MarijuanausaA U.S. study found that the active ingredient in marijuana may turn out to be an excellent treatment for lung cancer.

Harvard researchers used lab and mouse studies to show that the compound, known as THC, cuts lung tumor growth in half and helps prevent the cancer from spreading. Researchers also demonstrated that THC inhibited the growth and spread of cells from two different lung cancer cell lines and from patient lung tumors.

They injected THC into mice that had been implanted with human lung cancer cells. After three weeks, tumors shrank by about 50%, compared with tumors in untreated mice, says Anju Preet, PhD, a Harvard University researcher in Boston who tested the chemical.

Preet notes that animals injected with THC seem to get “high,” showing signs of clumsiness and getting the munchies. “You would expect to see the same thing in humans, so if this work does pan out, getting the dose right is going to be all important,” she says.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

After the presentation, all of the researches got high. OK, not really, but maybe they did.

Note: Inhaling marijuana smoke is actually bad for your lungs. Only the controlled administration of the THC compound was shown to treat lung cancer in lab animals (not party animals).

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