GroErr
Well-Known Member
Hi all, apologies for the book but this is an important subject and I had to ramble a bit to explain my thoughts on the subject.
I see many postings about CBD strains in particular. Most are looking for the holy grail in seed form with some combination of THC/CBD. While we don't know the "ideal" combination, I think most that have any experience with using MJ as medication would agree that combining some ratio of THC and CBD would be more beneficial than straight up THC or CBD.
I'd like to post a method to get that combination now, rather than waiting for that holy grail pheno and discuss other options/thoughts you may have for medical patients. The issue with seeds is variation can be huge between phenos expressed in the same strain. So finding the "perfect' combination (whatever that is) in a single strain/seed is somewhat like playing the lottery. While I'm pursuing this option, it could take months or more likely years to find that holy grail pheno. Below I'll discuss some options and hopefully get some feedback on other methods/options to get the benefits of all these cannabinoids NOW.
MJ is known to have somewhere in the range of 70-85 different cannabinoids, depending on where you read about them. The most common, talked about are THC and CBD. But others like THCa and THCv have been found to work well for certain ailments. That said, we seem to know very little about how 90% of cannabinoids benefit in medical applications. Never mind how different combinations/ratios of each benefit patients.
I've done a lot of reading on the subject and the only conclusion I have right now is that we have too little fact/study based knowledge on this subject to make informed decisions. There's a lot of anecdotal evidence, there's a lot of speculation, but few facts, particularly long term studies. Hopefully over time, this will change as legalization opens up funding for science-based studies. Be cautious of web sites providing advice on treatments, many I've come across tend to be selling something, a common one is CBD oils for example. The tin-foil hat side of me (and life experience) tells me that anyone selling anything will tend to skew their recommendations towards whatever product they're selling. This is not MJ specific ime, whether you're buying a stereo or a car, the recommendation is typically something the seller has in their inventory, amazing how that works! lol
While this may sound depressing for someone looking to treat themselves, family or friends in a bind, e.g. someone just diagnosed with cancer. There are ways to do this now while we wait for more evidence and better access to tested solutions.
Through testing, trial, error, and observation, I've been treating myself with coconut oil caps for a couple of years. I have lymphoma, a specific type (there are 40+ types of lymphoma) which I'm told by my doctors cannot be cured. Fortunately, it's also one that responds well to treatments, but the last thing I want to go through again is chemo or radiation, nasty shit that pretty well kills you to make you better. So I took on a personal project to treat myself with alternative medicine and become my own guinea pig if you will. Oncologists are probably the worst type of doctor when it comes to bedside manner, they remind me every 6 months at my checkups that it will come back (exactly what someone with cancer wants to hear from the "experts", good thing I'm not prone to depression!). Keep in mind that these are the same "experts" who told me I had 6-12 months... 7 years ago. They're also the experts that look like they've seen a ghost every time I go for checkups. I've told them about my MJ treatments and my main oncologist believes in MJ as a treatment. He does support medical MJ scripts now, so I consider that a win for the cause.
It's important to note that I'm 56 years old, have been through chemo/radiation treatments so strong they'd kill some people. But since the initial treatments, now 7 years ago, I've used nothing but MJ. I'm the only person I know in my age group that isn't on some form of pharma pill. Everyone I know is taking something, many take several pills a day. Part of that is lifestyle choices like eating healthy and exercising regularly, don't underestimate those factors, I believe they contribute as much or more to my well being than the MJ pills. I like to smoke or vape a joint as much as the next guy, but I do it in moderation and balance it with eating well and exercise. I also take regular tolerance breaks which help maintain my tolerance to a level where I'm not having to eat or smoke multiple grams per day. It's amazing what even a few days off do for your tolerance.
This may be a bit controversial but I consider smoking or vaping recreational, while my real meds are my coconut oil caps. Not to minimize the smoking angle as I do have a couple of strains that work well for certain things like my migraines for example (developed severe and regular migraines as a side effect of my chemo treatments). Smoking/vaping the right strain can provide immediate relief in some cases, while I wait for my coco pill to take effect. But I believe the coco pills have a better, longer lasting effect and provide more than a single benefit when using my methods explained below, e.g. getting rid of or managing my migraines.
Continued next post (1,000 character limitation per post)…
I see many postings about CBD strains in particular. Most are looking for the holy grail in seed form with some combination of THC/CBD. While we don't know the "ideal" combination, I think most that have any experience with using MJ as medication would agree that combining some ratio of THC and CBD would be more beneficial than straight up THC or CBD.
I'd like to post a method to get that combination now, rather than waiting for that holy grail pheno and discuss other options/thoughts you may have for medical patients. The issue with seeds is variation can be huge between phenos expressed in the same strain. So finding the "perfect' combination (whatever that is) in a single strain/seed is somewhat like playing the lottery. While I'm pursuing this option, it could take months or more likely years to find that holy grail pheno. Below I'll discuss some options and hopefully get some feedback on other methods/options to get the benefits of all these cannabinoids NOW.
MJ is known to have somewhere in the range of 70-85 different cannabinoids, depending on where you read about them. The most common, talked about are THC and CBD. But others like THCa and THCv have been found to work well for certain ailments. That said, we seem to know very little about how 90% of cannabinoids benefit in medical applications. Never mind how different combinations/ratios of each benefit patients.
I've done a lot of reading on the subject and the only conclusion I have right now is that we have too little fact/study based knowledge on this subject to make informed decisions. There's a lot of anecdotal evidence, there's a lot of speculation, but few facts, particularly long term studies. Hopefully over time, this will change as legalization opens up funding for science-based studies. Be cautious of web sites providing advice on treatments, many I've come across tend to be selling something, a common one is CBD oils for example. The tin-foil hat side of me (and life experience) tells me that anyone selling anything will tend to skew their recommendations towards whatever product they're selling. This is not MJ specific ime, whether you're buying a stereo or a car, the recommendation is typically something the seller has in their inventory, amazing how that works! lol
While this may sound depressing for someone looking to treat themselves, family or friends in a bind, e.g. someone just diagnosed with cancer. There are ways to do this now while we wait for more evidence and better access to tested solutions.
Through testing, trial, error, and observation, I've been treating myself with coconut oil caps for a couple of years. I have lymphoma, a specific type (there are 40+ types of lymphoma) which I'm told by my doctors cannot be cured. Fortunately, it's also one that responds well to treatments, but the last thing I want to go through again is chemo or radiation, nasty shit that pretty well kills you to make you better. So I took on a personal project to treat myself with alternative medicine and become my own guinea pig if you will. Oncologists are probably the worst type of doctor when it comes to bedside manner, they remind me every 6 months at my checkups that it will come back (exactly what someone with cancer wants to hear from the "experts", good thing I'm not prone to depression!). Keep in mind that these are the same "experts" who told me I had 6-12 months... 7 years ago. They're also the experts that look like they've seen a ghost every time I go for checkups. I've told them about my MJ treatments and my main oncologist believes in MJ as a treatment. He does support medical MJ scripts now, so I consider that a win for the cause.
It's important to note that I'm 56 years old, have been through chemo/radiation treatments so strong they'd kill some people. But since the initial treatments, now 7 years ago, I've used nothing but MJ. I'm the only person I know in my age group that isn't on some form of pharma pill. Everyone I know is taking something, many take several pills a day. Part of that is lifestyle choices like eating healthy and exercising regularly, don't underestimate those factors, I believe they contribute as much or more to my well being than the MJ pills. I like to smoke or vape a joint as much as the next guy, but I do it in moderation and balance it with eating well and exercise. I also take regular tolerance breaks which help maintain my tolerance to a level where I'm not having to eat or smoke multiple grams per day. It's amazing what even a few days off do for your tolerance.
This may be a bit controversial but I consider smoking or vaping recreational, while my real meds are my coconut oil caps. Not to minimize the smoking angle as I do have a couple of strains that work well for certain things like my migraines for example (developed severe and regular migraines as a side effect of my chemo treatments). Smoking/vaping the right strain can provide immediate relief in some cases, while I wait for my coco pill to take effect. But I believe the coco pills have a better, longer lasting effect and provide more than a single benefit when using my methods explained below, e.g. getting rid of or managing my migraines.
Continued next post (1,000 character limitation per post)…
