London, UK; 11 November 2013: GW Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: GWPH, AIM: GWP, “GW”) a biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing novel therapeutics from its proprietary cannabinoid product platform, announced today it has commenced a Phase 1b/2a clinical trial for the treatment of Recurrent Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM). Glioma describes any tumor that arises from the glial tissue of the brain. GBM is a particularly aggressive tumor that forms from abnormal growth of glial tissue. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, GBM accounts for approximately 50% of the 22,500 new cases of brain cancer diagnosed in the United…
Author: WebTeam
A new randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, and conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan, Harvard Medical School and the University of Illinois, have found promising evidence to suggest that cannabis can treat the primary symptoms associated with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). “This study provides the first evidence that pre-extinction administration of THC modulates prefrontal–limbic circuits during fear extinction in humans and prompts future investigation to test if cannabinoid agonists can rescue or correct the impaired behavioral and neural function during extinction recall in patients with PTSD”, says Dr. Christine A.…
A new study published by the National Institute of Health, which is the most comprehensive of its kind, has found that natural, herbal cannabis is a more effective medicine than pharmaceutical medicines based, or derived from cannabis and cannabinoids. “Cannabinoids, including tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, are the most important active constituents of the cannabis plant”, states the study’s abstract; “Over recent years, cannabinoid-based medicines (CBMs) have become increasingly available to patients in many countries, both as pharmaceutical products and as herbal cannabis (marijuana). While there seems to be a demand for multiple cannabinoid-based therapeutic products, specifically for symptomatic amelioration in chronic…
A new study published in the Journal of Neurology has found that activation of the body’s CB2 receptors has the potential to treat bladder pain and inflammation, and can increase bladder urinary frequency. For the study, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison used mouse models to examine whether or not activation of CB2 receptors (something which cannabis does naturally) can treat serious bladder issues; the results were quite clear that it does. “Treatment with a selective CB2 agonist reduced severity of established acrolein-induced cystitis and inhibited bladder inflammation-associated increased referred mechanical sensitivity and increased bladder urinary frequency”, states the study’s…
A new placebo-controlled study published in last month’s issue of the journal Addictive Behaviors has found that cannabidiol – a cannabis compound – can significantly reduce the number of cigarettes consumed by those wishing to quit. For the study, participants were given cannabidiol (CBD) through an inhaler – the CBD was derived entirely from the actual cannabis plant. Partipants were seperated into two groups, one which received the inhaler containing CBD, and one which contained a placebo. Researchers found that those in the placebo group showed no difference in the amount that they smoked. However, those in the CBD group…
Perhaps no war has failed quite as spectacularly as the ‘War on Drugs’. Trillions have been spent around the world, millions arrested, and yet drugs have never been cheaper and more accessible than they are now. Is prohibition still a valid strategy for dealing with cannabis, one of the world’s favourite illicit pleasures? Can decriminalisation of Mary Jane help end austerity? To hash over these issues, Oksana is joined by Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, an Irish MP and cannabis legalisation advocate.
Irish Politician Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan’s Speech in the Dail – Motion re Cannabis Regulation Bill 2013.
A new study published this week by the U.S. National Institute of Health, as well as the British Journal of Pharmacology, has found that activation of the brain’s cannabinoid receptors – something which cannabis does naturally – provides neuroprotective effects that can reverse impaired neurogenesis caused by HIV-related dementia. According to researchers; “HIV-1 glycoprotein Gp120 induces apoptosis in rodent and human neurons in vitro and in vivo. HIV-1/Gp120 is involved in the pathogenesis of HIV-associated dementia (HAD) and inhibits proliferation of adult neural progenitor cells (NPCs) in GFAP/Gp120 transgenic (Tg) mice.” They state that; “Since cannabinoids exert neuroprotective effects in…
Baltimore, MD: The psychoactive cannabinoid THC may be present in the breath of subjects who recently inhaled marijuana, according to clinical trial data published online in the journal Clinical Chemistry. Investigators at the National Institutes of Health in Baltimore, Maryland and the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden analyzed the exhaled breath of occasional and habitual marijuana consumers shortly after subjects inhaled a standardized cannabis cigarette of 6.8 percent THC. Researchers sought to identify whether THC, its primary metabolite THC-COOH, or cannabinol (CBN), a non-psychoactive cannabinoid, were present in breath at detectable levels following smoking. Researchers reported identifying the presence…
A new study published this week by the National Institute of Health has found that cannabinoids can prevent the effects of stress-induced depression. For the study – which was conducted at the University of Haifa – researchers used animal models to examine if activation of the body’s cannabinoid receptors (something which cannabis does naturally) can “ameliorate the effects of CMS [chronic mild stress] on emotional learning (ie, conditioned avoidance and extinction), long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampal-accumbens pathway and depression-like symptoms (ie, coping with stress behavior, anhedonia and weight changes).” Researchers found that cannabinoid receptor activation “prevented the CMS-induced alterations…
