A pair of scientists at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco has found that a compound derived from marijuana could stop metastasis in many kinds of aggressive cancer, potentially altering the fatality of the disease forever.

“It took us about 20 years of research to figure this out, but we are very excited,” said Pierre Desprez, one of the scientists behind the discovery, to The Huffington Post. “We want to get started with trials as soon as possible.”

The San Francisco Chronicle first reported on the finding, which has already undergone both laboratory and animal testing, and is awaiting permission for clinical trials in humans.

Desprez, a molecular biologist, spent decades studying ID-1, the gene that causes cancer to spread. Meanwhile, fellow researcher Sean McAllister was studying the effects of Cannabidiol, or CBD, a non-toxic, non-psychoactive chemical compound found in the cannabis plant. Finally, the pair collaborated, combining CBD and cells containing high levels of ID-1 in a petri dish.

“What we found was that his Cannabidiol could essentially ‘turn off’ the ID-1,” Desprez told HuffPost. The cells stopped spreading and returned to normal.

“We likely would not have found this on our own,” he added. “That’s why collaboration is so essential to scientific discovery.”

Desprez and McAllister first published a paper about the finding in 2007. Since then, their team has found that CBD works both in the lab and in animals. And now, they’ve found even more good news.

“We started by researching breast cancer,” said Desprez. “But now we’ve found that Cannabidiol works with many kinds of aggressive cancers–brain, prostate–any kind in which these high levels of ID-1 are present.”

Desprez hopes that clinical trials will begin immediately.

“We’ve found no toxicity in the animals we’ve tested, and Cannabidiol is already used in humans for a variety of other ailments,” he said. Indeed, the compound is used to relieve anxiety and nausea, and, since it is non-psychoactive, does not cause the “high” associated with THC.

While marijuana advocates will surely praise the discovery, Desprez explained that it’s not so easy as just lighting up.

“We used injections in the animal testing and are also testing pills,” he said. “But you could never get enough Cannabidiol for it to be effective just from smoking.”

Furthermore, the team has started synthesizing the compound in the lab instead of using the plant in an effort to make it more potent.

“It’s a common practice,” explained Desprez. “But hopefully it will also keep us clear of any obstacles while seeking approval.”

UPDATE:

Cannabis extract medicine, also known as “hemp oil” when referring to the type pioneered by Rick Simpson, is a concentrated formulation of cannabis that is ingested orally. By eating large quantities of the oil over a three to six month period, nearly any disease you can imagine can either be cured or completely controlled. This is possible because cannabis medicine works fundamentally through the endocannabinoid system, the superregulatory system of our bodies that maintains homeostasis in the other systems.

You can see the reality of cannabis medicine’s effectiveness in all the things that smoking it is good for. It is widely known and observable that people with cancer, chronic pain, inflammatory conditions, and other conditions smoke cannabis with remarkable efficacy. When you think about that, it’s pretty crazy that setting something on fire and inhaling the resulting smoke (thus getting the cannabinoids in a low-concentration form through the lungs, which are not meant to ingest things) works better than many expensive pharmaceuticals. But with cannabis extract oil, there are two primary differences. First, the cannabinoids are much more concentrated than with smoking, so it has a more powerful effect on your system. Second, the oil is ingested, not smoked, meaning it is digested through the system that is meant to absorb nutrients. Essentially, you are feeding your body the pure molecules that enable it to stay balanced, and since all disease is an imbalance of some kind, this medicine is effective against nearly anything. At least, that’s what the bulk of science and real experience show.

Scientific Evidence

There are literally hundreds upon hundreds of scientific studies showing that cannabinoids like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), as well as whole plant formulations, are effective against nearly any disease you can think of. Click here to see an incredibly extensive list of peer-reviewed scientific studies and news reports about cannabis medicine. Here are just a few conditions that science has proven cannabinoids are therapeutically active against Arthritis, Cancer, Crohn’s, Diabetes, Fibromyalgia, Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and Much More!!!