yep, i've used it medicinally. but not so much for pain relief. i have real issues with sleeping. i can be knackered but as soon as i get in bed my brain wakes up and starts whirring - it's really annoying and it's been a problem as long as i can remember and my parents say i never slept as a kid either.

my old psych asked me once "does *anything* make you sleep easily??" and i said "well yes but it's sort of illegal" and he pressed me to tell him and i told him that if i have marijuana (the weed variety, not the resin) it makes me really happy and giggly for a while, then i just conk out and can't stay awake!

he told me i should continue with this, as he thought it was preferable to getting addicted to a benzodiaz drug. which i think is a fair idea. the only other things that make me sleep are benzos and anti-psychotics - but they make me feel really hungover the next morning and they put me into that dead sleep that it's hard to wake up from - when the alarm goes i feel groggy. with marijuana i just wake up as normal, really.

i have really bad joints at the moment (bursitis etc and my back is skewed) so i should maybe take it up again more regularly if it's likely to relieve the pains too.

i would say though, i wouldn't recommend this plan to younger people - there's a lot of talk at the moment that using it regularly at a very young age (below about 18) is potentially very dangerous, because if it's used while the brain is still in its relatively early development, it can skew it and lead to psychosis and/or schizophrenic disorders later on. they did some tests, and it seemed people over about 18 were generally not affected that way. i don't often believe medical scares of this kind, because i'm a born sceptic, and cynic, but i think this makes a lot of sense.