All posts tagged: Edibles

Could Inhaled Cannabis Be More Effective to Relieve Pain than Oral Cannabinoids?

Cannabis for Chronic Pain: Challenges and Considerations

In Summary:

Comparisons between the use of inhaled cannabis plant versus pharmaceutical-grade oral cannabinoids demonstrate an advantage of inhalation over oral delivery. Conditions for which inhalation has provided superior over oral consumption include:

HIV, diabetic neuropathy, post-herpetic neuralgia, complex regional pain syndrome, spinal cord injury, traumatic neuropathic pain, multiple sclerosis, and cervical disk disease.

An important note: patients consuming cannabinoids orally are more likely to withdraw from studies due to negative side effects and lack of efficacy. Also, edible cannabis may compete, amplify, or have effects delayed, when interacting with other ingested foods and drinks, A major advantage of inhalation is the opportunity for patients to titrate, or easily test varying dosages at home, with reasonably rapid feedback. On the other hand, dosage adjustments for oral food-borne cannabinoids are much more complex, and cannabis in the form of oral pharmaceutical-products may require a doctor visit and a new prescription.

Dr. Caplan and the #MDTake:

In the clinic, there seems to be a great divide in the population, a group of patients who simply adore the edibles (often in low-dose candies, low-dose chocolate, or titrated tinctures), and a group who use inhalation, almost exclusively. There are also some who are discovering topicals (salves, patches, lotions). There is a growing number of patients who use each of these methods with intention, related to their timing of onset and their duration of action, but this requires education, practice, and a degree of sophistication in use that is relatively new to the industry.

As with most consumption, medicinal or not, it seems common for individuals to find a method that they enjoy and stick to it. Interestingly, in recent years, the US cannabis industry has evolved in a wild growth phase. As it has embraced a dynamic landscape, with increasing competition from all sides, including new stores and product offerings popping up all the time, there seems to be a growing openness, in consumers, to trying new products and exploring new offerings. Coincidentally, this openness to change and the unfamiliar happens to mirror one of the core neurobiological functions of cannabis in the brain, as seen across the neuropsychiatric and neuroimaging cannabis literature.

How exciting to imagine a future medicine that may help consumers to be more open to change?

View this review (yellow link) or download:

This paper is also stored here:    http://bit.ly/2OmdM0S     inside the CED Foundation Archive

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Benjamin Caplan, MDCould Inhaled Cannabis Be More Effective to Relieve Pain than Oral Cannabinoids?
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Arizona Beverage Co embracing cannabis too

Arizona Beverage Co. has reached a deal with a cannabis company, Dixie Brands. If approved by Dixie’s board, Dixie would manufacture an Arizona line of cannabis products, starting with vape pens and edible gummies and later expanding to beverages. Learn more here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/arizona-iced-tea-maker-turns-to-weed-11565172124

Benjamin Caplan, MDArizona Beverage Co embracing cannabis too
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Video: Controversial Questions in Cannabis Today

As cannabis finds its place back into modern human culture quickly, there is much still to be learned. As the science grows and adapts to modern need and expectations, the “can we” may be out-pacing the “should we.” On the other hand, there are circumstances where modern culture really “should be” and is handicapped by years of misinformed stigma.

Here, a few controversial questions about cannabis:

Should teachers be allowed to use cannabis around children? 

Should spiritual leaders be allowed to use cannabis, as they have for millennia?

Should taxi drivers be allowed to use cannabis on the job?

Should pilots be allowed to use cannabis?

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Benjamin Caplan, MDVideo: Controversial Questions in Cannabis Today
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Video: Do-It-Yourself Cannabis Tinctures

One of the terrific realities of modern Cannabis is that it is possible, and often quite simple, to make effective products at home. With suitable education and access to testing facilities, the soil, nutrients, and plant growth can be supported at home, lab-tested for make-up and potency, as well as safety-checked for potential microscopic contaminants, and ultimately, individualized medicine can be created right at home!

Here is a sample instructional for just one way that cannabis tincture can be made at home. There are countless others and hopefully, many that are yet to be discovered!

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Benjamin Caplan, MDVideo: Do-It-Yourself Cannabis Tinctures
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Maintain a Balanced Diet when Consuming Oral Cannabidiol

Title: Food effect on pharmacokinetics of cannabidiol oral capsules in adult patients with refractory epilepsy

Researchers have recently revealed the importance of maintaining a balanced diet, when consuming cannabidiol (CBD). Consuming oral capsules containing CBD may be a more consistent method of consumption than blending CBD into liquids or solid foods, but unfortunately, capsules do not prevent a high degree of potential fluctuation of dosing. The fat content of a meal may vary widely, and so may change the active concentrations of CBD which become active in the bloodstream. In other words, the effects felt by a consumer may be either stronger or weaker, and differ in duration, related to the method of consumption, and the product make-up taken. Patients considering CBD as a therapeutic intervention, who also want a consistency of effect, would be wise to be mindful to maintain a diet with a balanced amount of fat (oils, butter, etc.) when consuming CBD capsules. 


This article highlights the variation of effects felt when altering consumption methods. For example, edibles and inhaled cannabinoids of the same dosage have extremely different effects, because of how they are processed in the body processes. When inhaled, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) diffuses across structures in the lungs known as alveoli, and are then transmitted to circulate throughout the bloodstream. Edibles introduce THC into the system by first metabolizing with liver enzymes, resulting in an altered metabolite of THC circulating throughout the body. This subtly-altered metabolite of THC can be more potent than the starting material, although the onset is delayed due to the process of consumption, digestion, and metabolism. All consumers would do well to research their consumption method of choice and proceed carefully when switching between methods. 

Tweet: Researchers have recently revealed the importance of maintaining a balanced #diet when consuming #cannabidiol (#CBD). Learn more at

View this review (yellow link) or download:

This paper is also stored here:    http://bit.ly/2Ju8KfY     inside the CED Foundation Archive

To explore related information, click the keywords below:

Benjamin Caplan, MDMaintain a Balanced Diet when Consuming Oral Cannabidiol
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Guidelines for Canada’s cannabis edibles tight, but also vague

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/guidelines-for-canadas-cannabis-edibles-tight-but-also-vague

Months after the decision to legalize cannabis, Canadian lawmakers work to regulate the packaging and advertising of cannabis products. The new guidelines forbid the mixing of alcohol and THC and also ensure that products are not “appealing to a young person.”

Benjamin Caplan, MDGuidelines for Canada’s cannabis edibles tight, but also vague
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