Uses of medical marijuana are well-known to include the treatment of major diseases such as terminal cancer, AIDS, or Alzheimer's disease, among many others. However, marijuana has been used by humans for thousands of years to safely and naturally treat a plethora of both serious illnesses and daily ailments that can sometimes make life miserable. Unfortunately, most medical marijuana legislation only permits treatment with the drug under what are in realty very restrictive conditions. This means that people who suffer from everyday ailments place themselves in danger of arrest and confinement should they take advantage of the uses of medical marijuana without state approval. Therefore, creating awareness about these benefits is essential to broaden legislation to benefit everyone.

It's not publicly known that the uses of medical marijuana include some of the safest and most effective analgesic properties available. Cannabis has been used to treat various types of pain for millennia by cultures from all over the world. This includes minor to moderate pain such as that associated with headaches or menstrual cramps, to severe and chronic pain from fractures or cancers. However, most modern medical practices do not treat pain directly with medical marijuana because opiates and other pharmaceuticals provide too much incentive not to, despite the risks associated with these drugs. And while painkillers kill hundreds or even thousands of people every year, there has never been a single documented case of a fatality caused by cannabis.

One of the most common everyday uses of medical marijuana is to treat GI symptoms such as constipation, cramping, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal symptoms. Medicinal pot has been shown to immediately improve such symptoms with no or little other negative side effects. While some of this effect is unexplained, much of it can be attributed to the analgesic properties of cannabis coupled with its ability to help people to relax. Scores of US citizens have been arrested and imprisoned for using marijuana to treat GI issues that were otherwise untreatable. And because a great deal of these gastrointestinal conditions are caused by stress, logic dictates that one of the best uses of medical marijuana should be in the treatment of people with stress-induced GI disorders. As of 2011, California was the most progressive state in this regard.

The most controversial uses of medical marijuana actually stem from non-medicinal use. For thousands of years people have been using marijuana to achieve a state of mediation and euphoria. Detractors of medical marijuana argue that the "high" is what makes marijuana dangerous. However, this argument is void considering the fact that all analgesics and many other types of drugs produce a state of euphoria. But while pharmaceuticals have dangerous side effects and are extremely addictive in nature, marijuana is not known to be addictive or have dangerous side effects. In fact, numerous federally-funded studies have come up empty handed when searching for the dangers of marijuana. This means that the uses of medical marijuana should figure more prominently in legislation in the coming years.