Over the past decade, the use of medical marijuana has been increasingly recognized to treat a range of problems that are ineffectively treated with other drugs and therapies. These conditions include, but are not limited to:
- Chronic pain
- Nausea (including nausea associated with chemotherapy)
- Multiple sclerosis
- Glaucoma
The support of physicians and patients who have found medical marijuana to be effective in helping with symptoms of these conditions has led some jurisdictions to allow the use of medical marijuana under the prescription of a physician for a recognized condition.
Derivatives of marijuana, and synthetic marijuana, which aim to give the same medical benefits without the drug high, are also being developed and in some cases, used as forms of medical marijuana. One of these synthetic forms of medical marijuana is Marinol.
Many other marijuana users continue to self-medicate using marijuana and other drugs illegally.
