Medical marijuana benefits proven?

[Donald G]

To Silverstarqueen ...

A good article that clearly points out the conflict between the pro and anti factions that have somewhat polarized over many different medical aspects of marijuana.

Unfortunately, like many such articles, it does not do anything to identify the significant difference between THC and THCA. To many people think of marijuana only for its THC properties and not as a plant composed of over 400 chemicals and compounds, including around 80 cannabinoids, the only one of which is of concern at the moment is THC, according to the cumulative pro and con medical data identified to date.

I expect that, because there has not been extensive peer reviewed medical testing done, potential liability is at the heart of the matter. Although a number of well known and broadcasted anecdotes are well known the wide scale peer reviewed testing to combat such lawsuits are lacking. In large part because they were not permitted up until recently.

[flamingfingers]

There is a vast difference in drugs that are 'manufactured' in a lab and have undergone 'testing' and 'peer reviews' for perhaps only a decade and natural plant substances (cannabis) that have been in use for tens of thousands of years virtually world-wide.

[Donald G]

In thinking about the medical aspects of marijuana, I wonder how many people think about THCA to THC scientific contexts that have been more or less identified to date. Without that knowledge most articles can be completely misunderstood.

A small example follows;

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). Wow, this sounds scary like organic chemistry, doesn’t it? It is, so for both of our benefits, I’ll give you the dumbed down version.

Research suggests THCA has anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects but does not produce the psychoactive effect that make you feel “high”. This “high” is from the cannabinoid THC, of which little if any is found when cannabis is growing or recently harvested.

Decarboxylation is a chemical reaction that releases carbon dioxide (CO2). This means a chemical reaction takes place in which carboxylic acids loose a carbon atom from a carbon chain. This process converts THCA to THC, the much loved compound with many medicinal and psychoactive effects. When the cannabis drys, it very very slowly begins to decarboxylate and converts THCA to THC.

The good news is we don’t have to wait years for cannabis to decarboxylate. We can speed things along with a process that is a lot simpler than you might expect. Simply heating dried cannabis to the correct temperature for enough time releases that carbon dioxide and creates THC. Why have so many of you never heard of this before? Decarboxylating takes place without extra effort when cannabis is heated during the act of smoking or vaporizing. It also takes place to some degree when cannabis is cooked into butter or when hash and kief are added to a favorite recipe and then cooked in the oven.

When making tinctures, cannabis is not heated or baked, it is simply soaked in high proof alcohol. Decarboxylation never takes place and you end up with a product with a lot of THCA and very little THC. This may be a good for some symptoms but will not produce the results most expect.

[flamingfingers]

^Perhaps then it is the THC in cannabis that produces the effect of pain relief, stress reduction, enhanced appetite, and better sleep? Seems like a win-win to me!

[Donald G]

I do not think that a finding of "sounds like" based on an article directed at THCA to THC is adequate grounds upon which to issue a person with a medical prescription for the treatment of pain which is a very common symptom of almost all medical conditions.

[flamingfingers]

^^ All the more reason to allow adults to choose their remedy of choice.

FREE THE WEED!!

[Silverstarqueen]

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[Donald G]

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[Silverstarqueen]

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[Donald G]

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[Silverstarqueen]

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[Donald G]

2014 medical study on THC damage to fetus;

http://www.healthline.com/health-news/c ... t-012814#1

[jimmy4321]

It worries me that you'd consider giving THC Marijuana to a Fetus.


What the heck are you thinking!!!!!

[Silverstarqueen]

It worries me that you'd consider giving THC Marijuana to a Fetus.


What the heck are you thinking!!!!!

The Fetuses were dead, so the women were not planning to continue pregnancy, may or may not have been looking after themselves, and used cannabis and who knows what other drugs,tobacco, alcohol, so no surprise there might be some change in some tiny part of the brain.Also who can say that would actually have resulted in some dysfunction or which drugs it was due to.

[Donald G]

The opinions of the five doctors involved in the study that included far more than examination of the dead fetuses was that;

Although the brain differences caused by THC exposure are fairly subtle, Harkany warns that their minds' inherent instability is what leaves children at greater risk for developing certain psychiatric conditions later in life.

“Abnormal [axon] organization, even if remaining latent for long periods, might be prone to ‘circuit failure’ if provoked,” he explained. “A ‘double hit’ scenario of failure, when a network advances into a runaway cascade upon a secondary insult, therefore might account for the increased incidence of schizophrenia, depression, and addiction in offspring prenatally exposed to cannabis.”

The take-home message, Harkany feels, is clear. “Cannabis should be avoided during pregnancy. And, if there is a medical indication for the mother then careful cost/benefit analysis should be conducted by medical professionals," he said. "I appreciate the use of medical cannabis, but it should certainly be analyzed whether maternal benefits outweigh potential risk for the baby.”

That opinion is consistent with any number of other "better safe than sorry" conclusions reached by other qualified medical people involved in the field. Unfortunately, as in many such media reports the THC content was not identified.