Pubdate: Fri, 19 Dec 2014
Source: Independent  (UK)
Copyright: 2014 Independent Newspapers (UK) Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.independent.co.uk/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/209
Author: Kate Hilpern
Page: 38

HIGH HOPES

Could Cannabis Oil Reverse the Effects of Cancer? As a Film Following 
Six Patients Receiving the Controversial Treatment Is Released, Kate 
Hilpern Uncovers a Very Slippery Issue

In the summer of 2012, George Wilkins, a documentary filmmaker,was in 
his friend's health food shop when a customer walked in, looking 
exceptionally ill. "He walked up to the counter and asked for hemp 
oil to help treat his lung cancer," explains the 29-year-old from Hull.

"When I quizzed him, it turned out he was muddling hemp oil with 
cannabis oil. Still, I thought, why would he want that? So when I got 
home, I started researching it and found some quite compelling 
scientific evidence about the huge benefits of cannabis oil for 
cancer patients. Meanwhile, the health of the guy who came into the 
shop improved significantly within just a month of taking it."

Wilkins, who runs a film production company, wasted no time in 
spotting an opportunity to make a documentary and, two-and-a-half 
years on, Project Storm has just launched on YouTube. Crowd-funded by 
supporters and following the stories of six UK cancer patients (two 
of whom are children) who are being treated using cannabis oil, the 
film is controversial, but is seen as big news by a fast-growing 
community that wants to promote this more integrated approach to oncology.

Cannabis oil, which requires an extra stage of preparation once the 
plant has been harvested, is basically made up of cannabinoids such 
as CBD and the psychoactive THC, the active chemicals found in the 
plant that cause the "high" sought by recreational users. Already 
forming the basic make-up of the pharmaceutical cannabis-based drug 
Sativex, which is used to treat MS, growing scientific research now 
suggests that cannabis oil may also possess anti-cancer properties 
that help stem the growth of malignant tumours. The creme-de-la-creme 
is seen as 1:1 oils, which contain equal amounts of THC and 
CBD,which, when combined, are more effective. CBD also has the added 
benefit of moderating the psychoactive effects of THC.

"I'm not claiming cannabis oil is a miracle," says Wilkins, who 
explains that the six patients that the documentary follows range 
from three to 75 years old and are being treated for various cancers 
including prostate, glioma (brain), bowel and GBM, a common childhood 
cancer. "Nor am I suggesting people should stop more conventional 
treatments for cancer. In fact, my whole aim with the film is to blow 
the hyperbole out of the water. After all, if you couple the fact 
that there are very polarised opinions on this issue with the fact 
that those who shout the loudest get their views heard on the 
internet, it means that cancer patients looking to make a genuinely 
informed choice can find it impossible. I wanted to try and fill that gap."

It is true that the film points out some of the limits of current 
research, as well as highlighting some of the potentially negative 
aspects of cannabis oil (side effects such as anxiety, for example, 
as well as the problems of scammers selling olive oil as cannabis 
oil). Moreover, the film does not hide the fact that the outcomes for 
the six patients are not all positive. But it would be a stretch to 
call the film objective, with Wilkins himself responding to the 
question, "Did you contact organisations such as Cancer Research UK?" 
with the answer, "Why would I want to do that?" Cancer Research UK, 
he explains, claims there isn't enough reliable evidence to prove 
whether cannabinoids can effectively treat cancer, whereas he'd like 
to see the drug legalised. Moreover, Wilkins chose YouTube over 
channels including the BBC "because the channels wanted to change the 
slant I took".

There was a second reason, he adds. "They didn't want me to focus so 
heavily on Jeff Ditchfield because of his past convictions. But Jeff 
is the pivotal person in the whole movement."

Indeed, having founded the organisation Bud Buddies in 2002 - which 
supplied cannabis to ill and disabled people free of charge - and now 
a regular lecturer on the medical properties of cannabis to the Royal 
College of GPs, Ditchfield is recognised as a hugely influential 
figure in the development of medicinal cannabis in Britain.

For five years, Ditchfield operated from a cannabis coffee shop in 
Rhyl, north Wales that, despite being under constant surveillance and 
subjected to six police raids, became a key part of the local 
community. But in 2007, he resettled in Spain, where Bud Buddies now 
receives support and sponsorship from companies within the cannabis 
industry, as well as raising funding from books and seed sales. "I 
chose Spain because unlike in the UK, supplying cannabis in Spain is 
only illegal if you profit in some way," says Ditchfield, who put 
Wilkins in touch with the six subjects of the documentary. "Spain has 
a far more open-minded attitude to research in medical cannabis."

Wilkins' endeavour cannot have been made easy by the fact that even 
some experts who have made headway with research refused to get 
involved in the film. Dr Wai Liu at St George's University in London, 
whose research suggests that cannabinoids possess anti-cancer 
properties that help to stem the growth of malignant tumours, told 
The Independent that he was among them.

"There is lots of evidence to suggest that cannabis might work with 
cancer patients, but as it stands there is still no firm proof on 
humans," he says. "I didn't want to be associated with a film where I 
couldn't be certain that this picture would be presented impartially."

Dr Emma Smith, a senior science information officer at Cancer 
Research UK, shares his concern. "I haven't actually seen the film, 
but following six patients in this way is purely anecdotal and those 
who survived might have done anyway without taking cannabis oil. I am 
also worried that the potential benefits of cannabis in cancer 
treatment are often presented in a misleading and overhyped way. 
Furthermore, cannabis is both illegal and could interfere with other 
treatments you are having. Finally, most of the research that has 
been done to date is on cancer cells grown in the lab or on mice."

This is not to say that cannabis has no future role, she says. "But 
as it stands, we still need proper trials to know for sure whether it 
has any effect and if so, for what types of cancer, at what dose and 
in conjunction with what other treatments."

These trials can't come soon enough, believes Peter McCormick, a 
lecturer in Cell Biology at the School of Pharmacy at the University 
of East Anglia, who earlier this year found that THC could help 
combat the growth of cancerous cells. "There are hundreds of reports 
out there and I do get concerned about them being written off as some 
anomaly or people trying to push recreational drugs into a legalised 
setting. The reality is that there are plenty of cases where 
cannabinoids do seem to be doing something and our study is further 
evidence that more research needs to be done."

As for Wilkins, he hopes that, at the very minimum, the film provides 
cancer patients with a fuller picture than they've had access to so 
far and that it acts as a catalyst in what everyone agrees is a much 
needed debate.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom