MMJ Journal - One Man's Healing With Cannabis Experience

[Dave Groomer]

I had one Auto Diesel berry you could smell through two doors, and one of them is a metal door! Up to then I was so self-conscious about neighbors knowing I had a grow. Not any more. If they haven't figured it out by now, THEY are well past nose-blind!

At least I don't have a stream of scary strangers coming to my door at all hours of the night. I only grow for family. This is a family neighborhood.

I have a Dream Machine that is about 4 1/2 weeks into flower in High Brix soil. I really didn't notice her smell until I took her out of the tent yesterday to trim her. My wife said "man she stinks". Don't notice it at all in the tents. Guess my carbon filters are working!!

 

[Oldbear]

Interesting thought: You can practice any brain task just by thinking about it. You can run through all the steps of any 'project' just thinking about it.

more work on this later

 

[Oldbear]

I have a Dream Machine that is about 4 1/2 weeks into flower in High Brix soil. I really didn't notice her smell until I took her out of the tent yesterday to trim her. My wife said "man she stinks". Don't notice it at all in the tents. Guess my carbon filters are working!!

I'm going to check your journal out for tips on 'no smell stealth growing'. Or build a 3 season grow house. hmmmm

 

[Dave Groomer]

I'm going to check your journal out for tips on 'no smell stealth growing'. Or build a 3 season grow house. hmmmm

I don't have any current journals. Had an issue a while back and wanted to minimize my online presence for a little bit. I just flitter through posting things here and there. I may get a journal up sometime in the future, but I have a number of people I help and I don't want to jeopardize that.

 

[Oldbear]

OK thanks. At my knowledge level, one of your completed ones will be full of useful info.

 

[Dave Groomer]

OK thanks. At my knowledge level, one of your completed ones will be full of useful info.

Feel free to ask or PM me. I am happy to help where I can.

 

[KingstonRabbi]

hi gthm I'm delighted you came by. Im thinking out loud: newborns come with some basic functions built in. eat drink flush sleep make noise basic functions. Other wise we 'learn' to do things. Walk upright is a good example.

You have a need to relearn i think very much so. Good on you for being willing and able to do that. going to the store is an activity we train for for years until it is automatic. its like autopilot on a plane.

Imagine - you are rebuilding and regrowing damaged circuits in your brain. Your ECS must be involved in that.

Best wishes and congratulations for all your re-learning activities.

I can't speak for G2HM, but for me there's another component to relearning skills. Part of my recovery is healing parts of my brain that were damaged by chemo and retraining them to do what I did before. Another part is recognizing that parts of my brain functionality are gone and I need to learn new ways to accomplish what I did before.

Memory is a good example. I used to take for granted that short-term memories would get transferred to long-term memory, like most people I suppose. Now I need to consciously make associations in my mind while its still in short-term memory or I can have blackouts of what I was doing or thinking just seconds before. When I'm talking to someone I have to remind myself what we are talking about. I've had a few discussions with my manager where I had to stop and ask what I was just saying. He understood, got through it with his help, and doesn't happen much now.

I can tell my short-term memory capacity is increasing with use and practice, but I also have to do a few things differently. So new learning along with relearning, Which ties into what you said about learning most everything from time we are babies. This is part of my life-long learning process. Seeing it that way and not focusing on what I've lost makes it all easier to deal with and makes healing go faster I believe.

 

[Oldbear]

I'm in town. Not as easy to stick with the program with all the people about. Im trying to stick to a break every 3 hours. Little snack, hydration, flush, body scan and option teeny dose of something for a small adjustment.

 

[Oldbear]

I found this websearching:

Synthetic vs. Whole Plant CBD
Cannabis versus synthetic cannabinoids
By Martin A. Lee on February 22, 2015

A groundbreaking study from Israel has documented the superior therapeutic properties of whole plant CBD-rich cannabis extract as compared to synthetic, single-molecule cannabidiol (CBD).

Published in the journal Pharmacology & Pharmacy (Feb. 2015), the article directly challenges one of the sacred cows of Big Pharma and the medical-industrial complex -- the notion that “crude” botanical preparations are inherently low grade and less effective than pure, single-molecule compounds.

Entitled “Overcoming the Bell-Shaped Dose-Response of Cannabidiol by Using Cannabis Extract Enriched in Cannabidiol,” the article is all the more noteworthy given the contribution of co-author Lumir Hanus, who was instrumental in the discovery of anandamide, the endogenous cannabinoid compound first identified in the mammalian brain in 1992.

Hanus and two Israeli colleagues from Hebrew University of Jerusalem surveyed the scientific literature and noted that during the past fifteen years numerous preclinical studies had focused on the anti-inflammatory effects of pure, single-molecule CBD in animal models of various pathologies, including rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, and diabetes. (See preclinical data regarding CBD.)

These studies showed that administration of pure, single-molecule CBD resulted in a bell-shaped dose-response curve, meaning that when the amount of CBD exceeded a certain point its therapeutic impact declined dramatically. “Healing was only observed when CBD was given within a very limited dose range, whereas no beneficial effect was achieved at either lower or higher doses,” the authors observed. This characteristic of single-molecule CBD — manifested as a bell-shaped dose response — imposes serious obstacles that limit its usefulness in a clinical context.

The Israeli team sought to determine whether the administration of a whole plant CBD-rich extract would also generate a bell-shaped dose-response curve when administered to mice. Or would cannabidiol extracted from CBD-rich Cannabis avoid this liability? “The aim of the present study,” the authors explained, “was to find a CBD source that could eliminate the bell-shaped dose-response of purified CBD.”

The scientists obtained a CBD-rich strain called “Avidekel” from Tikkun Olam, an Israeli medical marijuana producer. Referred to as “clone 202” in this study, Avidekel has hardly any THC and therefore is not intoxicating. The origins of Avidekel can be traced to Spain, where breeders developed several phenotypes of “Cannatonic” (as in “cannabis tonic”), including a strain that measures close to 20 percent CBD by dry weight with almost no intoxicating ingredients. (The same high-yielding CBD-dominant strain is known as “ACDC” in California.)

The Israeli researchers extracted CBD-rich oil from clone 202. The extract—consisting of 17.9 percent CBD, 1.1 percent THC, 1.1 percent cannabichromene (CBC), 0.2 percent cannabigerol (CBG), and “traces” of cannabinol (CBN) and cannabivarol (CBDV)—was given to mice to evaluate its anti-inflammatory and painkilling effect.

For comparative purposes, the scientists administered pure, synthetic CBD to another group of mice and assessed its anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. They also compared the extent to which single-molecule CBD and whole plant CBD inhibited the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFa), a systemic inflammatory signaling molecule. Dysregulation of TNF-alpha production has been implicated in several diseases including cancer, Alzheimer’s, clinical depression, and irritable bowel syndrome.

The pure CBD tests confirmed the findings of earlier preclinical research. Once again, single-molecule CBD administration generated a bell-shaped dose-response curve with a narrow therapeutic window.

But a different dose response pattern was observed when the clone 202 extract was administered to mice. Rather than showing a bell-shaped curve, where a therapeutic effect could only be achieved at a certain concentration of pure CBD, the whole plant CBD-rich extract caused a direct, dose-dependent inhibition of pain, inflammation, and TNFa production. “In stark contrast to purified CBD,” the Israeli team reported, “the clone extract...provided a clear correlation between the anti-inflammatory and anti-nociceptive responses and the dose, with increasing responses upon increasing doses, which makes this plant medicine ideal for clinical uses.”

Moreover, the Israeli researchers found that a small amount of CBD in the clone extract was needed for significant pain relief compared to the much larger amount of pure CBD required to achieve the same analgesic effect. And whereas pure, single-molecule CBD precipitated a dramatic drop in efficacy if more than a specific dosage was administered, an “overdose” of whole plant CBD-rich extract did not undermine its therapeutic potency. When greater than an optimal dose of the clone 202 oil was administered, its effectiveness leveled off, suggesting that a medicinal plateau had been reached.

The Israeli study found that Cannabis clone 202 extract “is superior over CBD for the treatment of inflammatory conditions.” The greater efficiency of the whole plant extract might be explained by additive or synergistic interactions between CBD and dozens of minor phytocannabinoids and hundreds of non-cannabinoid plant compounds. “It is likely that other components in the extract synergize with CBD to achieve the desired anti-inflammatory action that may contribute to overcoming the bell-shaped dose-response of purified CBD,” the Israeli team surmised.

The scientists also felt it was important to examine how the CBD-rich Cannabis extract compared with commercial painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs. They found that both pure CBD and the clone 202 extract exhibited greater anti-inflammatory potency than aspirin. Aspirin, but not tramadol, registered a slight inhibitory effect on TNFa production, which was negligible in comparison to the strong inhibitory effect of pure CBD and clone 202.

The key finding that CBD in the presence of other Cannabis components improves the dose-response is supported by recent reports documenting the anti-proliferative effect of cannabidiol on tumor cells and the inhibitory effect of CBD on bladder contractility.

“A lot of research has been made to isolate and characterize isolated single constituents of traditional herbal medicine to find their rationale for therapeutic uses,” the Israeli team concluded. “However, our data together with those of others provide legitimation to introduce a new generation of phytopharmaceuticals to treat diseases that have hitherto been treated using synthetic drugs alone. The therapeutic synergy observed with plant extracts results in the requirement for a lower amount of active components, with consequent reduced adverse effects.”

 

[Oldbear]

I found this websearching.

CBD User's Manual

 

[Tennessee Tim]

Another scientist learns what we old time users always suspected and believed! You can't get a better source of medicine than the natural plant , full of all the complexity of life that scientist have been grasping to understand but have only scratched the surface of! But, very helpful to further understanding the plants uses and treatment approaches! The whole plant has beneficial uses and taken together is more effective, in most cases, to improve medical issues! I have believed, targeting specific problems or avoiding specific effects are more in the dosing and administration technique , rather than the exclusion of parts of the plant, given a closer to balanced ratio of components within the individual plant used (as compared to plants developed primarily for THC content).

I found this websearching.

CBD User's Manual

 

[AKgramma]

I thoroughly believe in the whole-plant value of healing. When you look at Lab Rat's healing chart (you can copy a full-size pic from his gallery) the most difficult to treat conditions require many, not just one cannabinoid.

I brew my tinctures naturally, and the resulting product doesnt get me high. But I can be assured that I'm ingesting whole-plant extracts.

 

[Oldbear]

subbed my daughter and i are also trialling mmj

welcome to you both Hope your trials are going well.

 

[Oldbear]

Do you have tincture recipes on here some where?

I thoroughly believe in the whole-plant value of healing. When you look at Lab Rat's healing chart (you can copy a full-size pic from his gallery) the most difficult to treat conditions require many, not just one cannabinoid.

I brew my tinctures naturally, and the resulting product doesn't get me high. But I can be assured that I'm ingesting whole-plant extracts.

 

[Oldbear]

DIYphysio is my term for working all the joints and muscles several times a day. Everyday.

Heres a fan favorite: Get Up off the Floor.

The heaviest thing I can lift is myself. Getting down on the floor is one task that works the muscles. Getting up off the floor is hard work.

Five reps of that is interesting.

 

[AKgramma]

Do you have tincture recipes on here some where?

MAKING A TINCTURE

Note that unless you are into precise dosing, making tinctures is a flexible process. use what you have on hand, and adjust the amount of liquid carrier accordingly.

What you need:

A quart mason Jar with lid
Kitchen strainer
Cheese Cloth
Alcohol at least 80- proof, or an organic cooking oil that is liquid at room temps.

Cannibus: Your choice of:
2 - OZ leaves (dried, fresh, cured, uncured, whatever you have in your trim bin)
1 - Oz trim/buds in any ratio (Male pods are good, too)

Making a tincture is easy. You put your fresh or dried leaf/trim/buds (cured or uncured) in a mason jar and cover the herb with the alcohol of your choice (at least 80 proof) on the new moon. You only need enough liquid to just cover the herb. Shake like hell for about a minute, then store in a dark, lower kitchen cabinet for a month or more. The idea of starting on the new moon is that as the moon appears, more of the healing elements of the herb is extracted. (But for the sake of convenience, you can start the brew any time).

You may use an oil instead of alcohol, whichever cooking oil you want, and also depending on what you plan to use it for. Most people use a pure, virgin olive oil, if you like the taste of olive oil. But there are other possibilities. Try to keep it organic.

You do not have to decarb the weed unless you want a high. The idea of a medicine, however, is curative, not recreational. It is your choice.

When at least a month has passed, Strain through a kitchen sieve lined with cheese cloth, then wring all the liquid you can out of the bundle. The leftover herb can be dried and used for cooking or tea, as it still contains healthy cannabinoids. Waste not, want not.

Store the brew until you decide what you are going to do with it. If you used 80 proof alcohol, you might want to heat on low in a crockpot till it reduces about half. If you used Bicardi 151, it's pretty strong and doesnt need reducing. The brew can even be reduced down to a CCO and consumed accordingly.

The brew can be taken straight, mixed with juice, added to recipes: be creative. If you take it straight, adding a few drops of coconut extract, for example, takes away the bitter taste.

Maybe it is just me, but I don't get high on my tinctures, mainly because I don't decarb the weed before brewing.

Each brew you make will have a different concentration of cannabis extracts. Dose carefully at first, till you find your sweet spot.

 

[Tennessee Tim]

as for me i have dibilitating arthritis and without mmj im immobile .mmj is a miricle

Awesome to hear another testimonial from a MMJ user of the positive results of using some form of cannabis therapy! The relief of some of your daughter's problems with her Autism is truly awesome! Many of us in the MMJ forums started searching because of RA or Osteo forms of the Arthritis affliction to our joints, other conditions or injuries to joints or bones or because of types of cancer in their lives. It is amazing of how many different conditions are being treated with marked success with MMJ! I have been self treating since a kid for issues related most likely to a fractured skull (nuts)! I mainly used it as an escape tool, less debilitating than other intoxicants, for a long time. I later realized the benefits and drawbacks of my treatments. As a life of toil gave me aches and pains and now with RA and bad vertebrae, reattached thumb, and other chronic sources of pain it has become as valuable for escaping those pains misery than the original sanity balancer I had once used it for primarily. I will mention that sharp pain from injuries can be intensified with THC use for many persons, if not well balanced with CBD. I find that for me, THC and CBD together, help a lot with reducing inflammation and helping reduce chronic pain, so I use Both for RA and general aches and pains but lay off the THC for acute injury pain (like cutting yourself deeply or toothache / surgery) You will find what works best for you. So much good information to be found today!

 

[Oldbear]

420lovers thanks so much for sharing your situation and amazing results. When you have a minute, could you share what you have been taking and the amounts?

Much appreciated.

 

[Oldbear]

How would I determine a therapeutic dose?

I want to share with the community a Sensitization Protocol developed by Dr. Dustin Sulak at (google him), an exciting newcomer to the Internet, determined in his own way to mainstream cannabis as a daily addition to our lives.

It appears there's this quirk in the Endocannabinoid system, evolved to keep it from being overstimulated. If you overindulge in cannabis, as many of us who grow successfully are prone to do, you cause the receptors to become unavailable. In some cases they will actually sink into the cell to be completely unapproachable. In response, you need more cannabis to get the same effect. You've fallen into the realm of diminishing returns.

I'm sure many of you reading this know exactly what I'm talking about. I believe we call it strain tolerance, when in fact it's a compromising of our system because we grow fabulous product and don't hesitate to appreciate it. One of the ways to reset the system when you suspect this "strain tolerance" is to simply switch to a different strain. This step won't reset the system as dramatically as this protocol will, but it will shake the system somewhat and increase sensitivity.

It should be obvious that smoking a joint will do much to increase tolerance levels, since the tendency is to keep hitting the joint so it doesn't go to waste. Edibles are discouraged for the same overdosing concerns. Vaporizers or tinctures offer you much better dosing control. There are some wonderful patches, tablets, mouth strips and sprays making their way onto the market that will change the playing field in years ahead.

What Dr. Sulak's developed is a way to reset your Endocannabinoid system in six days, during which time your system will begin to create more receptors and you'll be able to reset your optimal therapeutic dose, that dose that brings you the greatest relief, at a lower level, thereby getting you more efficient relief and healing, saving you meds, money, and frustration. His site has a series of videos that teach you breathing techniques and simple movements to enhance the Endocannabinoid system as you work your way through this protocol, things that will promote the expression of more receptors and help your body feel the beneficial effects of the system. I won't share any of that here, although I highly recommend you check them out. You all know how to use a search engine.

This protocol isn't appropriate for those on high-dose protocols for serious disease, such as cancer.

RESETTING YOUR ENDOCANNABINOID SYSTEM: A SIX DAY SENSITIZATION PROTOCOL

Day 1 - Cannabis Fast

Take note of how much cannabis you're using now. Write it down.

Take your regular dose, however you administer. Now put it away. You've just begun a 48 hour cannabis fast, after which you'll be listening closely to your body as you very gradually reintroduce cannabis in a way that will enhance your system.

Write down the date and time you started the fast and make note of the date and time you'll be ending it. Do yourself a favor and set the alarm on your phone.

Drink plenty of water. I can't stress this point enough. Water is what your body needs to wash away the stress-induced toxins in your system. Drink more water please.

Day 2 - Cannabis fast continues.

Try some breathing techniques, do some simple movement. Drink more water.

Day 3 - Begin re-introducing cannabis.

You're going to train yourself to listen closely to your body as you begin to reintroduce cannabis. Before and after each inhalation, drop of tincture or edible dose, use your "inner inventory" to assess the effect. Ask yourself three questions and write down your answers.

Inhalation, wait 5 minutes between pulls.
Tincture, wait 30 minutes between drops.
Edible, wait 2 hours between dose. ​

The Inner Inventory: before and after each administration, assess.

1 - Take a slow deep breath. How easy was that to do? Rate it on a scale of 1 - 10, with 10 being the easiest and 1 being the most difficult.

2 - How comfortable is your body? How easy is it to sit still, in a relaxed manner? Rate this the same way and write it down.

3 - How is your mood? Rate this one as 10 being optimistic and relaxed and 1 being frazzled to the max.

We aren't looking for symptomatic relief here. This is an important distinction. What you're feeling for is the very first signs of any change internally, anything different. Has the migraine begun to diminish ever so slightly, are the joints feeling more free, has the pain in your lower back begun to respond positively? Just the inkling of effect is what you're listening for. Wait the required time, and if you don't feel anything, repeat this process and wait another span of time to reassess. Keep this up until you do feel something. Then stop, put the cannabis away and go about your day.

Listen carefully to your body. Resist the urge to take more than is called for here. You're listening for just a ripple. Nothing more. In this case, less cannabis is more. Trust the process.

You may repeat this process up to 3 times today. Be sure to begin each session with the inner inventory. You need to assess your starting point.

Get some movement time in. Drink more water. Explore foods that'll enhance your Endocannabinoid system.

Day 4 - Continuing to enhance the Endocannabinoid system.

Repeat yesterday's process. It's during this time that your body's actively building up receptor numbers. You're doing a great job. Keep it up. Move, drink more water, breathe for health and fitness. Think healing thoughts and laugh more.

Day 5 - Continue to grow more receptors.

Repeat yesterday's process. Get excited. You're almost done and your body's going to thank you for this adventure with better healing potential.

Day 6 - Finding your optimal therapeutic dose.

Using a repetition of the process you did on days 3-5 you're now going to work for symptomatic relief, one inhalation, drop or edible bite at a time.

It's important here to go slow. Wait the recommended times between dose administration. Listen closely to your body. What you should find is that you'll get relief at a significantly lower dose than when you started.


To be clear, 2 administrations would be over a 10 minute period, 3 over a 15 minute period, and so on.

Determining when to stop.

You're going to get one of two results. Either 1) you're going to get relief and you can go about your day, or 2) your inner inventory is going to drop down a point or two from your last notation. This means you overshot the dose and need to drop back one administration.

Now that you have an optimal therapeutic dose, test it out for the next 2-3 dosing sessions, waiting the recommended amount of time between administrations. Once you've confirmed that this is, indeed, your dose, stick with it. From that point on, there's no need to wait the time between administrations.

Dr. Sulak recommends that you periodically back off your dose by one administration, to determine if your body now requires less than it did before. You should assume that as you progress through your cannabinoid therapy that your Endocannabinoid system is going to be able to function more efficiently. Consequently, your need for phytocannabinoids will change over time.

**********​

This protocol should be repeated anytime you notice yourself building a tolerance to cannabis. Alternatively, you can simply drop back one administration on your dose and let your system readjust.

Another gem from Sue to keep handy

 

[Oldbear]

Good read on terpenes:

Potent Healing Power Of Terpenes Found In Medical Cannabis