Deciding to add Cannabis to your medical regime?

When we make the decision to add Cannabis to our medical regime, we believe we understand certain elements from this plant medicine. For instance, by research, we know that Cannabis contains cannabinoids that deliver varied desirable therapeutic effects, but we don’t really know how many of the various components exist in the medicine from batch to batch, month to month. There are other things that we don’t know about this plant medicine. As patients, we know that some chemicals (fertilizers and pesticides) are probably used in the growing of our plant medicine, but we don’t really know what they are nor do we understand that there may be some chemical residues that may be affecting us adversely when we ingest it via smoke or edible product.

The cannabinoids present in Cannabis are mainly THC, CBDs, CBCs and CBNs with THC being the most commonly known cannabinoid and reportedly the most psychoactive product found in Cannabis. Knowing which strains of medicine can help with your symptoms can be difficult to assess. CBDs (Cannabidiol) reportedly have anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety and other properties that act as a neuro-protectant agent. The ratio of THC to CBD is a major research area currently under study and shows a great amount of potential medical benefits.

Several properties reported in Cannabis include CBCs (Cannabichromene), as they have reported analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antibiotic properties. THCs (Tetrahydrocannabinol) come into potential diabetes treatments. Another compound, CBN (Cannabinol) may cause increased drowsiness and reduced spasms, and is a by-product of the breakdown of THC when your medicine is exposed unduly to light or heat. Other therapeutic effects include appetite suppression or enhancement depending on the strain of Cannabis. In other words, there are many potential uses of this plant medicine to assist you in dealing with your health issues.
We already have the ability to produce unique strains of Cannabis for very specific targeted medical issues. However, appropriate research using scientific rigour via double-blind clinical trials should be initiated. Several factors have limited research over the years. The most obvious barrier to research is the legality of this plant. One issue surrounding research is that any university receiving federal funding would risk it all to take on this crop.

Another factor, the agencies responsible for current minimum standards of all food, drugs and cosmetics were initially established in 1906. Broad sweeping changes occurred when Congress passed the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FDC) Act of 1938, one year after the prohibition of Cannabis. This plant medicine has never come under the scrutiny or safe tolerances that we take as the norm today for all other food, drugs or cosmetics. Because of this, there are no fertilizers, or pesticides that have been labelled as being legal to use on Cannabis.

One should not be alarmed at this statement since many of the commonly used chemicals are well known, often used in other organic production (OMRI.) When applied according to directions these products may represent minimal exposure to you. On the flip side, there are also many heavy chemicals such as nicotine sulphate, copper and carbaryl utilized in Cannabis production. The use of any chemical product on a plant demands precise application and timing. Because this medicine is often inhaled, some products ultimately may be unsafe for the end-user even if they are considered safe for edible organic production. Unfortunately, we all live with these exposures today and will until research can fill in the blanks on Cannabis production.
Cannabis is a plant and it is grown in a wide variety of environments, but because it is a plant, it is subject to a variety of diseases and pests and depending on how your plants are grown, your medicine could be giving you more than therapeutic effects that could range from off taste to serious respiratory ailments.

Growers, owners and your caregiver all want the best for you as the patient. We see growers are willing to adopt new and better ways to deliver clean medicine to you.
Growers are facing a myriad of regulations, some current, some yet to be written. Currently, 1284 speaks to required testing for certain residues and that should provide a good solid basis for alleviating a great deal of concern over the safety of the medicine, but it will not address everything that may be in your medicine.

In addition to the future, minimal levels required by impending state-required testing will assist the next level of assurance people can attain is for the industry to voluntarily adopt best management practices related to disease and pest management. This is standard practice in consumable pharmaceuticals or food-grade product industries and may be readily adapted from established horticulture industry-driven guidelines. High-quality and safe medication should and can be one and the same. That is food (or smoke) for thought.