It's illegal and the effects are disputed, yet more terminally ill cancer patients are using oil extracted from cannabis seeds as an alternative treatment.
Although it's never been scientifically documented, one of the producers of cannabis oil in Denmark, Henrik Vincenty, told the P1 radio documentary 'Cannabis oil as cancer treatment' this afternoon that he’s convinced his product cures cancer.
"There is no doubt that we can remove cancer cells," he told P1. "We see that when people begin using the oil, their cancer declines rapidly."
Illegal cannabis oil is sold on the street in Christiania and the internet is awash with stories of the oil's medical qualities.
Not a cure against cancer
Vincenty referred to research done by MD Allan Frankel, but while Frankel is a prominent advocate of medical marijuana in the US, he did not agree that cannabis oil could be used to cure cancer.
"Those who claim that cannabis oil cures cancer are primarily charlatans," he told P1 from his clinic in Santa Monica, California. "Normally they forget to follow up on the patients using cannabis oil. I've seen patients taking large doses and feeling better at first, but later I find out that they have died. It's not a cure for cancer."
Frankel added that while he's observed cannabis oil to have positive mental effects and reduce physical pains suffered by cancer patients, the major problem is the unregulated distribution and that no-one can be sure what drugs it can contain.
Will take the chance
Susanne is one cancer patient who turned to cannabis oil when doctors gave her only five years left to live.
She said that she had felt immediate improvements since she began drinking the oil and that she refuses to think that someone would take advantage of her desperate situation just to make money.
"When someone can look me straight in the eyes and say 'this is the right thing for you', then I am really to take the chance," Susanne, who remains anonymous, told P1.
National cancer fighting association Kræftens Bekæmpelse has also stated that there is no evidence that cannabis oil cures cancer.
