What do we know about medical marijuana; Good or Different?

What do we know about medical marijuana; Good or Different?

 

Some parents and others have been turning to cannabis oil and other forms of marijuana to treat conditions that have failed to respond to conventional medicine. Those conditions include epilepsy, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, chronic pain management and even autism. I would like to share with my audience some pertinent information which I gather at my workshop this summer through the University of McGill. I will be including the benefits and risk that come along with taking this plant and some natural products that can counter react some undesired effects from cannabis.

“Like any potent psychoactive drug, we think we have to balance risk versus benefit. And make sure that children who can benefit can get the benefit, but at the same time acknowledging the risk says Dr. Michael Rieder

We do know that the two primary active ingredients of cannabis are THC and CBD (cannabidiol). THC is a strong analgesic (pain reliever) and is also strong anti-inflammatory” in fact, it is 20 times stronger than aspirin! THC is responsible for the psychoactive effects or high of cannabis. CBD also has some pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory properties, along with strong anti-anxiety and muscle relaxation effects. CBD has the effect of lowering the psychoactive effects of THC, so cannabis with equal amounts of CBD to THC tend to be the most medicinally effective by providing desired pain relief with less of the undesirable high. (Johnson, 2018)

Some people for whom it is absolutely a bad idea, including those with uncontrolled psychiatric conditions characterized by psychosis or active substance abuse. Sometimes cannabis can make you uncomfortable create dizziness, paranoia and even increase pulse rate, so it should be used with caution in people with heart problems such as atrial fibrillation.

Here are some natural foods and essential oils to help ease some of the side-effects;

1-Pepper, by simple inhalation or ingestion can mitigate these effects.

1. Pine in pine nuts and pistachios helps mental clarity.
2. Pine Oil diluted with a vegetable oil applied on the skin or in aromatherapy.
3. Citrus pulp (orange, lemon and grapefruit) is known to be potent anxiolytic agent and to counter the effects of THC.
4. CBD oils only; one of the main active ingredients of marijuana with THC, can greatly reduce the effects of THC.

 

In general, you want to look for strains with roughly equal THC to CBD ratio. Start with very low dosages; one study found that while low-to-moderate doses lowered pain, high doses increased pain! Avoid smoking cannabis, as this is damaging and irritating to lung tissue. Instead, consider edibles, tinctures (liquid cannabis extracts), or topical balms or salves. Fibromyalgia patients report that cannabis balms and salves applied topically to sore muscles can be a very effective pain reliever with little to no brain high.

If you are serious about trying cannabis as medicine, you need to first educate yourself, because your doctor or your grower/dispensary staff may have limited information to give to you. I have included some resources at the bottom of this page to help you get started.

In conclusion, we are just beginning to uncover exactly how to use the cannabis plant safely and most effectively. And with the legislation in Quebec coming soon, they say it will have a major impact on Canadian cannabis business (Laucius, 2017) and medical uses. (Mohney, 2016).

Wishing good health is good living,

Anna

 

Resources:

Cannabis Pharmacy: The Practical Guide to Medical Marijuana by Michael Backes.

https://www.pharmacannclinic.com/Pharmacan Clinic

Health Canada site