By Bruce Mirken via AlterNet.

While cautious about reports that are "solely anecdotal," Paul Armentano, deputy director and resident science wonk at the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, lays blame for the lack of proper data at the foot of prohibition. "It is a shame that lone individuals must try and engage in the work that the medical establishment should be undertaking, yet have turned a blind eye to," he says. "Unfortunately, what we have is speculation rather than hard science, and we only have the politicization of cannabis to blame."

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That may be an accurate assessment, but Armentano thinks it's too cautious "given the long established safety of cannabinoids, including THC which is already a legal pharmaceutical, and CBD, which is non-psychoactive, is not a central nervous system depressant and has no risk of overdose."

Not only is there abundant evidence that cannabinoids kill cancer cells, Armentano says, "Investigators now even understand the mechanism of action; in other words, they know how and why cannabinoids kill cancerous cells and halt the spread of malignant tumors."

The question of whether these cannabis compounds can cure cancer in people, he says, "ought to have been already answered decades ago."

Read the rest at AlterNet.