What if you are told that there is a plant that can cure cancer, treat people in remission, keep anxiety at bay and help mitigate epilepsy? Not only does it grow abundantly with lush, green foliage, it also offers an abundance of nutrition and therapeutic benefits. The same plant has played such a vibrant role in India’s own history, both culturally and agriculturally. The world is far from in agreement when it comes to the ‘powers’ of Hemp oil.
It is bewildering that we have restrained ourselves in the field of discovery in what the Hemp plant can do as far as medicine is concerned. If the Vedas are to be believed, we signed on for the boons of cannabis early on. As per its labelling, it was one of “five sacred plants and a guardian angel lived in its leaves.
A passionate proponent of medical marijuana, Sourab Agarwal, founder of the Medical Cannabis Foundation of India in Bhubaneswar, has a licence that allows him to make a few ayurvedic products using cannabis extract.
“Cannabis is marvellous because it has no toxicity. My aunt was feeling depleted and in some pain after getting surgery, chemotherapy and radiation for her breast cancer. I gave her some cannabis and it has helped not just with the pain but in lifting her mood,” Agarwal says.
Dr. Vishal Rao top surgical oncologist of Bangalore decided to lobby with the Centre to lift the ban on cannabis for medicinal purposes.
"We are encouraging cultivation of tobacco that causes various types of cancer. At the other end, we are ignoring the medicinal properties of a plant that can help cancer patients. We are not even able to take up research as procurement of the plant is illegal in India, whereas oncologists in 21 states of the US are prescribing derivatives of cannabis for cancer treatment," Dr Vishal Rao, surgical oncologist, told The Times Of India.
Other oncologists also pointed out that cannabis prevents blood supply to a cancer tumour and India is lagging behind other countries in cannabis research, said the report.
India’s history of cannabis use encourages scientists to explore new ways of using it as a legal painkiller. Government Scientists plans to check out cannabis based compounds to treat cancer, epilepsy and blood disorders in line with what they say is a global resurgence in the medical applications of marijuana derivatives.
One acre of land in Jammu, in the country’s north, marks a new phase in its relationship with cannabis – a willingness to explore its potential to provide relief to sick Indians after decades of treating it as a taboo.
Researchers at the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine are working to create drugs to treat extreme pain in cancer patients. They hope to persuade the government to relax current laws and regulate cannabis the way opium is regulated.
The researchers have sought regulatory approval for a trial to evaluate these compounds on cancer patients at the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai. They are also planning trials in other hospitals for a difficult-to-treat form of epilepsy and a blood disorder called sickle cell anaemia.
“We’re trying to generate medical evidence to justify the use of cannabis derivatives,” said Ram Vishwakarma, IIIM director. He said the IIIM hoped to partner the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, for the trial on epilepsy and the Sickle Cell Institute in Raipur, Chhattisgarh, for pain management in patients with sickle cell anaemia.
The proposed Tata Memorial Centre trial on cancer will study whether a short course of a cannabis derivative delivered just ahead of cancer surgery might influence the outcome or long-term survival. Director Dr Rajendra Badwe says the human trials using the compounds the institute provides will be strictly limited in scope and confined to a one-off use on the day of surgery to remove malignant tumours.
“Cannabis brings about a state of bliss — we’re trying to ask whether this can occur at the level of cells. Can we push tumour cells into a state of relative inactivity just ahead of surgery?” said Rajendra Badwe, Tata Memorial Centre director.
Unlike some cannabis proponents, Dr Badwe believes it can only be used for short term and specific purposes, not for long-term pain relief. “Long term it is addictive and that isn’t right. If the trials are positive, I and others will be able to reduce deaths due to cancer,” he says.
In June, 2018 The US FDA approved an oral solution to treat seizures associated with two severe forms of epilepsy in patients two years or older. It is the first FDA-approved medicine containing a purified substance from marijuana.
“There are some bad forms of epilepsy — the worst kind. The US FDA has already approved a cannabis derivative for these kinds of epilepsy. We need to find ways to fast-track such medicines to patients in India,” said Manjari Tripathi, professor of neurology at the AIIMS.
Hence there has been a shift in the Government towards making these medicines available In India and it is evident from the steps they have taken to introduce the same.
This is big! We hope this study will pave the way for even larger human trials. If it does, the use of cannabis oil in treating cancer symptoms can finally be streamlined and then be made available for all the patients across India.
Now in our research, we are tracking down a story of a man who claimed to have cured a cancer patient using hemp oil and is now a founder of Great Legalisation Movement-India.
Viki Vaurora from Bangalore had gained sufficient grip on his facebook post which claimed to have cured a cancer patient using cannabis.
The post was up and was followed up with congratulatory responses and support from friends and family. Leela who was his cousin’s neighbour was suffering from cancer and chemotherapy had damaged her to an extent where she wasn’t able to eat, talk, walk or even sleep peacefully. Suprisingly just after 2-3 days into the treatment by Viki, she was able to eat and rest without any pain. And in the next two months, she healed herself completely. Check the video below of Viki sharing his story.
There are a number of skin care benefits that you can get from using hemp oil, either topically or by consuming it. It is a fantastic ingredient to include in your daily skincare regime as its properties are sure shot and chemical-free answer to problems like acne and premature aging.
Our Community representative Sonam Sodha, used Hemp oil after mixing it with tea tree oil and moringa oil for treating skin allergy and rashes. And it helped her to reduce the chances of introducing any harsh irritants. She already knew that Hemp oil is rich in antioxidants, vitamins and contains all the 21 amino acids and offers anti-inflammatory properties, thereby clearing blemishes and dark spots from the skin.
Hemp oil is an excellent moisturizer for your lips. It contains a rich profile of nutrients, useful bioactive compounds, and healthy fatty acids such as omega and linoleic acid. Sonam’s sister used hemp oil for dry lips and it actually worked. So, thanks to its healing properties, hemp oil can work wonders and are excellent for relieving or preventing splitting and chapped lips.
Haneesh Katnawer, Himalayan Hemp’s community representative says “My mother used Hemp oil for joint pain. It is an effective approach to manage the pain of arthritis and she finds it beneficial.”
With the use of cannabis for medical use thoroughly ingrained in the Indian Ayurveda and Atharvaveda system, it is high time that there is a consensus about its huge medicinal potential.
Cannabis is something which brings up many thoughts in the Indian mind. A subject of intense debate globally, cannabis is finding increasing acceptance in the medical community, with major developments abroad in terms of policy and society for accepting medicinal cannabis.
A large number of people have heard of this form of treatment through the word of mouth, surprising for a country such as ours that is widely accepting of alternative medical treatments and medicinal value derived from nature. Yet while other countries have been exploring the medical use of marijuana in recent years and relaxing the regulations around it, India has been left behind – until now.
The first step in ending stigma in India, and any other country, is to make cannabis available for very sick patients, and palliative patients, first. It is much easier to accept cannabis medicines for severely ill patients, than just to introduce it for large groups all at once. Every society needs to get used to cannabis medicine after so many decades of prohibition. Hemp oil is a popular remedy. Its advocates claim anecdotal evidence for curative properties ranging from improving acne to treating cancer to slowing the progression of heart disease and Alzheimer’s.
See the video to learn its health benefits -
Those who do not want to take over-the-counter or prescription pain medications may turn to hemp oil for relief but we do not recommend the use of hemp oil for treatment without thorough research and understanding. If you’re interested, Please speak to your doctor about your medical condition in particular. They can help you determine a starting dosage that’s right for you, as each case presents itself differently.
We would like to explore this topic further, so if you or anyone you know has ever used hemp oil for any medical condition and get benefit from it then share the story. Use the hashtag #himalayanhemp so we don’t miss it.
-Himalayan Hemp
Comments