I look at our society before pot was banned in 1937 and after. I can't seem to find any real benefit that was gained by the ban. Maybe there hasn't been much benefit because the ban has almost universally failed. Pot is every bit as prevalent and easy to get as it was back in the 20s. Most U.S. cities have decriminalized it to the point that just using it rarely leads to an arrest.
The whole "medical marijuana" movement has been hijacked by the "legalization" crowd though. This has given the anti marijuana crowd ammunition in fighting against medical use. I mean, when you see people with no medical need, openly toking at a medical use demonstration, you quickly see that medical need is furthest from some of the activist's minds.
But the fact remains, it is still illegal. If the activists want it legalized, it is on them to show why the ban is wrong. Simply saying, "because it's not as dangerous as..." isn't a legitimage argument. While it's true that pot isn't as dangerous as tobacco or alcohol, in smoking it, you are still inhaling the smoke of a carbon based substance... meaning you are still sucking down all sorts of poisonous gasses (including carbon monoxide).
Another point that undermines medicinal marijuana is how strongly the activists fight against synthetic THC or (as you suggest) THC in another form). If it helps the people as well as smoking pot does (and helping releive pain is the point), then why do they fight against it so hard?
The pro marijuana groups are targeting the wrong departments though. Instead of working in each state, fighting a battle that won't stand up in federal coursts, they should be lobbying the FDA directly. The ONLY thing that has to happen to clear the way for medicinal marijuana would be for the FDA to change it's status from a Schedule V drug (no medicinal value but high instance of abuse) to a Schedule IV drug (high instance of abuse, but having medicinal value). That would allow states to keep it illegal for recreational use, but allow doctors to prescribe it (basically putting in with Morphine).
