Study Demonstrates Power of Using Ketamine for Parkinson’s Disease
by Bethan Rose
by Chane Leigh
A study on cannabis for medical conditions found that chronic pain was at the top of the list as the most common reason for cannabis consumption. The study found that 62.2% of 641,176 registered cannabis patients were using cannabis to alleviate their chronic pain. The same study also found that the numbers do not accurately represent the cannabis community since there are many more using cannabis for medical conditions but aren’t registered as cannabis patients. Cannabis has long been known to help alleviate chronic pain and improve quality of life but which strains offer the most benefits for chronic pain? Let’s find out.
The following strains are popular with medical marijuana patients and cannabis users who seek plant medicine for relieving chronic pain symptoms.
Note that some of these strains are CBD-dominant. CBD is popular for its anti-inflammatory effects and the promotion of relaxation. To learn more about how CBD helps with pain and medical conditions, read our CBD guide here.
Chronic pain is a condition characterized by pain lasting at least 3 months but can remain for longer. Chronic pain often presents as a result of a condition or illness and can significantly decrease quality of life. Chronic pain symptoms include joint pain, muscle aches, burning pain, fatigue, sleep problems, loss of stamina and flexibility as well as mood issues including depression, anxiety, and irritability.
Cannabis has been used to alleviate pain for many, many years now and that’s due to the fact that it’s more effective and less risky than many pharmaceutical medications. The sad reality is that individuals suffering from chronic pain usually rely on pharmaceuticals in order to maintain a resemblance of functional and quality living and what’s worse is that pain management pharmaceuticals are at high risk of leading to addiction. Fortunately, cannabis offers better benefits at less cost to the wallet and health.
Cannabis is able to alleviate chronic pain because of the plant’s cannabinoids’ unique ability to bind with the receptors of our endocannabinoid system located throughout the body. The peripheral nerves which locate pain in the body contain an abundance of receptors for cannabinoids and the cannabis plant cannabinoids (such as CBD, CBG, and THC) blocks experienced pain and can even reduce inflammation in the source of the pain. Simply put, cannabis can alleviate chronic pain due to: (1) the endocannabinoid receptors interaction with cannabis, (2) blocking the pain receptors, (3) addressing the source of pain as well as (4) alleviating symptoms of chronic pain which thus improves the quality of life without the risk of addiction nor adverse side effects such as nausea.
Pain is the body’s alarm system which signals that something is wrong. This is why chronic pain is often the result of an underlying condition, trauma, or illness. Conditions often accompanied by chronic pain include:
When deciding on what cannabis to purchase, it is important to seek out the correct cannabinoid profile in order to get the best for your money. Purchasing the cannabis bud (the flower) will be optimal because it allows you to benefit from the terpenes and all the cannabinoids. When you consume the buds, you are getting the full-spectrum, which boosts the benefits due to what is known as the entourage effect. When you purchase cannabis products you lose out on certain cannabinoids and terpenes due to the extraction process involved in making the products-however they will still be helpful and beneficial. Your cannabis chosen for consumption will need to contain at least tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) in order to receive optimum relief. The THC is intoxicating but is vital for pain management alongside CBD. If you do not want to be intoxicated by the THC, you can find strains that are low in THC and higher in CBD but the strain should still contain both. CBD and THC will assist with the experienced pain, appetite stimulation and reducing inflammation while THC will boost your mood and CBD will assist with improving sleep, reducing nausea as well as alleviating stress and anxiety.
Terpenes and cannabinoids share the fact that they’re compounds and are beneficial, however, the terpenes are aromatic. Terpenes are responsible for the scent and contribute to the color of the cannabis plant, but they also contribute their own benefits. Most cannabis oils and tinctures may not contain terpenes despite their benefits. So, when considering cannabis for your chronic pain, it is important to consider cannabis with terpenes. Here is a quick overview of the major terpenes and their basic benefits.
Name: |
Scent: |
Benefits: |
| Myrcene | Musky and Earthy | Reduces inflammation and chronic pain. |
| Limonene | Citrus | Improves overall mood as well as alleviates stress and anxiety. |
| Linalool | Floral and Spicy | Reduces inflammation and relieves depression. |
| Caryophyllene | Spicy and Peppery | Reduces inflammation as well as alleviating stress and anxiety. |
| Pinene | Pinewood | Acts as an anti-inflammatory and boosts memory. |
| Humulene | Spicy, Woody, and Earthy | Acts as an anti-inflammatory, alleviates pain, and is antibacterial. |
Whatever your reasons for consuming cannabis during the day, it’s important to know how your cannabis will affect you to avoid becoming couch-locked when you should be working on something. Most of society needs to get things done throughout the day, meaning that the cannabis consumed should assist, not prevent, progress. How to Pick a…
New cannabis research found that a cannabis-based drug was able to kill pancreatic cancer cells. This cannabis-based drug, or rather miraculous medication, is a botanical combination of extracts from the Cyathus striatus fungus and cannabis. This powerful combo was even able to destroy all of the cancer cells without damaging any healthy cells, unlike conventional…
If you search the term “cannabis and heart health” on Google, you’ll notice that the results are flooded with pages upon pages of claims about the plant’s allegedly negative impacts on cardiovascular health. But just how true are these claims? Is the cannabis plant a true culprit for poor heart health? Well, according to a…
Ever woken up with beads of sweat rolling down your forehead, the bed sheets tangled around you in a desperately protective clutch, and the imprint in your memory of a scary dream? If so, you can consider yourself among the 50%-85% of adults who battle the occasional nightmare during REM sleep. For many people, the severity…
Choosing the proper pot for cultivating cannabis is important. Cannabis will grow in virtually any size pot or container. Cannabis plants can be grown to maturity in a Solo cup or pots ranging from 1 gallon up to 100 gallons. There are plastic pots, and there are fabric pots. So, how do you choose which…
A recent study suggests that secondhand cannabis smoke has “several hundred toxic chemicals, carcinogens and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), many at higher…
Austin decriminalized cannabis possession, Vancouver is now home to some not-so-legal magic mushroom shops, and a British woman shared her life-changing medical…
Cannabis strains have a multitude of different names. The names are a way to help identify different varieties of cannabis genetics. The…
