Cannabis News Archives - Santa Barbara Medical Cannabis Conference & Expo

Can Cannabis Solve the Opioid Crisis?

Probably not—but it might be part of the solution

Cannabis is deeply misunderstood. It has been hailed as a potential hero in the fight against all ailments, including cancer and the opioid epidemic. It has also been called the devil’s lettuce, with claims that its use will lead to laziness, madness and even murder. In part, this polarization in beliefs can be explained by the complexity of cannabis. It is not helpful or accurate to think about cannabis as a single substance, but rather as a mixture of over 500 chemicals with varying combinations of dosages.

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The Wired Guide To Cannabis

By SpiSafConf | Cannabis News

HUMANITY JUST CAN’T make up its mind about cannabis. For thousands of years, humans have used the stuff as medicine or to travel on spiritual quests. That, though, didn’t quite suit the British, who banned cannabis in colonial India. Then in the 20th century, the United States government declared war on marijuana, and most of the world followed suit.

But today, state after state is calling out the federal government on its absurd claim that weed should be a schedule I drug—an extreme danger with no medical benefits—and should fall in the same category as heroin. Even on the federal level, congressional reps like Elizabeth Warren are fighting to end the criminalization of cannabis use. The fact is, scientists have proven cannabis can treat a range of ills and that it’s actually much safer than alcohol. The twisty-turny journey of cannabis has landed us back at a central truth: It’s actually a powerful medicine that can help treat what ails the human body.

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Here Are the Reasons Americans Are Using Medical Pot

By Jacqueline Lopez | Cannabis News

Patients use medical cannabis to treat the symptoms of a wide variety of ailments—but only some of those uses are actually backed up by science. A new study out Monday, however, suggests the vast majority of patients are prescribed medical pot for conditions like chronic pain and multiple sclerosis, for which there is good research supporting the use of cannabis.

In light of their findings, the authors say it’s high time that cannabis be downgraded from its federal status as a Schedule I drug, and it should be better tracked and regulated as a medical treatment.

In the U.S., 33 states and the District of Columbia currently permit people to use medical cannabis. These users need a special license, which can only be obtained if a doctor agrees that they have a qualifying condition. But until now, according to the authors, there hasn’t been an attempt to quantify, on a national level, why people are getting medical cannabis.

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What are the benefits, risks of marijuana use? Experts are just finding out

By SpiSafConf | Cannabis News | 8,062 Comments

During his 25 years of researching cannabis, Dr. Daniele Piomelli has received hundreds of emails from people desperately wanting to know whether the plant can help them with medical problems. He recalls the one he received from the father of a girl with autism who was desperate for help.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time, I have to say, ‘We just don’t know,’ ” said Piomelli, a professor at the University of California, Irvine. “It’s heartbreaking.”

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Can marijuana really replace prescription opioids for pain? Some get relief but ‘it’s not a home run.’

By SpiSafConf | Cannabis News | 5,052 Comments

Marijuana advocates were overjoyed this week when Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner legalized medical cannabis as a substitute for prescription painkillers. The Marijuana Policy Project called it a “big win” for patients, and officials say it will greatly expand the number of patients, possibly saving lives.

But the new state law raises the question: How effective is cannabis for treating pain? And how well does it work to reduce opioid use and overdose deaths?

The answers, of course, depend on whom you ask, be it doctors, researchers or patients. Some pain physicians love it. Many addiction specialists, not so much. The National Institute on Drug Abuse has decades of research on the negative effects of marijuana, while the Center for Medical Cannabis Research in San Diego has mostly positive reports. And patients have their own preferences.

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The Importance of Testing Cannabis

By SpiSafConf | Cannabis News | 3,636 Comments

here are plenty of benefits when it comes to purchasing cannabis from a dispensary. While the list is certainly long, one of the key things that sets a dispensary apart from other sources is the testing that has to be done before they can sell any type of cannabis to customers.

Why is Testing Important?

Cannabis is not unlike other crops in that most people who grow it use pesticides. The processing of cannabis can also involve the use of certain ingredients that could be harmful. So, like everything you decide to consume, it’s important to know what chemicals may be present in it.

Lab testing gives a complete and transparent breakdown of not only what chemicals are found in the cannabis you’re about to buy, but also the true amounts of THC, CBD, and other compounds that will affect how a person reacts to their intake of a particular strand of cannabis.

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Cannabis 101: What You Need to Know

By SpiSafConf | Cannabis News | 3,906 Comments

Now that it’s fully legal here in California, cannabis is no longer trapped in the dazed and confused stereotypes of yesteryear. Today, marijuana is medicine, and a superior form of it at that, with few long-term side effects and an array of highly specialized products to meet the needs of its diverse consumers.

Online cannabis communities like HelloMD make finding the right product for you easy, whether you’re a Menlo Park mom taking cannabis-infused mints to ease chronic pain or an Oakland-based tech bro using a vape pen to calm your nerves before a big work presentation. Thanks to its informational blog, digital doctors and online store selling a variety of cannabis products, HelloMD is a prime destination for smart cannabis use.

But we get it: Outdated stigmas can be tough to shake—and confusing vocabulary doesn’t help. Curious about marijuana but feel out of the loop? Let’s start with the basics.

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Older Americans Are Flocking to Medical Marijuana

By SpiSafConf | Cannabis News | 2,514 Comments

Oils, tinctures and salves — and sometimes old-fashioned buds — are increasingly common in seniors’ homes. Doctors warn that popularity has outstripped scientific evidence.
Shari Horne broke her toes a decade ago, and after surgery, “I have plates and pins and screws in my feet, and they get achy at times,” she said.

So Ms. Horne, 66, applies a salve containing cannabidiol, derived from the cannabis, or marijuana, plant. It eases the pain.

The salve didn’t help when she developed bursitis in her shoulder, but a tincture of cannabidiol mixed with T.H.C., the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, provided relief.

Using a pipe, she also smokes “a few hits” of a cannabis brand called Blue Dream after dinner, because “I think relaxing is healthy for you.”

Many of her neighbors in Laguna Woods, Calif., a community of mostly older adults in Orange County, where she serves on the City Council, have developed similar routines.

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Keep Calm and Live in New York City: The Promise of CBD, the Cannabis Chemical That Won’t Get You High

By SpiSafConf | Cannabis News | 2,486 Comments

One morning, about a month ago, I walked out of my Brooklyn apartment on a quick mission to buy shampoo and ended up having six drops of CBD, the cannabis-based elixir, administered beneath my tongue by a Coloradan named Bodē. Such things are liable to happen in New York City these days. Bodē was in Zoë’s Beauty Products, my local cosmetics store in Greenpoint, talking up a line of CBD tinctures to the women behind the counter. It was obvious from his laid-back vibe, and his R.E.I.-inspired look, that he was not from the area. I might have ignored his pitch, and gone about my business browsing aisles of thirty-dollar conditioner and lilac hand creams, except that CBD—also known as cannabidiol, a nonpsychoactive chemical, found in marijuana and hemp plants, that has become the latest trendy ingredient among the wellness crowd—had been pursuing me around the city like the monster from “It Follows.”

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