It's only "medicine" because a bunch of rich hardcore leftists brainwashed enough people into voting that it's a medicine.
Hey, we'll take Soros' $ when we can get it, then throw him under the bus afterwards. Please remember that it was "a bunch of rich hardcore leftists" back in the Progressive Era that started the trend of making drugs illegal to begin with.
Rasmussen says 63% favor medical marijuana (Oct 2009):
Sixty-three percent (63%) of Americans believe patients should be allowed to smoke marijuana if it is prescribed by a doctor.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 24% of adults say patients should not be allowed to smoke pot in cases like that. Thirteen percent (13%) are undecided.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/lifestyle/general_lifestyle/october_2009/63_say_doctor_prescribed_pot_is_okay
No, marijuana is enough of "a medicine" that a pharmaceutical company developed and markets a synthetic version of it called Marinol. Unfortunately, synthetic- cannabis Marinol doesn't work quite as well for controlling nausea in many cases and can have some substantial side-effects that marijuana doesn't have, including a heart palpitations, stomach pain and vomiting.
And for those who think "just take Marinol instead of use marijuana, because Marinol won't get you high", think again. Marinol also has the same psychoactive effect that, in some people, is even stronger than marijuana. Confusion, paranoia, anxiety, and dizziness are not uncommon with Marinol
The only advantages to Marinol is that it is in a pill form and can have a longer duration of effect than smoking marijuana.
Beyond that, unless you own stock in the drug company that makes Marinol, there are no other real advantages.