The government really dont care about the effects on the people, they are just concerned about the money they will make, If the entire USA eventually accepts the so called use of marijuana, its going to be catastrophic for the entire country.
The pharma and drug cartels have managed to convince the people that marijuana is something evil. That is not the case. It is even less harmful than legal substances such as alcohol and tobacco. So there is no point in banning it.
I agree with you there dude. Its been well proven that alcohol and nicotine have much more negative effect on someone's health than weed. And further studies also indicate that weed is a magic drug that can be used to cure certain illnesses including cancer. Though excessive use of it may not be good, that goes for pretty much everything that is easily accessible to people.
I am not sure whether marijuana has any medicinal effect, other than its use as a painkiller. But the painkiller market is a huge one, and the current bunch of synthetic (mainly opioid derived) painkillers do have much more dangerous side-effects when compared to marijuana. If marijuana is legalized, then the pharma cartels will lose a huge chunk of their revenue.
It has many medical uses. It helps with glaucoma and epilepsy, reduces nausea, increases appetite for people on chemotherapy as well as pain and sleep. CBD oil (non psychoactive) has many medical benefits as well.
The only serious side effect for cannabis is that you might go to jail for using it.