Here at Canna~Wise we see a wide variety of patients. Quite a few are all ready to go and know why they are here and what they want to treat with their medicine, but a majority of the folks we talk to for the first time really do not understand why they should look at cannabis as a medicine and how it could possibly benefit them.
Let’s talk about that.
In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, patients age 18+ are eligible to apply for a medical cannabis certification (under 18’s are eligible, but the rules are far stricter and require the patient to have a caregiver to purchase, store and dispense the medicine) if the patient has what is called a “debilitating condition”. The list of conditions in Massachusetts is extensive and ever evolving, but includes:
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- Cancer
- HIV/AIDS
- Crohn’s Disease
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Chronic Pain
- Anxiety
- Insomnia
- Depression
- PTSD
- And more…
The way we generally explain it, is that the final decision rests upon the medical provider doing the certification, if they feel the benefit of using cannabis outweighs the potential risks, then you qualify.
We are never allowed to say that cannabis medicine WILL help your condition, due to the FDA’s current position on it, but we can give you some ideas of what cannabis products to use that “MIGHT” help and how to use them. For example, many of our patients come to us wondering if cannabis can help alleviate their chronic pain, and the answer is, “yes, it just might.”
In our opinion, the most important part of a Canna~Wise evaluation is the education portion of your appointment. This is where you get to sit with one of our educators and talk about your specific conditions and how you might treat them. Let’s say that you had shoulder surgery a few years back and the old injury flares up when bad weather is moving in. The pain makes it difficult to perform your everyday tasks and even more difficult to sleep. In the past, the treatment plan would be to find a lower THC “sativa” for daytime use and a high THC “indica” to help you sleep. But remember all of that research I mentioned earlier? Well, we’re learning now that simply “indica” or “sativa” will give you very little information about how your cannabis will affect you, it’s more about the cannabinoid and terpene profile of the product you are using.
We’ll start with the terpenes (note: terpene testing is not required in Massachusetts, so you may have to rely on your nose to tell you what’s in the flower). First of all, terpenes are found in all plants, not just cannabis so you may have heard of some of these from your lavender or citrus shampoo or bath bomb labels as they are widely used in other products and homeopathic remedies. For this particular example, we might recommend strain that has a higher concentration of myrcene (the ‘musky’ aroma generally associated with wild thyme, lemongrass or bay leaves) as myrcene has shown to be blocked by naloxone, very similarly to opioid based drugs. Myrcene is also the most common terpene found in cannabis. Additionally, we would likely suggest something with a higher concentration of linalool (commonly found in lavender, mint and citrus) as it has shown potential as an anti-inflammatory. Additionally, you could look for strains high in pinene, caryophyllene, or humulene.
Next you need to consider your cannabinoids. THC and CBD are the most well-known, but to date there are 144 known cannabinoids and that list seems to grow all the time as more research is conducted. Your body is literally built to work with cannabinoids, every mammal on earth ahs what is called an endocannabinoid system in their body, made up of a variety of receptors located in different parts of the body (i.e. the brain, gut, etc…) and the cannabinoids work sort of like a key to open the ECS receptors’ lock. For our little example, THC and CBD would be great options as both have shown great potential for pain relief and as a sleep aid. A higher CBD product, we’d say either 10:1 or 4:1 CBD to THC ratio, for the daytime, as it’s non-euphoric and something that’s higher in THC for the nighttime as it tends to be more sedative. But we could also recommend something with a higher CBN (cannabinol) or CBC (cannabichromene) content as those have also show the ability to target pain.
Now that we know what to look for in your cannabis, then next choice is what cannabis product is right for you. The first quest we always ask here is, “Are you OK with smoking your medicine?” If you answer yes, then we will suggest a few strains that we like, for example Blueberry Kush, Jack Herer, or Sour Deisel. If you do not like to smoke, that’s ok too. There are plenty of options for you (obviously these are available if you do smoke too). My personal favorite for pain relief (I have shoulder and achilles issues) are the topicals. These are basically muscle rubs where the cannabinoids enter your system through the skin, are non-euphoric (even in high THC concentrations) and seem to really help with my pain. Additionally, there are vaporizers, edibles, tinctures and more. We can talk about all of those options, how to properly dose your medicine, what the onset time looks like and how long you can expect the effects to last.
Once we have identified a treatment plan that is agreeable for you, we will help you find dispensaries in your area who carry the products you are looking for and send you on your way with a temporary card in hand (if your appointment is conducted over the phone, we’ll email it to you) so you can go and shop that very day.
I hope this answers some of your questions and if you’d like to learn more, give us a call. The Canna~Wise Medicine team is more than willing to answer any questions that you have, even if you are not ready to book an appointment, or if you got your certification somewhere else.
