Like many of you I am in two minds about the benefits versus risks of marijuana for pain relief.

I've read the reports about permanent long term side effects but really don't need them to know it definitely happens. I just have to look around my own community, and even closer at my own brother, to know that chronic mj use is permanently harmful.

The fact that it comes from a plant (ie a 'natural' drug) is irrelevant - oleander is a 'natural' plant - would you eat or smoke that? It's whatever processing is done to the raw plant material that affects the medicinal quality of it. There is strong evidence that some extracts from the plant can provide temporary relief from pain.

Unfortunately due to conservative political bias and the historical (or hysterical ) stigma attached, cannabis has for too long been relegated to the back bench of serious research as a medicinal compound. The sooner it comes off the black market, and is researched, standardized and made available as an effective medical therapy, the better.