In 1982 I was a nurse on the inpatient cancer floor at Oregon Health Sciences University (OHSU). In that role I administered chemotherapy, blood transfusions and supported cancer patients dealing with the side effects of chemotherapy such as nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, tiredness, hair loss etc.
Along with the many drugs available for mitigating nausea and appetite loss we also had smokable marijuana “joints'' alongside pain killers in the locked narcotics drawer. In 1982 OHSU was one of the first research centers investigating the benefits of marijuana for managing nausea and appetite loss in cancer patients receiving chemotherapy. For those who smoked marijuana it seemed to help and was tolerated better than the synthetic cannabis pharma drug Marinol, one of the pharma drugs offered for chemo induced nausea and vomiting.
Fast forward to 2021, I’m retired for many years and in my friend’s kitchen making cannabis suppositories to support their chemo and radiation therapy treatments for an aggressive brain cancer.
Recent research clearly supports the benefits of cannabis in mitigating the side effects of chemotherapy. Early clinical trials have demonstrated that specific cultivars of cannabis with 1:1 ratio of highly concentrated THC and CBD and other cannabis compounds can inhibit the proliferation of various types of cancerous cells. Encouraging research is coming from Dr. Dedi Meiri an Israeli medical cannabis researcher who has begun identifying specific cannabis strains that kill specific types of cancer.
While the only option available in 1982 was smokable cannabis, we now have cannabis drinks, tinctures, edibles, extended-release patches applied to the skin and suppositories infused with full extract cannabis oils of highly concentrated cannabis that provide systemic or targeted actions.
A growing number of oncologists have found that the addition of adjunctive cannabis therapies caused no harm, had few side effects, and did not interfere with conventional treatments. Additionally, it seemed to improve the quality of life of their patients.
Many cancer patients try a variety of cannabis products and routes of administration: inhaled, oral, sublingual tinctures, transdermal skin patches and rectal to achieve control of chemo side effects, improved quality of life in some cases as an adjunctive approach to extended overall survival.
While some people enjoy some of the intoxicating effects of medical cannabis others want to avoid the intoxicating head high of smoking or oral intake.
Suppositories may offer an alternative. They are absorbed at about the same rate as oral intake, last 3-4 hours and more than smoking which is around 15-20 percent absorption. Cannabis suppositories allow for larger doses of cannabis medicine without the psycho activity experienced with smoking or ingesting orally.
This is because the upper part of the rectum relates to the portal system (the liver), whereas the lower part is directly connected with the systemic circulation and bypasses the liver. When taken orally the liver metabolizes cannabis changing it into the psychoactive metabolite. Rectal administration in the lower rectum thereby bypasses the liver and the head high is avoided. For serious conditions, rectal delivery of cannabis, provides the greatest amount of plant medicine delivered with zero head high.
Several different ingredients can be used to form the base of a suppository: cocoa butter, coconut butter and glycerinated gelatin are commonly used.
If you want to hear more and ask questions about the various uses of medical cannabis and cancer, please attend our monthly free talk on medical cannabis
How Cancer Patients are Using Medical Cannabis
Presented by Cannabis Patients PNW co-founder David Benedicktus
Nurse Educator
October 27th 6-7:30 PM via Zoom
Please join us to review the studies showing how cannabis helps mitigate the side effects of chemotherapy, improves quality of life and the emerging science on its anti-cancer activity inhibiting the growth of various types of cancer.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84240398945?pwd=ckpibmJ2dERBQmdTN3Fk eDV5dFI4dz09
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