I have seen the show you are talking about and have met Josh I believe his name was, I went to one of their dispensaries a while back. Overall not that special of herb or anything but that was like 3 years ago so I am sure their quality has improved since then. With any industry that pops up, whether it be not for profit or supposed compassion clubs that are supposed to be all about the patients, there are going to be some that are simply out for profits and really don't care about their customers. They are usually the dispensaries that are owned by national syndicates who hire only good looking females who more often than not do not know anything about the product they are selling. I like a cute girl as much as the next man, but personally I would rather have an ugly dude who is super knowledgeable about their strains and medicinal benefits compared to a ditzy blonde. I avoid those spots like the plague and usually just go to the same place where herb is awesome and only 20-25 an 1/8th.
A lot of people are still quite skeptical about the medicinal/therapeutic values of cannabis but it is definitely something that helps a lot of people. There have been numerous, un-biased studies that have validated many uses for cannabis in regards to medical purposes. Helps a ton with cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy to deal with nausea and stimulate their usually non-existant appetites. Also helps with migraines, insomnia, chron's disease, Fibromyalgia, Multiple sclerosis, and many other medical problems. There are strains now that are specifically bred for certain ailments; pain, insomnia, etc. Generally the indica and indica dominant hybrids will be could for pain and sleep as they have a higher ratio of CBD's to THC. CBD's stainds for Cannabidiol's and they are a cannabinoid that are usually found in low concentrations in marijuana but some strains are bred for high CBD ratios. There have been really cool studies that show CBD's actually slow the growth of aggressive breast cancer cells.
Do a couple google searches and read up on some of the un-biased studies and articles on medical benefits. Also do some research on Dr. Grinspoon. He was a Harvard Doctor who in the 1960's became interested in marijuana due to its increase in use. He was convinced that prior to his study, it was a very dangerous and harmful drug both to the user and society. He set out to scientifically define all the medical dangers to the users and sort of back up the US governments claims. However, after he concluded his study he found the opposite of his first thoughts and determined it to be harmless and medically beneficial, not harmful and became an outspoken activist for legalization.