SETH scientists discovered that THC, the major active compound in medical marijuana, can selectively kill human brain tumor cells in Petri dishes at non-toxic concentrations (see Featured Experiment).
The work has been published in the peer-reviewed medical journal, The Journal of Neuro-Oncology (2005), volume 74, pages 31-40. A synthetic compound that mimics the activity of THC did not perform as well as the herbal compound in parallel tests.
Parallel experiments were performed testing the effect of Δ9-THC on human brain cancer cells (glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM) and also on normal brain cells. Putting this herbal compound through the same tests that a new chemotherapeutic agent would go through revealed a potent and remarkably specific anti-cancer effect. Both types of cells were treated with the same concentration of Δ9-THC but after 20 hours only the cancer cells died. Cell death is seen in the lower right panel as cells shrinking to inanimate white spheres.
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See also: Curing Cancer with Hemp, the Do It Yourself Guide
