Dr Frankel talks about his experience with prostate cancer therapies that have reduced his testosterone and the effect it has had on his life.
With recent reports on lung damage from the Covid-19 virus, it's worth stopping to consider research findings on smoking cannabis.
What I've been finding
I recently came across a few articles claiming that smoking cannabis can cause vascular damage and necrosis or “death” of surrounding tissues.(1) I have been practicing Internal Medicine for 42 years, with a specialty in cannabis medicine for the last 13 years, during which time I have never seen evidence of this.
As I read through the article (linked below,) it became clear that all of the patients participating in the study were also regular tobacco users. In fact, of the 10 out of 10 patients studied, all smoked an average of one pack (20 cigarettes) daily.
Tobacco as a key factor
Tobacco is a well-described, proven cause of arterial damage, therefore it is impossible to determine whether the cause of the damage was due to the tobacco, or the cannabis.(2) In truth, I have seen a number of cases of vascular damage from tobacco (never from cannabis as I mentioned) so it stands to reason, and is likely, that the damage in these patients was actually caused by the cigarettes.
When tobacco is a factor, a study to determine whether cannabis has a damaging effect on arteries is rendered useless and belongs in the same trashcan as the myriad of other cannabis articles missing critical data. In this article, the conclusions simply make no sense.
Look at cannabis use alone
As I was compiling my notes for this blog, I searched for additional articles on this specific topic. I found another in which the authors had doubt as to whether the initial etiology was cigarettes or cannabis, however, they were using cannabis to treat the vascular damage.(3)
As others are now suggesting cannabis as treatment, I stand by my conviction: it is still safe to use medical cannabis.
Studies
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5398854/
You Might Also Enjoy...
Dr Frankel talks about his experience with prostate cancer therapies that have reduced his testosterone and the effect it has had on his life.
With COVID, we have never been more aware of critical shortages of masks, ventilators, hospital beds, etc., all leading to rationing. In this BLOG, Dr Frankel, examines how rationing in our medical care is a much bigger problem than just face masks.
There are "acid" and "neutral" forms of every cannabinoid molecule. Early man knew the difference and would either just eat the cannabis raw, or heat it to convert to the neutral or "active" forms of the cannabinoids.
Cookie Bekkar is a cancer survivor and patient of Dr Frankel's. She has created a website to share her story, what worked well for her and as a resource help inspire/educate other patients.
Early studies in both Israel and Canada show findings consistent with CBD's effect on COVID-19's ability to take hold in the lungs or the gastrointestinal tract. If the receptors are reduced, the viral infection and pulmonary toxicity should be reduced.
CBD has recently been studied to help with Graft Versus Host Disease which can occur after an organ transplant. Dr Frankel also highlights potential dosing with whole plant cannabis and why whole plant cannabis is more beneficial to single molecule CBD.