This post was published on the site "Cannabis Life Network"~ Today Our Cannabis; Tomorrow Your Garden.
I sit here on my couch legal to use medicinal cannabis under the ACMPR (Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations). I buy my cannabis through the mail now, tracked digitally as is the credit card payment for said regulated product. I had hoped to be able to slow down on that, hoped I could grow my own as ruled by the Supreme Court of Canada. It never ever occurred to me or to any of my friends that we'd once again be stuck searching for a doctor to sign for us. But here we are.
I got legal through a clinic called Canna Connect who have now decided across that board to refuse to sign anyone to do what our highest court has ruled is a human right. I pay $5 a gram for my medicine and if I grew it, I could get that price down to $1 or less. Others pay $8 to $15 as different medical conditions require different strains. Imagine what your monthly medical cannabis bill would be if your condition were only helped by the cannabinoid ratio in a $15 strain. It's not even like it costs that much more to grow that strain. The seeds may be more rare and thus more costly, but when you're talking lights, water, and nutrients, one plant does not require that much more money to grow it when compared to another--time yes; money no.
I was one of the lucky ones to get a year long prescription with no THC cap. But if I want to grow my own cannabis, I risk running into a Doctor with more conservative ideas about what's safe and what's not. I run the risk of having my daily dose lowered and being burdened with a THC cap where I would be forced to purchase strains having THC below a certain %, in turn making it even more difficult for me to find an affordable strain. Tetrahydrocannabinol and I are buddies, I need no protection from this compound. I sat last week with some comfort that at least I'll be able to find a designated grower to grow the strains I choose and sell to me at a reasonably agreed-upon price. But the DG's too are searching for that document to send to Health Canada with their application to grow.
I grew up with gardening genius parents who still start hundreds of seeds indoors every February. It starts in the basement and works it's way up to the window sills then eventually to the greenhouse and finally to the gardens. What a process. And one that my father and millions of Canadians have safely excelled at for hundreds of years. What happens when the powers-that-be start taking away the right to grow Petunias and Marigolds, Tomatoes and Squash? What if they win in convincing law-makers that growing any plant indoors is a hazard to our health and the framework of your property? What if they say that you have to buy your seeds and plants from only certain authorized dealers? What if they start controlling what you grow? Sounds so awful doesn't it? Welcome to our lives ... today our Cannabis plants; tomorrow it could be your Tomatoes or your Cukes, herbs too. The doctors are citing concerns of quality while activists are crying capitalism as this clearly places an almost contractible value on every patient's head. In fact, this stance is completely counter to that of our Canada Health Act, which states:
"It is hereby declared that the primary objective of Canadian health care policy is to protect, promote and restore the physical and mental well-being of residents of Canada and to facilitate reasonable access to health services without financial or other barriers. 1984, c. 6, s. 3."
The good news is that some doctors are indeed signing, and applications to grow have indeed been approved. But not quickly enough. Patients in need of legal access to cannabinoid therapy are not getting legal quickly enough either. We have an overly bureaucratized legalization and registration process for a plant that in terms of toxicity remains the safest and most versatile medicine known to man. And frankly, it's putting Canadian lives in danger.
Health NOT Profit
Monday, 12 September 2016
Wednesday, 17 August 2016
Coconut-Cannabis Alchemy~ Apartment Style
**** the oil from this process was fairly weak. If you have been ingesting Cannabis or oil made with it for a while, you may want to increase the amount of product used. If you are a brand new user or are planning on feeding this to your pet, this recipe is a safe place to start.
All Cannabis used was cured and stored using Boveda technology. To read more about how
this salt-water slurry and the process of osmosis can keep your buds fresh & pungent, read here.
Infusing Cannabis into a fat is a surprisingly straight forward process. It involves two distinct steps that rely on strict heat control and timing. There are a bazillion different methods and for small batches I've come up with this one. Mainly, you need to set aside about 4 hours of your time and voila ... you just made your own medicine.
Cannabinoids bind to any fat, I prefer coconut oil. I made some oil a few nights ago in my small apartment. It yielded me about half a cup of medicine that I take sublingually (under the tongue).
I used:
2 grams Cannabis buds
1.5 grams Cannabis trim
1/2 cup Coconut oil
You will also need:
Heat-safe gloves/mits
A double boiler or a crock pot.
medium sized mason jar (not needed if using a crock pot)
ceramic dish with lid (optional--helps keep odor in for apartment dwellers)
thermometer that goes over 200F
cheese cloth
The first process is called "decarboxylating" or "activating" your Cannabis:
To put it simply, in their natural form many of the medicinal cannabinoids in Cannabis are like jigsaw puzzle pieces that don't fit into our body's receptors. Everything from sea sponges to humans have an endocannabinoid system~ a naturally-occurring system of receptors that accept this plant's compounds. By burning or heating the Cannabis, you break off an excess piece of the jigsaw so now it easily fits.
For my fellow cooks, you're basically roasting here. Pre-heat the oven to 250F. While it heats, the Cannabis will exude an herby, almost onion-y scent. Wrapping it in a little pouch of parchment paper definitely reduces the smell and also ensures even heating of the buds.
Break the buds apart with your fingers to cranberry sized pieces. Many recipes tell you to grind, but there's a new train of thought suggesting that the cannabinoids leach out of the Cannabis more easily left intact than when ground into the organic material. Halfway through the Coconut oil simmer, the buds easily mash up with pressure from a wooden spoon.
Place the parchment pouch inside a ceramic or glass baking dish with a lid (or foil in a pinch).
Roast for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, melt 1/2 cup Coconut oil in a mason jar. If using a crock pot, you'd melt the oil in there first. Watch the temps on crock pots as they can get pretty warm even on the 'keep warm' mode. Ideally, we don't want our oil to rise above about 200*F or we risk losing some of our active compounds.
Add your "activated" Cannabis. At this point, I took the mason jar out of the
water and placed it into the ceramic dish so that if any buds fell too quickly,
they would be in that dish and easy to scoop out. Obviously, much easier if
All Cannabis used was cured and stored using Boveda technology. To read more about how
this salt-water slurry and the process of osmosis can keep your buds fresh & pungent, read here.
Infusing Cannabis into a fat is a surprisingly straight forward process. It involves two distinct steps that rely on strict heat control and timing. There are a bazillion different methods and for small batches I've come up with this one. Mainly, you need to set aside about 4 hours of your time and voila ... you just made your own medicine.
Cannabinoids bind to any fat, I prefer coconut oil. I made some oil a few nights ago in my small apartment. It yielded me about half a cup of medicine that I take sublingually (under the tongue).
I used:
2 grams Cannabis buds
1.5 grams Cannabis trim
1/2 cup Coconut oil
You will also need:
Heat-safe gloves/mits
A double boiler or a crock pot.
medium sized mason jar (not needed if using a crock pot)
ceramic dish with lid (optional--helps keep odor in for apartment dwellers)
thermometer that goes over 200F
cheese cloth
The first process is called "decarboxylating" or "activating" your Cannabis:
To put it simply, in their natural form many of the medicinal cannabinoids in Cannabis are like jigsaw puzzle pieces that don't fit into our body's receptors. Everything from sea sponges to humans have an endocannabinoid system~ a naturally-occurring system of receptors that accept this plant's compounds. By burning or heating the Cannabis, you break off an excess piece of the jigsaw so now it easily fits.
For my fellow cooks, you're basically roasting here. Pre-heat the oven to 250F. While it heats, the Cannabis will exude an herby, almost onion-y scent. Wrapping it in a little pouch of parchment paper definitely reduces the smell and also ensures even heating of the buds.
Break the buds apart with your fingers to cranberry sized pieces. Many recipes tell you to grind, but there's a new train of thought suggesting that the cannabinoids leach out of the Cannabis more easily left intact than when ground into the organic material. Halfway through the Coconut oil simmer, the buds easily mash up with pressure from a wooden spoon.
Place the parchment pouch inside a ceramic or glass baking dish with a lid (or foil in a pinch).
Roast for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, melt 1/2 cup Coconut oil in a mason jar. If using a crock pot, you'd melt the oil in there first. Watch the temps on crock pots as they can get pretty warm even on the 'keep warm' mode. Ideally, we don't want our oil to rise above about 200*F or we risk losing some of our active compounds.
Add your "activated" Cannabis. At this point, I took the mason jar out of the
water and placed it into the ceramic dish so that if any buds fell too quickly,
they would be in that dish and easy to scoop out. Obviously, much easier if
using a crock pot.
Halfway through, remove the oil from the double boiler and gently mash the
buds around to allow for effective leaching.
Simmer for 3 hours being careful that water doesn't boil dry underneath (kept
at #5 on my stove-top burner.)
Use a thermometer and ensure that the oil doesn't go above 220F.
The double boiler is a control measure as it's difficult to get the oil above 210F
or so. At this point, the Cannabinoids need more time than heat to leach out into
the fat.
Strain when oil is cool enough to ring out with hands.
I always keep the bud in a waste-not-want-not fashion. I usually add it to
my next batch. It keeps for a long time in your fridge in a baggie.
And ... voila! All you need now is a dropper/syringe measuring ml's.
Start low and go slow. Dose on a full or partially full stomach.
Start by taking .25 ml held under the tongue and held for 30 seconds, then swallowed.
Wait 2 hours and judge how you feel. Wait 4-6 hours before re-dosing at this point.
You can start increasing often when needed by .05 intervals until you reach the
proper dose. This could take several days. Go slow! Each of us must find that
sweet spot. If you cannot stand the taste, gelatin caplets can be purchased online
or at any health food store.
As always.... comments, questions, and suggestions welcome in the comment section!
"It's home-made, so it'll be better!"--my 13 year old niece & future Masterchef, Madelyn.
Halfway through, remove the oil from the double boiler and gently mash the
buds around to allow for effective leaching.
Simmer for 3 hours being careful that water doesn't boil dry underneath (kept
at #5 on my stove-top burner.)
Use a thermometer and ensure that the oil doesn't go above 220F.
The double boiler is a control measure as it's difficult to get the oil above 210F
or so. At this point, the Cannabinoids need more time than heat to leach out into
the fat.
Strain when oil is cool enough to ring out with hands.
I always keep the bud in a waste-not-want-not fashion. I usually add it to
my next batch. It keeps for a long time in your fridge in a baggie.
And ... voila! All you need now is a dropper/syringe measuring ml's.
Start low and go slow. Dose on a full or partially full stomach.
Start by taking .25 ml held under the tongue and held for 30 seconds, then swallowed.
Wait 2 hours and judge how you feel. Wait 4-6 hours before re-dosing at this point.
You can start increasing often when needed by .05 intervals until you reach the
proper dose. This could take several days. Go slow! Each of us must find that
sweet spot. If you cannot stand the taste, gelatin caplets can be purchased online
or at any health food store.
As always.... comments, questions, and suggestions welcome in the comment section!
"It's home-made, so it'll be better!"--my 13 year old niece & future Masterchef, Madelyn.
Wednesday, 3 August 2016
Cannabis Oil KILLS Seizures~ Videos
Seizure disorders are rampant. Watch as Cannabis oil stops seizures in their tracks.
Tuesday, 2 August 2016
It's Time to Unite the Two Worlds: Western Medicine & Cannabinoid Medicine
**This post was published on the site "Cannabis Life Network" here.
There's a side effect to this thing we see happening in healthcare today. People are learning that Cannabis is medicine and the doctors aren't all so eager to agree. It's no wonder, who is teaching them? The thing of which I speak, is the growing distrust or animosity between doctor and patient. This bad relationship makes the patient lie to the doctor. I know of hundreds of patients who started ingesting cannabis and didn't tell their doctors. Until tumors started shrinking, and vomiting subsided. When the tests start coming back showing improvements, it's not easy to keep calm and quiet.
The side effect is healing and this healing comes from the conjunction of these two amazing forms of medicine: western medicine and cannabinoid medicine.
I believe as so many do, that the relationship between a healer and their patient should be sacred. It should be gut-wrenchingly honest and truthful. It should always and only be for the good of the patient where he or she takes part in deciding every single aspect if they can, and the healer should be eager to comply.
This relationship transmutes over time to teacher and student as the healer must advise and instruct us; help us understand why our bodies are doing this. But they should be eager to listen, to learn, to know how the medicine made us feel. They also learn from us. We at times are the teacher and they the student. Or at least it was like this at one time.
Of course, many of we patients are tired of the pills and have disclosed our cannabis use to our doctors. What I think has happened is that many medical doctors haven't then disclosed to Health Canada that their patients admitted to using cannabis, leaving us with a health ministry that has no idea how many illegal medical cannabis users Canada really has. Should that question be part of the census? It pertains to our health after all.
I wonder how many doctors there are who have success stories tucked away in personal files in their office? Have they ever told Health Canada about the patients who swear that cannabis heals? Or would the patient-doctor confidentiality thing hinder the transfer of this crucial information? This is confusing because I keep hearing about all of these success stories and you think, surely that doctor has enough clout with Health Canada to get them to study it! One doctor, two doctors, three doctors, four.
Thing is, we're having great success when cannabis oil is consumed during cancer treatments. It goes above quelling nausea and raising appetite, cannabinoids are protecting the body from the chemo. Cannabis has been shown in studies and in anecdotal evidence to make opioids work better, allowing the patient to lower their dose. Crohn's patients are being put into remission every day. Certain cannabinoids lower inflammation so the medicine can get to where it needs to be. I have friends with MS and Fibromyalgea who simply would not be able to live the active life that they live if it weren't for cannabinoid therapy. These are all people who have tried the gamut of pharmaceutical options and found that they didn't work for their biology,
I know of a little boy named Liam whose Dravet's syndrome is managed today with cannabis oil alone. He's one of our youngest legal MMPR patients. Mommy makes the oil with cannabis grown by the legal growers. Oh what this little boy's experience with pharmaceuticals alone, could teach the medical industry.
I know of little girl named Mykayla whose Lymphoblastic Leukemia is in remission today because her parents started giving her whole plant cannabis oil alongside her chemotherapy. She went into remission a mere six days after her first caplet of this dark and gooey concentrate.
If I could have every healer's ear for a moment I would say this: You're missing out on miracles!!
You're missing out on watching plant compounds annihilate cancer cells. You're missing out on watching cannabis oil stop seizures in their tracks by simply rubbing it on kids' gums. You're missing out on chronic pain sufferers and trauma sufferers regaining the ability to feel emotions again with Cannabis when they stop or lessen opioids and anti-anxiety meds. You're missing out on Crohn's patients going into remission for the first time ever.
And yet ... Health Canada still doesn't recognize Cannabis as medicine.
Calling all doctors, surgeons, shamans, nurses and nurse practitioners too ... hurry up, you're missing out on miracles.
There's a side effect to this thing we see happening in healthcare today. People are learning that Cannabis is medicine and the doctors aren't all so eager to agree. It's no wonder, who is teaching them? The thing of which I speak, is the growing distrust or animosity between doctor and patient. This bad relationship makes the patient lie to the doctor. I know of hundreds of patients who started ingesting cannabis and didn't tell their doctors. Until tumors started shrinking, and vomiting subsided. When the tests start coming back showing improvements, it's not easy to keep calm and quiet.
The side effect is healing and this healing comes from the conjunction of these two amazing forms of medicine: western medicine and cannabinoid medicine.
I believe as so many do, that the relationship between a healer and their patient should be sacred. It should be gut-wrenchingly honest and truthful. It should always and only be for the good of the patient where he or she takes part in deciding every single aspect if they can, and the healer should be eager to comply.
This relationship transmutes over time to teacher and student as the healer must advise and instruct us; help us understand why our bodies are doing this. But they should be eager to listen, to learn, to know how the medicine made us feel. They also learn from us. We at times are the teacher and they the student. Or at least it was like this at one time.
Of course, many of we patients are tired of the pills and have disclosed our cannabis use to our doctors. What I think has happened is that many medical doctors haven't then disclosed to Health Canada that their patients admitted to using cannabis, leaving us with a health ministry that has no idea how many illegal medical cannabis users Canada really has. Should that question be part of the census? It pertains to our health after all.
I wonder how many doctors there are who have success stories tucked away in personal files in their office? Have they ever told Health Canada about the patients who swear that cannabis heals? Or would the patient-doctor confidentiality thing hinder the transfer of this crucial information? This is confusing because I keep hearing about all of these success stories and you think, surely that doctor has enough clout with Health Canada to get them to study it! One doctor, two doctors, three doctors, four.
Thing is, we're having great success when cannabis oil is consumed during cancer treatments. It goes above quelling nausea and raising appetite, cannabinoids are protecting the body from the chemo. Cannabis has been shown in studies and in anecdotal evidence to make opioids work better, allowing the patient to lower their dose. Crohn's patients are being put into remission every day. Certain cannabinoids lower inflammation so the medicine can get to where it needs to be. I have friends with MS and Fibromyalgea who simply would not be able to live the active life that they live if it weren't for cannabinoid therapy. These are all people who have tried the gamut of pharmaceutical options and found that they didn't work for their biology,
I know of a little boy named Liam whose Dravet's syndrome is managed today with cannabis oil alone. He's one of our youngest legal MMPR patients. Mommy makes the oil with cannabis grown by the legal growers. Oh what this little boy's experience with pharmaceuticals alone, could teach the medical industry.
I know of little girl named Mykayla whose Lymphoblastic Leukemia is in remission today because her parents started giving her whole plant cannabis oil alongside her chemotherapy. She went into remission a mere six days after her first caplet of this dark and gooey concentrate.
If I could have every healer's ear for a moment I would say this: You're missing out on miracles!!
You're missing out on watching plant compounds annihilate cancer cells. You're missing out on watching cannabis oil stop seizures in their tracks by simply rubbing it on kids' gums. You're missing out on chronic pain sufferers and trauma sufferers regaining the ability to feel emotions again with Cannabis when they stop or lessen opioids and anti-anxiety meds. You're missing out on Crohn's patients going into remission for the first time ever.
And yet ... Health Canada still doesn't recognize Cannabis as medicine.
Calling all doctors, surgeons, shamans, nurses and nurse practitioners too ... hurry up, you're missing out on miracles.
Monday, 25 July 2016
The Squeaky Wheel
I've been emailing and blogging to my parliamentary reps
and my mayor for months now.
I wasn't sure if they were reading,
I wasn't sure if they were annoyed.
But I'm an over-communicator so that's what I do.
Well guess what? That's what they want us to do!
I just got off the horn with my MPP Sophie Kiwala's office.
She appreciates my input and is asking for more.
If you're not in the cannabis law reform movement, it may as
well be a cult. Media separates the users as though we're a different
people.
But we're not. We are one. Unite!
Our reps love, feel loss, hope for the future too.
It would truly suck to be the leader hearing silence behind you.
This symbiotic relationship needs both of us to come to work,
to listen and learn, and to feel what each of us feels.
We are all crucial spokes in the wheel of legalization.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease ....
Raise your squeak, we can't hear you yet!
Monday, 18 July 2016
Cannabinology: A New Medical Specialty?
There's some bitterness towards the white coats of late,
I have felt it, written about it, let it burn in my gut.
But these days I've been assessing things a bit more. I've been
looking at things through their eyes, and I've been lucky
enough to meet a few docs who are as thirsty for knowledge
as I am.
For instance, my prescribing doctor asked me how to turn buds into oil.
He asked me the entire process of decarboxylating the THC, the temps,
the times, the oils I use .... this all happened AFTER he legalized me for
one full year at 3 grams a day.
He then asked about ABV cannabis (abv=already been vaped).
He said he had just been at a conference where they were
discussing it. So there I went on a shpeal about using every
bit that you can, in tree-hugging waste-not-want-not fashion.
That one doctor, and my own GP who said "he thinks he'll learn a
lot from me", have instilled hope in me that healers do still exist.
I have three healers now. One is green and two are not. But
that doesn't make them any less awesomely shamanic to me.
And I now completely understand why my young general practitioner
"wasn't comfortable recommending medical marijuana to me at this time".
He knows NOTHING about cannabis other than what yours truly has printed
out and given to him to read.
Him signing for me would have been like the plumber signing my electrical
ticket on my word alone.
Most white-coats work a lot of hours. They got a lotta bills.
That white coat wasn't cheap.
So when are they supposed to learn about cannabinoid medicine?
Maybe they don't need to after all.
Maybe we just need specialists and to give an overall knowledge course
on the endocannabinoid system and cannabinoid medicine in med school.
Not every doc knows how to treat cancer, there are oncologists.
Not every doc knows how to treat the digestive system, there are gastroenterologists.
Not every doc knows how (or should even try) to treat mental illness, there is psychiatry
and psychotherapists.
See what I mean?
Do we want to muddie the knowledge?
I think Cannabinoid Therapy deserves its own specialty.
Wednesday, 13 July 2016
Canada Post Strike Profits Street Dealers
Many thousands of Canadians get their medicinal cannabis through the mail these days, and this
Canada Post strike has been a hot-topic. My experience with CP has been shitty to say the least and so I really didn't think Purolator could be much worse. But I spoke too soon.
I sit today, day three of waiting for my cannabis to be delivered by Purolator. I ordered Saturday and the shipping label was created Monday. My sweet buds of medicine have been "In Transit" since mid-Monday. It's now late Wednesday.
Here's the issue: Purolator, unlike Canada Post offers seven levels of priority that you can request and of course pay extra for. That's seven choices above the standard shipping choice I chose on Saturday. At that time, I could have raised my shipping rate from $10 to $30 for a package weighing less than a pound. But I didn't because I didn't know I had to. None of us did.
Of course Purolator has a handy tracking system that for me and my order, is stuck at "In Transit" and the last time it was logged in was Monday when it "arrived at sort facility" in Toronto. My big fear is that it sits there with all of its buddies waiting for a ride home. I bet they stink up the place too, stinky little trichome-coated flowers. I'm afraid that these packages of factory-grown cannabis have been set aside as low-priority and will stay that way until Purolator gets caught up.
I feel that once again medicinal cannabis users have been left in the dark.
I wonder when the great minds at Health Canada considered the impact of the Canada Post strike on patients in the MMPR, did they consider how those seven priority shipping levels would effect us? That means that seven other groups of packages are taking priority over ours. Likely Am@zon orders for all we know, while orders carrying medicinal cannabis sit and wait like hopeful passengers on the last-minute seat-sale list.
All they told us was to expect delays. What did that mean? Stock up? How are we supposed to legally stock up to avoid delays in delivery when our medicine is only legal when delivered by mail?
This is medicine!!! This is REPLACING pharmaceuticals for almost every one in the program. If we all had to buy our meds online, I would imagine Health Canada would be forewarning patients to priority post their orders so they don't miss any doses. At least that would have been the responsible thing to do.
Thanks Health Canada for misinforming us all again. Thanks for allowing the Licensed Producers to decide on their own which courier companies they'll use, effectively creating such a huge increase of volume for some, that this headache occurs. Thanks for not recognizing this as medicine though you allow LP's to export to countries who do.
The MMPR is an effort at control without the foresight of effective construct or regulation. I sit here at 4 pm wondering if the big red and white truck will come to my building before 5 pm. Or will I have to step once again into my criminal skin and call my buddy to help me out? This strike is going to profit the street dealers, the very people regulation is supposed to starve.
Safe access? Try no access or .... lost in the mail.
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