Marijuana helps people keep food down, especially those who must swallow daily drug cocktails and endure nausea-inducing chemotherapy. It also eases glaucoma patient's ocular pressure and assists patients with such debilitating problems as multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, lupus, post-polio syndrome and severe arthritis. California patients grow marijuana in their backyards and process it into butter for brownies and Rice Krispie treats, or a tincture for soy milk. Decriminalization would eliminate the need to pay for expensive Marinol or black-market pot. However, many AIDS and cancer patients with such nausea can't stomach anything and smoke is the only option.
Many reputable sources maintain the legitimacy of medical marijuana.
Federal laws also fail to distinguish between marijuana and industrial hemp. Clearly no one can get high by smoking industrial hemp. Thirty industrialized democracies recognize the difference. Canada legalized hemp, and the European Union subsidizes hemp farms. One acre produces the fiber pulp of 4.1 acres of trees.