Numerous actions could be considered disorders of the body, such as sleep deprivation to lack of appetite each of which can be cured through the use of marijuana. It is difficult for scientists to conduct experiments on smoked marijuana because it is virtually impossible for them to create a placebo of smoked marijuana. A placebo is a harmless medicine or a dummy pill used in scientific experiments. A number of people can recognize the taste and smell of marijuana which makes it impossible for subjects to be completely ignorant about what they are using (Bock 137). .
The assortment of medicinal uses is widespread; such conditions that can be aided through the use of marijuana include: Anorexia, Pain, Glaucoma, Migraine, Hypertension, Anxiety, Asthma, Peptic Ulcer, Alcoholism, Depression, Insomnia, Inflammation, Nausea, and Cancer (Cohen 36). When the benefits are so grand and the risks are so few we are left to wonder why its use is suppressed in our modern culture. Marijuana is regulated at the federal level of the government by the 1970 Controlled Substances Act. The deputy chief of the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs determines whether or not a drug has medical use or does not (Bock 223). One major reason for the lack of research on the medical properties of marijuana was due an increase of opiates after the invention of hypodermic syringe in the 1850's. Hypodermic syringes allowing soluble drugs to be injected for instant pain relief. Hemp products are insoluble in water and can not be easily administered through injection. The Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 undermined any experimentation of THC having more stable and specific effects then those of Barbiturates, sedative drugs. In a campaign organized by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics that was ran by Harry Anslinger, the public was led to believe that marijuana was addictive and its use led to violent crimes, and mental deterioration (Grinspoon 7).