Even though medical marijuana is still illegal in most places, pharmaceutical companies are busily applying for — and in many case, have already received — multiple patents for medical marijuana drugs.

These include patents for synthetic derivatives (such as the oral THC pill Marinol), cannabinoid agonists (synthetic agents that bind to the brain’s endocannabinoid receptors, such as HU-210) and cannabis antagonists (such as Rimonabant.)

At the same time that the American Medical Association is proclaiming that marijuana has no medical value, Big Pharma is in a frenzy to bring dozens of new, cannabis-based medicines to market.