The only people who claim that Marinol helps people are the people who sell it.
I went through a hellish 5 months of chemo/radiation treatment a year and a half ago, and I finally gave in to trying smoking a little weed. It relieved my nausea within seconds. I mean nearly instantly. So I asked the doc for a Marinol rx, and all it did was make me high for 12 hours, with no nausea relief whatsoever. It is synthetic, suspended in oil and contained in a gel-like ball. It is useless as a nausea drug. (I should add that none of the other drugs they gave me had any effect on the nausea either.)
There is something in the smoke that is not in the Marinol. And that something is the key. I still have lasting intestinal effects from the treatments, and I still keep some weed around for when it gets bad. I wouldn't be without it, even though I only use it once in a while.
It is too bad the stoners have ruined it for the people who could really benefit from it. Yes it has side effects (it makes you high), but so do narcotics, and they give them out like candy if you have pain.
If anyone reading this ever finds themselves undergoing cancer treatment, get your hands on some weed and a pipe (or better yet, a vaporizer.) It saved my life because it allowed me to drink fluids and eat a little. It is just sad I had to buy it from the creepy guy down on the corner, and worry about getting arrested.
Everyone has a different response to cannabinoids and Marinol does help some people. Many claim to feel no high from it but everyone agrees that natural cannabinoids are a superior medication. Especially since it can be inhaled through a smoke-free vaporizer and the dose instantly controlled by the user.
I also don't consider the “high” to be a side-effect for seriously ill people. Anything that lifts their mood and allows them to laugh easier is as good or better than any drug therapy.