And Marc Emery can look forward to an end to his incarceration sometime soon. Hip hip hooray!
For those, like me, who weren’t familiar with the THC vs. CBD question, this served to bring me up to speed: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannabidiol . Basically, CBD appears to be a compound, naturally present in cannabis, with most of the desirable medical effects and little or none (I’m not clear which) of the recreational value of THC, the compound usually considered the “active ingredient” of marijuana.
Great article, Ivan! My friend’s daughter is benefiting from the high CDB / low THC options. She has a very rare disease, CDKL5 “a gene that provides instructions for making a protein called cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 also known as serine/threonine kinase 9 that is essential for normal brain development.” and she’s dealt with seizures since birth. They just started trying out medical marijuana. So far, compared to the pharmaceutical options they’ve tried, this is the best. She’s not a zombie like she is on the prescriptive drugs and she eats when taking this. I do not know how they are giving it to her, I think there’s a pill they get. They’ve only been doing this for a few months and so far, so good.
CBD by itself doesn’t get you high, but some recreational users pay attention to it because it modifies the THC high, damping down THC’s tendencies toward tension, anxiety and paranoia.
In the opinion of many, THC with some CBD provides a more calm, centered, relaxed high.
It’s why cancer patients who’ve had prescription Marinol (single-ingredient synthetic THC capsules) often prefer natural cannabis, finding it less jittery and anxiety-making.
It’s responsible for many - but not all - of the medical effects of cannabis. It’s a very effective anti-inflammatory and has anxiolytic and antiemetic effects, plus it’s a useful antioxidant and neuro-protectant that readily crosses the blood/brain barrier. (THC provides most of the painkiller effect, and most of the appetite enhancement.)
CBD-only products - oral tinctures and topical salves - are legal over-the-counter even in non-MMJ states. Just search Amazon for “Cannabidiol” 
As a medication, it’s fabulous, IME.
Personally, I use Dixie Botanicals’ “Hemp Oil Salvation Balm” as a topical anti-inflammatory for sore or pulled muscles. I have Morton’s Neuroma, and first began using it to calm the burning neuralgic pain that I get from being on my feet for prolonged periods. Then I tried it on sore muscles.
I also use “CB-DOOs,” a mostly-CBD candy from my MMJ dispensary, about the same way other people use aspirin or naproxen or ibuprofen (which I can’t use due to the gastric-bleeding side-effects of NSAIDs). Nice systemic oral anti-inflammatory, even in small (3-4 mg) doses, IME.
CBD is also being investigated clinically for use against cancer, and seems, in high concentration and topical applications, to show promise against some very aggressive breast and skin cancers.
It’s a pretty impressive drug.
A few brought along scantily clad, fairly bored-looking booth babes
Is there any other kind?
@glenblank Very interesting. I know quite a few people who switched to vaporisers for the clean high, and then slowly switched back because the cannabinoid component of the high is very pleasing to them, as you describe. It sounds like CBD anti-inflammatory preparations would be really useful, don’t think they are legal in Australia though.
The CBD/THC question is a critical one and misinformation is beginning to propagate. This article incorrectly states that dabbing is done with “THC concentrates.” Actually, the concentrates are made from the whole plant and the proportion of THC, CBD and other components varies from strain to strain and is also probably affected by the particulars of how it is made.
The article also (perhaps inadvertently) adds undeserved credence to the notion that the medicinal value of cannabis is to be found exclusively in CBD. Many, many patients prefer high-THC strains, and even many patients who favor CBD-rich strains often find that THC/CBD hybrid strains are more effective than CBD alone. Every patient is different; don’t believe anyone who tells you only one strain (or even one component) of cannabis has medicinal value.
The cannabis plant contains THC, CBD, CBN and hundreds of other compounds (including more than 120 terpenes, many of which are considered medicinally promising). As a general rule, THC’s effects are more heady; the so-called “high” can just as easily improve your creativity, focus and performance as hinder it. Folks with ADHD, depression, anxiety and a whole host of conditions for which Americans are commonly prescribed expensive (and toxic) pharmaceutical drugs regularly discover that a THC-rich Sativa can be a life-changer. On the other hand, I’ve known people with ADHD for whom CBD-rich Indica is just the thing.
Famously now, CBD-rich cannabis seems to work best for treating seizures but, again, I have heard reliably that some patients respond better to hybrids. The “entourage effect” refers to the healing synergy of the whole plant, the sum of the parts being greater than any of the parts individually. Despite nearly 20,000 published papers, cannabis science and medicine is still in its infancy. But the plant’s legacy of healing or ameliorating almost every condition that’s thrown at it goes back for over 5000 years.
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