For starters, it is important to know and understand that different terms are used to define marijuana, yet they generally all mean the same: cannabis, which will be used interchangeably with marijuana throughout this guide, pot, herb, weed and ganja to name a few. Medical marijuana states, as from July 8, 2014, 22 states including the District of Columbia have enacted state medical marijuana legislation, and one state has come up with academic programs aimed at helping its patients in the future. These states are; Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Maine, Michigan, Massachusetts, Montana, New Hampshire, Nevada, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Washington and Vermont. Another ten states; Iowa, Alabama*, Florida, Mississippi, Kentucky, North and South Carolina*, Wisconsin, Tennessee* and Utah have put in place laws that allow for a limited number of people to use CBD oil, which is a component of cannabis or high-CBD cannabis. The states with (*) are those with laws that create research programs and patients need to participate in the programs to get access to the marijuana oil. In the state of Florida, a popular law known as "Charlotte's Web" bill was named after a particular medical marijuana strain known to have low THC and high CBD content, but the law itself doesn't specify that a specific strain should be used. In May 2014, Minnesota also passed limited medical marijuana legislation. The legislation doesn't include people getting access to whole plant medicines in whatever form, but only concentrates or extracts and the actual smoking is not permitted. If you suffer from a medical condition in which therapeutic interventions or traditional drugs are not effectively working, medical marijuana doctors may recommend that you use marijuana to relieve symptoms and pain. This guide will discuss things to know about medical marijuana.