3. Tumor Research Withheld from the Public

    February 2000, a study in Madrid showed that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active chemical in marijuana, destroys tumors in lab rats. Back in 1974, a similar study of was done in Virginia done 1974, except the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) withheld the information. In 1983, the Reagan/Bush administration persuades the U.S. universities and researchers to destroy the research done in 1966 and 1976.

“The research was conducted by a medical team led by Dr. Manuel Guzman of Complutence University in Madrid. In the study, brains of 45 lab rats were injected with a cancer cell, which produced tumors. On the twelfth day of the experiment, 15 of the rats were injected with THC and 15 with Win-55, 212-2, a synthetic compound similar to THC. The untreated rats died 12-18 days after the development of the tumors. THC treated rats lived significantly longer than the control group. Although three were unaffected by the THC, nine lived 19-35 days, while tumors were completely eradicated in three others. The rats treated with Win-55,212-2 showed similar results”

Guzman’s research project, known as the “Antineoplastic Activity of Cannabinoids”, was officially terminated by the DEA. THC demonstrated it could possibly slow down the growth rate of lung cancers, breast cancers and virus-induced leukemia and prolonged the laboratory mice lives by at least 36 percent. Although there were a few articles in the Washington Post about this discovery, the government still shut down further research on this topic.  This type of research could have helped many lives who are diagnosed with cancer and a specific type of leukemia. For the government to withhold such information allows us, the people of the United States, to question what else the government is holding from us.