Medical marijuana has moved from the margins to the mainstream. Many people now expect it to ease everything from aching joints to sleepless nights. However, a large new review suggests the science does not always match the hope.

Researchers at UCLA Health looked across more than 2,500 scientific papers published between 2010 and 2025. They found clear, consistent benefit in a few specific areas. Evidence supported approved cannabis-based treatments for appetite loss tied to HIV/AIDS, nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy, and severe childhood seizure disorders such as Dravet syndrome and Lennox–Gastaut syndrome.

Then the picture changed. For many other common reasons people use medical cannabis, the evidence stayed uncertain or simply not strong enough yet. Chronic pain stood out. It remains one of the most popular uses, but the review found that proof of reliable benefit still lags behind public belief.

The study also raised a caution flag about risk. It reported that nearly three in ten medical cannabis users met criteria for cannabis use disorder, which researchers linked to potential health concerns, including cardiovascular problems.

Because of that gap, the authors urged clearer conversations in the doctor’s office. In other words, people deserve straight talk, not hype. And they deserve more research that answers the questions real patients keep asking.