Actress and Tv personality Ricki Lake is urging fans to help her fund a controversial new movie about parents who turn to cannabis to help save their cancer-stricken kids.

Weed the People has become a passion project for the original Hairspray star after she discovered a mum who adds cannabis serum to her baby's food to give her a fighting chance to beat the disease.

Lake tells U.S. news show Entertainment Tonight, "We found this baby and she was diagnosed at seven months old... She has this brain tumour and they're seeing unprecedented results with chemotherapy and cannabis at the same time."

Lake is asking for donations so she can complete the documentary, which will also detail European studies into the benefits of cannabis and the drug's potential of killing cancer cells.

She adds, "I'm certainly not encouraging drug use. I am not an expert, I am not a doctor, I'm a mother and I'm someone who cares about people and I'm on this quest to learn more."