City lab studying effects of cannabis on cancer

A LABORATORY in Cardiff is exploring whether certain chemicals in cannabis can be used to stop the spread of lung cancer.

MediPen, based in Pontprennau, is conducting clinical trials to find out whether particular “cannabinoids” – chemical compounds found in the weed plant – can help in the fight against the disease.

Medicinal cannabis products are being used around the world to treat a variety of ailments, including anxiety, pain relief and to reduce seizures in epilepsy.

A very limited number of medicines containing cannabidiol, a derivative of cannabis more commonly known as CBD, have been approved for use in the UK for conditions like multiple sclerosis.

But MediPen is going one step further by looking at whether cannabis can slow or even stop the spread of cancer.

Since opening the facility 12 months ago, its managing director Jordan Owen claims the research has already produced some very positive results despite being in its infancy.

It is now moving onto phase two of its study which will involve injecting cannabinoids into zebra fish with cancer to see whether it has a positive impact.

“We are very passionate about bringing medicinal cannabis to the UK,” said Mr Owen.

“You look around the world and you see how far other countries have gone – and in the UK we’re lagging behind.

“At MediPen we are all about rapid developments.

“Because we have no external influences or funding we do what we want, when we want.”

Mr Owen said the study is currently focusing on non-small cell lung cancer and will then move onto other forms of the disease.

He said: “At the moment we are in the ‘in vitro’ stage [outside of a living organism] working with cell culture systems and seeing how cells react with non-psychoactive cannabinoids – and some fantastic results are coming through showing the slow-down in the spread of cannabis and the metastatic process.

“Once we have confirmed that data and confirmed the combination of cannabinoids we want to use going forward – because the goal is to develop a treatment for lung cancer here – we will move into phase two which is working with zebra fish.

“In most pharmaceutical settings mice or animals with similar genes to humans are used, but the reason we are going to be using zebra fish is because they have an endocannabinoid system – receptors in the body which deal with cannabinoids.”

Mr Owen, who has hired the expertise of Cardiff University biochemistry student Jordan Copner to carry out the research, said it is vital for cannabis to be made available on the NHS for medicinal use.

In January, Assembly Members backed a motion by a cross-party group to lobby the UK Government to change the law.

“Dealing and overcoming the stigma around cannabis is a huge part of it, but what we want to focus on is changing the scheduling of cannabis,” added Mr Owen.

“Right now it’s a Schedule 1 drug, which means it’s got no medicinal value according to the UK Government.

“We want to get that changed to Schedule 2 which means it’ll be a lot easier for research to be carried out, but more importantly doctors will be able to start talking about the benefits of cannabis and potentially start getting in applications.

“An unregulated market does lead to organised crime, and you don’t quite know what you’re getting on the streets.

“But in a regulated market – which will include where it’s grown, where it’s stored, the different concentrations – all that will be sorted.”

Mr Owen said there are more than 100 different cannabinoids in the cannabis plant, which means its medical benefits are potentially wide-ranging.

“It’s about pinpointing what illness you want to work with and then selecting which cannabinoids you want to treat that illness,” he added.

MediPen also sells a range of products including its “flagship” vaporiser which is inhaled like an e-cigarette and does not contain any of the psychoactive chemicals which get a person high.

On its website, users claim it has reduced anxiety, depression and even relieved the pain of arthritis and fibromyalgia.

The company also sells cannabis drops and capsules which Mr Owen says are far stronger than those you can pick up from a high street retailer.

“We wanted to bring a consumer product to the market,” added Mr Owen.

“We knew there was no legislation around things like CBD – people didn’t know what it was.

“When we spoke to people in the Home Office or the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency they hadn’t heard of them. There was a huge gap in the market.

“All of the money [from the products] goes back into the company and the research. We have never had any external funding. It all comes from the success of the consumer range.”