I live in Colorado and have a Medical Marijuana license. In some states, doctors got the idea that marijuana was to replace vicodin and extended release morphines. It is not supposed to be an either/or proposition. The medical marijuana is to be used with your other pain medications.
If your doctor believe in "either/or", don't let that doctor get your license for you. Seek a doctor who understands MMJ usage more completely.
MMJ helps me sleep and suppresses some of the nausea associated with my pain..yes, the pain is intense enough to make me vomit.
It also helps the mind relax, which is something pain medications cannot do, for some reason. Medications alters pain signal but does not end underlying the problem causing the pain. I think the brain works on the underlying problem even when medication controls most of the signals and how they are interpreted.
I can actually feel better without being so sedated that I cannot function.