval for a grant of £ 450,000. That is how much money it will cost to go through with the project. The study is coordinated by Cancer Research UK.

If everything goes according to plan, patients will be given Sativex and the chemotherapy drug temozolomide, temozolomide alone, or a placebo.

The plan follows a phase 1 study examining the interaction of temozolomide and Sativex in 27 cancer patients. These results were encouraging enough to continue testing, although study participants reported side effects such as nausea, fatigue, and dizziness.

Sativex (sold as Nabiximol or Epidiolex in the US) is made by British company GW Pharmaceuticals, which received full federal approval for the drug to treat multiple sclerosis in its home country back in 2010. In 2018, the oral aerosol spray containing CBD and Delta-9-THC became the first FDA-approved drug made from marijuana. The US agency has approved the drug to combat epileptic diseases of Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndrome.

“It’s not just street cannabis in a bottle,” Justin Gover, CEO of GW Pharmaceutical, once told the Guardian. In fact, much of the company’s success in bringing the drug to overseas markets has convinced health authorities. Should the upcoming study prove it? that the drug is effective in treating the particularly aggressive type of cancer, its spread will only increase: in Spain, for example, the drug is already covered by public health insurance.

“We believe that Sativex can kill glioblastoma tumor cells and that it can be particularly effective when given with temozolomide chemotherapy Professor of Clinical Oncology and Neuro-Oncology at Leeds University.

Whatever happens, it’s exciting to see more and more scientific research into the medicinal uses of cannabis. For years, such studies were largely blocked by government agencies bound by bans.

As further positive news on this front, the DEA announced earlier this year that more US companies are likely to be supplying scientists with cannabis for scientific research. Before – and since 1968 – care was only allowed from a state-sanctioned facility at the University of Mississippi. And the grass was (and still is) terrible! So it is expected that this move will lead to a boom in our understanding of cannabis.

In England, scientists hope that Sativex could play an important role in improving the quality of life for cancer patients. “We hope that this study could pave the way for a long-awaited new lifeline that could give glioblastoma patients valuable extra months to live and remember with loved ones,” said Dr. David Jenkinson from the Brain Tumor Charity.