Medical Use Of This Illegal Plant Has Been A 30-year Controversy

Some argue that marijuana is an effective pain reliever and anti-inflammatory and now some research is showing they may be right.

Over the past 11 years, rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has invaded Tom Flowers' hips, knees, feet and hands and put him in a wheelchair. At this point, he can't walk and his hands are so gnarled he's forced to type with one finger.

He goes through a lengthy ritual each morning just to get going. First he takes a cool shower and an array of prescription drugs that includes Celebrex, prednisone, Arava and codeine. And then he lights up a joint, the first of three he will smoke that day. The marijuana helps ease his pain and especially helps with muscle spasms, Flowers says. Some others with arthritis seem to agree: A 1998 survey of about 1,000 medical marijuana users at the Oakland (California) Cannabis Buyers Cooperative showed 14 percent were using marijuana for arthritis or "rheumatism."

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