Weed, reefer, pot, ganja, chronic: whatever you wanna call it, unless you live under a rock, you know what it is.
Cannabis has a history of medicinal use through many cultures dating back thousands of years. If we look back far enough we can date it to 2700 BC, when Chinese emperor Shen Nung, considered to be the father of Chinese medicine, discovered marijuana’s healing properties and would prescribe it for treatment of several ailments including gout, arthritis and even poor memory.
And although it’s current healing usage may be controversial to some, its popularity and benefits are only growing – so much so that you can’t walk a block in Vancouver without seeing a medicinal marijuana dispensary.
With the rise of all the medicinal marijuana shops making it more mainstream, many people aren’t just smoking pot anymore, they are eating it for its therapeutic effects, which are vast and well-documented by many people across the world suffering from several ailments.
Its medicinal purposes vary: it can be used to reduce nausea and vomiting in people going through chemotherapy, it has offered relief of symptoms for people with HIV/AIDS, and has been used to treat chronic pain, muscle spasticity, and several neurological disorders.
Research has also recently revealed that marijuana can destroy certain cancer cells and reduce the growth of others, including an aggressive form of brain cancer.
From cookies, to brownies and infused salsas, along with an assortment of fudges, caramels and candies, there are many ways to get therapeutic effects without smoking it. Cannabis is fat soluble, which is why it is generally infused into forms of butter or oil to be used in cooking.
And eating marijuana isn’t limited to just those mentioned above: have you heard about the pizza joint in East Van on Kingsway that puts marijuana oil on its pizza? It’s called Mega Ill and it’s all the rave in town. Now you can’t just go in there and order a piece of chronic pizza, you have to be over 18 and present them with either a doctor’s prescription for medicinal marijuana or a medicinal marijuana card. With what appears to be a pretty legit operation, though, this looks like a great place to take your medicine in a social non-stigmatized environment.
Now before we get into the benefits of eating it as opposed to smoking it, you need to be familiar with cannabinoids.
Cannabinoids, like THC and CBD, are the chemical compounds secreted by cannabis flowers. THC is the psychoactive compound associated with being “high”, while CBD doesn’t produce psychoactive side effects, making it advantageous as a medicine. But both mediate communication between cells. When cannabis is consumed the cannabinoids bind to receptor sites within our brain and body, and different cannabinoids will have different effects, depending which receptor they bind to.
There are 85 different types of cannabinoids and they are all known to cause varying degrees of relief and comfort in patients.
The benefits of eating vs smoking
• Unlike smoking cannabis, edibles are introduced to the body through the gastrointestinal tract and processed by the liver before entering the bloodstream. The liver changes the cannabinoid THC into the more potent 11-hydroxi-THC which tends to have a stronger, more sedative effect.
• Eating it will last longer, and result in a more intense feeling.
• Longer-lasting effects don’t require continued dosing throughout the day or night.
• Not as harsh or damaging to the lungs as smoking; when you smoke it, the burning plant material releases more than just THC vapours, and even though THC itself is a cancer-fighting agent, all of these nasty side effects of smoking can still cause cancer and/or other illnesses in your body. Also, many people are unable to smoke for health reasons, so this is a viable alternative.
• It is said that you get more of a “body buzz” because your body feels very relaxed and heavier, making it beneficial for so many different illnesses.
