While there are arguments on both sides of the debate, medical marijuana has several key advocates that give it a significant amount of credibility.

1. Consumer Reports - The organization has said that individuals who are suffering from AIDS or some form of terminal cancer, the benefits provided by the drug appear to be much more significant than any of the risks, either those that are substantiated or those that are even suspected. They also argued that, for the same reason the FDA is quick to approve new cancer medications, they should also be lenient with the use of medical marijuana for those who are terminally ill.

2. American College of Physicians - The ACP doesn't strongly argue in favor of the benefits of medical marijuana, but they do argue that it should not be classified as a schedule I controlled substance. They argue that there are circumstances in which it can be effective, and that it is relatively safe compared to other drugs with the same classification. They most strongly argue for legal protection for physicians recommending it or patients taking it on recommendation.

3. Jocelyn Elders, MD - Elders claims that the herbal remedy is less toxic than many of the drugs prescribed by doctors on a daily basis. She also claims that there is "overwhelming" evidence showing that it is effective at easing the symptoms of certain kinds of nausea, pain, and vomiting. It is especially beneficial for people dealing with cancer, AIDS, and multiple sclerosis, or the medications that they use to treat these diseases.

4. Donald Abrams, MD - In the Annals of Internal Medicine, Abrams stated that AIDS patients who had either smoked marijuana or used the medication in a pill has a more effective immune system then those who had used a fake version of the medication. In addition to this, they apparently had a better appetite, because they gained, on average, four more pounds than those who were taking the false version.

5. Judge Francis L. Young - Young is a DEA Administrative Law Judge. He stated that the DEA should not prevent people from taking advantage of the beneficial effects of medical marijuana if they were in need of it. He stated that a 9-6-88 ruling clearly demonstrated several benefits of cannabis as a medical drug.

6. Gregory T. Carter, MD - Carter argues that Marinol is not a substitute for marijuana, which contains several active ingredients other than the THC that Marinol is intended to simulate.

7. Lester Grinspoon, MD - On the risks of the drug's use, Grinspoon of the Harvard Medical School stated that the evidence of marijuana's supposed health risks is lacking. While the drug has been "smoked widely" throughout Western civilization for more than four decades, he noted that there hasn't been a single case linking the use of marijuana to lung cancer or emphysema.

The chemical components of Medical Marijuana, referred to as cannabinoids, play a major role in the realm of medicine known as CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine). Medical Marijuana, also know as Medical Cannabis, has been employed for a wide array of medicinal uses for many centuries for its pharmacological effects on the CNS (Central Nervous System) and the immune system. Its anticancer properties and its ability to help the body cope with the side-effects of cancer as well as the treatment process through the activation of specific receptors throughout the body were discovered quite recently.

The non-psychtropic and modifying cannabinoid that has a number of different medical properties called Cannabidiol comprises 75% of the total cannabinoids content in a few rare strains of cannabis. This modifying cannabinoid called Cannabinol has low psychoactive properties. It is known to reduce the psychoactive effects of THC by degenerating it. Its anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antispasmodic, and antioxidant properties are well-known.

The cannabinoid, Cannabigerol that is found in Cannabis, particularly its medical marijuana and hemp varieties is the precursor form of other cannabinoids like THC and CBD. It is a bone stimulant with antibacterial and anti-proliferative properties.

Tetrahydrocannabivarin is found in cannabis along with THC. This psychoactive cannabinoid has numerous medical benefits in THC, which include decreased appetite and as the dosage gets larger, it is known to oppose the medicinal properties of THC. There are a number of THCV-based pharmaceuticals that are currently undergoing human trials to address the problems of obesity and Type II diabetes.

Akin to Tetrahydrocannabivarin is the non-psychoactive cannabinoid, Cannabichromene that is usually found in cannabis and it also known to have a few medical properties. It is renowned for its anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, antimicrobial, analgesic properties, also stimulates the growth of bones and constricts blood vessels.

One of the principal psychoactive cannabinoid compounds found in marijuana is Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC that occurs naturally as THC-A, its acidic form and is not absorbed readily by the body in its naturally occurring state. When heated, THC-A undergoes decarboxylation to a readily absorbable from that has a number of different medical benefits.

Both Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol have anxiolytic, antispasmodic, anti-proliferative anticancer, anti-inflammatory, neuro-protective, antiemetic, and neuropathic analgesic properties. In addition, Cannabidiol is also a bone-stimulant and immunosuppressant with antibacterial, antipsychotic, antiepileptic, anti-ischemic, anti diabetic, anti psoriatic, and vasorelaxation properties while the antioxidant Tetrahydrocannabinol stimulates appetite, reduces the intraocular eye pressure, promotes the growth of new nerve tissue, also protects nerves from damage.