GUEST BLOG: Tadhg Stopford – A Gram a Day Keeps the Cancer Away? King Charles, Cannabis, and the Inconvenient Cure

In 1975, U.S. government-funded scientists set out to prove that cannabis caused cancer.

They failed.

Instead, Munson et al. published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that THC inhibited tumor growth in mice with lung adenocarcinoma. The more THC they gave, the longer the mice lived. Their conclusion: “Delta-9-THC, delta-8-THC, and cannabinol inhibited Lewis lung adenocarcinoma cell growth in vitro and in vivo.”

No follow-up. No clinical trials. Just silence.

Twenty years later, Chan et al. were funded by U.S. authorities to find harm from cannabinoids. Once again, the results backfired: cannabinoids induced apoptosis, inhibited cancer proliferation, and extended survival — and again, the bigger the dose, the better the outcomes.

These weren’t statistical quirks. These were clear dose-response curves showing therapeutic effects — the kind of data pharmaceutical companies dream about. But because the data came from a plant, the findings were buried.

Cannabis is an inconvenient cure in a cartel world. Presumably this wasn’t a case of scientific oversight. Presumably it was ideological sabotage.

Since then, over 40 years of research has shown that cannabinoids can and do

• Induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in cancer cells → See Guzmán et al., 2003
• Stimulate autophagy → See Salazar et al., 2009
• Block angiogenesis (new blood vessel growth) → See Blázquez et al., 2003
• Reduce metastasis → See McAllister et al., 2007
• Spare healthy cells while targeting diseased ones → See Holland et al., 2010

And yet, these effects were not translated into public policy or clinical access. Instead, cannabis remained classified as a Schedule I drug, supposedly with “no accepted medical use.” While many suffered and died with MPs wailing about the cost of healthcare.

Yet, as of 2024, over 75% of cannabinoid–cancer studies show positive therapeutic outcomes. In Nz, Ministers of the Crown have known since 1994 that Cannabinoids don’t just fight disease — they’re part of our biology. All mammals health depends on Cannabinoids.

Because every human (and almost every vertebrate) has an Endocannabinoid System (ECS) — a system of chemical signals and receptors regulating pain, immunity, mood, appetite, sleep, inflammation, cell repair, and stress response. These receptors are called GPCRs, andso important are they, that c.35% of all pharma meds target them

Cannabinoids from cannabis (like CBD, THC, CBG) interact with these receptors — CB1 and CB2 (etc) — helping restore balance when systems are disrupted.

In short: cannabinoids are regulators of the regulators. They are the conductors of the cellular orchestra. They are our angels of well being. They are anti- inflammatory, antioxidant, neuro-protectants; capable of preventing dementia; according to the US Govts patent from 2003.

And cannabis is the most abundant natural source of them on earth.

That’s why it has broad-spectrum effects: not because it’s a cure-all, but because it supports homeostasis across the body’s interconnected systems. A system of systems.

King Charles and the Half-Truth of Medical Cannabis

In March 2024, reports emerged that King Charles III is using ‘medicinal cannabis’ for cancer-related symptom relief.

But is he being offered a path to healing — or just to comfort?

Cannabis at low doses can reduce pain, nausea, and appetite loss — as proven in countless studies. But it takes sustained, high-dose cannabinoid therapy to engage the mechanisms that lead to tumor regression. A therapeutic gram (of resin extract) a day — or more — is common in protocols like Rick Simpson Oil (RSO) or full extract cannabis oil (FECO).

Is the King getting that?

Or is he, like many others, being steered away from high-dose therapies because they fall outside the pharmaceutical model?

is a gram of Cannsbis extract a day realistic?

Yes — for many people. THC heavy grams will be challenging, but doable. But CBD and CBG heavy grams are easy. Because only THC is the euphoric.

Protocols often begin with microdoses and gradually titrate up to 1 gram/day of full extract oil, taken orally or sublingually. This amount delivers high concentrations of cannabinoids capable of triggering therapeutic effects beyond symptom control.

This isn’t hypothetical. It’s already being done — quietly — by thousands of patients worldwide.

So what’s stopping us? The answer is not science. It’s power and profit.

Cannabis can’t be patented in its full-plant form. Even worse for cartels, Cannabis threatens the $200+ billion cancer drug market. Because Cannabis empowers patients to self-manage with whole-plant medicine.

That’s why most clinical trials on cannabis are designed to study pharmaceutical isolates at low doses — doses too weak to show full effects — to protect patents, not to reveal truth.

As Dr. David Meiri put it:

“We’ve studied 23,000 cannabis strains. The variety is astonishing. But the pharmaceutical model insists on isolating and narrowing, not integrating.”

This is science in chains.

And people are dying for lack of access to what we already know works.

So, in conclusion, the real risk is in doing nothing. But, fucking politicians.

We now have decades of data, tens of thousands of patient experiences, and mounting clinical insights pointing to one conclusion:

Cannabis isn’t a threat. It’s a tool. A healing tool.

One that’s been lied about, suppressed, and commercialized beyond recognition.

It’s time we reclaimed it. Not as a miracle. Not as a fad.

But as a biological ally — a regulator of life’s deepest systems. As the Queen of herbs, and a food for life.

Albeit, one hidden under lies; and in Nz blocked from food grade access by what appears fraud. It’s taken me eight years and forty complaints to the ombudsman’s office, but the evidence was finally released to the ombudsman a little over a month ago. You can find everything except that nugget here

(See, complaint to Dg Health)

As the old proverb goes:

“They tried to prove it killed us. Instead, it cured.”

If you or a loved one is facing cancer, ask the hard questions. Grow your own. Push for full-spectrum, whole-plant options. Demand food grade cannabinoids. Don’t wait for institutions to catch up to what the evidence already shows. Because Healing belongs to the people.

Share this. Print it. Speak it.

A gram a day could save a life.

Maybe even a King’s.

It might have saved my Nana, my Poppa, and my step dad too.

Who do you know it might have saved?

O, and cancer is just the tip of the iceberg with Cannabis too.

Happy mother’s day.

Tadhg Stopford is a Historian and Teacher. Join him at www.thehempfoundation.org.nz