Animal studies suggest marijuana may be a mild to moderate painkiller, and many with AIDS are already using it, because there is no other good treatment. But even if researchers show that marijuana is a uniquely useful medicine, many doubt that packs of marijuana cigarettes will ever become standard items at the pharmacy. The job of making marijuana an official prescription medicine would be daunting. Because the stuff cannot be patented, no drug company will pay hundreds of millions for the encyclopedic testing necessary to convince regulators. And then there is that drug delivery system.
Nonsmokers often have trouble inhaling marijuana smoke, which they find harsh.
And it is, after all, a form of smoking, one of the ultimate health taboos. To many, that means marijuana's real future is its ingredients, THC and the other 60 or so unique compounds called cannabinoids. These are chemicals that pharmaceutical firms can isolate, improve and call their own. These products could offer the health benefits of marijuana, only better, refashioned to avoid pot's unwanted effects and delivered, of course, without smoke.