Between its outlaw image, controversial legal status and complex makeup -- the cannabis plant contains more than 400 individual chemicals -- marijuana's action in the brain and body is in many ways a mystery. The vast majority of studies on the drug have examined potential harm, as opposed to potential benefits. Even so, some medical uses are widely accepted and others are the subject of serious research. Here's a look at some potential uses of marijuana as medicine.
Between its outlaw image, controversial legal status and complex makeup -- the cannabis plant contains more than 400 individual chemicals -- marijuana's action in the brain and body is in many ways a mystery. The vast majority of studies on the drug have examined potential harm, as opposed to potential benefits. Even so, some medical uses are widely accepted and others are the subject of serious research. Here's a look at some potential uses of marijuana as medicine.
PABLO PORCIUNCULA/AFP/Getty Images
In the United States, pain is the most common condition for which medical cannabis is taken. Studies show the drug is especially effective against neuropathic pain, a type of pain involving nerve damage. Marijuana is less habit-forming than opiate drugs and carries virtually no risk of a fatal overdose.
Pain —
In the United States, pain is the most common condition for which medical cannabis is taken. Studies show the drug is especially effective against neuropathic pain, a type of pain involving nerve damage. Marijuana is less habit-forming than opiate drugs and carries virtually no risk of a fatal overdose.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Sativex, a pharmaceutical version of cannabis, is approved in 25 countries as a treatment for painful muscle spasms arising from multiple sclerosis.
Multiple sclerosis —
Sativex, a pharmaceutical version of cannabis, is approved in 25 countries as a treatment for painful muscle spasms arising from multiple sclerosis.
GWPharmaceuticals/AP
The munchies are no joke. Marijuana is sometimes prescribed to stop nausea or induce appetite in people who have trouble eating, including patients suffering from AIDS or going through chemotherapy for cancer.
Nausea —
The munchies are no joke. Marijuana is sometimes prescribed to stop nausea or induce appetite in people who have trouble eating, including patients suffering from AIDS or going through chemotherapy for cancer.
David McNew/Getty Images
More than 100 families have moved to Colorado to access "Charlotte's Web," a cannabis strain that in some <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2013%2F08%2F07%2Fhealth%2Fcharlotte-child-medical-marijuana%2F">epileptic children seems to dramatically reduce seizures</a>. Taken as an oil, the medicine is high in a chemical called CBD and low in THC, the component that makes people "high."
Epilepsy —
More than 100 families have moved to Colorado to access "Charlotte's Web," a cannabis strain that in some epileptic children seems to dramatically reduce seizures. Taken as an oil, the medicine is high in a chemical called CBD and low in THC, the component that makes people "high."
Brennan Linsley/ap
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is following the work of Israeli researchers who are exploring cannabis as a potential treatment for traumatic brain injury. In 2003, along with two colleagues, Nobel laureate Julius Axelrod, an American, obtained <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpatft.uspto.gov%2Fnetacgi%2Fnph-Parser%3FSect1%3DPTO1%26Sect2%3DHITOFF%26d%3DPALL%26p%3D1%26u%3D%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm%26r%3D1%26f%3DG%26l%3D50%26s1%3D6630507.PN.%26OS%3DPN%2F6630507%26RS%3DPN%2F6630507" target="_blank" target="_blank">a patent </a>on the drug for its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties.
Concussion —
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said the league is following the work of Israeli researchers who are exploring cannabis as a potential treatment for traumatic brain injury. In 2003, along with two colleagues, Nobel laureate Julius Axelrod, an American, obtained a patent on the drug for its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties.
Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
In studies of rats, marijuana helps stave off memory problems and Alzheimer's-like brain changes. A leading <a href="index.php?page=&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.seattlepi.com%2Fmarijuana%2F2014%2F03%2F02%2Fmarijuana-may-prevent-alzheimers-but-research-hits-dead-end%2F%2319612101%3D0%2613130103%3D0" target="_blank" target="_blank">researcher said</a> the drug's iffy legal status has held up further research.
Alzheimer's disease —
In studies of rats, marijuana helps stave off memory problems and Alzheimer's-like brain changes. A leading researcher said the drug's iffy legal status has held up further research.
PHILIPPE HUGUEN/AFP/Getty Images
A small study at Harvard found that marijuana seems to stabilize the brains of people who suffer from bipolar disorder. Some studies show the drug actually raises the risk of developing mental illness, but those findings are controversial.
Bipolar disorder —
A small study at Harvard found that marijuana seems to stabilize the brains of people who suffer from bipolar disorder. Some studies show the drug actually raises the risk of developing mental illness, but those findings are controversial.
MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images
7 uses for medical marijuana

Story highlights

Narcotics Drugs Act will be amended to allow the cultivation of medical cannabis

Follows a lengthy campaign to allow the drug to be used to alleviate pain

CNN  — 

The Australian government has announced plans to allow cannabis to be legally grown for medical and scientific purposes.

Under current laws, marijuana is classified as an illegal drug, and while penalties vary from state to state, people who grow, use, possess or sell it can be fined or sent to prison.

In a statement Saturday, the government said the Narcotics Drugs Act 1967 would be amended to allow the drug to be grown locally, without breaching the country’s international obligations as a signatory to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961.

“This Government is incredibly sympathetic to the suffering of those Australians with debilitating illnesses and we want to enable access to the most effective medical treatments available,” Health Minister Sussan Ley said in a statement.

READ: Dr. Sanjay Gupta: It’s time for a medical marijuana revolution

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Marijuana as medicine
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Thousands called for change

Campaigners had been pushing for a change, arguing that it was unfair to criminalize patients who relied on the drug to ease their pain.

More than 246,000 people have signed a petition on Change.org to decriminalize the drug for medical use since it was launched two years ago.

It was initiated by retired nurse Lucy Haslam, whose late son Daniel used medical cannabis to ease the pain of terminal bowel cancer before his death in February at age 25.

In a blog post published this week, she wrote, “It wasn’t until a fellow cancer sufferer suggested he try cannabis that his life with cancer became a little more tolerable. A sick young man reluctantly tried a joint and just like that, he felt so much better.

“He gained an appetite, had his nausea and vomiting addressed and was able to maintain his weight through his ongoing treatment.”

A ‘big win’

After her son’s diagnosis, Haslam founded the group United in Compassion to campaign for legalized medical cannabis.

She described Saturday’s announcement as a “big win,” but she said she hoped it would be “meaningful in terms of getting medicine into the hands of patients in a timely fashion.”

“I’m hoping that it will involve some sort of medical amnesty which could happen immediately but I guess I’m waiting to see the finer detail,” she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The government said it was important to emphasize that the announcement was not a debate about legalizing of marijuana for recreational use.

“Cannabis is classified as an illegal drug in Australia for recreational use and we have no plans to change that,” Ley said.

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This is how the pot garden grows
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CNN’s Christine Theodorou contributed to this report.