Denver-based Cannabis Science, Inc. announced this week that a cancer patient has had success using the company’s cannabis-based product in the treatment of skin cancer.

The biotech company, which develops pharmaceutical cannabis products, said this is the second patient to use the product successfully. “This patient has photo-documented dramatic results that we will release to the public once treatment is completed and has been properly vetted by clinical biopsy,” the company said in a press release. “Cannabis Science, in conjunction with several Colorado-licensed dispensaries and physicians, consults with a number of cancer patients who were seeking to inform themselves of the current peer-reviewed scientific literature, regarding modern and historical use of cannabis preparations for treating cancers so that they can make informed decisions regarding their self-directed cancer treatment.”

More from the press release:

Cannabis has an outstanding safety profile as determined in 1988 by Federal Administrative Law Judge Francis Young who recommended cannabis be removed from Schedule I. The refusal of the DEA to follow this recommendation has resulted in 16 states allowing some form of medical marijuana access for their citizens. Numerous other states are moving in this direction. Consequently, patients in states with medical marijuana laws are able to make an informed decisions to try various state-legal cannabis preparations and to determine what is most effective for their particular condition. As a result, there is an unprecedented accumulation of “anecdotal” data Currently, there are a variety treatments available for treating various skin cancers including standard surgical excision (Mohs Surgery), chemotherapy, radiation, and cryosurgery. Unfortunately for many, the cancer frequently returns and requires additional treatments. Chemo and radiation therapy are typically used by patients who aren’t candidates for surgery (i.e. where surgical excision could disfigure or make it difficult to reconstruct the excised area). If reoccurrence occurs, radiation therapy is often not repeated as it may further damage the tissue (and) lead to resistance. While the above treatments may to be effective for many, few patients would choose to go through surgical procedures, radiation, or chemotherapy if a better alternative were available. Patients self-administering cannabis extracts in the convenience of their own home appear to be effectively resolving their cancerous lesions over a period of a few weeks to a few months. Cannabis Science is committed to making cannabis-based medicines available to the public as rapidly as possible. The Company is taking multiple approaches to accomplishing this aim in the United States. The science of cannabinoids has exploded over the past decade, laying the scientific foundation for the many medicinal uses of this unique plant. Cannabinoids are a class of biologically active compounds produced by all vertebrates (endocannabinoids) the Cannabis plant (phytocannabinoids), and more recently patentable synthetic compounds produced by chemists. Today’s modern peer-reviewed science supports the many historical uses that were discovered over thousands of years of medicinal use by herbalists. About Cannabis Science, Inc. Cannabis Science, Inc. is at the forefront of pharmaceutical grade medical marijuana research and development. The second formulations will address the needs of patients choosing to use concentrated cannabis extracts to treat their ailments. Eventually, all Americans will have access to a safe and effective FDA approved medicine regardless of which state they live in. To maintain that marijuana is a dangerous, addictive drug with no medical value is scientifically absurd. Cannabis medicines, with no effective lethal dose, are far safer than aspirin, acetaminophen, and most other OTC drugs that kill thousands of Americans every year. The Company works with world authorities on phytocannabinoid science targeting critical illnesses, and adheres to scientific methodologies to develop, produce and commercialize phytocannabinoid-based pharmaceutical products. In sum, we are dedicated to the creation of cannabis-based medicines, both with and without psychoactive properties, to treat disease and the symptoms of disease, as well as for general health maintenance.

From a paper on the Cannabis Science website, written by Robert Melamede, Ph.D, a University of Colorado-based biologist:

Over 600 peer reviewed articles show that numerous cancer types (lung, breast, prostate, glioma, thyroid, leukemia, lymphoma, basil cell carcinoma, melanoma, etc) are killed by cannabinoids in tissue culture and animal studies. Furthermore, cannabinoids inhibit the biochemical pathways involved in metastasis and drug resistance. The question that naturally arises is “Why is a plant that inhibits aging, kills cancers, and whose activity is found in mother’s milk illegal? Because federal and state governments have failed to implement marijuana policies that are reflective of modern scientific knowledge and thousands of years of medical history, the people have demanded, and gained access to this miraculous medicine through direct vote with the initiative process. In effect, marijuana clinical efforts are now in the hands of the people and the medical marijuana community.

Phoenix tears

The concentrated cannabis extracts referred to by the company are commonly known as phoenix tears. The Colorado Independent has documented the use of such concentrated cannabis oils by several patients, including Bob Crouse, currently set for trial early next year in El Paso County for possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute.



Crouse has leukemia. The former Colorado Springs restaurant owner says he was never a recreational user of marijuana and describes himself as very law-and-order oriented.

Things changed when he got cancer. Like many cancer patients he began searching for alternatives to chemo. What he found was phoenix tears, or cannabis oil. Because it takes a pound of marijuana to make an ounce of oil, Crouse got himself a medical marijuana license and began growing marijuana in the attic of his house. His doctor recommended he grow at least 75 plants at a time in order to have enough bud to provide him with about a gram of oil a day.

Crouse says he was getting better when he could self-administer a daily regimen of cannabis oil. Then the police came and took his plants away. Today he asks a simple question, “Why does (El Paso County DA) Dan May want to kill me?”

While the National Institute of Health at one point noted that cannabis had a possible therapeutic effect on cancer, for the most part cancer patients using cannabis do so without the blessing of official medical science. Theirs is the science of the underground, of anecdote, of stories told by the cured, of explanations offered by doctors willing to step outside the mainstream, and of scientists like Melamede.

Cancer patient Cash Hyde became somewhat famous in the world of medical cannabis, when his father began smuggling phoenix tears into his hospital room and administering the drug on the sly. Hyde, suffering from a brain tumor, immediately began getting better.