Medical Marijuana: Help For Those In Pain?

The debate of the benefits of medical marijuana has become a worldwide issue. The United States, Canada, England, and Australia have on going clinical trials exploring the possible medical uses and benefits of marijuana. Does marijuana have significant medical uses and could it be beneficial, for those patients suffering from chronic pain and disease, if legalized for medical purpose?
Marijuana has an extensive history of medical and practical uses, but also wide spread abuse. In China nearly 5000 years ago, it was grown for its fiber and the oil in its seed, and in the Middle East it was valued for its “curative” properties. Marijuana was a popular therapeutic drug in the United States until congress passed the Controlled Substances Act of 1970; this placed marijuana in the Schedule I list. Schedule I drugs are classified as having a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervisi...