Just days after the New York Times, Scientific American, and other MSM outlets finally got wind that cannabis’ germ-fighting properties can halt the spread of MRSA and other multi-drug resistant pathogens, along comes a second just-released study identifying several new non-cannabinoid compounds in the plant which possess anti-bacterial properties.

Investigators at the University of Mississippi report the discovery of eleven new non-cannabinoid constituents in cannabis, several of which possess “anti-microbial” (think MRSA), “anti-malarial,” and “anti-leishmanial” (a common skin parasite) activity. Scientists also reported that several of the compounds also possessed anti-inflammatory properties and acted as potent anti-oxidants.

(The US government, Depart of Health and Human Services actually holds a patent on the use of certain cannabinoids as anti-oxidants and neuroprotectants, which you can read here.)

In other words, when we speak about the healing powers of the cannabis plant, we really mean the entire cannabis plant. We’re not talking about isolating particular cannabinoids, and we’re most certainly not suggesting patients be forced to consume an oral synthetic version of a single compound a la Marinol.

Therapeutic cannabis means just that — the therapeutic prowess of the whole plant. We should not advocate for, or accept, anything less.

Well what do you know? A mainstream media outlet finally picked up on this story!

Sure it’s been over a week since I first blogged about it here and here. But given the MSM’s long history of sweeping similar medi-pot revelations under the rug, this is case where I gladly say ‘better late than never.’

Of course, given the media’s current fixation with the Republican National Convention, it’s unlikely that this story will have any legs.

That said, give Web MD credit for acknowledging pot’s germ-killing power against MRSA, and for not letting these important findings slip down the ‘memory hole.’ No doubt there’s plenty of folks at the Drug Czar’s office who are wishing that they had.

Chemicals in Marijuana May Fight MRSA
via Web MD

Sept. 4, 2008 — Chemicals in marijuana may be useful in fighting MRSA, a kind of staph bacterium that is resistant to certain antibiotics.

Researchers in Italy and the U.K. tested five major marijuana chemicals called cannabinoids on different strains of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus). All five showed germ-killing activity against the MRSA strains in lab tests. Some synthetic cannabinoids also showed germ-killing capability. The scientists note the cannabinoids kill bacteria in a different way than traditional antibiotics, meaning they might be able to bypass bacterial resistance.

At least two of the cannabinoids don’t have mood-altering effects, so there could be a way to use these substances without creating the high of marijuana. (NORML note: by this author’s count, four of the five cannabinoids tested in this study lack demonstrable psychoactivity.)

MRSA, like other staph infections, can be spread through casual physical contact or through contaminated objects. It is commonly spread from the hands of someone who has it. This could be in a health care setting, though there have also been high-profile cases of community-acquired MRSA.

It is becoming more common for healthy people to get MRSA, which is often spread between people who have close contact with one another, such as members of a sports team. Symptoms often include skin infections, such as boils. MRSA can become serious, particularly for people who are weak or ill.

In the study, published in the Journal of Natural Products, researchers call for further study of the antibacterial uses of marijuana. There are “currently considerable challenges with the treatment of infections caused by strains of clinically relevant bacteria that show multi-drug resistance,” the researchers write. New antibacterials are urgently needed, but only one new class of antibacterial has been introduced in the last 30 years. “Plants are still a substantially untapped source of antimicrobial agents,” the researchers conclude.

You can hear Russ Belville and I discuss this study on the NORML podcast here.

UPDATE!!! UPDATE!!!

You can also comment on this story at the Huffington Post by clicking here. Help spread the truth about medicinal cannabis by commenting, ‘Digging,’ and passing this story on to others.

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, colloquially known as MRSA or ‘the superbug,’ is now responsible for more annual US deaths than AIDS. Yet despite this sobering statistic, it’s unlikely that either JAMA or anyone in the mainstream US media will report on the findings of a forthcoming Italian study — you didn’t actually think I was going to say that this took place in America did you? — demonstrating that compounds in cannabis possess “exceptional antibacterial activity” against multi-drug resistant pathogens, including MRSA.

“Although the use of cannabinoids as systemic antibacterial agents awaits rigorous clinical trials, … their topical application to reduce skin colonization by MRSA seems promising,” the study’s authors write. “Cannabis sativa … represents an interesting source of antibacterial agents to address the problem of multidrug resistance in MRSA and other pathogenic bacteria.”

(You can read the full text ahead of publication here.)

Ironically, the study notes that preparations from cannabis were “investigated extensively in the 1950s as highly active topical antiseptic agents.” Predictably — in yet another ‘victory’ for prohibition — authors declare that little, if any, research into this potential clinical application has taken place since.

Several years ago, when I first began writing the booklet Emerging Clinical Applications for Cannabis and Cannabinoids, I mused about what sort of advancements in the treatment of disease may have been achieved over the past 70+ years had U.S. government chosen to advance — rather than stifle — clinical research into the therapeutic effects of cannabis.

Now, more than ever, this is a question that our elected officials — both Republican and Democrat — must answer.