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Well, in general, for me cannabis is a bit of a bust.
I have been using cannabis solely for pain relief since 03 Jan 23. I stopped using any other pain medication because you can't really tell what a new thing is doing if it is trying to do things that other meds are already supposed (hah) to be doing.
In both the salve and the gummies, I am using CBD heavy product, with some or limited amounts of THC.
I am using a salve that is no better than extra strength Tiger Balm. I am not naming the salve because regardless of its lack of efficacy, it *stinks* of bad eucalyptus. Eucalyptus doesn't need to smell bad - see both Tiger Balm and Vicks Vapo Rub, but this cannabis ointment is ew. If the cannabis worked I would be hunting for a different goo. I will use it up - it is briefly effective, after all, and waste not want not - but I won't be replacing the salve.
Gummies for sleep have been more successful. I have tried several, some in an effort to reduce costs (aieee), and the best balance of CBD and THC for me is 10 mg CBD with 2.5 mg THC per gummie. CBD gummies without THC are not effective for me. Lower amounts of THC are not effective for me.
I did try a THC only product - a can of pop - with 10 mg of THC. It was very pleasant, and I really enjoyed the bag of lime flavoured tostito corn chips I'd been saving. Mmm. It was also super effective for pain management because during the first part of the experience I no longer cared that I had pain (it was still there, but busy now), and then I slept amazingly well, and then the next day's residual glow manifested as reduced pain.
However, contrarian that I am, I do not wish to get stoned every night to manage my pain.
I had reached that conclusion before I had been shown this distressing study:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/healing-from-addiction/202303/long-term-cannabis-use-cognition-and-the-hippocampus
Long-term cannabis use rots the hippocampus.
Argh. We need our hippocampuses:
https://www.ataxia.org/scasourceposts/snapshot-what-is-the-hippocampus/
We need them to form new memories. We need them to know where we are in space and to navigate in same.
So. Then. How much and how often is "long term use"? Can I still rack up "long term use" if I started late? The study doesn't seem to have distinguished between CBD and THC and all the other canaboids and terpenes, but it does determine that it doesn't matter whether the cannabis is smoked or eaten. Tobacco cigarette smokers do not have the same level of hippocampus rot. And cannabis users who use the same amount whether eaten or smoked have the same level of rot.
Well. Ain't that lovely.
So. My favourite gummie is Shred'ems Wild Berry Blaze Gummies. In fact, if they put out just a plain gummie candy they would probably make their fortune because the candy is lovely. They are not cheap: they are $1.25 (CAN) each. So, I will be returning to using extra strength Tiger Balm (cheaper), and probably either ibuprophen or tylenol (also cheaper by a lot), and reserve the yummy gummies for very bad sleep nights.
The combination of ibuprophen/tylenol and cannabis seems to be mostly benign, however they all use the same liver enzymes to metabolize, so it is worth staggering the times of consumption.
Bum. I thought/hoped it was gonna be a miracle cure.
I have been using cannabis solely for pain relief since 03 Jan 23. I stopped using any other pain medication because you can't really tell what a new thing is doing if it is trying to do things that other meds are already supposed (hah) to be doing.
In both the salve and the gummies, I am using CBD heavy product, with some or limited amounts of THC.
I am using a salve that is no better than extra strength Tiger Balm. I am not naming the salve because regardless of its lack of efficacy, it *stinks* of bad eucalyptus. Eucalyptus doesn't need to smell bad - see both Tiger Balm and Vicks Vapo Rub, but this cannabis ointment is ew. If the cannabis worked I would be hunting for a different goo. I will use it up - it is briefly effective, after all, and waste not want not - but I won't be replacing the salve.
Gummies for sleep have been more successful. I have tried several, some in an effort to reduce costs (aieee), and the best balance of CBD and THC for me is 10 mg CBD with 2.5 mg THC per gummie. CBD gummies without THC are not effective for me. Lower amounts of THC are not effective for me.
I did try a THC only product - a can of pop - with 10 mg of THC. It was very pleasant, and I really enjoyed the bag of lime flavoured tostito corn chips I'd been saving. Mmm. It was also super effective for pain management because during the first part of the experience I no longer cared that I had pain (it was still there, but busy now), and then I slept amazingly well, and then the next day's residual glow manifested as reduced pain.
However, contrarian that I am, I do not wish to get stoned every night to manage my pain.
I had reached that conclusion before I had been shown this distressing study:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/healing-from-addiction/202303/long-term-cannabis-use-cognition-and-the-hippocampus
Long-term cannabis use rots the hippocampus.
Argh. We need our hippocampuses:
https://www.ataxia.org/scasourceposts/snapshot-what-is-the-hippocampus/
We need them to form new memories. We need them to know where we are in space and to navigate in same.
So. Then. How much and how often is "long term use"? Can I still rack up "long term use" if I started late? The study doesn't seem to have distinguished between CBD and THC and all the other canaboids and terpenes, but it does determine that it doesn't matter whether the cannabis is smoked or eaten. Tobacco cigarette smokers do not have the same level of hippocampus rot. And cannabis users who use the same amount whether eaten or smoked have the same level of rot.
Well. Ain't that lovely.
So. My favourite gummie is Shred'ems Wild Berry Blaze Gummies. In fact, if they put out just a plain gummie candy they would probably make their fortune because the candy is lovely. They are not cheap: they are $1.25 (CAN) each. So, I will be returning to using extra strength Tiger Balm (cheaper), and probably either ibuprophen or tylenol (also cheaper by a lot), and reserve the yummy gummies for very bad sleep nights.
The combination of ibuprophen/tylenol and cannabis seems to be mostly benign, however they all use the same liver enzymes to metabolize, so it is worth staggering the times of consumption.
Bum. I thought/hoped it was gonna be a miracle cure.
