Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we have a look at what CBD is and what it isn’t, news of research on treating IBS with medical marijuana, tips on how to read a cannabis product label and more. Enjoy.
CBD Spotlight
Increasingly, mature consumers who wish to pursue an active lifestyle that includes sports, gardening or making a contribution to their community are turning to CBD as a way to manage aches and pains associated with aging.
However, as Stephanie Johnson contends in her article for Benzinga, it’s not necessarily helpful or accurate to see CBD as an all-purpose wonder drug. She highlights four things CBD is not.
For starters, CBD is not marijuana or medical marijuana. This is an important distinction when discussing the benefits someone may experience by using it since CBD is found in and CBD products are derived from marijuana, but is not the same thing. An important distinction is the percentage of THC—the compound that produces euphoria—found in CBD (low or no THC) and marijuana (high THC).
A second point made by Johnson is that CBD should not be considered a cure for any medical condition. At best it can help to address symptoms. Said Johnson, “While many studies have shown great possibilities for certain issues and symptoms, to say it ‘will cure’ an issue is not correct. Any brand out there utilizing the terms ‘cure’ or making medical claims to it (i.e. that it fixes issues like insomnia and anxiety), is not helping the confusion.”
Johnson’s third point is that except for the CBD-based product Epidiolex, which is used to treat two specific forms of epilepsy, the vast majority of CBD products are not FDA approved. With regard to regulation, the CBD marketplace is still considered the “Wild West” by many and while the FDA is trying to enforce standards, consumers need to be vigilant when it comes to the type of CBD a product contains—how much THC—and it’s degree of purity.
Her fourth point is that CBD is not for everyone. As she puts it, “Some may try CBD and find they have no results. Others may find topicals are the magical answer for them while there’s a group who swear by tinctures. The variations in testimonials are just as far and wide as there are differences in the human population.”
You can learn more by reading Stephanie Johnson’s helpful article in the May 20, 2020 edition of Benzinga.
www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/20/05/15980307/4-things-cbd-is-not?
Stat of the week
“In an open label retrospective study also published in 2019, 72 psychiatric patients with anxiety or sleep disorders were given between 25-175mg of CBD a day, alongside existing psychiatric medications. After two months of treatment, 78.1 percent of patients reported feeling less anxious and 56.1 percent experienced improved sleep.”
From the article, “Cannabis, CBD and Anxiety” by Mary Biles. It appeared in the May 7, 2020 edition of Project CBD.org.
www.projectcbd.org/cannabis-cbd-anxiety?
Medical Marijuana and IBS
Those suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS, may benefit from a treatment plan that includes medical marijuana.
So says Brendan Bures writing for The Fresh Toast. Bures points out that it’s been estimated that up to 20 percent of Americans experience IBS, while other research estimates those with IBS miss three times as many workdays as those without bowel symptoms.
Now, Bures reports, new research from Rutgers University suggests marijuana can help ease the suffering of patients with severe IBS symptoms.
Using 2016 data, researchers found cannabis users had lower 30-day hospital readmission rates (8.1 percent) than those who did not use cannabis (12.7 percent). Bures writes that the study also found cannabis use correlated with shorter hospital stays and overall lower hospitalization charges.
In his reporting, Bures acknowledges the lack of direct research on treating IBS with cannabis, however, he does cite a 2015 medical survey which found that 70 percent of IBS patients who used CBD experienced improved moods and reported less pain.
To learn more we encourage you to read Brendan Bures’ detailed reporting in the May 6, 2020 edition of The Fresh Toast.
thefreshtoast.com/cannabis/medical-marijuana-leads-to-less-hospitalizations-for-ibs-patients/
Consumer Education
When it comes to using cannabis, part of being an educated consumer involves knowing just what you are putting in your body. That’s why it’s useful to learn how to read the label on the product you just purchased at your local dispensary.
As Aimee Driscol indicates in her article for Leafly, product labels typically show results of lab tests that reflect how growers and producers are responding to local regulations designed to keep consumers informed and safe.
Driscol contends that “if a producer refuses to hand over lab test results, this is a red flag that either the product hasn’t been tested or that there’s some reason the company doesn’t want the results to be viewed.”
Some of the more significant lab results usually include:
—Cannabinoids. Most of the lab results will at least show the levels of THC, CBD and other cannabinoids in the product. These are the active substances that are responsible for the various psychological and physiological effects of the different strains of marijuana. While THC and CBD are the most common, there are other important cannabinoids as well, such as THCa, THCV, CBDa, CBN, CBC and CBG.
—Terpenes. These are the substance that provide much of the flavor and aroma of cannabis and cannabis products. They are intentionally removed from some products but are thought to be desirable in others. Specific terpenes you may see results for include myrcene, limonene and terpinolene. Some of these substances can also be found in other plants, such as hops.
—Residual solvents. These can be left behind during the manufacturing process when making cannabis products, such as tinctures. While, as Driscoll writes, acceptable levels for various solvents differ depending on the region, common solvents that must be tested for include butanes, propane, benzene and xylenes. If the results don’t show up on the label it’s clearly a matter of “buyer beware.”
For more on what you can learn from a cannabis product label and how that information may contribute to your well being, we urge you to read Aimee Driscoll’s helpful article in the April 30, 2020 issue of Leafly.
www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/how-to-read-cannabis-product-label?
New Products
As Beth DeCarbo points out in her recent article for The Wall Street Journal, a side effect of the legalization of recreational and medicinal marijuana is that many community associations and municipalities are being pressed to come up with ways to deal with marijuana’s odor.
However, as Sly Stone said many years ago, “different strokes for different folks”—particularly when it comes to the aroma of marijuana, be it recreational or medical. In fact, some folks really like it—and for those folks who do there’s now a scented candle they can purchase and enjoy.
According to Zach Harris, writing for Merry Jane, a company called CandleBudz, has introduced six new terpene-infused aromatherapy candles, each based on a specific strain of cannabis. Terpenes are the compounds found in marijuana and other plants that give each plant, or in the case of marijuana, each strain of the plant, its distinctive smell.
Harris makes the point in his article that since the candles do not contain any THC or CBD, CandleBudz’s soy-based candles may smell like marijuana but they are not illegal.
You can learn more about the candles by reading Zach Harris’s entertaining article in the May 1, 2020 issue of Merry Jane or visiting the company’s website at www.candlebudz.com/. For a deep dive into the complex issue of how different communities are managing the distinctive aroma of marijuna, visit Beth DeCarbo’s article in the May 7, 2020 edition of The Wall Street Journal.
www.wsj.com/articles/homeowners-raise-a-stink-over-pot-smoking-neighbors-11588852854
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them joe.kohut@gmail.com or at 347-528-8753.
