Marijuana (WA I-1068): "Not just a high" (with video)

Cannabis compounds show their stuff against a host of medical problems, relieving symptoms far beyond pain and nausea.

Nathan Seppa (ScienceNews):

Scientists test medicinal marijuana against MS, inflammation and cancer. In science’s struggle to keep up with life on the streets, smoking cannabis for medical purposes stands as Exhibit A.

Medical use of cannabis has taken on momentum of its own, surging ahead of scientists’ ability to measure the drug’s benefits. The pace has been a little too quick for some, who see medicinal joints as a punch line, a ruse to free up access to a recreational drug.

But while the medical marijuana movement has been generating political news, some researchers have been quietly moving in new directions — testing cannabis and its derivatives against a host of diseases. The scientific literature now brims with potential uses for cannabis that extend beyond its well-known abilities to fend off nausea and block pain in people with cancer and AIDS. Cannabis derivatives may combat multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease and other inflammatory conditions, the new research finds. Cannabis may even kill cancerous tumors. MORE...

Howie P.S.: From the petition-signing battle on the street, video from KING5 (02:37). Apparently the marijuana initiative, I-1068, is so popular the other initiative groups are using it to get signatures fror their efforts.