Report

This book, based on the 1999 IOM report Marijuana and Medicine: Assessing the Science Base, is a lay version which is faithful to the original report, but also has an additional chapter on marijuana and the law. Symptoms, if not diseases, can be relieved by marijuana, but for most patients there are more effective approved medicines. On the other hand, the basic science suggests potential benefit from certain cannabinoids, delivered without the hazards of smoking, in combination with other drugs. Continued research to elaborate that potential and epidemiological studies to define risks such as lung cancer from smoking marijuana are recommended.