The use of marijuana for medical purposes has a history that goes back thousands of years– the herb has been used for all sorts of aliments such as a stress reliever in India, to subsiding child birth pains. Its uses can be traced all throughout Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.

In recent decades, medical researchers have investigated marijuana’s effects on various kinds of pain. These include damaged nerves in people with HIV, diabetes and spinal cord injury; from cancer; and from multiple sclerosis.

Marijuana has also been speculated to help with nausea brought on by chemotherapy and antiretroviral therapy, as well as with severe loss of appetite as seen in people with the AIDS wasting syndrome.

THC is an ingredient in marijuana that mimics the action of chemicals that naturally occur in the brain. The tetrahydro cannabinol (THC) activates receptors in the body’s nerves that trigger physiological responses in the brain.

A legal prescription form of THC (Marinol) exists, yet researchers say it’s far from a perfect drug. Taken orally, its absorption is highly variable and unpredictable and often delayed, says Dr. Igor Grant, a UC San Diego psychiatrist who directs the university’s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research. “Smoking is a very efficient way to deliver THC,” he says.

Medical marijuana is considered illegal under federal laws, so its only available is selected clinics in states such as California where they have passed laws making marijuana legal for personal medical use.

Research on the medicinal use of marijuana relies on government-issued marijuana cigarettes, which come in different strengths and are supplied by the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

The UC Center for Medicinal Marijuana Research in California helps aid in the clinical studies to determine the safety and effectiveness of medicinal marijuana and they have found studies related to neuropathic pain, Multiple sclerosis, and nausea.

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