Cannabis Wellness
What is Cannabis?
Cannabis refers to a group of three plants with psychoactive properties, known as Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. The cannabis plant contains about 540 chemical substances and has historically been known as marijuana. Cannabis contains at least 120 Trusted Source active ingredients, or cannabinoids. The most abundant ones are cannabidiol (CBD) and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
The word “marijuana” refers to parts of or products from the plant Cannabis sativa, that contain substantial amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). THC is the substance that’s primarily responsible for the effects of marijuana on a person.
CBD, or cannabidiol, is the second most prevalent active ingredient in cannabis. While CBD is an essential component of Cannabis, it is derived directly from the hemp plant, a cousin of marijuana, or manufactured in a laboratory. CBD does not cause a "high" by itself.
Some cannabinoids can have euphoric or psychoactive effects. THC produces both effects. Some Cannabis plants contain very little THC. You can find cannabis products that contain just CBD, THC, or a combination of both. The dried flower that most people associate with cannabis contains both cannabinoids, though certain strains may have much more of one than the other. Hemp has large quantities of CBD, but no THC.
The leaves, stems, flower buds and extracts from the Cannabis plant can be inhaled, eaten, brewed in a tea, put into a tincture or made into an oil or slave topical. It can also be vaporized using an e-cigarette pen. Cannabis is medicine, strain & dosing is dependent on the affliction and the symptoms present.
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Cannabis & Our Body
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a biological system in the body that helps to regulate and control many of our most critical bodily functions such as learning and memory, emotional processing, sleep, temperature control, pain control, inflammatory and immune responses, and eating.
The ECS comprises a vast network of chemical signals and cellular receptors that are densely packed throughout our brains and bodies. The "cannabinoid" receptors in the brain — the CB1 receptors — outnumber many of the other receptor types on the brain. They control the levels and activity of most of the other neurotransmitters. This is how they regulate things: by immediate feedback, turning up or down the activity of whichever system needs to be adjusted.
To stimulate these receptors, our bodies produce molecules called endocannabinoids, which have a structural similarity to molecules in the cannabis plant.
A second type of cannabinoid receptor, the CB2 receptor, exists mostly in our immune tissues and is critical to helping control our immune functioning. It plays a role in modulating intestinal inflammation, contraction, and pain in inflammatory bowel conditions.
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Cannabis is Medicine
Cannabinoids are a group of substances found in the cannabis plant. Besides THC and CBD,more than 100 other cannabinoids have been identified.The cannabinoids in Cannabis may reduce pain by altering pain perception pathways in the brain. This may be helpful to treat conditions that cause chronic pain, such as:
arthritis, fibromyalgia, endometriosis and migraine.
Cannabis can aide in the treatement of Chronic pain, Depression, Anxiety disorders, Inflammation, Gastrointestinal disorders, Lowering Blood pressure, Preventing Seizures, Post-traumatic stress disorder and so much more.
It may also minimize cancer treatment side effects, like loss of appetite, nausea, pain and restlessness.
In some instances, Cannabis is reported to help replace the long-term use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen, which can have negative side effects.
Ways to Medicate with Cannabis
- People typically smoke cannabis in hand-rolled cigarettes (joints), in pipes or water pipes (bongs). The dry leaves, stems, flower buds and extracts from the cannabis plant can be eaten, brewed in a tea, put into a tincture, topical oil or bathbomb, patch or pill. It can also be vaporized using an e-cigarette pen.
Patches, Tinctures, slaves and oils
Transdermal patches allow cannabinoids to penetrate the skin and enter the bloodstream and are Good for extended release.
A cannabis tincture is a concentrated extract made by soaking the flowers and/or leaves in a solvent like alcohol. It allows for precise dosing down to a single drop.
Applied directly to the skin, cannabis balms, gels, salves, oils and lotions can be used to treat pain, muscle aches and more. They do have a much lower bioavailability than other methods of ingestion, and will not produce a psychotropic effect.
