Thursday, September 12, 2019

Does Weed Harm the Liver?

Weed is something that people like to use, but some may wonder if it’s harmful to the liver. Right now, there is no studies that found that there was a major difference in the function of your liver to those who use it a lot and showed that CBD actually did show that it may put users at a possible chance for liver toxicity. There are some studies that cannabis may help with liver disease though, so there is some potential health benefits with this. 

How cannabis helps With the Liver 

The liver mostly involves detoxifying and creating proteins along with enzymes, which play a role in digestion. The ECS also plays a huge role in this, so cannabinoids can act as the receptors that are in the liver. Right now, there is no evidence that says that cannabis can impact the function of this. 



This is much more complex and different for those who suffer from any kind of liver disease, since the increased amounts of receptors within the liver can help with inflammation and pain, especially for those who have liver disease as an alcoholic. Some other research also did study whether or not cannabis is a way to target liver disease and fibrosis. 

However, those who use cannabis chronically may also struggle with issues of enzyme production in the liver, and it can limit the uptake of the production and the metabolizing of certain enzymes, which are responsible for the urinary and fecal excretions, and there are other enzymes which are affected by the immunity, and the detox of the liver as well. 

The benefits of Cannabis on your liver 

While there is still more research to be needed, there are studies which have found that cannabis can potentially treat and fix a ton of different conditions and symptoms within the liver. 

Some studies also found that it can help those who abuse alcohol, and those who are actually dealing with liver fibrosis. It actually reduced the risk of alcoholic liver disease, and it actually showed some benefits. This is partially due to CBD, which is known for reducing and preventing oxidative stress, along with abnormal fat retention, making this a lot healthier for a lot longer as well. 



The Risks 

There are some risks that go with this, and it’s something that has a lot of risks for those with pre-existing conditions. Those who have hepatitis C or have cannabis with certain liver issues can actually create more liver scarring, which increases the progression of the disease. However, there are some studies that refute this, and it actually has lower health costs in some cases. 

There is also the fact that CBD has a chance to interact in a negative manner with certain medications, because of how the liver works. CBD does prevent the metabolic enzymes from properly breaking down, which makes certain heart and immune medications quite dangerous in some cases. 



Cannabis is not simple, but rather complex medicine, so it’s something that may be more dangerous for some people, and less for others. The best way to handle this is to talk to a doctor and understand what pre-existing health conditions you might have and whether or not cannabis may impact any of these for whatever reason, and the impact of such on any of these situations, and the context of this too. 

Overall though cannabis is considered safe in most cases for a healthy liver, but if you do have certain liver conditions, you might want to talk to your doctor before you try this for your health.


Thursday, September 20, 2018

How to Properly Store Your Cannabis

There is a lot of work that goes into buying marijuana. Especially if you live in a state that has not legalized marijuana, you may find yourself jumping through a lot of different hopes in order to actually get your hands on some marijuana. While the process of getting a medical marijuana card is not too difficult if you have a qualifying condition, it definitely takes some time that not everyone appreciates. Plus, you have to do all the leg work of finding the right type of strains and cannabis products that will work for you and your health conditions, as well as finding a dispensary that you like that is in close proximity to you and also has the products and strains in stock that you need. The whole process can take a long time. 



However, there is nothing better than leaving the dispensary with your first purchase of legal weed. You get home, immediately light up a bowl of your favorite strain, and sit back and enjoy the benefits of your labor. However, there is one thing that you failed to research and prepare for in all of your efforts - how does one actually store weed? That might not have been something on your mind with everything else going on, but storing your cannabis the right way is insanely important if you want to keep it fresh and potent in the long run. Today, I wanted to take some time to write this post about how to properly store your cannabis so that it stays good for months on end.



The truth that not a lot of people realize when they first start using marijuana is that it can actually go bad if not stored properly. Most people buy their weed in bulk so that they do not have to continually go back to the dispensary for more every week, and this is usually a good choice if you live further away from your dispo. However, storing your weed correctly is almost as important as smoking it. You can keep cannabis fresh for quite some time, and studies show that it can be stored for up to 6 months before it begins to go bad and lose some of the THC content it contains. However, this is only if it is stored properly. 





If you do not take good care to keep your cannabis safe and sound, it may go bad very quickly. How exactly can marijuana go bad? Well, for one, it can grow stale. If you grind up your own flowers and buds, you will probably notice a particular sticky feeling of the freshly ground herb. This is a good sign that your marijuana is fresh and potent. Stale cannabis will be much drier and crumble more so than your fresh weed. Another thing that you need to worry about is your weed growing mold


Most people know that a little bit of mold on your food or drink won’t kill you, but smoking cannabis with mold on it is definitely not something that I would recommend. Medical marijuana patients with more compromised immune systems need to be very careful about the weed that they smoke, and do their absolute best to avoid any mold that could put their health at risk.




The best way to store your weed does not require any expensive or fancy contraptions. In fact, you can get everything you need to keep your cannabis safe relatively cheaply. Any jar or container that is airtight will be perfect. You also want to do your best to store your cannabis in a dark, dry, and cold area (not the fridge though!)

Wednesday, August 8, 2018

How to Recover From Greening Out

Whether we like to talk about it or not, we have all probably faced this problem before - smoking too much weed. Personally, I have never experienced “greening out” like some of my friends have before, but that might just be because I’m a big baller when it comes to using cannabis. However, greening out is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, it happens to most marijuana users at some point (besides me, like I said earlier). You may have heard that it’s basically impossible to overdose on marijuana, and that is the truth. Cannabis doesn’t send anyone to the hospital or to the grave like other drugs. However, that doesn’t mean that it’s not possible to smoke too much weed. You can in fact have too much cannabis, and the subsequent effects are pretty awful.





That is why there is a name for it. If you have never experienced greening out before, then you want to make sure to keep it that way. However, I wanted to make today’s post about some of the common symptoms of greening out and how you can try to come down from your high in the event that this happens to you. One thing that my friend and I like to do is to take an edible or two, then go ahead and light up a joint and smoke some dry flower. The reason that this is so great is because you get high from the joint almost immediately, and then about 40 minutes afterwards the edible hits you - all of a sudden, you’re on another planet. While this is a super good time, this type of weed consumption can also be a great way to end up greening out. Anyways, sorry for that little rabbit trail. Let’s talk about some of the main symptoms that occur when you’ve had more weed than you can handle.





The first symptom of greening out that you might experience is nausea. When you have too much THC in your system, you may end up with a mildly upset stomach. In more severe causes, you could find yourself vomiting all over the place. This usually happens for users that have taken incredibly high doses of concentrated THC, most likely way too much of it. When you end up getting this high, there is not a whole lot that you can do to make the nausea go away. In most cases, you’re just going to have to lay down and get through it until the symptoms go away.


Maybe you can use that time to reflect on your decisions that led up to this point. If you have ever experienced, or know someone who has experienced, something called scromiting, then you know that it’s not just an urban legend. Scromiting happens in very severe cases of greening out, where the individual begins to violently vomit as well as scream from panic and despair. If this happens to you, you definitely want to head to the hospital (don’t drive yourself though!).


Another common side effect of having too much concentrated THC is dizziness. Now, mild dizziness usually occurs if you’ve had enough weed to get you high, but the type of dizziness I’m referring to is quite different. When you green out, you may experience dizziness that almost paralyzes you, making you unable to get up off the floor. The scientific reason for this is because too much cannabis can raise your heart rate, which increases your blood pressure. If this happens to you, I suggest just trying to sit down and take some deep breaths, as well as have a glass of water or two.

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

How to Properly Store Your Cannabis

If you live in a state that has legalized marijuana, then consider yourself lucky. I say this because not everyone has such a privilege. Of course, just living in a state that has a medical marjuana program does not mean you can just use cannabis for any reason. You have to have a qualifying condition that necessitates the use of marijuana, as the state sees fit of course. However, if you live in a state where cannabis is legal for adults over the age of 21, then you are extremely lucky! This is how it is back in my home state in Michigan. I have the misfortune of going to college in Indiana, however, where weed is not legal in the slightest (shoutout delta-8 and delta-10 loopholes). 





Anyways, most people that regularly use medical marijuana try to go to the dispensary as little as possible. After all, it can be a hassle. This means that buying marijuana in large, bulk quantities is not out of the ordinary for many people in the United States. But did you know that weed can actually go bad? That’s right, when not taken care of or stored properly, you may find yourself with some weed that has gone stale or even grown mold on it. Plus, the THC content that is in your weed can decline over time if you are not careful. Now you are probably scared since you just dropped $450 on a big weed order last week. Well, not to worry my friend. Keeping your weed fresh is not that hard at all - you just need the right supplies and people like me to write these how-to articles for you.





It is important to keep in mind that weed is pretty long-lasting. When stored properly and taken care of, your buds are going to retain most of their THC content. However, this can not be said if you are not storing your stash properly. It is also super important to keep your marijuana from growing stale, or even worse, moldy. We are used to mold on foods like cheese and bread, and most people assume that a little bit of mold here and there won’t really hurt them. Well, you really do not want to smoke weed with mold on it. Especially if you are a medical marijuana patient, smoking moldy weed could land you in a pretty quick trip to the hospital. You should be able to notice mold on your weed (it usually shows up as little white dots), but if you do not trust your eyes, you can always tell by the smell. If you burn regularly, you should have a sense of what good, fresh weed smells like. Moldy weed emits a funky, musty smell that should tell you something is off. If you have moldy weed, the best thing you can do is to just throw it away. If you bought it from a dispensary within a few weeks or so, you may be able to bring it back and get a refund on your purchase. 





So how does one actually store cannabis properly? Well, it is really not all that hard actually. The only thing you really need is some sort of container that is airtight. That’s it. Mason jars work perfectly, for instance. However, you also should store your weed in a cool, dark, and dry area. Putting your marijuana in the fridge is never a good idea, no matter how high you are. With all of that being said, you can also use thick plastic bags with a zip seal if you do not have any containers laying around.

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

All About Marijuana Cannabinoids

 

There’s a lot of people who use cannabis for a lot of different reasons. Some like it because it makes them feel euphoric, and they adore the sensations it creates. But other people like to use it for other reasons, and that of course is for the therapeutic benefits that come with this, since it does offer this, and it’s something that most of us don’t know, but it’s a key part of our body. 

Cannabis, however, has a bunch of cannabinoids that are super helpful for wellness and makes your body healthy. It may seem strange that something like this does have effects like this, but it does, and here, you can learn a little bit about these different cannabinoids and what they do. 



Fact or Fiction? 

A lot of people do claim that cannabinoids offer a variety of amazing health and wellness reasons, and it was even used in different spiritual and religious implications. However, it wasn’t until as of late, especially in the last few decades, that we had a reason for this, and that’s the cannabinoids. 

The problem, however, is that marijuana does not have the best reputation, since most of the time people assume that those who use it are nothing more than lazy stoners and whatnot.  It’s something that a lot of people get really quick to judge, rather than just enjoying the benefits of this.  Back in 1906, it was even viewed as a poison, and then, there was prohibition, which definitely restricted this, and then, by 1970, it was considered a bad substance for people to consume. 

However, we are starting to see more people changing their stance on this, with scientists, along with professional all around the world getting more open-minded about the plant itself, and more states have even started putting together laws that decriminalized it, and also make sure that it’s legal recreationally. It’s not just used for medical benefits, but recreation is something that people do use in the form of suppositories, topicals, foods and drinks, and even little capsules. 

Cannabinoids 

Cannabinoids are basically chemicals that offer benefits and responses within the body. The most common is THC, but there are other ones too, and while some assume it’s just there to get you high, there are a ton of other options, each of them with various benefits to them. You even have different cannabinoids too. Phytocannabinoids are those that you get in the cannabis plant, and with so many of them, a lot need to be isolated and studied. Both CBD along with THC are some of the most popular types. 



Endocannabinoids are something that’s within the body, and it was not till 1988 that the government did discover the different neurotransmitters within the body, and the receptors along with other neurotransmitters get classified as this. 

There are also synthetic ones that are in various different THC products that are made through chemical reactions, offering more potency, but there is also an increased risk for bad side effects, so it’s something you should shy away from. The thing about cannabinoids is that they offer good effects that you can use to directly target the CB1 and the CB2 receptors, which are major parts of your brain and body, and they’re responsible for homeostasis, and even internal functions. 



Many people who struggle with conditions can benefit from this, and the different results that happen in various parts of the body and brain play a focal part in the overall health and wellness that come with this, and some of the other great parts too.

Friday, March 10, 2017

Can CBD help Athletes

For a lot of athletes, finding a substance that they’re allowed to use during competition is a challenge. With WADA still having anti-doping laws, you need to paly it safe. However, CBD is considered one that a lot of athletes are beginning to use, as it can help with pain problems, help you sleep better, and is good for a lot of sore muscles, and this is just the beginning. You can use CBD to offer alternatives that are natural and safe, and it’s perfect for a lot of people curious with the suage of this too. 

What CBD Is 

This is a part of the cannabis plant, and it’s considered an extract. For those who don’t know, the cannabis plant has a lot of different parts to it, oftentimes called cannabinoids. You harvest these directly from the buds and leaves, before they get separated. Once the extraction is completed, CBD is actually a colorless crystal structure, when it gets to room temperature, it’s in the purest form. Hemp along with cannabis are valid sources of this, but CBD usually tends to be derived directly from cannabis, and it’s a lot more and more potent, especially when compared to pulling this from hemp. 



The Benefits Athletes Have 

There are certain benefits that athletes can get directly from this. First and foremost, it’s something that can help with inflammation. No matter where you compete, workouts can be hard, and CBD helps with pain relief, along with inflammation that happens. It also helps with damage to the tissues, along with neuropathic pain. 

This is really good, especially since many endurance athletes do benefit form this. 

It also benefits your gastrointestinal health. This is partially due to the fact that athletes tend to push themselves a lot, not getting enough nutrients or oxygen. This can cause GI stress, nausea, and even vomiting, and issues with nutrient absorption. But what was found is that CBD can help with some of the damaged tissues and improve intestinal permeability. A little tincture within your herbal tea can help you with improving this, that much is sure! 



It also boosts your bone health. Did you know that it can be better than just drinking milk? It actually is good for the bones and skeletal health. 

Due to different findings, it actually heals a lot of fractures, improving the quality of the bone density, along with the disposition of this. Plus, it can reduce the chances of broken tissues and bones, a major problem that athletes tend to avoid, as it’s a huge setback to their ability to make major strides within the sport. 

It also is good for reducing anxiety and stress. Lots of people who compete feel a little ill at ease, and they’re not totally prepared, which can impact the performance that they have. this isn’t just a mental game, but also one tha’ts physical too. However DBD is one of the best for fighting anxiety and stress. It helps reduce the anxiousness and tenseness, improving the outcome, and it lets you pay attention to the real matters here, and it improves situational awareness too. 



Finally, it aids with resting and relaxation, and it can help with the restlessness that happens prior to getting ready for a big game. Sometime sit’s so stressful that you have no clue how to calm the body down. This can be awful, but if you use CBD you’ll be able to reduce the difficulty that goes along with this. It also can help reduce the chances of exhaustion, which is the last thing you want when you’re trying to compete, right? 


Wednesday, November 9, 2016

What is Cannbicycol (CBL)

CBL is another compound that’s minor in cannabis, so you’re not going to find it in huge amounts. Like CBN, and CBLA, the acid before it does decarboxylate into this, is something that’s also quite new to the world of cannabis. However, this is a degenerative part of THC, and it is something that’s degradative and a part of the Phyto cannabinoid called cannabicrhomene which is something that’s also a part of the cannabis plant. 

The heat, sunlight, and acids in the world around you do degrade CBC into the CBL compound. It’s something that’s not totally researched, but it may be similar in terms of anti-inflammatory results to CBD in that regard. It is not intoxicating, so you don’t have to worry about getting high with this. It also is not produced directly within the cannabis plant and is only found in trace amounts in both the hemp plant and the marijuana plant. 


This is something that is still not totally known, so we don’t know whether or not it will interact directly with the body. When you have cannabis which hasn’t gone through the decarboxylated process, cannabicicylol is something that’s acidic, and it’s called cananbicyclolic acid, or CBLA, and then, it’s a degrative product that comes from CBCD in a form which hasn’t decarbed yet.  It’s something that is not found directly produced within the plant but is a result of the degradation of the minor cannabinoids. 

The potential benefits and Uses 

There are few studies that are looking at the results of this in people. CBL however, has a structure that’s similar to CBN, but it doesn’t have the double-bond, which is what attributes CBN to the psychoactive results, and right now, there is not any evidence out there that says that CBL does interact with the CB1 and the CB2 receptors, and it’s something that doesn’t have the physiological effects, so it may not be psychoactive based on the research currently out there. 



The structure of this does mean that it might be anti-inflammatory, may be neurogenic, antibacterial, and also may be antiemetic in terms of properties that are out there. It also may help with sleep, aiding it too, and it’s something that’s barely found in the cannabis plant, and also may offer therapeutic results, via different terpene and other cannabinoid interactions within this. 

It also may possibly inhibit the uptake of anandamide, which is something that may help with the bloodstream and the brain, aiding in the aspects of booting your mood, and also working to manage different chronic pain that’s out there, so it does have the potential uses and benefits that go along with this too. 

Side effects 

Right now, there is almost no research on how this may affect people if you decide to use this. There also isn’t much to find or report on the studies that are there. But there was a study which was carried out back in 1976 that does show some adverse side effects, and if you give high amounts, it can cause seizures, and in this study, it did result in a rabbit’s death. 



However, because the study was so small, it didn’t offer any conclusion s which were firm enough that it may be something which cause problems in humans. 

It’s important to understand that if you want this, you want something high in CBC, so you should go for a strain that’s high in age, and something that’s been around of longer to get the CBL that you want from this, so bear that in mind when choosing a strain as well.