Using medical marijuana
Medical marijuana uses the marijuana plant or chemicals in it to treat diseases or conditions. It's basically the same product as recreational marijuana, but it's taken for medical purposes. Medical marijuana can be smoked, mixed into foods, added with a tincture, or brewed as a tea. Patients may begin to feel relief in as few as 20 minutes, depending on method. The effects are short-term, generally wearing off in an hour or two.
The Food and Drug Administration has not approved the use of cannabis as a treatment for any medical condition yet. However, the FDA has approved the cannabinoids cannabidiol (Epidiolex) and dronabinol (Marinol, Syndros). Cannabidiol (CBD) can be used for certain forms of severe epilepsy, Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. Meanwhile, dronabinol can be used for nausea and vomiting caused by cancer chemotherapy and for anorexia associated with weight loss in people with AIDS.