Education
Understanding medical marijuana at a glance
Most common conditions
THC Strength in percentage
CBD Strength in milligrams
Typical patient profile
Typical consumption profile
Choosing the right delivery method for your patient
The appropriate delivery system allows bioactive compounds to be supplied to target tissues at an appropriate dose, rate and time
Inhalation
Delivery options
Smoking the leaves of a cannabis plant is the most traditional method of delivery
Vaporisers (or 'vape pens') vaporize the cannabinoids while avoiding combusion and smoke inhalation. They can vaporize compounds within the cannabis plan or from extracts or purified cannabinoids (e.g. CBD)
Absortion Details
Peak plasma concentration occurs 2-30min after inhaling and then declines over approximately 30mins to 3-4h
Benefits
Fast alleviation of symptoms
Fast alleviation of sympParticularly useful for chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting or other conditions that require immediate relief when oral medications have been unsuccesful.
Allows for easy dose titration
Drawbacks
Patients with known respiratory problems might need to avoid
Could be contraindicated in patients with asthma
Vaporizing reduces risk compared with smoking but still involves inhaling particulate plant matter
Oral
Delivery options
Cannabis can come in Oil or gelcap formats
Tinctures are drops or sprays that are delivered into the mouth, often sublingually to be under the tongue into the sublingual artery
Absortion Details
Peak plasma concentration 45 minutes to 1.5 hours then declines over approx 6-8hours
Bioactive compounds circulate anywhere from 1 to 6 h after administaration
Benefits
Slower and more prolongued onset of both psychoactive and other bioactive effects
Drawbacks
More intesified problematic side effects have been reported such as sedation and unwanted psychoactive effects, likely because THC is metabolized in the liver into 11-OH-THC before it enters circulation which is a potent psychoactive metabolite of THC called DELTA 9 hydroxy
THC has a low and variable bio availablity (6-20%) so proper dosing can be difficult to achieve. CBD does not seem to act the same way in oral administration mainly due to its little to no psychoactive effects. CBD has also been known to reduce psychoactive effects in THC due to its synergistic relationship
Topical
Delivery options
Lotions, creams and ointments
Absortion Details
No information is available, to our knowledge, on bio availablity of cannabinoids through the skin
Benefits
Could potentially be beneficial for chronic or acute localized pain. Little psychotropic effects recorded anecdotally. More studies need to be done. Efficacy unknown.
Drawbacks
None noted anecdotally. More research should be done. Results are mixed. Efficacy unknown.
What is the difference between some of the medical cannabis products?
Why do some of the products MG amount range so dramatically?
We have broken down the products into three categories.
1. Full spectrum products
The cannabis plant contains hundreds of naturally occuring compounds including cannabinoids (THC/CBD) flaviniods(flavour), terpiniods(smell) fats and polyphenol. All of thse compounds work synergistically together to provide the ideal therapeutic effect, this is called the entourage effect where all properties in the oil have been left intact
2. Broad spectrum products
Broad spectrum products(usually higher CBD products) have have a portion of the plant removed(usually THC) to allow for a broader range of patients to benefit due to its low to no psychoactive effects. Broad spectrum products contain SOME of the natural occurring compounds but not all and cannot provide a true entourage effect.
3. ISOLATE products
Isolate products contain one compund that has been completely stripped away from the rest of the plant. Usually resulting in a highter MG amount but since this pharmaceutical like product does not contain ANY of the other natural occurring compounds, it can be in some cases less effective for therapeutic purposes.
We have also broken down the differences in the below scale.
Dosing
Titrate according to desired effect. Remember that there is very low toxicity from cannabis
Day
1
2
3
4
5
6
Morning
0
0
0
0
2.7 / 2.5
2.7 / 2.5
Evening
2.7 / 2.5
2.7 / 2.5
5.4 / 5
5.4 / 5
5.4 / 5
8.1 /7.5
Total
2.7 /2.5
2.7 /2.5
5.4 / 5
5.4 / 5
8.1 / 7.5
10.8 / 10