Even cocaine is a schedule 2 drug, which means it can be prescribed by doctors for certain purposes. Marijuana, despite the proven uses you note, is classified as schedule 3, and cannot be legitimately used for any purpose (generally) by federal law.
Why the government is so afraid of marijuana is a question best left to someone smarter than myself.
When my father fell and broke his back (recently-- he's ok now) the doctors discovered that there wasn't much they could do except prescribe pain killers. First of all they tried codine which is basically Tyenol 3 then progressively bumped him up to stronger and stronger meds, graduating him from codine, to hydrocodone (Loratab), Percocet (Oxycodone is commercially made from thebaine, an opiate alkaloid and minor component of opium.[2] The 14' hydroxy group increases potency by about 50% over hydrocodone.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percocet) then bumping up the ante to Methodone (Methadone is a synthetic opioid, used medically as an analgesic and
anti-addictive(
????). It was developed in Germany in 1937.
Although chemically unlike morphine or heroin, methadone also acts on the opioid receptors and thus produces many of the same effects. Methadone is also used in managing chronic pain due to its long duration of action and very low cost
{bullcrap}.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methodone ) then finally having hit the ceiling they reverted to cortizone injections which finally after a few days got rid of the pain that he was experiencing.
Now I personally have experienced the pain killing qualities of marijuana itself, but came to realize that it wasn't exactly getting rid of the pain as more of covering it up with a psychotropic substance/chemical, or over stimulating the dopamine of the brain. Sorta taking you AWAY from the pain rather eliminating or minimizing it like a good pain killer should.
Had Marijuana been legal then I can presume that the docs at the "pain-management" would've prescribed it to my dad, possibly via pill form rather than having him smoke it (which would be a faster way for the THC to reach his brain and producing the desired effect). But it would have introduced him to an addiction that he didn't need. Now all of these aforementioned drugs (not marijuana) are derivatives of the opium plant or poppy flower. Known to be also the base ingredient of morphine and heroin. It's probably why the so called "drug-war" is such a fricken joke. The hypocracy is so thick you can cut it with a spoon.
It was fortunate that my dad was being very testy and "picky" if you will concerning his pain meds and that he didn't stay on any particular one long enough to become addicted to it, he did however after trying all those flavors preferred the hydrocodone (Loratabs) ironically.
But as you were saying those drugs are strictly controlled by the government.
Now as to why the government is so afraid of marijuana so much that legalization is probably out of the question is indeed a question for smarter brains than yourself and myself included. However I can only hypothesize that the reason lies within the (illicited) drug trade it self. Were Marijuana legalized the effect I'm guessing would be very much the same as it was during prohibition. Drug-lords would be seriously undercut in their beloved profits and they would bring the war on drugs back on the government.
But legalization is
NOT the topic here. Topic is the addictive properties of the drug in question.
You'll meet hundreds and thousands of regular marijuana users that will say "they're not addicted" ... ask them to quit, cold turkey (like I did) and see what they say... "Why?" and that is followed by whatever arguments
they have against the idea of it being addicting.
They won't do it but they'll cite that they won't because it's not harmful, wherein the real reason lies in the fact that they're addicted to it. It's called denial, minimizing, rationalizing and justifying. And as with any addiction... it boils down to lying to ones self. A lie that is told so often that it becomes the truth.
A drug is a drug is a drug, no matter how you slice it, shoot it, pop it, drink it, or smoke it. It's going to get you in the end.
