Working In a legal licenced dispensary in California, I believe that MOST new patients need is a step by step guide to answer the many questions that the doctor that gave them their recommendation cannot answer.
Many new patients have some basic knowledge on how to "smoke" marijuana, but need more advanced information so they can utilize cannabis as their medicine more effectively. And Yes, I do see some patients who are using cannabis medicinally for the very first time and have no idea where to get started. So, I am going to try and use this blog to answer all the questions a new cannabis patient may need to know.
Lets start with some basics!
You can use cannabis medicinally in several different ways.
1) Most commonly. SMOKE IT!
There are many ways that one can smoke cannabis, in a joint rolled up, in a pipe or water pipe (bong) as well as many new "latest and greatest" devices to smoke your medicine. (we will get into those details later on.)
2) Vaporize It.
Many patient who have never smoked, or who don't want to the smoke can use a item called a "Vaporizer" that doesn't burn any of the actually plant, it just vaporizes the cannabis resins releasing the THC and other beneficial Cannabinoids that are found in cannabis. Vaporizing is quickly becoming a popular way for medicinal patients to use their medicine quickly, discretely, and not leaving you stinking of cannabis smoke. (Vaporizing can leave an odor, but it smells more like burnt popcorn) If a patient want to try vaporizing they should first know the kind of vaporizer that will fit their lifestyle. We will also be discussing the various kinds of vaporizers that patients can purchase. They can be costly, so do some research before you buy, or your could be wasting money until you find one that fits you and your lifestyle.
3) Ingest It.
There are two ways that patients can ingest cannabis. The cannabis can either be baked, cooked, added to, or juiced then ingested. Many patients have found the added benefits to ingesting cannabis verses just smoking it. While smoking cannabis a patient may feel the affects almost immediately, ingesting cannabis can take from 30 minutes up to an hour to feel the affects. However the benefits can be felt (in the correct doses) for up to 8-10 hours, some patients even state longer for them personally. Many patients who ingest cannabis find it is greatest for insomnia and pain, but injections can be used for many other aliments as well.
The other ingestion method is the sub-lingual method, by where cannabis is extracted into alcohol or plant based vegetable glycerin. This method is usually called "tincture" and has been used for centuries combined with cannabis helping patients with headaches, cramping, pain, MS, seizures, insomnia along with many many other aliments. The benefits of using a sub lingual method is that a patient can feel the benefits with in 5-10 minutes, and can last for several hours. Tincture usually comes in bottle form and patient like how discrete it can be used.
4)Topically.
This seems to be the one of the most unknown methods of using medicinal cannabis. But, patients are discovering the incredible benefits of using cannabis topically. Topical use can relieve muscle aches and spasms, it helps with arthritis and bone pain, skin irritations,sunburns and much more. Topical products infused with cannabis can be found in a variety of bases (bees wax, olive oil, Shea butter, etc.) and many are scented as well.
I will be starting to go into more details in future blogs on each of the methods I have discussed above and will be trying to cover all the various questions and information patients need to get the most out of their medicinal cannabis. I truly hope that this blog will be a place to help new patients who have a recommendation from their doctor to use it, but don't know where to get it, or how to use it. I again am in California and laws in other states vary regarding medicinal marijuana. You should first find out what laws you have where you live. I will be talking about dispensaries (store front non-profit collectives that have medicine) I am sorry is many of you reading this will not have a dispensary to go to. I will also discuss ways to grow your own medicine as well.
Thank you for reading my first post and stay tuned for more posts coming soon!
You also maybe interested in reading about raw cannabis juicing on my other blog:
40dayrawcannabisjuicechallenge.blogspot.com
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