My health journey into cannabis (CBD)
I’ve never taken much of an interest in drugs of any kind. Being a recovering “Type A” I just didn’t feel I had the time for that. But, as I age, I keep on changing. Many of my yogi friends use pot for a variety of reasons (relaxation, pain-relief, heightened sensory awareness, energy perception, quieting of the mind, etc.).
Being an avid gardener, I experimented with growing this legal plant in California from seed (two different Cannabis sativa varieties) with my friend Randy this past spring. It was really satisfying to watch this vigorous plant come to life and it was easy to keep alive. It was so easy to grow that I learned firsthand why it’s called “weed”!
Recently, my lovely friend Piper for invited me to listen to Erica Oberg ND speak on cannabis at the local garden club meeting. I learned lots of interesting stuff and though I would share some if with you.
Here are five of the most interesting things I learned this week about cannabis, and more specifically the component CBD in cannabis:
1. The endocannabinoid system in the body has something called "tone" and can be optimized with CBD to promote good health in many ways.
2. The endocannabinoid system runs in sync with one's nervous system and one's immune system. CBD resets CB2 receptors for optimal immune health and reduced inflammation as well as providing a powerful antioxidant to the body. CBD (and some small amounts of THC) can be a miracle for those who suffer from fibromyalgia, Parkinson's Disease (we watched a miraculous video where it took a man with noticeable dyskinesia spasms from Parkinson's disease only two minutes to stop all spasms) and osteoarthritis (me!)
3. CBD is a fatty acid like "good" fish oil or flax seed oil and adequate Omega-3 levels are required for a good CBD response. Furthermore, Dr. Oberg thinks B Vitamins also help this response.
4. Doses of CBD oil should be kept to 5 mg or lower and the active CBD best utilizes organic hemp as a carrier. The best way to find the dosage optimal for you is to experiment. Perhaps you’ll try the non-psychoactive CBD first which might help deepen your connection to your experience, reduce pain and relax the mind as it does for me. Perhaps you’ll add in a little THC to the mix to relieve chronic pain, deepen your sensory and energetic experience, but please no driving! Studies show consistently that you won’t turn into a pot head, but you may in fact get the munchies.
5. www.cbdoilreview.org is a good place to research CBD products and many of these products can be ordered online and delivered to your door (so you don't have to dress incognito and skulk into a wacky local dispensary to be served by someone who may work “high”!) After using the research on this site, I purchased Endoca Hemp Oil with one drop containing 5 mg of CBD. (The stuff is expensive, but maybe I’ll get a discount for this plug?)
I’ve only been using daily 5 mg doses of organic CBD a short while now, but notice almost immediate results in relaxing my nervous system and reducing inflammation in my chronically inflamed knee (due to osteoarthritis). The dosage is strong and I’ve decided to use it right before I go to bed because frankly, I find it a bit too relaxing to use during the day. I also think it might help my allergies by regulating my overly-active immune response to all the yellow Acacia pollen floating around this time of year. I plan on trying Endoca’s Hemp Balm next which is applied topically to specific areas of the body to directly target the inflammation in my knee.
Perhaps it’s time to release old stories we hold around cannabis and try CBD to feel well and maximize your health?
