Over the past decade, cancer patients across the world have attempted to directly treat their cancers with cannabis medicines. While cannabis is far from a guaranteed effective treatment for cancer, many cancer patients have reported profound anticancer responses after properly applying it. Such responses include remissions from terminal cancers, remissions from non-terminal skin cancers, and extended survival times. 

The evidence supporting the anticancer effects of medical cannabis is truly extraordinary. There have been continuous reports from a wide variety of media sources featuring patients who have beaten cancer by using cannabis as the sole or primary complementary therapy. There are dozens of scientific studies showing how THC and CBD, the primary phytocannabinoids in cannabis, kill virtually every major type of cancer cell in preclinical studies. Furthermore, our own self-made endocannabinoids like anandamide and 2-AG are demonstrated to kill multiple types of cancer cells through similar mechanisms as phytocannabinoids, a phenomenon which helps explain why phytocannabinoids are working so well in humans. 

In most successful cases where an anticancer effect was reported, patients ingested high doses of THC and/or CBD via extracts, rather than through smoking or traditional edibles. While those routes of administration can be great for symptomatic relief, achieving an anticancer effect usually requires sustained, high doses. This is prohibitively expensive for most individuals. Given the immense benefits that cancer patients could receive by undertaking cannabis therapy, it is imperative that governments implement policies that facilitate such therapy. Effective policies include establishing economic support programs or requiring insurance companies to cover the cost of cannabis treatment. In locations where medical cannabis use is illegal, governments must immediately legalize and regulate its use.

More research is definitely needed to understand the extent and limits of the benefits of cannabis for cancer treatment. However, with what is currently known, it is more than justifiable for patients to use cannabis now if they desire.