They think that once cannabis is legal, everyone will get it for illegal reasons and misuse the drug. Many people even doubt marijuana's medical significance. .
According to numerous researches, marijuana has been discovered to have several different therapeutic uses. One use is that it can reduce the nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite caused by AIDS and by treatment with AZT and other drugs. According to the National Institutes of Health, marijuana "increase[s] food enjoyment and the number of times individuals eat per day" ("Medical Marijuana"). The March 1999 NAS report found cannabinoid drugs "promising for treating wasting syndrome in AIDS patients," and recommended those patients unresponsive to conventional AIDS medications smoke marijuana to combat the wasting syndrome ("Medical Marijuana"). Cannabis can also be useful for people with glaucoma. A 1982 report by the National Academy of Sciences suggested that marijuana reduces intraocular pressure in patients suffering from glaucoma, which is the leading cause of blindness in the United States. A follow up 1994 report by the Australian federal government determined that, "There is reasonable evidence for the potential efficacy of THC in the treatment of glaucoma, especially in cases which have proved resistant to existing anti-glaucoma agents," and recommended the drug's use under medically supervised conditions ("Medical Marijuana"). People with cancer can take marijuana to stimulate their appetite and relieve nausea and vomiting, which are common side effects of chemotherapy treatment. Dr. John Benson, Jr., co-principle investigator for the latest NAS report, concluded that "short term marijuana use appears to be suitable in treating conditions like chemotherapy-induced nausea" for patients who do not respond well to other medications ("Medical Marijuana"). The latest NAS report noted that marijuana alleviates muscle spasms associated with multiple sclerosis.