Like any medicine, cannabis can be misused. Excessive or inappropriate use can contribute to problems including sleepiness, overeating, and time management issues. Due to the political climate surrounding cannabis use research, clinical studies have produced widely conflicting conclusions about the true benefits and potential side effects of cannabis use. Always listen to the advice of your doctor and use good judgment when using medical cannabis. These guidelines help identify ways of using medical cannabis in a positive way.

• • Adults should use cannabis as part of a healthy, balanced, and responsible lifestyle.
  • The decision to use cannabis should be made freely, and not as a result of social pressure.
  • Cannabis users should be well informed about its effects on themselves and others. These effects include both legal and health risks and personal consequences.
  • Never use cannabis as an excuse for antisocial or irresponsible behavior.
  • Cannabis users should model and reward responsible use, particularly with new users.
  • Develop sensible cannabis use limits for your self based on personal, health, situational, and cultural factors. It is important to be objective about your personal cannabis use and listen to the constructive advice of others.
  • Avoid cannabis use that puts you or others at risk, such as when driving, at work, or in public places. Remember, personal use of cannabis is still illegal under federal law, and penalties are stiff.
  • Use of cannabis by children is inappropriate and should be discouraged.

The other day I was asked by an acquaintance why the tincture they were making had very little, if any, noticeable medicinal or psychoactive effect. They swore they followed the same process found in a book on making edibles and soaked the cannabis in high proof for weeks but the tincture just didn’t work.

The answer was simple but one that many in the cannabis industry don’t understand. One very important and necessary extra step had been overlooked. Cannabis used to make tinctures as well as other edible cannabis products requires decarboxylation. From asking around I have a feeling a lot of you just blurted out “Say What?”

So here is the deal. THCA (Tetrahydrocannabinolic Acid) is found in abundance in growing and harvested cannabis and is a biosynthetic precursor of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol).

Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of at least 85 cannabinoids found in cannabis. It is a major constituent of the plant, second to THC, and represents up to 40% in its extracts. Compared with THC, cannabidiol is less psychoactive, and is considered to have a wider scope of medical applications than THC,including to epilepsy, multiple sclerosis spasms, anxiety disorders, Bipolar Disorder, schizophrenia, nausea, convulsion and inflammation, as well as inhibiting cancer cell growth. CBD may decrease the rate of THC clearance from the body, perhaps by interfering with the metabolism of THC in the liver. Cannabidiol has displayed sedative effects in animal tests. Other research indicates that CBD increases alertness. CBD has been shown to reduce growth of aggressive human breast cancer cells in vitro, and to reduce their invasiveness.

Medical Cannabis can be consumed in many different ways. Effects may vary slightly with different methods of consumption. The length of time it takes for the medicine to take effect, and the length of time that the medicine remains effective, can vary greatly with different methods of consumption.

The most common ingestion method has traditionally been to smoke the dried flowers and/or leaves of the cannabis plant. Dried cannabis can be smoked in a pipe, rolled into a cigarette (or ‘joint’), or smoked using a water pipe (commonly called a ‘bong’). Water pipes were once thought to filter out some of the carcinogens in cannabis smoke, but studies suggest that there is no significant health benefit to smoking from a water pipe over other smoking methods. Regularly smoking any plant material can have a negative impact on pulmonary health, and therefore THC recommends patients use vaporizers or edible forms of medicine whenever possible.

A vaporizer is a device that allows the patient to separate the cannabinoids (the therapeutically effective chemicals in cannabis) from the plant material without burning. This is possible because cannabinoids vaporize (turn to a gaseous form that can be inhaled) at a temperature lower than that required for burning. As a result, the patient can inhale without taking in the burned plant material that constitutes “smoke”. While scientific studies are lacking, it is commonly believed that vaporizing is a healthier form of ingestion than smoking cannabis. Vaporizing is believed to mitigate many if not all of the negative effects of smoking. It tastes better as well. If you are used to smoking your medicine, you may think that you aren’t “getting anything” at first when you vaporize, because vapor does not burn the throat. Even though the vapor doesn’t burn, it is still quite effective. Use caution and wait a few minutes to feel the full effects before taking more.

Edibles are foods cooked with butter or oil that has been infused with cannabis. Edible cannabis usually takes longer to take effect (20 minutes to an hour or more) and the effects generally last longer than smoking or vaporizing. Edibles taken on an empty stomach will take effect significantly faster than if taken immediately following a meal. It is difficult to know how strong an edible medicine will be, and because it can take an hour or more to feel the full effects, it is easy to over-medicate. Use caution! If you have taken your medicine in an edible form, wait at least an hour to be sure you know how strongly it will affect you before taking more.

Edible Treats
Any food that contains butter or oil can be made with cannabis-infused butter or oil, but the most common edibles are cookies, brownies, cakes, or candies.

Oils and Honeys
Cannabis infused oils can be used directly in foods, consumed in capsules, or mixed with honey to be used in tea or on other foods.

Tinctures
A tincture is a concentrated form of cannabis in an glycrin solution. Tinctures can be taken under the tongue or mixed into water or other beverages.

Cannabis Flowers and Leaves

Commonly referred to as ‘buds’, the flowers of the cannabis plant are the most potent for medicinal properties. The leaves of the cannabis plant also contain some cannabinoids, but in much lower concentration. The flowers and leaves of the plant can be smoked, vaporized, or used to prepare edibles.

Hash
Hash or Hashish is manufactured by separating the trichomes from the cannabis flowers, to create a concentrated dose of this specific part of the cannabis plant. (The trichomes are the reddish ‘hairs’ that you see on dried cannabis flowers.) The trichomes are then processed into a relatively solid paste or block. Hash can be somewhat powdery or more solid and sticky, depending on exactly how it was processed.

Kief
Kief is also made from the trichome part of the cannabis flower. Kief is just the dried trichomes, without any further processing. It comes as a dry powder. It can be smoked or vaporized or used to make edibles. It is often sprinkled on the top of cannabis before smoking or vaporizing, to augment the trichome content in the flowers. Some grinders (used to evenly cut up the cannabis flowers before vaporizing or smoking) have a small-mesh screen at the bottom for the purpose of collecting kief over time.

Cannabis is the botanical name of a genus of annual flowering plants in the Cannabaceae family. There are over 150 species and 10 genera included in the Cannabaceae family. Besides cannabis, the hop plant (often used in the production of beer) is also part of the Cannabaceae family. Some species of cannabis (indica and sativa) produce fairly large amounts of a chemical known as Tetrahydrocannabinol (a cannabinoid commonly called THC). Cannabis plants that are grown for their THC content are referred to as marijuana plants. Plants in the cannabis genus are commonly referred to as hemp plants, but the term hemp is more appropriately used to describe cannabis plants that are cultivated for commercial purposes (like clothing, fuel, etcetera) rather than THC content. Medical cannabis comes in two basic types: sativa and indica. Each type has its own distinct set of characteristics. Medical cannabis types are available from pure sativa strains to pure indica strains, and include every combination in between.

Cannabis Sativa is a tall, slower growing and maturing plant that typically has long thin leaves which may vary in color from light green to darker greens. Sativa buds are long and thin and turn red as they mature in a warm environment. In cooler environments the buds may be slightly purple. Sativa plants smell sweet and fruity and the smoke is generally quite mild. It is a source of fiber for rope and other products. The cannabis sativa medicating effect is often characterized as uplifting and energetic. The effects of a cannabis sativa are mostly cerebral. They give a feeling of optimism and well-being, as well as providing a good measure of pain relief for certain symptoms. A few pure sativas are also very high in THC content. They are known to have a quite spacey, or hallucinogenic, effect. Sativas are a good choice for daytime medication.