Medical marijuana has been used extensively by physicians throughout the United States in the treatment of cancer and AIDS patients. It stimulates the appetite and promotes weight gain, in turn strengthening the body, combating chronic fatigue, and providing the stamina and physical well-being necessary to endure or withstand both adverse side effects of ongoing treatment and other opportunistic infections. It has been shown effective in reducing nausea, neurological pain and anxiety, and in stimulating appetite. When these symptoms are associated with (or caused by) other therapies, marijuana has been useful in facilitating compliance with more traditional therapies. It may also allow individual patients to engage in normal social interactions and avoid the despair and isolation which frequently accompanies long-term discomfort and illness. …

In my practice, marijuana has been of greatest benefit to patients with wasting syndrome. … Likewise, for some of my patients undergoing chemotherapy, when conventional drugs fail to relieve the severe nausea and vomiting, I often find that marijuana provides the patient with the ability to eat and to tolerate aggressive cancer treatments. …

I was one of the principal investigators of an FDA-supervised trial conducted by Unimed, Inc. on the safety and efficacy of Marinol as an appetite stimulant in HIV/AIDS patients suffering from wasting syndrome. Marinol is a form of THC, one of the key active components of marijuana; it is essentially a marijuana extract. It was approved by the FDA five years ago, and has been widely prescribed by physicians treating both AIDS and cancer patients. …I am aware, however, that Marinol (like any medication) is not effective in treating all patients. In some cases, the reason is simple: Marinol is taken orally, in pill form. Patients suffering from severe nausea and retching cannot tolerate the pills and thus do not benefit from the drug. There are likely other reasons why smoked marijuana is sometimes more effective than Marinol. The body's absorption of the chemical may be faster or more complete when inhaled. Means of ingestion is often critical in understanding treatment efficacy.

Dr. Marcus Conant is a physician who has practiced medicine for 33 years in San Francisco. Dr. Conant is the Medical Director of the Conant Medical Group, one of the largest private AIDS practices in the United States. He is a Professor at the University of California Medical Center in San Francisco and is the author or co-author of over 70 publications on treatment of AIDS. He is responsible for dozens of presentations, book chapters, news articles, lectures, and legislative testimony on the same subject. Currently, he and his colleagues provide primary care for over 5,000 HIV patients, including 2,000 with AIDS.

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