"Illegal Drugs: A Complete Guide to Their History, Chemistry, Use and Abuse " by Paul M. Gahlinger,M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., FACOEM
I suggest you pick that book up at the library. He has also written many other books and articles, Google him.
I found this excerpt from Consumer Reports on Health:
Pain relief is emerging as a potential
use for marijuana—although one
new study published in the journal
Anesthesiology found that too strong a
dose can actually worsen pain.
California researchers gave 15 volunteers
marijuana cigarettes with small,
medium, and large doses of tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC), the herb’s main
active ingredient. They then inflicted
mild pain by injecting the volunteers
with capsaicin, the substance that gives
chili peppers their bite. Volunteers who
smoked the medium dose—4 percent
THC—reported less pain than those who
got a lower dose or a placebo. But higher
doses seemed to increase pain sensitivity.
Another trial of 50 patients with
HIV-associated nerve pain, published in
Neurology, found that a moderate marijuana
dose relieved burning, aching, and
nerve pain as effectively as the oral pain
drugs typically prescribed. More than
half of those who smoked the drug
achieved a significant decrease in pain,
compared with a quarter of those in the
placebo group.
Long-term use of marijuana can
expose users to a significant risk of lung
damage. In patients with limited life
expectancy, such as those with advanced
AIDS and terminal cancer, the benefits
of smoking modest doses of marijuana
may outweigh the risks. Twelve states
now allow the medical use of marijuana:
Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii,
Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico,
Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and
Washington. It remains illegal under
federal law in the U.S.
I'll post a bunch more in my next post.