How medical cannabis can negatively affect patients' health
It makes sense to refract the information published in this article to the concept promoted by the profile association of national hemp growers, according to which the state, at the level of the current regulatory framework, should regulate the right of the consumer/patient to independently grow varieties of technical hemp of a therapeutic orientation for further use of the healing/healing properties of the plant .
Hemp has unique phytoremediation properties and is considered one of the best natural cleaners for soil, air, water, etc. The plant is able to “pull out” heavy metals, toxins, and other elements dangerous to the human body from various environments. However, the ability to absorb toxic substances, used in a significant number of cases for industrial cleaning of the soil (national developments obtained during the liquidation of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the Italian programs “GREEN” and “BIO SP.HE.RE”, “ Experience in the phytoremediation use of hemp in South Africa ” ) can be extremely dangerous from the point of view of patients or consumers using the therapeutic properties of the plant.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania are studying the ability of hemp plants to absorb substances dangerous to the human body (primarily heavy metals), as well as their impact on the health of consumers / patients. According to Louis Bengiella, assistant professor of plant science at the University of Pennsylvania, “Heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and chromium are known to be carcinogenic. Their content in medical cannabis is not regulated; consequently, patients are regularly exposed to these toxic metals. This is bad news for anyone using medical cannabis, however it is especially problematic for cancer patients who use the plant's therapeutic properties to treat the nausea and pain associated with their treatment."
Mr. Bengiella and his colleagues analyzed studies of hemp contamination with heavy metals. In particular, they studied the available information on the use of the plant in various phytoremediation projects, found out the fate of the hemp raw materials obtained within the framework of the above projects, and also determined the negative impact of various carcinogenic substances found in hemp on the human body.
The research team found that hemp has traditionally been used for phytoremediation due to the plant's unique physical characteristics, which include long stem, fast growth, large root and leaf surface area, high photosynthetic activity, and dependence on relatively few nutrients for survival, which contributes to the absorption of heavy metals by the plant. In addition, it has been found that lead, cadmium and chromium can be carried and spread through the stem into the leaves and flowers of the plant. These heavy metals then accumulate and leave the plant through trichomes, which are hair-like structures found on flowers.
American scientists have studied the documented effects of heavy metals contained in hemp on human health. They found that plant contamination with heavy metals can cause various health problems due to the fact that they are rarely metabolized and therefore accumulate in certain areas of the human body. The most common mechanism for heavy metal toxicity in the human body is the production of reactive oxygen species and free radicals, which can damage enzymes, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids, as well as cause cancer and neurological problems.
"Smoking cannabis poses the greatest risk to human health, as analysis of heavy metals in the smoke of the plant shows the presence of selenium, mercury, cadmium, lead, chromium, nickel and arsenic," says Mr. Bengiella. “It is very disturbing to realize that hemp products used by patients, especially cancer patients, can cause harm to their bodies.”
The authors of the published research findings conclude that the use of advanced agricultural practices, such as the selection of special varieties of hemp, as well as the selection of agricultural land free of heavy metals, can reduce carcinogenic contamination of both the raw hemp raw materials used and the manufactured hemp. products from it. American scientists offer the following recommendations for hemp growers to reduce the amount of carcinogens in their products:
- do not cultivate hemp plants on abandoned industrial sites;
- do a soil pH test, as acidity can affect the amount of heavy metals absorbed by the plant.
Commentary of the specialists of the Association “Ukrainian Industrial Hemp”
We focus on the results obtained by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, according to which heavy metals accumulate and leave the plant through the trichomes. Those. leaves and inflorescences of plants with maximum therapeutic properties may contain a significant concentration of carcinogenic substances that the plant “pulls” out of the soil during its development. And now literally two theses for our thinking audience:
- modern cultivation of medical cannabis in most cases is concentrated not just in greenhouses or premises, but is “sharpened” for cultivation in an artificial environment in which the plant receives the necessary substances from the nutrient composition. In order to maximize the rapid growth of the vegetative component of plants, the vast majority of nutrient compositions in concentrated form contain precisely carcinogenic substances necessary to accelerate growth and increase the vegetative index, but dangerous for the functioning of the human body;
- at the moment, the question is only being raised that hemp raw materials used in therapeutically active products made on the basis of the healing properties of hemp should be analyzed for the presence of substances that negatively affect the human body. Those. No country in the world has so far at the legislative level provided for the need to control hemp raw materials or products made from it for the presence of carcinogenic substances dangerous to the human body.
It makes sense to refract the information published in this article to the concept promoted by the profile association of national hemp growers, according to which the state, at the level of the current regulatory framework, should regulate the right of the consumer/patient to independently grow varieties of technical hemp of a therapeutic orientation for further use of the healing/healing properties of the plant .