Through reports and anecdotal evidence, cannabis has been touted to offer benefits to those dealing with cancer, and to alleviate the side effects of cancer treatment. The reduction of anxiety, nausea, pain, and loss of appetite make cannabis a seeming wonder drug that many caregivers will attest to all day long. A sizable and growing community swears that the topical and ingested use of RSO (Rick Simpson Oil) and FECO/FSCO (full spectrum cannabis oil/full extract cannabis oil) can also treat and even cure cancer. But with the restrictions on cannabis research here in America, studies supporting these claims can be scarce.

But a new study has added some support to the idea that cannabis may actually kill cancer.

Marijuana Moment shares this welcome news in a piece looking at a new study performed by researchers at India's Amity University, and published in the Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics.

The study concludes that in addition to the benefits cannabis provides in relieving some of the effects of cancer (“THC and CBD exhibit effective analgesic, anxiolytic, and appetite-stimulating effect on patients suffering from cancer” researchers wrote), it also can have an impact on the cancer itself. One clinical study showed that "patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme who were treated with a “proprietary combination of THC and CBD” in addition to a traditional pharmaceutical had a higher one-year survival rate (83 percent) compared to a placebo group (53 percent)," writes Marijuana Moment.

Studies on blood and prostate cancers also showed the slowing and death of cancer cells when treated with cannabis. Researchers observed that it's not just THC, but CBD, even in a synthetic form, doing the heavy lifting. Other studies reviewed by the authors showed benefits of using cannabis for certain forms of lung and breast cancers.

They concluded that there needs to be more investigation, but that "because the activation of CB1 and CBD2 cannabinoid receptors 'tends to limit human cancer cell growth,' there may be a 'role of the endocannabinoid system as a novel target for treatment of cancers' and '[f]urther explorations are required to exploit cannabinoids for an effective cancer management.'"

Read more about the study at Marijuana Moment.