I am a regular medical marijuana user. I probably use between 1-2 gms a day, which is not considered particularly heavy use. While it does not completely eliminate pain (nothing but death and anesthesia does that!) it does help with coping with the pain.

There are many ways to take mmj. I mostly take it by inhaling, and I use a water pipe, as that helps calm the harshness a bit. Some patients like to use a vaporizer, which basically heats up the THC and releases it to be inhaled without the smoke generated by igniting/smoking. However, vaporization does not always produce as strong of results as needed. I have used tinctures, which some people swear by, but with less effectiveness for me. I have hard candy made with mmj in the corn syrup and any oil it may contain, and this can be handy when lighting up is out of the question. Ingesting it by eating creates more of a body high, and the effects are a little stronger and longer-lasting . . . but it can take up to 90 minutes to kick in. (I have eaten a good dose of medicated cookies only to forget and get a surprise about an hour or so later!)

If you have tried it and felt it did not "work" for you, it may be that either the medicine you tried was of poor quality (low in THC, or what we call "shake" or the leftover leaves that do not contain as much THC) or you didn't take sufficient quantities to get a good effect. That said, some people do not like the feeling of the "high" you get from marijuana, and it is true, some people simply do not get high from it. I liken it to the effect of a strong, effective pain med or muscle relaxer in that it makes you a little fuzzy, it can lift your mood, and it can give you a high that allows you to function because it distracts you from the pain. This is how it works for me. Some days I require very little. . . others I pretty much have myself medicated all day long. It is helpful as a sleep aid, especially the indica varieties.

Sativa strains tend to be more cerebral, producing a spacier "high" that can give a good measure of relief from pain. It is considered good for "daytime" use, meaning that you can often function fairly productively on it.

Indica strains produce more of a body effect, are relaxing and have good pain relieving properties. Indicas are good for night-time use, as they can induce sleep. A good strong indica can glue me to the couch . . . not always a desirable effect, unless that is the only way I can be comfortable and have my pain relieved.

In states with legalized medical marijuana your physician is supposed to counsel you in the benefits and any precautions about its use. This should always include caution about getting behind the wheel while using, and of course, operating heavy or dangerous equipment as well. I got my "recommendation" or "authorization" from my gastoenterologist for Crohn's disease, as mmj is very good for relieving spasms and it can help if you have nausea or loss of appetite. It is true, you can tend to want to munch while using, which so far is the only negative side effect I have found if you do not have the metabolism to keep from gaining weight.

Leesa, it is sad, but true, that many doctors are unwilling to consider the medical benefit that marijuana can have. I find it sad that there are doctors more concerned with their own ego than providing relief for their patients.

Martina, it is possible you either did not take enough mmj, or that you were supplied a poor strain. You might want to give it another go. If you are inhaling it, do not expect one or two puffs to get you relief . . . that only happens in the movies. A piece of "bud" about the size of a blueberry is a good place to begin.

72daywmn, cooking with "cannabutter" is a good way to ingest mmj if you do not want to have smoking materials hanging around. However, it is very "fragrant' if you get my drift, and making medicated butter is a smelly and messy process. My first experience, however, produced the best result: I used a lunch bag full of "shake" to 1lb of real butter, and got a huge batch of gingerbread cookies out of it. I made them small so I could titrate my dose . . . and I soon determined 3 cookies would be sufficient . . . but only after finding out that 5 cookies was more than needed (or wanted!) If you have kids you want to prevent from accessing your meds, you will need to prepare the butter and the baked goods when they are not home for some time (like when they are overnight at a friends or the grandparent's house), and then you will need to seal the finished product well so it can not be detected. And most of all, you then must treat your "edibles" as medicine, and not find yourself munching them because you ran out of Oreos or Chips Ahoy . . . or you will end up like I did -- an hour later unable to move! Pain free, yes . . . incapacitated? Almost!

By the way, I cut my gingerbread cookies in the shape of shamrocks, iced them green, and packaged them in gift bags complete with ribbon, and carried them on the plane for a trip back home. What I did not do is leave them anywhere that kids could find them . . .