Got to love a world where a synthetic version of a substance replaces one that is easily and readily attained naturally. But then again a drug company could not really profit off from natural THC, or related cannabinoids which would be able to be purified and processed to pharmaceutical standard with ease, and at a fraction of the cost.
I love when Marinol gets touted as the universal answer to medical marijuana, when there are over 60 cannabinoids that have been isolated from cannabis. THC is but one of a whole class of substances in the understudied cannabinoid family.
Little is known about which cannabinoids have which specific medical benefits, so they release a synthetic version THC as a generic panacea to say "see we are not overlooking its medical value", while overlooking a whole myriad of potential uses for the entire class substances, many of which are non intoxicating.
Being pure THC (even synthetic) marinol is good at one thing, getting the user very high; unfortunately most users report that cannabis itself is much better at alleviating their nausea, and promoting appetite without such a complete and overwhelming stoned feeling from pure THC.
So, no Marinol is not the cure all for the problem as it is being touted, rather exploring what it is specifically in the whole class of cannabinoid drugs, and which ones specifically have which benefits is. Doing this could very well result in finding a much better solution (processed from natural cannabinoids working in tandem) that can be tailored to have the desired results, while minimizing on the intoxication effects that result from THC alone.
Medical marijuana patients often tailor the strain of cannabis they use to maximize the desired combination of cannabinoids. Different strains and different ratios of THC to other cannabinoids produce different effects, and even different intoxications, some more beneficial than others for a specific user or problem, and this does not necessarily equate to maximizing THC content and the associated intoxication.
Marinol -clocking in at 100% THC (synthetic)-, most certainly does maximize THC content, and as such is not what the doctor ordered for many medical marijuana recipients, so no, Marinol is not a viable alternative for many.