Recently I had surgery on my left leg. When the orthopaedic surgeon was done putting my leg back together, I had a titanium plate holding my fibula so it would heal faster. The swelling was very bad from my knee to my foot. The pain was unbearable as you could imagine. Naturally I had to take some kind of painkillers to make my situation more comfortable. Hydro Morphine is what was prescribed even though I get very bad side effects for opiates. At the time I did not care about the side effects that opiates give me as I needed the pain to go away. To give you an idea of how bad my leg was swollen and how much pain I was in, I could not sit on a chair, because of the constant throbbing pain. Even with morphine I had to lay down most of the day with my leg up to reduce the swelling. After a few weeks the doctor told me that I cannot take any more morphine. What was even worse is that I could not take any anti-inflammatory drugs because that slows down bone growth.
Fortunately there are alternatives to taking anti-inflammatory drugs and painkillers for someone in my situation. CBD is an anti-inflammatory and pain killer in one. For the first time I tried a high CBD, low THC Cannabis. As soon as I got my order I tried it out in my vaporizer. Within a few minutes the throbbing in my leg stopped. It felt as through the pressure in my leg was gone, like popping a balloon. CBD Cannabis doesn't make you high however, it will make you feel relaxed and maybe a tad sleepy. The CBD Cannabis worked so well in fact I purchased a stronger product that did the job even better.
In general traditional painkillers like opiates, cocaine and asprin makes the nerves numb that are causing the pain. Actually your whole body is numb because the painkiller cannot target the problem area. This systemic effect is what gives you that dopey feeling. CBD is not a painkiller in the traditional sense. CBD helps treat the problem instead of masking the pain.
The key to CBD's painkilling properties is in the human Endocannabinoid system (EC). This system is responsible for all of our body functions, from breathing, heart rate, pain, swelling and your immune systems response. Endocannabinoids are produced by your body. Cannabinoids are the active substances in Cannabis and CBD being one of them. CBD suppresses the enzyme acid amide hydrolase which breaks down Anandamide. This naturally occurring Endocannabinoid Anandamide activates the CB1 and CB2 receptors and allows your body to deal with pain and injury. Said a different way, CBD tricks your brain into dialing down your response to pain and inflammation. In the case of my swollen leg, CBD reduced the inflammation which in turn stopped the pain.
By consuming CBD you are giving your body the natural ability to take care of injury, pain swelling, cancer and a whole lot more.
There is so much more to Cannabis then THC vs CBD, the type of terpenes are as important.
Recently I have been using Cannabis with a relative 1 to 1 ratio of THC to CBD to deal with fibromyalgia related muscle spasms. I have very debilitating muscle spasms at times. I thank my lucky stars I am not like this 24/7, like some folks are. I used Spectrum Cannabis Green (Tweed) I got some instant relief right away but the pain didn't go away. It took about 5 decent sized joints before I was feeling 85% better. After smoking for 3 days (not 24/7 LOL) the worst muscle spasm I have ever had was almost gone. Remember with recreational Cannabis you still need some CBD to have a good time, the same is true for CBD Cannabis, you still need a small amount of THC for medical use. You can use any variation of CBD vs THC and long as both components are present.
CBD is the new morphine. ☺
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I thought it would be a good idea to write about what Cannabis can not do to you, instead of the wonderful things it can do for you. It seems to me that not many people actually know the real reasons why you can never OD and die from consuming Cannabis.
Reason #5 Why Cannabis will never kill you is: Cannabis is the most non-toxic plant on earth. Cannabis is the only plant on earth that has all of the nutritional value as a one plant food source. Every part of Cannabis is edible.
Reason #4 Why Cannabis will never kill you is: Cannabis will never contribute to a heart attack, stroke or cancer. It has been well known for many years that Cannabis has many medicinal effects. Cannabis dilates blood vessels and arteries, essentially doing the opposite of what nicotine does. The dilation of blood vessels allows more blood flow, allowing for faster healing process and puts less strain on the heart. Cannabis will never cause cancer and in particular, lung cancer. Cannabis smokers have a one fold less chance of getting cancer even with traditional (pipe or bong) high does chronic use. Cannabis opens up the airways in the lungs. It's no big surprise to know that folks that have Asthma, smoke Cannabis
Reason#3 Why Cannabis will never kill you is: Concentration. I've read many times in articles that people get a stiffer possession charge because they have a concentrate of either Cannabis oil or Hashish. Cannabis is the most non-toxic substance on the planet. Even with high doses, Cannabis can never kill you. A very interesting example of this fact is the 1972 Shafer report was a real world comparison to see how toxic our most common substances really are. Cocaine has a 2:1 ratio, meaning that it takes two doses of Cocaine to get you high and the third one may kill you if done in a short period of time. Heroin has a 3:1 ratio, where the body can handle 3 doses of the drug and the fourth one may kill you. Even Alcohol has a ratio of 20:1...Cannabis has a ratio of 465,000:1. You would have to eat or smoke some insane amount of 263lbs in 15 minutes. Even though the study showed that Cannabis was not harmful, it remains in schedule I in the U.S. and schedule II in Canada to this day.
Reason #2 Why Cannabis will never kill you is: In the case of drugs like cocaine, the brain is flooded with dopamine. When dopamine levels become toxic, the brain will shut down to save its self...this is called coma. Cannabis keeps dopamine levels at a constant and normal level so coma can never occur.
Reason #1 Why Cannabis will never kill you is: It never affects the part of your brain that controls breathing and heart rate. The part of your brain that is responsible for this called the Medulla Oblongata, or called the Medulla for short. The Medulla is the lower half of your brain stem. Mobsters would say" give him two in the back of the head.." The reason for saying this is because if the Medulla is damaged severely like say from a bullet, your guaranteed a kill. Many drugs (pharmaceuticals as well) affect heart rate and breathing. Morphine depresses breathing and heart rate, while Cocaine will make your heart beat very fast. Cannabis will never affect the Medulla so that breathing and heart rate will not stop.
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Nationalizing Medical Marijuana is just another control method the Government controls you by ignoring the scientific data and taking away your Constitutional rights. The Conservative Government is taking away your right to cultivate the most useful plant on the planet. The Conservative party stopped all legal grow-ops in April of 2014, under the guise of eliminating crime associated with illegal grow-ops. CONTROL is the word of the day and always is. Legal and illegal Cannabis growers don't have guns to shoot the police, they have guns to protect themselves from the crime that Cannabis prohibition has created. Said another way...Legal and illegal Cannabis growers have different methods of security to protect themselves from those who may use fire arms to rob them.
Is Nationalizing Medical Marijuana a step in the right direction? Will recreational Cannabis be nationalized as well? If the answer is no then there will always be an illegal Cannabis trade for which there will always be crime. If money is an issue, then Medical Marijuana patients will go to the illegal drug trade as an alternative. This flaw in the system will allow illegal Cannabis producers to cash in by selling Cannabis cheaper than the Canadian Government. If our Canadian Conservative Government is Nationalizing Medical Marijuana because of its perceived potential for harm, then why on earth wouldn’t the government ban the use of tobacco and alcohol when asbestos was banned in 1979? All are known carcinogens so why leave tobacco and alcohol legal substances when both kill so many people every year? The reason for this is because you don’t have a choice to breath in asbestos fibers, where consuming alcohol and tobacco are a choice. If I have the choice of what way I would like to get cancer, why can't I choose the way I want to prevent it? Why on earth don’t I have the legal choice to consume Cannabis as a recreational substance when it prevents cancer?
In actuality our government does the opposite of what is needed. Here is an example: Cannabis is under schedule II in The Canadian Drug Schedule, and LSD is in schedule III. This means that LSD has more medicinal usages than Cannabis. In the US Cannabis is under schedule I, meaning Cannabis is as dangerous cocaine, heroin ETC. Why prescribe Cannabis to a cancer patient if it is so dangerous and causes cancer? What are we stupid? I asked my family doctor this very question. He responded “the reason why Cannabis is prescribed is because of short term grain versus long term exposure to the substance”. I don’t know about you, but if you have any type of cancer you’re in it for the long haul. No my friend the War on Drugs is control of useful substances like Cannabis. Cannabis is just one piece of the big picture, of government deception. In 2018 all of this will change, when Cannabis will be legal across Canada. Way to go Justin Trudeau. ☺
When the Conservative Government Nationalized Medical Marijuana, they are acknowledging that Cannabis has therapeutic value, so why is it still in Schedule II ? And if Cannabis can prevent and cure cancer why can't healthy people use it? Should we only have pity on those who are terminally ill? Can you even imagine the billions of dollars that would be saved every year, if we started using Cannabis oil to treat cancer (any form) instead of VERY expensive chemo and radiation therapy. Well one person did exactly that. His name is Rick Simpson. For those who do not know, Rick Simpson is a pioneer when it comes to curing cancer with Cannabis oil. Rick has his own very successful website called PhoenixTears.ca Rick made his Cannabis oil public to share his knowledge. Rick even called the Canadian Cancer Institute to tell them of his success. Of course they did not take Rick seriously. Rick gave his oil away at little or no cost. For Rick’s efforts, he has to live in another country or face jail time in Canada. Rick has not lived in Canada since 2013. See this is what our government does to people like Rick Simpson and Marc Emery. We are slowly being Americanized. Do you ever wonder why the colours of the Conservative Government are red white and blue?
The Special Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs said in 2002. “In our opinion, Canadian society is ready for a responsible policy on Cannabis...the continued prohibition of Cannabis jeopardizes the health and well-being of Canadians much more than does the substance itself. Cannabis presents almost no toxicity and cannot lead to an overdose.” The Committee also said “ Marijuana is not a gateway drug and should be treated like tobacco or alcohol than like hard drugs.” More info: Canadian Foundation for Drug Policy
Here’s what your Conservative Government says about Cannabis today.
”Marijuana, whether you are talking about the effects, the toxicity in terms of the human body are incredible. To legalize a substance that is incredibly toxic and is going to create a huge impact on our health-care system cost doesn’t really make sense.” Cathy McLeod – Conservative Party – Thompson-Cariboo-Shuswap, BC
Why on earth would the Conservative government’s stance on Cannabis differ so dramatically since 2002? They are the political party that is Nationalizing Medical Marijuana in the first place. The only answer to this question is the money that is being made by Nationalizing Medical Marijuana and not decisions based on intelligence. If its so dangerous as Cathy McLeod seems to think, why Nationalize Medical Marijuana to start with? Seems to me that Cannabis is illegal in Canada for recreational uses, because of political agendas and not what the majority of Canadian citizens have demanded and science has told us. The majority of the North American people want Cannabis decriminalized. Since 2002, science has only fortified the fact that Cannabis is non-toxic and very helpful for every bodily function. The Conservative Government is loosening up possession charges up to an ounce of dried Cannabis, and at the same time making illegal cultivation penalties stiffer. One month in jail for every plant you grow.
Access to the Medical Marijuana System
In 2013 it was impossible to find a doctor that supports Medical Marijuana. It took me 3 years to convenience my own family doctor at the time, that Cannabis prevented migraine headaches and that Cannabis can be used for a variety of illnesses. My family doctor would not sign my exemption card papers even though Health Canada provides a disclaimer form for the doctor to sign. I think doctors are scared of being sued and losing their license. The main reason for this is the perception that Cannabis can cause lung cancer. It is true that Cannabis has the ability to cause lung cancer however, so is sitting in front of a camp fire. Any combustible substance that results in a carbon molecule has the ability to cause cancer. Cannabis smokers have a one fold less chance of getting lung cancer than people that do not smoke tobacco or Cannabis. Cannabis is doing what it is intended to do as an anti-cancer medicine. Unless recreational Cannabis use is nationalized as well, then this whole system is as useful as the gun registry!!!!!!! Canadians will remember what a huge waste of money that was.
The Canadian Constitution grants me the right as a Canadian Citizen to use whatever medicine best suits my needs. No where in the Canadian Constitution does it exclude Cannabis or say that I have to pay for the right. I don’t have to pay to use morphine if I need it. Why should I have to pay for the privilege to use Cannabis? My Constitutional rights to use Cannabis supersedes the Cannabis laws!!! This is the very reason why you don’t have to obey the Cannabis prohibition laws to start with. The Canadian Government counts on its citizens being ignorant to this fact and throws you in jail. In actuality it is the Canadian Government that is breaking the law by enforcing Cannabis laws and prohibiting people from using a useful substance. Seems to me that Health Canada should make it free for anyone to get an exemption card (prescription) since the system is fundamentally flawed to start with.
Essentially Cannabis laws should not be enforced. The North American people have given their government 35 years to fix a problem that never existed. There never was a big enough problem with Cannabis in the first place to warrant making it illegal. In 1937 the U.S. government outlawed all forms of Cannabis/Hemp and branded it Marijuana. Why not use its scientific name (Cannabis)? My spin on this is: the name Marijuana was intentionally used by the US DEA because (Can)nabis sounded too positive. A little know fact: Marijuana has nothing to do with Cannabis. Marijuana is a tobacco smoked by Mexicans. The U.S. government used scare tactics and it started with how they branded their new war. So the people would demand to be protected against the new killer weed.
While Cannabis remains illegal in Canada for recreation use, countries like Uruguay took the right approach and legalized it. Cannabis in Uruguay is now considered “a farm-to-table state business” This approach is exactly what the North American people have been asking for. Way to go Uruguay!!! ☺
Marijuana should not be compared to another substance and its perceived potential for harm. We should focus on the positive effects, since science tells us that Cannabis does not affect the brain and all organs in a negative way. Most people are brain washed into believing that every drug, whether legal or illegal has side effects, where Cannabis’s high is a side effect. Maranol which is a synthetic THC is very much legal to use and has the exact same “side effects” (high) as Cannabis. People have died using synthetic THC (Maranol) and its legal. No one has died (ever) smoking Cannabis and it's illegal!!!!! it's almost like they want to kill us on purpose. Have you ever heard this saying: “you can be addicted to drugs, just as long as they are our drugs!”
Cannabis is indeed the most widely used illegal drug. However this is mainly because it is the safest non-addictive illegal drug to use, and it is healthy for you at the same time. Cannabis is safer to use than drinking coffee. What this all of this boils down to is Cannabis works too well as a medicine. The only reason for nationalized Medical Marijuana is so the government can now capitalize on the revenue that will be generated from over-priced government controlled Cannabis. If it is legal for the government to grow it, why the heck cant I grow it myself?
Here is another flaw in the system. Cannabis seeds are and have been legal to purchase in Canada for a long time now. The reason why Cannabis seeds are legal is because they do not contain high levels of THC. THC is the substance that makes Cannabis illegal. Cannabis seeds are legal to purchase, however growing and cultivating the plant is illegal. What does the Canadian Government expect us to do with the seeds....eat them? No your going to grow the plant of course. I cannot stop mother nature from producing THC in a Cannabis plant. You can legally grow Papaver somniferum, (The opium poppy) in your garden. The flowers are considered ornamental even though you could produce a small amount of opium from it. The Canadian Government is telling us, it is ok to grow a plant that can potentially kill you, just as long as you don’t grow a Cannabis plant that can save your life. I am sure you see what I'm getting at here...
The Canadian Government is essentially creating criminals by allowing us to purchase Cannabis seeds legally. This is just another example of why the Cannabis laws should not be obeyed.
Please keep in mind that the reason for pushing forth and out right legalizing Cannabis is the struggle for truth, freedom and has little to do with getting high. I believe in people like scientists, molecular biologists that are 100 times smarter than myself. Look at the facts, educate yourself, and let simple logic guide your beliefs.
FAST FORWARD ...........4 years 2017
WOW what a change 4 years has made. I didn't think this day would come. Thank you Justin Trudeau!!!! You got to admit that Mr. Trudeau is the coolest Prime Minister in Canadian history. He's doing what other prime ministers wouldn't touch, and he's doing it for all the right reasons.
Today it's different, you don't have to find a doctor because clinics are opening up all across Canada that provide access to a doctor that supports the Medical Marijuana program. The best part is you don't have to pay for the right to use Cannabis as a medicine. All you need is a referral from your family doctor or drop into one of the clinics. The whole idea of nationalizing Medical Marijuana is safe access for patients. What could be safer than growing your own medicine? Today patients are allowed to do just that. Under the new Medical Marijuana laws, patients are allowed to grow a limited amount of plants. How many can we grow? You will have to wait for a definite answer sometime in the spring 2018.
Recently I had to show my exemption card (from the producer) to a police officer. The discussion about me smoking pot lasted about 30 seconds. "A badge of freedom" are the words that come to mind when I think about this situation. All the years of hunting for a doctor and faxing documentation paid off.
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One simple fact about Cannabis that is it balances your body’s own growth and healing rhythms. Cannabis has the ability to dial down the body’s immune system’s inflammatory response to infection and swelling. Since Cannabis is a natural antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory substance, the immune system has less to deal with, making recover time from injury shorter. In essence, skipping a step to the healing process. Cannabidiol (CBD) is the Cannabinoid that is responsible for the anti-inflammatory response and is also anti-psychoactive where Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is psychoactive. These two substances have a slightly opposite effect on each other keeping your brain chemistry in balance. Think about it like this: it’s a fail-safe system, which is the reason why you can never OD smoking or eating Cannabis. You can only get so high from smoking Cannabis, your brain will not allow serotonin and dopamine levels to become toxic. This natural control mechanism is what I personality believe is the key to how Cannabis can treat any illness.
Most folks that smoke or have eaten Cannabis on a daily basis have noticed a decrease in appetite, as though Cannabis is somehow giving the body all that it needs for nutrition. This natural effect of Cannabis is more prevalent with someone who is overweight. Even if you are over weight and consuming more calories than needed you tend to lose weight. Cannabis works in the opposite fashion by increasing one’s appetite if underweight, hence why we prescribe Cannabis to AIDS and cancer patients. This natural response of Cannabis to restore one’s natural body harmony is key to understand why Cannabis can do so many wonderful things. It’s no surprise to read that Cannabis can be used to treat diabetes, and other illnesses like migraine headaches.
A published article in The American Journal of Medicine, shows this “two faced” relationship Cannabis has on weight and diabetes. In short, the article accurately describes how Cannabis controls insulin levels for diabetes subjects that fasted for 9 hours. The study concluded that: Cannabis users are less likely to become obese. Cannabis smokers tend to have a better metabolic rate for digestion and sugar control IE: Cannabis controls the energy intake and distribution though out your body. Endocannabinoids are the Cannabis like Cannabinoids that your body already produces. The study also suggests that Cannabinoid receptors deep in the brain are responsible for the way Cannabis plays a role in controlling one’s weight and insulin levels. This finding is very important because, this means that Cannabis can be used to treat Hypoglycemia as well.
The key to how Cannabis can control blood sugar levels and weight is the CB1 receptor. In the 1980s researchers identified the CB1 Cannabinoid receptor. Cannabinoid receptors come in two varieties, called CB1 and CB2. Most of your CB1 receptors are in your brain, and are responsible for the ”high” you get from smoking Cannabis. CB2 receptors, often associated with the immune system, and are found all over the body.
Repeated use of Cannabis makes the CB1 receptors less sensitive, meaning the weaken CB1 receptors are dialing down the appetite response. Daniele Piomelli, a professor of pharmacology at the University of California, Irvine, says “This has been shown to happen in people who smoke marijuana. This weakening of CB1 receptor translates into a lower risk for obesity and diabetes because the inactive receptor would be unable to respond to our own cannabis-like molecules, which we know are important in keeping us chubby.” Cannabis might spike our appetite initially, over time it gets dialed down naturally. Wow what a cool side effect for a drug.
There you have it folks...another use for the oldest medicine on earth !!!!!!
Now maybe you will discover like millions of others have already done. Cannabis is really a cure all medicine that happens to be the best preventative medicine as well.
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