To say it is safe, of course, is not to say it is harmless. Inhaling smoldering plant material is not harmless. But, when compared to medications given daily, even to children, marijuana is safe. Aspirin, so safe it is even available in sugary chewable tablets for children, can cause internal bleeding that kills more than 1000 Americans each year. As you know, this is an astonishing safety ratio, one that is not approached by almost any other therapeutically active substance.
Medical marijuana is effective.
Allow me to explain. Medical marijuana does not cure a thing. I doubt if anyone testifying today will say marijuana is a cure in the true medical sense of that word, as, say, penicillin cures bacterial infections. Like insulin or aspirin, marijuana is a treatment, not a cure. If pain is lessened, if nausea turns to hunger, if involuntary mussel spasms ease, or if blinding eye pressure becomes comfortable vision, then medical marijuana is, for that patient, an effective medication.