• Nerve pain in the feet and legs: Moderate. In a controlled trial, smoked cannabis cut daily pain by 34% versus 17% on placebo. About half got at least 30% relief, versus a quarter on placebo.
• Appetite and weight loss: Moderate. Dronabinol is FDA-approved.
• Treating HIV itself: Not established.

Good to know: Stay on your HIV medicines. Ask your pharmacist about interactions.

What to ask for: For nerve pain, Smoked flower, the form used in the trial. Abrams 2007 was a single trial of smoked cannabis, which had about 3.5% THC. For appetite, prescription dronabinol or a THC-dominant oral product before meals.