Adventures in Cannabis

[darkemeralds]

Lately I've been hurting more than mere ibuprofen can handle--osteoarthritis, mostly, but a motherfucker of a toothache right at the moment.

So, though I've never been much for getting high, today I tried medical marijuana for the first time.

It took a lot of homework for me to get here. I read books, attended a workshop, and spent several hours on Leafly. I asked my doctor (who, as a naturopath, is all for it). I researched cannabinoids, terpenes, strains of sativa and indica. I read about the different dispensaries. Learned something about the labyrinth of laws surrounding legalization in Oregon. Became engrossed in delivery methods. Decided on vaping. Vaping is fast-acting and doesn't stink the joint up.

Harlequin is a sativa strain bred for high CBD and low THC, which translates to "pain relief without getting high", and my neighborhood dispensary sells it.

So off I walked to Kings of Canna on 15th and Prescott, and came home half an hour later with some paraphernalia and drugs.



But look! It comes in retail packaging. There are USB chargers and LED indicators. The only baggie in sight was the fancy opaque white zip-lock bag mandated by the State of Oregon for carting the goods off-premises.

It's a couple of hours and several hits of Harlequin later, and behold! The tooth isn't really hurting anymore.

Heh. Maybe I need a new icon.


ETA: And I really don't feel high. Maybe a teeny bit hazy. I might have eaten a box of cookies...

Comments

[unseelie]

I'm using in the Bay Area; anxiety and sleep issues, banging on with my arthritic back.
I'm buying Kiva chocolates and using a 50/50% CBD/THC blend. 8mg on a painful night, 10-12mg when I'm hurting *and* my head is spinning (work, POLITICS, everything). I really like it, it does the knock-down job smoothly and I feel silly and happy, and in the morning the effects are gone without hangover - so it's better than a big ass glass of wine.

[darkemeralds]

I'm glad you've found such relief! I haven't tried any edibles yet. I understand the effect is much more lasting than with vaping. Seems like that would be extra valuable with insomnia.

The world is making everyone's head spin these days! Most distressing. There's no doubt in my mind that the constant bang-bang-bang of horrible political noise and despair is contributing to the inflammation and rigidity that cause my own pain. I feel really lucky to be living in a pot-legal state! The stuff isn't cheap, and is highly taxed (as it should be), but when compared with prescription drugs, it's a steal, and of course there seem to be no side effects. Plus: small local businesses! Organic farmers! Etc.

You've reminded me that I wasn't keeping track of my dosage. I'm not even sure how to tell. I'll have to pay closer attention. I like to be clear about these things!

[blueraccoon]

I could have helped with a lot of this. I use for migraines, and my go-to are actually capsules. But they take a while to kick in, so I have a routine, which goes like:

step 1: Notice incoming migraine, take pot capsules
step 2: crawl into bed for about an hour
step 3: surface enough to play on phone in bed
step 4: functional, also by this point high

But I use the THC because annoyingly CBD doesn't do much to help with the migraines. They do make CBD capsules though.

[darkemeralds]

When you say capsules, are you referring to the kind you swallow? If so, is it the digestion/absorption process that accounts for the hour in bed? What kind of dose do you use for migraine? How long does the effect last? And do you make your own capsules? (So many questions!)

I'm learning the value of your Step 1. Noticing the early onset of pain, and acting on it right away, does seem to be crucial--even with just ibuprofen. "Get out in front of it" is a good motto.

I rarely suffer from migraine, but my sister has been plagued with it all her life. I'll pass along your recommendation.

So far today, I'm delighted with the results of the Harlequin high-CBD vape concentrate on this hideous toothache. The pain isn't just masked, it's gone. This strain is bred for its anti-inflammatory properties, and after today I can vouch for them.

[blueraccoon]

Edibles in general take longer to kick in than anything else. It takes about one and a half to two hours for them to really work for me, which is what accounts for my lying in bed. But once they do kick in, they're good for about 2-3 hours. Sometimes more, depends on what I've eaten or how often I've used recently or whatever.

The ones I take are just regular capsules filled with either coconut oil and cannabis extract or cellulose and cannabis extract. Standard "dose" for edibles in Washington is 10mg of THC per serving, but I usually take a lot more than that, although sometimes I don't have to. The more I've used recently, the more I will need to get relief, it's just like anything else in that exposure gives you tolerance.

There are extracts you can buy and make your own capsules, but I prefer to buy the pre-made ones. It's easier for me.

It has worked well enough for me that I no longer take oxycodone. I still need Phenergan sometimes, but I'm off the oxy.

[darkemeralds]

At the seminar I attended, they talked about the opioid epidemic, and how cannabis is helping solve that problem in states where it's been legalized. You just know that the biggest push against legalization is coming from Big Pharma. I'm happy for you that you've been able to get off the oxy.

I wouldn't try to make my own capsules, either. I'm all for supporting experts doing their expert thing. My vape pen takes a little pre-made cartridge of either a half gram or a gram of concentrate, complete with mouthpiece. It's so cool! You just screw the capsule to the battery unit, click a button, and take a hit. Very little waste. I can run up to my corner dispensary any time and get more. Plug and play. It's awesome.

And when yesterday's massive toothache (which had me on the point of calling the emergency dentist and begging for an opiate to tide me over till my appointment on Wednesday) just vanished, I became a complete convert.

[blueraccoon]

For a while I was alternating between oxy and cannabis (never together, oh god no) but I had to change pain doctors due to insurance and the new one told me I had to choose between the pot and the oxy. I opted for the one that leaves me functional (if not drive-safe) and works better than the oxy. And for what it's worth, I've now made it over two months without an ER visit. I may have turned into a bit of a stoner sometimes, though, but I figure I'm not hurting anyone, I get my stuff done, and it makes me feel better so no one can really complain.

I have a vape pen like you do, and I use it sometimes when I need a quicker hit than the capsules I usually take. I haven't found a vape cartridge I really love yet, though, and it tends to make me cough so I usually just stick to edibles.

The first time I tried pot I had a little disposable vape pen thing, and I didn't really know what I was supposed to do with it but a couple hits later my head didn't hurt for the first time in months. Just...nothing there. That was the point at which I said "Okay, this is worth trying more."

[darkemeralds]

Your new no-ER-visit statistic is great! Congratulations! And yeah, so you're a little stoned now and then, no big deal. As you say, you're functional and you feel good--and you're smart enough not to drive. (Even on this low-TCH strain, I found my judgment a wee bit impaired while biking, and I don't think I'd want to be trying any unfamiliar or busy routes after a heavy dose.)

The way the pain tails off is interesting. Do you notice it too? It's not quite like anything I've experienced. The pain is there...it's there...it's there...and then it sort of falls off a cliff. It doesn't seem to decline; just there and then bam! Gone.

The vaping makes me cough, too, which I don't love (I gave up smoking 29 years ago), and for that reason I might go to edibles or tincture eventually. I suspect that I'll be experimenting for quite a while yet. Isn't it wonderful that we're free to do that, without a doctor visit and an expensive new prescription with side effects every time we want to adjust things a little?

[branchandroot]

Sounds like a very successful experiment! Also very medical and official looking; I'm impressed and amused.

[darkemeralds]

I keep being amused too! It's taken me two years (since legalization here) to get over my sense that this is all very hush-hush and illicit. It feels really strange to have become such a convert to something that, in my youth, was unbelievably stigmatized. And you can just imagine how my 87-year-old mom feels about it! But it's helping her be more comfortable, and giving her more mobility, which nothing in the MD's legitimate pharmacy has been able to do.

[ranunculus]

Anything but opiates.
Plain old pot is my pain relief drug of choice!
Glad that you are doing some experiments!

[darkemeralds]

My principal objection to "plain old pot" is that I always hated the high. (Munchies, odor, and the smoking itself were my other issues.) So it took legalization and the vast flood of new medicinal strains and delivery methods (plus good information about them) to get me to look again. So glad I did.

Clear back in 1998-1999, I knew some northern California folks working on getting medical marijuana legalized. The risks they ran! They were using email and stuff, but they had to code everything and could barely talk about it. They were heroes.

[tehomet]

But why wouldn't you want the high? I thought, and then read through the comments. Oh! :)

I'm very glad you found something that works for you, especially as, rather terrifyingly, it seems ibuprofen may not be as uncomplicated as I once thought. I've been taking ibuprofen for period pain for literally years, and took it by the handful when I tore my rotator cuff recently. 0.o

[darkemeralds]

HO-LEE SHIT.

Thank you for pointing me to that article. Wow, I had no idea. Even my naturopath told me that ibuprofen is okay--better for the liver than Tylenol, and easier on the stomach than aspirin--so I've been very free with it. I decided to moderate its use in the last few months not because it was particularly bothering me, but more just on general principles of "I don't trust pharmaceuticals" and "this feels excessive."

But with other heart risk factors like excess weight and blood cholesterol that's not exactly down in the green zone, I am definitely going to reconsider using it at all!

Since I wrote this post, I've switched to a CBD tincture. It's marvelous. Great for relaxation and sleep, easy to swallow, no lung involvement like vaping. The guy who makes it will mail it to me, even.

The only problem is price per dose. It's orders of magnitude more expensive than ibuprofen. So of course every dose is accompanied by that little twinge of money stress, and I take it only when I really need it.

On the other hand, this situation drives me to be more proactive about the pain, and to think more carefully about anti-inflammatory diet, exercise, and my mental state.