{"componentChunkName":"component---common-build-tags-template-js","path":"/tag/industry-spotlight/5","result":{"data":{"allArticle":{"edges":[{"node":{"id":"Article_2103-markdown","title":"Beginners Guide to Growing Marijuana & New 'Leaf' System","slug":"beginners-guide-to-growing-marijuana-and-new-leaf-system","content":"The new and tech-savvy [Leaf is the world's first Plug N' Plant cannabis\ngrowing system](http://www.getleaf.co/) and it offers a complete system\nthat includes social media apps, remote controls and remote viewing of\nyour plants. The Leaf system is perfect for beginners that are looking\nto grow their own medicinal marijuana and the technical aspects of the\nLeaf system eliminate many of the worries and [questions that first-time\ngrowers\nhave](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/cannabis-101-your-quick-guide-to-medical-marijuana)\nabout the growing process. There is an overwhelming amount of\ninformation readily available about growing medicinal marijuana and\nmedicinal cannabis, but making sense of that information and applying\nthe information to your personal growing situation can be challenging.\nYou want the best type of plant for your personal condition and you want\nto achieve the optimum growing conditions for your specific strain of\nmarijuana.\n\n### Marijuana and Cannabis as Healing Medicines\n\nAcross North America and around the world, attitudes and legislation\nabout marijuana and about cannabis as effective medicines are changing.\nJustice departments and health professionals are in the process of\nreviewing clinical studies and revising legislation to better serve the\nhealth needs of North American people: in some jurisdictions, the\npreparation of marijuana into medical cannabis is the legislative\nconcern, and in other areas, governments have made access to medical\nmarijuana legal and more accessible. Cannabis and medical marijuana are\nalready legal across Canada, but not always easily accessible - partly\ndue to a reluctance on the part of physicians and nurses to support\nmedical cannabis referrals. In the United States, control of marijuana\nand medical cannabis is regulated by the state. Studies have proven that\nwhen grown, prepared, and used appropriately medical cannabis is a very\neffective medical therapy for [relief from a wide variety of\ndebilitating\nconditions](https://hellomd.com/health-wellness/57169cf805483f000c00008b/constance-finleys-story-treating-my-autoimmune-disease-with-cannabis-oil)\nincluding seizure disorders, panic disorders, PTSD, pain control and\nmore.\n\n### Male Versus Female Plants\n\nMarijuana plants are sexual plants, meaning there are male plants and\nthere are female plants. In their naturally growing state, they\nreproduce sexually and produce seeds. Marijuana plants grown for\nmedicinal cannabis are either cloned or started from seeds. To clone a\nplant means to take a cutting, or a slip from the original stem of a\nhealthy adult plant and rooting it to grow a second healthy adult plant.\nWhen medical marijuana growers clone plants, they clone almost\nexclusively females because female marijuana plants produce the\ncompounds used for human therapeutic use. By contrast, the male plant is\nthe pollen producer. The female plant produces the medicinal bud, and if\npollinated, the female marijuana plant produces the seed. Experienced\ngrowers have proven that the gender of the plant produced by a marijuana\nseed can be affected by controlling planting and growing conditions.\nThere are several methods to increase the probability that your\nmarijuana seeds will be 'feminized' and produce a higher percentage of\nmedical cannabis female plants:\n\n-   Monitor and control soil nutrients to keep high nitrogen and low\n    potassium levels\n\n<!-- -->\n\n-   Keep plants at a high relative humidity (60-70 percent)\n\n<!-- -->\n\n-   Expose plants to a high frequency light (blue or purple)\n\n<!-- -->\n\n-   Limit plant exposure to the sun to no more than 14 hours of light\n    per day\n\n<!-- -->\n\n-   Keep plants at a lower temperature (62-65 degrees Fahrenheit)\n\n### Traditional Cannabis Growing Systems\n\nTraditional cannabis growing systems for both indoor and outdoor growing\nrequire some working knowledge of the following concepts: temperature\ncontrol, light control and soil nutrition. Other broad agricultural\nconcepts are also important including pest control, mildew control and\noutdoor growing conditions including season, weather and planting zone\nspecifics. Monitoring and optimizing soil nutrition is a key component\nof all marijuana growing systems. Healthy soil means healthy plants, and\nhealthy plants produce the cannabis for a healthier you. Growing\nmarijuana to produce medicinal cannabis really requires learning about\nyour own health condition and what strain or variety of marijuana is\ngoing to provide the medical cannabis that is appropriate for providing\ntherapeutic relief for your specific condition. Honest dialogue with\nyour medical professional or knowledgeable local budtender is essential\nto ensuring that you find the strain of marijuana that actually provides\noptimal relief for your [specific medical\ncondition](https://www.hellomd.com/learn/health-conditions).\n\n### Leaf Plug N' Plant Growing System: Perfect For Beginners\n\nIf you are new to growing medical marijuana, the new Leaf Plug N' Plant\ncannabis growing system might be the perfect system to help you learn\nvery quickly all of the different components involved in growing\neffective medical cannabis. If you are an experienced medical marijuana\ngrower, you will find the Leaf system difficult to resist trying out-\nthe range of technical applications and software components are just to\ninteresting to ignore. The compact size and aesthetically pleasing look\nof the Leaf system makes it ideal for any location. It's fits like a bar\nfridge neatly into any room or office. The Leaf features a\nmade-for-cannabis LED grow light custom designed for Leaf by leading\nNASA researchers and made specifically for growing medical cannabis. The\npatent-pending Nutrient Dosing System automatically feeds your plants\nwith the precise blend of nutrients exactly when they need them. Leaf\noptimizes its settings for best size, weight, density and potency. Leaf\ncontinuously monitors the plant environment and automatically adjusts it\nto optimize plant growth. The Leaf phone app provides you with an\nastonishing real time plant growth monitoring system via your phone. The\nLeaf app displays all of your environmental data in real time and you\ncan even watch your plants grow through the built-in HD camera. Leaf's\nphone app also provides you with social media links where you can\nconnect with other medical cannabis growers, compare data, and even\nwatch other peoples' plants grow in real time.","image":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/png;base64,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","aspectRatio":1.6260162601626016,"src":"/static/06787d1349975e4db0add184aecbe926/27625/e09f07dafdba8ff8de123ccd8ba1ec62.png","srcSet":"/static/06787d1349975e4db0add184aecbe926/69585/e09f07dafdba8ff8de123ccd8ba1ec62.png 200w,\n/static/06787d1349975e4db0add184aecbe926/497c6/e09f07dafdba8ff8de123ccd8ba1ec62.png 400w,\n/static/06787d1349975e4db0add184aecbe926/27625/e09f07dafdba8ff8de123ccd8ba1ec62.png 680w","srcWebp":"/static/06787d1349975e4db0add184aecbe926/8829b/e09f07dafdba8ff8de123ccd8ba1ec62.webp","srcSetWebp":"/static/06787d1349975e4db0add184aecbe926/61e93/e09f07dafdba8ff8de123ccd8ba1ec62.webp 200w,\n/static/06787d1349975e4db0add184aecbe926/1f5c5/e09f07dafdba8ff8de123ccd8ba1ec62.webp 400w,\n/static/06787d1349975e4db0add184aecbe926/8829b/e09f07dafdba8ff8de123ccd8ba1ec62.webp 680w","sizes":"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px"}}}}},{"node":{"id":"Article_2122-markdown","title":"Biodynamic Farming & Cannabis","slug":"biodynamic-farming-and-cannabis","content":"Alicia Rose is the Founder of [HerbaBuena](http://herbabuena.com/) a California based collective that  provides a sophisticated, personalized approach as well as the finest cannabis-based medicine. HerbaBuena is well known for their social events which allows its members to gather and learn about the therapeutic benefits of cannabis and the products that suit them best. We welcome Alicia as one of our newest guest bloggers. Alicia has become a pioneer in the area of biodynamic cannabis, the topic of her first article on HelloMD. \r\n\r\n## Why Biodynamic Cannabis?\r\n\r\nWhen it comes to cultivating medicine and spirit plants, the intention and purity with which they’re grown is as important as the strain. Biodynamic farming offers a great alternative and a trusted certification process offering a much needed alternative to USDA Organic which, due to current federal regulation, is neither an option for cannabis farmers nor a choice point available to patients.\r\n \r\nA holistic approach to farming, Biodynamics builds upon the concepts of organic (as defined by the USDA National Organic Program) and brings them to the next level. Since marijuana in California is defined as medicine, it is vital for consumers to have a trusted labeling source which ensures source and purity—free from the chemical fertilizers and pesticides often used in cannabis farming.\r\n \r\nBiodynamics goes beyond organic by requiring practices that improve the health of the entire ecosystem including the soil, plants, animals and humans that it supports. It’s an amazing system that works on the principle of biodiversity to attain a healthy, balanced ecosystem, and when you’re growing something as potent and magical as cannabis, it all matters.\r\n\r\n## Setting a New Industry Standard\r\n\r\nSince organic certification isn’t an option, offering cannabis certified by a trusted organization with a 30-year history is another way to ensure we’re providing the purest products and the finest medicine, and setting a new standard for our industry. Introducing Biodynamic medicine helps us make a positive impact on the health of our patients, our community and the industry as a whole. People ask if you can tell a difference between the sun grown Biodynamic medicine and others, and the answer is yes. We’ve noticed, along with many of our members, that there’s a full-spectrum experience that the Biodynamic flowers provide. The feeling is nuanced and expansive, balanced and grounded, all at the same time. The difference in how this medicine makes you feel—compared to that which is grown in warehouses under artificial light, fed petrochemicals, forced to bloom, and treated with pesticides—is profound and palpable.\r\n\r\nIf you are new to cannabis and want to learn more, take a look at our [Cannabis 101](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/cannabis-101-your-quick-guide-to-medical-marijuana) post. [HelloMD](https://www.hellomd.com/) can help you get your medical marijuana recommendation; it's 100% online, private and efficient.","image":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/png;base64,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","aspectRatio":1.3333333333333333,"src":"/static/5f18290aea6b616eaa5272741e4bfdb8/ee604/69ab0ec999311fd9c7fd2cabe0993841.png","srcSet":"/static/5f18290aea6b616eaa5272741e4bfdb8/69585/69ab0ec999311fd9c7fd2cabe0993841.png 200w,\n/static/5f18290aea6b616eaa5272741e4bfdb8/497c6/69ab0ec999311fd9c7fd2cabe0993841.png 400w,\n/static/5f18290aea6b616eaa5272741e4bfdb8/ee604/69ab0ec999311fd9c7fd2cabe0993841.png 800w,\n/static/5f18290aea6b616eaa5272741e4bfdb8/f3583/69ab0ec999311fd9c7fd2cabe0993841.png 1200w,\n/static/5f18290aea6b616eaa5272741e4bfdb8/f90fa/69ab0ec999311fd9c7fd2cabe0993841.png 1365w","srcWebp":"/static/5f18290aea6b616eaa5272741e4bfdb8/58556/69ab0ec999311fd9c7fd2cabe0993841.webp","srcSetWebp":"/static/5f18290aea6b616eaa5272741e4bfdb8/61e93/69ab0ec999311fd9c7fd2cabe0993841.webp 200w,\n/static/5f18290aea6b616eaa5272741e4bfdb8/1f5c5/69ab0ec999311fd9c7fd2cabe0993841.webp 400w,\n/static/5f18290aea6b616eaa5272741e4bfdb8/58556/69ab0ec999311fd9c7fd2cabe0993841.webp 800w,\n/static/5f18290aea6b616eaa5272741e4bfdb8/99238/69ab0ec999311fd9c7fd2cabe0993841.webp 1200w,\n/static/5f18290aea6b616eaa5272741e4bfdb8/5e0b8/69ab0ec999311fd9c7fd2cabe0993841.webp 1365w","sizes":"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"}}}}},{"node":{"id":"Article_2156-markdown","title":"How I Overcame My Stigma About Cannabis ","slug":"how-i-overcame-my-stigma-about-cannabis","content":"Chris Husong is Co Founder of [ClubM](http://www.joinclubm.com/), a San Diego based collective that delivers monthly packages of premium medical cannabis to their patients. Chris, one of our newest HelloMD Guest Bloggers, spent years as a seasoned management consultant professional before embracing medical marijuana fully. Below he tells his story of how he overcame his own stigma and found himself squarely in the middle of the cannabis industry.\r\n\r\n**My Cannabis Journey**\r\n\r\nI grew up during the “Just Say No,” era. If you’re unfamiliar, this was a national campaign spearheaded by then First Lady, Nancy Reagan. In this campaign, all non-prescription drugs were described as dangerous. There’s a famous ad showing an egg in a frying pan with the ominous voice-over stating “this is your brain on drugs.” It was pretty powerful stuff. \r\n\r\nYou have to remember this is long before we could simply do a Google search to find our own information. And ironically, this “Just Say No,”  framing lead to a strengthening of prescription drugs, more on that later. \r\n\r\n**How a Smart, Nerdy, Church Kid Opens His Eyes**\r\n\r\nI was the “nerdy, smart and athletic” kid in a family of creatives. I learned to write code on my Texas Instruments 99/4A computer (a lot of you probably didn’t even know TI made computers, right?), and I was pretty good at playing football if I must say so myself. I didn’t fit in with my family, but I was active in church and I believed the culture of drugs was bad. \r\n\r\nDuring high school, I had the opportunity to live in Europe for 4 years. Here I learned to drive in Germany, ski on a glacier in Switzerland and I even bartered with locals in the markets in Tunisia. Living in Europe opened my eyes because the Europeans don’t have the same cultural confusion surrounding drugs or alcohol. People drank beer more than water.  None of the people my age were terrified of marijuana and they hadn’t grown up hearing that marijuana fries your brain. In fact, it seemed everywhere I went in Europe the most creative and interesting people used marijuana. This was the start of my personal quest to question everything I’d learned about marijuana. Fast forward to the age of the internet. I had become a father and even spent two years as  Christian preacher. After being a preacher, I was a regular volunteer at my church and then I was even in banking for awhile. In short, I became a respectable adult. \r\n\r\nMy Mom was an artist and she used cannabis and I was always ashamed of that. When I had my own kids, I had a hard conversation with my Mom about not smoking cannabis in front of the kids. But my curiosity about marijuana had never been satiated.  So I began to do a little research on marijuana in the United States. For example, I learned, according to Professor Barney Warf, as a smokable product, cannabis made its way into the United States during the Mexican Revolution, which gave it the reputation as “colored-person’s drug.”  Chillingly, I learned it started to become known marijuana (rather the cannabis) during a time of anti-immigration sentiment because it underscored the “Mexican-ness” of the drug. Basically, our culture’s demonization of marijuana was based on xenophobia and only helped prescription drug companies and alcohol companies. \r\n\r\nAs I became more involved in the cannabis business three years ago, I really began to see the importance of creating a new cultural perception regarding cannabis. Cannabis has proven medical benefits. But there’s more to it than that. I started thinking about my Mom and how she used cannabis as an artist to tap into her creativity. \r\n\r\n**A Well-Lived, Respectable, Creative Life** \r\n\r\nI started thinking about how cannabis not only heals people, it often even provides opportunities for them to be better at what they do, more energized, more creative, etc. It's not far different than sitting down with a friend to consume alcohol. So, when I co-founded ClubM, I looked for business partners who thought the same as we did because people using marijuana legally shouldn’t feel shame. It’s no more shameful than someone legally sitting at a bar having a beer.  \r\n\r\nMy personal mission of “Just Say No-To Cannabis Confusion” has been in development all of my life, but it’s really been in the last few years that I really became to understand the importance of leading the charge on this issue. That’s why [ClubM](http://www.joinclubm.com/) is built around the idea of making legalized use of marijuana part of a creative, respectable lifestyle. It’s important that the cannabis community come together on this issue and lead together. There’s nothing wrong with a life that is pain-free and creative. That’s a well-lived, respectable and creative life worth having. \r\n\r\nIf you are new to cannabis and want to learn more, take a look at our [Cannabis 101](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/cannabis-101-your-quick-guide-to-medical-marijuana) post. [HelloMD](https://www.hellomd.com/) can help you get your medical marijuana recommendation; it's 100% online, private and efficient.","image":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/png;base64,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","aspectRatio":1.3333333333333333,"src":"/static/ca21cb44eba840d51dedba26b3b2ad46/ee604/eb7a20e6cf4f7092dbd59514ae4e6781.png","srcSet":"/static/ca21cb44eba840d51dedba26b3b2ad46/69585/eb7a20e6cf4f7092dbd59514ae4e6781.png 200w,\n/static/ca21cb44eba840d51dedba26b3b2ad46/497c6/eb7a20e6cf4f7092dbd59514ae4e6781.png 400w,\n/static/ca21cb44eba840d51dedba26b3b2ad46/ee604/eb7a20e6cf4f7092dbd59514ae4e6781.png 800w,\n/static/ca21cb44eba840d51dedba26b3b2ad46/f3583/eb7a20e6cf4f7092dbd59514ae4e6781.png 1200w,\n/static/ca21cb44eba840d51dedba26b3b2ad46/f90fa/eb7a20e6cf4f7092dbd59514ae4e6781.png 1365w","srcWebp":"/static/ca21cb44eba840d51dedba26b3b2ad46/58556/eb7a20e6cf4f7092dbd59514ae4e6781.webp","srcSetWebp":"/static/ca21cb44eba840d51dedba26b3b2ad46/61e93/eb7a20e6cf4f7092dbd59514ae4e6781.webp 200w,\n/static/ca21cb44eba840d51dedba26b3b2ad46/1f5c5/eb7a20e6cf4f7092dbd59514ae4e6781.webp 400w,\n/static/ca21cb44eba840d51dedba26b3b2ad46/58556/eb7a20e6cf4f7092dbd59514ae4e6781.webp 800w,\n/static/ca21cb44eba840d51dedba26b3b2ad46/99238/eb7a20e6cf4f7092dbd59514ae4e6781.webp 1200w,\n/static/ca21cb44eba840d51dedba26b3b2ad46/5e0b8/eb7a20e6cf4f7092dbd59514ae4e6781.webp 1365w","sizes":"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"}}}}},{"node":{"id":"Article_2166-markdown","title":"Constance Finley's Story: Treating My Autoimmune Disease with Cannabis Oil","slug":"constance-finleys-story-treating-my-autoimmune-disease-with-cannabis-oil","content":"If you're familiar with Cannabis oils, including those high in CBD and THC, you may also be familiar with Constance Finley of [Constance Therapeutics](http://www.cbdfarm.org/). After grappling with a near-death experience at the hands of prescription drugs used to treat her severe autoimmune disorder, Constance found her way to medical cannabis. Although skeptical at first, she quickly realized that, in addition to managing her pain effectively, medical cannabis drastically improved her quality of life.\r\n\r\nToday, Constance is a leading authority in the CBD/THC oil industry and her company Constance Therapeutics produces the gold standard in whole-plant cannabis extracts. To date, her groundbreaking extracts have helped thousands of people and even a number of household pets. Recently, I interviewed Constance to find out more about how she's revolutionizing cannabis care and what drives her mission.\r\n\r\n**Tell us about your journey and the whole plant cannabis extracts you produce.**\r\n\r\nDue to my autoimmune disease I was housebound for many years. After doing quite a bit of research, I started out making extracts for myself and experimenting from there. Because of my condition, I had to be a fanatic about my health and I was extremely careful about what I put in my body. This is largely why we only use fully trimmed, female unfertilized cannabis sativa flowers of plants with known and controlled genetics and we source all raw materials from either in-house or collaborative farms that ascribe to the terroir philosophy. I needed to know exactly where the materials came from and how they were grown. Our farmers are committed to growing plants sourced from us and using a methodology based on modern biodynamic farming principles. Our focus on quality products doesn’t end there. We only use pharmaceutical grade, certified-organic ethanol for extraction because research has shown that this is the safest of the solvents. \r\n\r\nI am very proud of how far this company has come and believe every cent of the million dollars I have invested in Constance Therapeutics was necessary in order to ensure that we take a science-based approach to product research and development, which includes our patent-pending extraction method. Each step of our extraction process is precisely defined and meticulously measured. We have also implemented extensive standard operating procedures and are currently implementing internationally accepted standards for pharmaceutical companies (ISO 9000) in pursuit of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP).\r\n\r\nIt is amazing to think that we started out in my wine cellar and now Constance Therapeutics is located in a biotechnology acceleration campus. Our lab is truly amazing. We have biotech grade hoods for worker safety during chemical analysis and R&D testing, as well as industrial grade fire-safe storage equipment for proper storage, including a fire-safe freezer for ethanol storage to prevent any explosion risk under even extraordinary conditions. I think I am most proud of our rotary evaporator that removes any remaining solvent and preserves terpenes. We also installed state of the art vacuum pumps that are used to separate bioactive and inert components, as well as a chemical laboratory grade air filtration system to remove microbial contaminants and other impurities from the air. Needless to say, purity is a primary concern for me. Finally, we have industry-specific vacuum ovens to optimize aesthetics because aesthetics are important, even when it comes to medicinal cannabis.\r\n\r\nConstance Therapeutics is now a vertically integrated medicinal cannabis company, and we are setting the industry standard for quality, potency and consistency with a new category of treatment options with our whole plant cannabis extracts. Our work is ushering in a new era of care – Care 2.0 – in which whole plant cannabis extracts are integrated into traditional healthcare, providing physicians and their patients with expanded treatment options and filling the gap between traditional pharmaceuticals and commonplace cannabis products.\r\n\r\nIn order for our extracts to actually be considered an integrative option – and possibly even an alternative to pharmaceutical medication – by physicians, we must keep a close eye on quality, potency and consistency. Otherwise it is impossible for physicians to determine proper dosage or monitor for efficacy. We currently work with two great labs to test every lot of our extracts. We check for cannabinoid profile (potency), residual solvents, pesticides, microbial contaminants and aflatoxins. As you can see we have taken many steps to ensure our extracts are the absolute best.\r\n\r\n**You started operating Constance Therapeutics several years ago at a time when it was scary to do so, with changing laws and even government raids. What was it like to produce your product during that time?**\r\n\r\nI dealt with the fear by understanding that my own prejudice against cannabis had shifted and that the world was changing. I basically prayed that the Cosmos would protect me and that cannabis would lend its incredible energy toward that end. My passionate mission to help others has really given me my life back. When I started working with other people and seeing the miraculous results that occurred, I decided to really take this mission seriously. I also decided that there wasn't anything better I could be doing with my life. We decided that the best and most compassionate thing we could do was to take cannabis seriously. We set out to be at the forefront so that, instead of helping just a few people, we can deliver whole plant cannabis extracts to those in need (and in possession of California medical cannabis card, of course), whether that is for something like insomnia or anxiety, or a more serious condition. We would really like to see cannabis become a common tool in a physician’s toolbox.\r\n\r\n**At HelloMD we see that about 60% of patients get their advice from a Bud Tender. If patients come to your collective what kind of guidance will they receive?**\r\n\r\nWhen people come to us they will receive guidance from our member services team. We now have three scientists and a psychologist that work with our members and are available 12 hours each day by phone, email and text. This has helped a seriously ill population embrace cannabinoid therapeutics without concerns about addiction or health risks.\r\n\r\n**If a patient uses your oils, how might they expect to feel?**\r\nIn general, people experience a deep sensation of body relaxation. Patients with more serious conditions often report back that they sleep a lot during the first 2-3 weeks, but this is usually a temporary phase though. We believe that sleep allows for deep healing.\r\n\r\n**How long does treatment typically go on for a patient?**\r\n\r\nIt depends on the patient, but usually a protocol for a cancer patient might last for three to six months. They're usually on a higher dose for two months, but then it is gradually reduced. If they go into remission, then they are switched to a much lower maintenance dosage. If they have gotten good results but no remission, they usually will continue with the higher dose.\r\n\r\n**Cancer patients are a large portion of the patients you see, but you also  work with patients with chronic pain, autoimmune diseases and Lyme disease. What's your take on cannabis, chronic paid, autoimmune and Lyme disease?**\r\n\r\nI think in many ways that chronic pain, autoimmune diseases and Lyme disease stand to benefit more directly from cannabis. With these conditions, the rest of your life can be improved with a cannabis regime. Plus, when you find your effective dose in cannabis, it will only come down from that dosage as your condition improves. It is unlikely that you will ever need to increase your dose.\r\n\r\nWe also work with people who have degenerative conditions like Huntington's and Parkinson's. These patients often find fast relief and frequently try CBD-rich extracts rather than those with higher THC levels because, as research indicates, the therapeutic properties of CBD hold great benefit for these types of conditions. However, it is important to note that we advocate that all extracts have some THC in them in order to achieve optimal benefit. Our extracts are based on modern clinical herbalist principles of synergy between plant compounds and scientific research, specifically “The Entourage Effect” theory, which shows that whole plant cannabis extracts from the female cannabis plant (not hemp) are more effective than isolated compounds, such as CBD only.\r\n\r\n**How did you start to provide whole plant cannabis extracts for pets?**\r\n\r\nMany people started to use our extracts on their pets and we noticed that there was a positive impact on many pet’s lives. My own service dog - an 80-pound French Shepherd - developed an aggressive form of cancer. At a certain point I started to give her cannabis extracts as a last hope. She started to do much better and soon after the vets declared her cancer free, about three weeks later. Since that time about 40 dogs and a few cats have come to us through veterinarian referrals. It makes us happy to see the lives of animals being saved or at least improved. Ultimately, we would like to do research in this area as well.\r\n\r\n**Speaking of research, you just announced a new partnership with Gridiron Cannabis Coalition. Can you tell me a little more about that?**\r\n\r\nOh yes. We are very excited about working with GCC. We have partnered with them to advance research on the benefits of whole plant cannabis extracts starting with ex-NFL players suffering from chronic pain. From there, we will move forward with additional studies that focus on other sports-related injuries. As I mentioned, my company is driving a new era of care – Care 2.0 – and that includes care for athletes so that they too have access to the treatment options they need.  \r\n\r\n**What inspired you to work with ex-football players specifically?**\r\n\r\nWell, obviously there has been a lot of news lately about Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and the lasting impacts of concussions, largely as a result of the film, 'Concussion', but we actually began this dialogue with GCC in November of last year because I saw a lot of similarities between what the players were going through and my own journey. I had to create my own treatment when pharmaceuticals failed me because there were no other options. \r\n\r\nMy mission is to help people and these NFL players so desperately need help treating the lasting ramifications from the high-impact sport because, as we have seen in the media, all too often the prescription medications they are taking are either leading to addiction or just plain not working for them. We want to embark on scientific research that will clearly show that medicinal cannabis actually can be an option for the issues that NFL-players or any athlete deal with. Our goal is to provide the undeniable evidence needed to change people’s negative perception of cannabis. \r\n\r\nIf you are new to cannabis and want to learn more, take a look at our [Cannabis 101](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/cannabis-101-your-quick-guide-to-medical-marijuana) post. [HelloMD](https://www.hellomd.com/) can help you get your medical marijuana recommendation; it's 100% online, private and efficient.\r\n","image":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/png;base64,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","aspectRatio":1.3333333333333333,"src":"/static/ec3fc588a6da1d57ce59173602ea9676/ee604/a29c4dd19a0857de6d9c93882252a275.png","srcSet":"/static/ec3fc588a6da1d57ce59173602ea9676/69585/a29c4dd19a0857de6d9c93882252a275.png 200w,\n/static/ec3fc588a6da1d57ce59173602ea9676/497c6/a29c4dd19a0857de6d9c93882252a275.png 400w,\n/static/ec3fc588a6da1d57ce59173602ea9676/ee604/a29c4dd19a0857de6d9c93882252a275.png 800w,\n/static/ec3fc588a6da1d57ce59173602ea9676/f3583/a29c4dd19a0857de6d9c93882252a275.png 1200w,\n/static/ec3fc588a6da1d57ce59173602ea9676/f90fa/a29c4dd19a0857de6d9c93882252a275.png 1365w","srcWebp":"/static/ec3fc588a6da1d57ce59173602ea9676/58556/a29c4dd19a0857de6d9c93882252a275.webp","srcSetWebp":"/static/ec3fc588a6da1d57ce59173602ea9676/61e93/a29c4dd19a0857de6d9c93882252a275.webp 200w,\n/static/ec3fc588a6da1d57ce59173602ea9676/1f5c5/a29c4dd19a0857de6d9c93882252a275.webp 400w,\n/static/ec3fc588a6da1d57ce59173602ea9676/58556/a29c4dd19a0857de6d9c93882252a275.webp 800w,\n/static/ec3fc588a6da1d57ce59173602ea9676/99238/a29c4dd19a0857de6d9c93882252a275.webp 1200w,\n/static/ec3fc588a6da1d57ce59173602ea9676/5e0b8/a29c4dd19a0857de6d9c93882252a275.webp 1365w","sizes":"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"}}}}},{"node":{"id":"Article_2231-markdown","title":"Vapexhale: The Leading Desktop Cannabis Vaporizer","slug":"vapexhale-the-leading-desktop-cannabis-vaporizer","content":"[Vapexhale](http://www.vapexhale.com/), the leading desktop vaporizer on the market today, is the brainchild of Seibo Shen. I first met Shen at an overcrowded table in Starbucks during the last Marijuana Business Conference and Expo in Las Vegas this past year. Finding the table and staking claim on it was nothing short of a miracle at one of the biggest cannabis conferences of the year. I did not leave it for about ten hours, but the easy breeziest half an hour of my day was spent talking with Seibo. I quickly dubbed him ‘the nicest guy in cannabis’, a claim to fame he comes by naturally.\r\n\r\nAfter running into Seibo several more times I agreed to meet him at his new digs, an office in the Meadow headquarters located in San Francisco’s SOMA district. Meadow, a seed to sale technology business, has allowed their HQ to become a social and business hub for the cannabis industry in SF. Seibo’s corner of the world reminded me of a college loft, with a boxing bag for letting off steam, and was also reminiscent of cool-but-ramshackle wide open spaces you used to find in the city with some frequency. Used to, being the operative part of that sentence.\r\n\r\n**The Back Story**\r\n\r\nShen, a California native and former stuntman, turned to medical marijuana after discovering that the prescription medication he used to treat his many sports injuries was making him ill.  While Shen was intrigued by the use of medical marijuana to address his injuries, he wasn't interested in smoking cannabis due to concerns about the health of his lungs. With this in mind, Shen began exploring vaporizers. He purchased his first (a BC Vape) in 1997 and followed it up with upwards of 75 other vaporizers in the subsequent years. When he failed to find one that worked well for him, he decided to make his own. Today, Shen is now a force to be reckoned with in the cannabis industry. He’s been a successful entrepreneur in the past which has continued into his new foray with Vapexhale. Among other accolades, Shen has won the ArcView competition with his vaporizer, one of the most coveted awards within the industry. \r\n\r\nOne of Shen’s drivers is his desire to forge a connection between athletics, creativity and cannabis, and to lay a foundation that allows people to consume marijuana in a medicinal, intelligent and healthy way. He's succeeded in doing that while also creating a tactile, beautiful product that appeals to discerning consumers who not only want a healthier alternative, but one that is also enjoyable to use. Thanks to its thoughtful design and easy of use, the Vapexhale is gaining positive reviews from well known cannabis publications across the board.\r\n\r\n**Vapexhale: The Leading Desktop Vaporizer**\r\n\r\nIn our recent [HelloMD patient survey](https://www.hellomd.com/medical-marijuana-patient-survey), 66% of survey participants said they favored vaporizing their cannabis. This is a large number of people who still prefer smoking to other means of ingestion. Vapexhale is currently one of the most buzzed-about desktop vaporizers due to its polished, clean vaporizing experience for medical users.\r\nA few things set apart the Vapexhale from other competitors on the market:\r\n\r\n**Taste:** Most vaporizers change the taste of marijuana, yet many people prefer to be able to taste the unique flavor of different cannabis strains. Vapexhale features a glass vapor path that allows the character of a strain to remain intact and free of a burnt or harsh taste.\r\n\r\n**Efficiency:** Vapexhale is beautifully designed and has almost a retro feel to it. It also allows users to enjoy maximum medicinal effect with minimal amounts of marijuana.\r\n\r\n**Power:** Vapexhale offers a powerful production engine that vaporizes marijuana quickly and efficiently.\r\n\r\n**How It Works**\r\n\r\nThe Vapexhale is eight inches tall and boasts features like a temperature dial and a computer power cable and works with both flowers and oils. In fact, the Vapexhale has two Cannabis Cup trophies, once for their flower functionality, and once for their concentrate capabilities. The vaporizer's capsule is made from borosilicate glass or a stainless steel screen material that is placed into the glass upper of the vaporizer. The Vapexhale works by heating shredded marijuana (or concentrate) and then drawing the marijuana vapor through the included HydraTubes, which helps cool the vapor and maintain an excellent taste. \r\n\r\nFor $450, the HydraTube is included with the EVO (along with all the accessories necessary to utilize the device). People can purchase standalone HydraTubes for $150 and can also get our Standard Start Kit (with just a Dry Mouth Piece + accessories) for $350. Beautiful, innovative, functional and user-friendly, there's no doubt that the Vapexhale is currently one of the most in-demand and innovative vaporizers on the market. \r\n\r\n**The Future Holds…**\r\n\r\nWhile Shen could continue on his path with new Vapexhale desktop models, he has an eye on a different prize. After spending an hour at his office chatting, he unveiled the designs for his new portable vaporizer. Totally unique from anything I have seen, sleek and transportable, his new portable device is going to turn heads and garner even more attention than he has had to date. Anticipated release date is 2017, so keep an eye out for it.\r\n\r\nIf you are new to cannabis and want to learn more, take a look at our [Cannabis 101](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/cannabis-101-your-quick-guide-to-medical-marijuana) post. [HelloMD](https://www.hellomd.com/) can help you get your medical marijuana recommendation; it's 100% online, private and efficient.","image":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/png;base64,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","aspectRatio":1.3333333333333333,"src":"/static/38f71619faddd622ec2475a3786ad42b/ee604/ce898da040678a07c45e5bcc99fc1573.png","srcSet":"/static/38f71619faddd622ec2475a3786ad42b/69585/ce898da040678a07c45e5bcc99fc1573.png 200w,\n/static/38f71619faddd622ec2475a3786ad42b/497c6/ce898da040678a07c45e5bcc99fc1573.png 400w,\n/static/38f71619faddd622ec2475a3786ad42b/ee604/ce898da040678a07c45e5bcc99fc1573.png 800w,\n/static/38f71619faddd622ec2475a3786ad42b/f3583/ce898da040678a07c45e5bcc99fc1573.png 1200w,\n/static/38f71619faddd622ec2475a3786ad42b/f90fa/ce898da040678a07c45e5bcc99fc1573.png 1365w","srcWebp":"/static/38f71619faddd622ec2475a3786ad42b/58556/ce898da040678a07c45e5bcc99fc1573.webp","srcSetWebp":"/static/38f71619faddd622ec2475a3786ad42b/61e93/ce898da040678a07c45e5bcc99fc1573.webp 200w,\n/static/38f71619faddd622ec2475a3786ad42b/1f5c5/ce898da040678a07c45e5bcc99fc1573.webp 400w,\n/static/38f71619faddd622ec2475a3786ad42b/58556/ce898da040678a07c45e5bcc99fc1573.webp 800w,\n/static/38f71619faddd622ec2475a3786ad42b/99238/ce898da040678a07c45e5bcc99fc1573.webp 1200w,\n/static/38f71619faddd622ec2475a3786ad42b/5e0b8/ce898da040678a07c45e5bcc99fc1573.webp 1365w","sizes":"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"}}}}},{"node":{"id":"Article_2048-markdown","title":"Looking for the Best Vaporizer? Firefly2 Hits the Market","slug":"looking-for-the-best-vaporizer-firefly2-hits-the-market","content":"**What’s a Firefly?**\n\nThe first version of [Firefly](https://www.thefirefly.com/?utm_source=HelloMD&utm_medium=Article&utm_campaign=HelloMD) came to market in 2013 and is the much talked about, high tech, portable cannabis vaporizer. It is  the brain-child of two Silicon Valley technology veterans, Sasha Robinson and Mark Williams. Robinson was instrumental in the development of the Flip HD camcorder and Williams headed up the Mac OS division at Apple. \n\nThe two met serendipitously at a party and began to brainstorm ideas, which ultimately led to the invention of one of the world’s most sophisticated vaporizers. [Wired](http://www.wired.com/2014/04/high-tech/) says the Firefly “Is just wonderful. It offers all the convenience of a pipe—it’s portable and downright stealthy; you can slip it in your pocket, carry it loaded up with marijuana—but it’s less harmful than a conventional pipe, because you are inhaling vapor, not smoke.\"\n\nFirefly 2, the much anticipated next-gen, recently hit the market and [pre orders for the second batch are now being taken](https://www.thefirefly.com/?utm_source=HelloMD&utm_medium=Article&utm_campaign=HelloMD) on their latest innovation.  The device is 55% lighter and 33% more compact than the original Firefly. It’s made from ‘aero-space materials’ and offers a suite of innovative features including a glass vapor path, a removable mouthpiece, quick-charge batteries and an IOS or Android app which allows consumers  to select from 6 different pre-set temperatures. According to COO Baran Dilaver, there is a significant difference with a Firefly when compared to other vapor devices.\n\n>“With Firefly, you are able to capture every terpene and cannabinoid the moment they are released. Since you are able to go from room temperature to 400º F (or the alternate settings) in one single breath, you are going through the entire spectrum of various vaporization temperatures of different terpenes in that single breath, thus getting the 'whole plant experience'. When you put the Firefly down, the cooking process stops, whereas with other vapor devices the plant continues to cook through the conduction of heat. This is an important difference as most patients don't always want to go through an entire bowl. \"   \n\n**Vapor Devices**\n\nCannabis consumers have been switching to portable vape devices en masse for some time, moving away from the more traditional pipes and accessories. According to [HelloMD's recent Patient Survey](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/56b53cff3e9cd700080000ef/download-our-medical-marijuana-patient-study), 66% of 1400 participants surveyed enjoyed vaporizing their cannabis. That's a huge chunk of the cannabis market. As vape technology has gotten smaller and more sophisticated, consumers have become more and more discriminating. Firefly is among the best in vaporizers, and has been listed as such by numerous publications including [High Times](http://hightimes.com/read/high-buy-vapornations-top-portable-herbal-vaporizers-2015), GQ, and Newsweek among others. Firefly utilizes some of the most advanced technology around in order to give the consumer the smoothest possible experience. In order to understand how the Firefly works, it’s important to understand a little of how standard vape technology works.\n\n**Conduction vs. Convection**\n\nVaporizers have been around since the early 90’s and as products have become smaller and portable, they have taken the market by storm. The advent of conduction technology has allowed companies to make units more compact with less power use. That said, this new method applies direct heat to the plant and essentially depletes the flower so that less of the good stuff, terpenes and cannabinoids, are inhaled. Alternatively, convection technology allows the plant to sit in a chamber where hot air circulates, but some of the same problems ensue.\n\n**Temperature Matters**\n\nThe interesting thing about vaping is that different temperatures create a different experience for the consumer. Different cannibinoids and terpenes from the plant are activated based on temperature and the type of strain, whether that be OG Kush or ACDC, which influences flavor, your experience and the overall effect the plant has on you. So depending on what temperature and which strain, your experience may vary quite a bit. For instance, it is only at 315 degrees Fahrenheit that THC becomes psychoactive but in addition it also treats tumors, nausea and pain. So different temperatures create different experiences but most vape technology only lets you experience one temperature at a time.\n\n**Firefly: The First Dynamic Convection Vaporizer**\n\nThe designers of the Firefly understood the challenges with modern day vaping and invented the first portable, dynamic convection vaporizer. The only way to achieve the whole flower experience is through dynamic convection, which allows for different temperatures to be applied during the process of heating and inhalation. It is powered by a lithium-ion battery, which reaches a maximum of 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Essentially, as you breathe in dynamic heating occurs, fluctuating in temperature while it circulates around the chamber. This dynamic heating in turn creates a more dynamic vapor. When this happens you experience a fuller flavor, and more cannibinoids and terpenes from the flower enter your system. From a medicinal standpoint, this is exactly what you want when you are trying to treat one or many disease symptoms, so as to receive maximum benefits from the plant. \n\nTo me, one of the most noticeable differences with the Firefly was the availability of different flavors which I had never tasted. The popular cannabis magazine High Times recently listed the Firefly on their top ten list saying “This portable remains a fan favorite, as it’s capable of producing large clouds of extremely smooth, high quality vapor time and time again.”\n\n**So Honestly, It’s Got Game**\n\nWhat hits you when you first see and hold the Firefly is that the creators of the device understand the power of sleek lines and beauty. It is a device that looks uber modern, similar to the way your IOS device looks and feels in the hand. [Gizmodo](http://gizmodo.com/the-firefly-vaporizer-review-holy-smokes-this-thing-i-1482847771) called the Firefly ‘portable perfection’ and ‘drop dead gorgeous’. After my own experience and reading up on the device, there is clearly no dispute that the Firefly is the best looking and feeling vaporizer on the market today. \n\n**How to Vaporize with Firefly**\n\nThe first version of Firefly ran on a lithium battery pack, and took about 45 minutes to charge. Firefly2 promises however to charge in half that amount of time, which seems spot on with 'quick-charge high efficiency batteries'. Once charged, the device is very easy to use. You take off the magnetic face plate on top and load in your flower loosely in the glass chamber, flip the switch and then press the power button to on. If desired you can hold the heating button for a few seconds before giving it a go. The internal chamber heats up quickly and you hold the button and inhale. To get a real sense of the Firefly check out this [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNnm9PD6YZ4) on their Youtube and see for yourself. ","image":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/png;base64,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","aspectRatio":1.3333333333333333,"src":"/static/6bd622c367e7850f2c1e5ced8e1abe51/ee604/f16470e2214778db33cf72b8aa79f0c6.png","srcSet":"/static/6bd622c367e7850f2c1e5ced8e1abe51/69585/f16470e2214778db33cf72b8aa79f0c6.png 200w,\n/static/6bd622c367e7850f2c1e5ced8e1abe51/497c6/f16470e2214778db33cf72b8aa79f0c6.png 400w,\n/static/6bd622c367e7850f2c1e5ced8e1abe51/ee604/f16470e2214778db33cf72b8aa79f0c6.png 800w,\n/static/6bd622c367e7850f2c1e5ced8e1abe51/f3583/f16470e2214778db33cf72b8aa79f0c6.png 1200w,\n/static/6bd622c367e7850f2c1e5ced8e1abe51/f90fa/f16470e2214778db33cf72b8aa79f0c6.png 1365w","srcWebp":"/static/6bd622c367e7850f2c1e5ced8e1abe51/58556/f16470e2214778db33cf72b8aa79f0c6.webp","srcSetWebp":"/static/6bd622c367e7850f2c1e5ced8e1abe51/61e93/f16470e2214778db33cf72b8aa79f0c6.webp 200w,\n/static/6bd622c367e7850f2c1e5ced8e1abe51/1f5c5/f16470e2214778db33cf72b8aa79f0c6.webp 400w,\n/static/6bd622c367e7850f2c1e5ced8e1abe51/58556/f16470e2214778db33cf72b8aa79f0c6.webp 800w,\n/static/6bd622c367e7850f2c1e5ced8e1abe51/99238/f16470e2214778db33cf72b8aa79f0c6.webp 1200w,\n/static/6bd622c367e7850f2c1e5ced8e1abe51/5e0b8/f16470e2214778db33cf72b8aa79f0c6.webp 1365w","sizes":"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"}}}}},{"node":{"id":"Article_1957-markdown","title":"Menstrual Cramps Be Damned with New Cannabis Vaginal Suppository","slug":"menstrual-cramps-be-damned-with-new-cannabis-vaginal-suppository","content":"[Foria](http://foriapleasure.com/) is one of the most exciting companies within the cannabis industry. If you have not heard of their new product [Foria Relief](http://foriapleasure.com/products/relief-4-pack), and you are a woman, I would encourage you to keep reading.  This past week Foria launched Foria Relief, a cocoa butter-based vaginal cannabis suppository designed to ease menstrual cramps in women. According to Brittany Confer, the Director of Communications for the company “Relief has been carefully crafted and is intended to maximize the muscle relaxing and pain relieving properties of cannabis without inducing a psychotropic ‘high’. What’s nice about Relief is how it can create a full body sensation of relaxation without delivering the ‘head high’.”\n\nWhat’s interesting to note about the launch of this product and Foria as a company is that it is the only company in the industry seeming to be laser focused on women’s sexual health through the use of non-psychoactive medicinal products. They have successfully navigated a divergent path of both pleasure and pain. Their flagship product [Foria Pleasure](http://foriapleasure.com/pages/about-us) increases sexual pleasure through the use of a THC infused lubricant spray, whereas Foria Relief focuses on diminishing pain generally associated with menstruation, and other related sexual health issues for women.   \n\nForia as a company started in California about two years ago with the idea to create a sexual enhancement product for women as an aide to overall health and wellness. Co-founder Mathew Gerson, a veteran of the sex industry and founder of Sir Richard’s Condoms, noted at the time that there were around 26 FDA-approved drugs on the market for increasing male sexual pleasure, but approximately zero available for women. Excited to start a new venture, he began researching how he might enable women to find the same sexual satisfaction through a product formulated with all natural ingredients. During a conversation about CBD health benefits, he stumbled upon cannabis and recalled its historical use by women as a sexual health aid in ancient cultures. Foria Pleasure was born, and the sexual lubricant spray hit the market sparking ladies libidos across the state of California and shortly there after Colorado. \n\n[CANNABIS 101 - THC VS CBD](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/cannabis-101-thc-vs-cbd)\n\nThe company traversed the line from pleasure to the diminishment of pain organically a little over a year ago. A well-known Beverly Hills urologist, Dr. Jennifer Berman, began to notice multiple patients within her medical practice discussing Foria Pleasure. The first patient to bring it up was a 75 year old woman who told Dr. Berman she was not only enjoying sex for the first time in years, but was noticeably feeling pain free. Remarkably, more and more patients came in talking about Foria Pleasure discussing how the product not only increased sexual pleasure but also decreased pain associated with other sexual health issues, including PMS and endometriosis. The trend became so prominent that Dr. Berman contacted Foria to discuss women’s sexual health and how the product could further service a population of women who desire sexual pleasure, however needed access to a more effective pain reliever. Foria Relief was conceived through these initial conversations and rapid iterations of research and development began.\n\nForia Relief is inserted vaginally and is absorbed directly into the bloodstream. The medicine contains CBD as well as THC, yet patients will not feel a ‘head high’. Although the product contains the psychoactive cannabinoid THC, the patient will feel a generalized relaxation across the body rather than feeling stoned. Brittany says about Relief “The suppository does not give you a head high, although it contains psychoactive properties, so normal daily activities are not interrupted.  Depending on the person, it can give a full body sensation; it makes the body and mind relax, a little giggly and generally more at ease. I often describe my personal experience with Relief similar to a three-way cross between Xanax, a muscle relaxer and a pain pill - except no pharmaceuticals are involved! The body high is subtle, but noticeable - not like smoking cannabis. Foria Relief helps to soothe painful period cramps as well as a host of other pelvic pain-related issues for people who haven’t been able to find relief elsewhere.”\n\nSpeaking from personal experience, Foria Relief provided me with better pain relief than any other cannabis product I have tried to date. Given that I am working within the cannabis industry, it is not a stretch to say I have tried many different products. On the day I tried Foria Relief, I was experiencing noticeable back pain. After inserting the suppository I felt very relaxed within 30 minutes and my back spasm was undetectable within the hour. Additionally, during my cycle I almost always experience at least one migraine. At the onset of a recent migraine I took my second dose of Foria Relief. To my surprise, the migraine went away completely in about an hour and the feeling of full body relaxation lasted for upwards of 6 hours. Although everyone reacts differently to cannabis, my experience was that it is the first medication that fully addresses the type of pain I experience, giving me both relief and a feeling of happy relaxation; all without the feeling of a head high. In other words, I could go about my business and even stay focused at work. It is also important to note that I am incredibly sensitive to the effect of THC and at a whopping 60mg per dose, I was not only functional but feeling great.\n\n[ORGANIC OR SYNTHETIC CBD - WHICH IS BEST?](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/565f3c35d031520008000000/organic-or-synthetic-cbd-which-is-best)\n\nForia Relief is sold for $44 (4-pk) and $22 (2-pk). Patients receive a small instruction booklet inside of a reusable tin where each suppository contains 60mg of THC and 10mg of CBD. According to Confer, “We encourage patients to experiment to find the correct dosage that works for their individual body. We say that one suppository is one dose and that you should consider using the first suppository on the first day of cramping even if bleeding has not yet occurred. Relief is usually absorbed in 15-20 minutes and the effects can be felt for up to 4-5 hours. One to two suppositories may be sufficient on the two worst days of your cycle. Typically, research shows that women have extreme pain for only two of days during their period cycle.” \n\nTo buy Foria Relief you can purchase from their online cannabis collective within their [Foria](http://foriapleasure.com/products/relief-4-pack) site and/or at various dispensary locations across California. You must obtain a state-issued medical marijuana recommendation in order to purchase in California. If you do not yet have your doctor’s recommendation, Foria offers services via HelloMD enabling you to be medically reviewed by a doctor without leaving your computer chair.  Relief will be coming to Colorado in the next few months and will likely be available in both medical and recreational marijuana markets.\n\nIf you are new to cannabis and want to learn more, take a look at our [Cannabis 101](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/cannabis-101-your-quick-guide-to-medical-marijuana) post. [HelloMD](https://www.hellomd.com/) can help you get your medical marijuana recommendation; it's 100% online, private and efficient.\n","image":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAABQAAAAPCAIAAABr+ngCAAAACXBIWXMAAAsTAAALEwEAmpwYAAADUUlEQVQozx2SWW8bZRSG5/9wg5CQ4KoIAVIRLbeVEGoBVQWK2gbVipSWlCKFqiQNtWuFNIkr7MZpvCWNY+MlcdzY47HHHnvsscezfNvMN4vt1LRC8AOY5uZcnVfP8x4dRuAFsdXVVdSsC5VyhRquRcdyqwWre2Y1LkZuq/t+h0vllr4K/PBRZMlX3nsqCQJQAUEGI0lA00zDcGPbyWAgSE3XJDYcqoTLkPImzARAehFmlhsb11eufbz1cK5WeD4Qu0iHBBsMMaeYjKl1goBhmq5jn4xHU8ewTb5o1RKUjZGDx1LExwYubfx4Nro8yx3uD6U+gZgalFGhC7GrqgQCSohjvNEeWXRiSbzbzBgvov3Ub4Nn85mfz6/f/Gx3faFxlNOGMjVMx7KZTk/ry6jBiwMZCu2+JCkev9/XcKdhtw8xu9uL3x/EF3Z++nRt5pPn6wsdrqLJCjUsm9oMNif26JUzfj2Z/me7U8uajCevKJ3gDkf4Im6W1EJYiMxnfr3wbO5c4qFPYI+hjjDAtjVmTOvlePrv6OQf01O1XzrO1HH/9iYRa3otB9n0MLPaTPi57Qelleuxe5cr2TjQiDbUCTklI+zouuHdzAvb9tQdvzaxeRrOAy4rZ9bq4XkxvXa8OhO9c+FoJzToSQhSVVaZXneoKugUO/VsTTqi1gRKPVzLIr5oAMUcdpVGUcqGmhu+zdnPs38uSkITQQsBwjRrHIAWMRzvTpSOMbF1jYB202wUwIukbVGAFL5+UArd4YJXNm+e3VmZ6/Is1Im3z5T2t9r1hqZgjCyIKEKUeC34qsnllfSK1mJ1NDhMBMq/X6kFvg1dPbO7ekusFdW+inSDKaSeHP+VEHleUyDUDQxNr4LKHqB8uBe+XQrOqAOxsf1Ay4aOlr72f/Nu+sk9kc3JvR7Q0Jvw0V6EzSe6LQFDC3tkw9VadTl2v/34RtL34dYvl5R8RMtH0rfO+b8/k4sHxWpe7naACplCcqOcflorpAS2MuwNdQUYhqMPVHFzoeG/HLv2nv+Lt5RsSE0tx2Y+CN+9WC9sdz3twQCekkPl/S22mG1VWZGrK30Z6wgCsxNbri1+Gf3unUcX3x7u/dGP3o1cfT/5aLZV2pGax96HAg38D9UGqltzEOK0AAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","aspectRatio":1.3333333333333333,"src":"/static/a6db7551b5b2bceebc82b51c34a1c318/ee604/3e8b6f78a37843456f40d1f4a0fa05a8.png","srcSet":"/static/a6db7551b5b2bceebc82b51c34a1c318/69585/3e8b6f78a37843456f40d1f4a0fa05a8.png 200w,\n/static/a6db7551b5b2bceebc82b51c34a1c318/497c6/3e8b6f78a37843456f40d1f4a0fa05a8.png 400w,\n/static/a6db7551b5b2bceebc82b51c34a1c318/ee604/3e8b6f78a37843456f40d1f4a0fa05a8.png 800w,\n/static/a6db7551b5b2bceebc82b51c34a1c318/f3583/3e8b6f78a37843456f40d1f4a0fa05a8.png 1200w,\n/static/a6db7551b5b2bceebc82b51c34a1c318/f90fa/3e8b6f78a37843456f40d1f4a0fa05a8.png 1365w","srcWebp":"/static/a6db7551b5b2bceebc82b51c34a1c318/58556/3e8b6f78a37843456f40d1f4a0fa05a8.webp","srcSetWebp":"/static/a6db7551b5b2bceebc82b51c34a1c318/61e93/3e8b6f78a37843456f40d1f4a0fa05a8.webp 200w,\n/static/a6db7551b5b2bceebc82b51c34a1c318/1f5c5/3e8b6f78a37843456f40d1f4a0fa05a8.webp 400w,\n/static/a6db7551b5b2bceebc82b51c34a1c318/58556/3e8b6f78a37843456f40d1f4a0fa05a8.webp 800w,\n/static/a6db7551b5b2bceebc82b51c34a1c318/99238/3e8b6f78a37843456f40d1f4a0fa05a8.webp 1200w,\n/static/a6db7551b5b2bceebc82b51c34a1c318/5e0b8/3e8b6f78a37843456f40d1f4a0fa05a8.webp 1365w","sizes":"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"}}}}},{"node":{"id":"Article_2010-markdown","title":"Why Marijuana Infused Soda Might Be Your Next Drink","slug":"why-marijuana-infused-soda-might-be-your-next-drink","content":"I have memories of running around on a hot summer day at our community pool and grabbing an ice cold Fresca, then running onto the slip-and-slide (aka ‘The Wet Banana’). I remember that type of childhood experience and that soda flavor so very well. The flavor somehow got embedded in my feel-good subconscious, similar to how the smell of autumn leaves might signal football games or burning wood makes me think of get-together bonfires on a beach in Martha’s Vineyard. So, perhaps if the notion of summer time (during our cold wet winter) combined with a bit of nostalgia sounds like a recipe for a good time, then [Sprig](http://www.drinksprig.com/) may have a place in your heart and next social gathering.\r\n\r\nSprig is a new THC infused beverage, which also happens to taste like a Fresca. In the words of founder Michael Lewis ‘A Sprig should make you want to smile more, that’s the whole point.’ Launched this past August, it has quickly become the rising star in the edibles drink market winning [Edibles List magazine Best Soda of 2015](http://ediblesmagazine.com/edibles/the-2015-best-of-edibles-list-awards-winners/). The magazine has a national scope, so Sprig was competing against some solid contenders, including [Dixie Elixirs](http://dixieelixirs.com/) flagship products.\r\n\r\nWhat becomes clear when you speak to the guys who started Sprig, is that they have authentic and inspiring aspirations for their brand. In their mind, a Sprig should be consumed in a social gathering creating a good-times-atmosphere and ideally, some shared memories. Their goal is not to get people smashed and their initial product launched at an intentionally low dose, a 15mg per serving can. They’d like to enhance a good vibe mentality and promote smart-use with what is essentially a recreational product. Think of the movie [Endless Summer](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060371/), and imagine those guys after catching the most perfect wave, sitting down and drinking a Sprig together. \r\n\r\nMichael Lewis, Co Founder of Sprig, sat down to chat with me last week and here is what he had to say about Sprig:\r\n\r\n**How did you come up with the idea to create Sprig?**\r\n\r\nThe general concept of Sprig started just a little over a year ago and we officially launched in August of 2015.  I met my co founder Ethan Feffer and Michael Lewis while working at [WeedMaps](https://weedmaps.com/) in Irvine, CA. Ethan was General Counsel there at the time, while I was managing Business Development and we became friendly. For both of us it was our first exposure to the cannabis industry and where we really gained an understanding of the California cannabis marketplace. Prior to Weedmaps, Ethan had been a corporate transactional attorney and I worked within finance for private investment funds. While still at Weedmaps, it became evident to us that there were very few well-done brands within the industry. It was at this time that we began to think about how we could possibly create a new product together and the idea of Sprig was hatched.\r\n\r\n**When you started creating Sprig, how did you think about it in relation to the edible marketplace?**\r\n\r\nEdibles, particularly those that you eat like a chocolate, are most often overpowering and the dosage can be unreliable. When creating our product we wanted to avoid creating anything that might have the [‘Maureen Dowd’ effect]( http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/04/opinion/dowd-dont-harsh-our-mellow-dude.html?_r=1). We wanted to create an elevated brand as well as a reliable product from the chemistry side, which would be incredibly consistent and reliable. Our intention was to create a product that contained the level of quality of a product you might purchase at a grocery store. Beverages are interesting in that it is much easier to know what you are getting in terms of reliability. The uniformity of the mixing ensures that the dosage is more consistent. We like that people can feel confident in what they are ingesting.\r\n\r\n**So, it sounds as if you knew early on you wanted to create a beverage within the edibles space?**\r\n\r\nYes, we wanted to create a beverage, as it is already something that people feel comfortable with socially. I feel more social drinking with people than I do when I am splitting a brownie. We want the experience people have with a Sprig to feel light hearted. Ultimately, the idea is that people would want to sit down and be comfortable in a group setting with a Sprig.\r\n\r\n**How did you come up with the name Sprig?**\r\nSprig the name is a subtle nod to an herb, whether that be rosemary, thyme or a plant like cannabis. The brand aspiration was to create something that is approachable that did not say ‘stoner’ or contain any puns relating to marijuana. We want both a new consumer as well as an experienced one to feel comfortable approaching our product. \r\n\r\n**It is interesting that Sprig launched with a 15mg dosage. This is considered a much lower dosed product than the industry norm. What was the thought behind releasing a 15 mg product?**\r\n\r\nInitially, we wanted to launch Sprig with a much lower dosage so that newer consumers within the market could start out smaller and feel OK with a can in their hands. Our first product contained only 15mg of THC and can be casually sipped over a period of time. Overall, our 15mg dose should never get anyone too high or overpower his or her day. \r\n\r\nWe worked with a group of chemists and PHDs out of USC to formulate the beverage and everyone was on the same page, the idea being we would start with a low dosage and work our way up to a higher dosage later. This is exactly what we have done with success. After being on the market for a little while, we saw there was a market demand for a higher dosage, so we have now released our 45mg dosage drinks. In California, our market let us know that they wanted a higher dosage and so we worked to deliver this. In relation to other products, our higher dosage product is still on the lower side of what you often see in a dispensary. We like that our high dose product is considered relatively low dose compared to other products.\r\n\r\n**How does consuming a can of Sprig make people feel?**\r\n\r\nIf I drink a 45mg can of Sprig, I will feel the effects of it for about 3 hours. If I drink a 15mg Sprig, I may feel a little relaxed or giggly. A slight upper effect is felt with the lower dosage, but you should not get a feeling of being overpowered. Everyone is different as we know, but in general, the market feedback we have received has mimicked my experience with the drink. Our goal was to create a social drink where people could continue to be social after drinking it and not feel the need to go away from the group.\r\n\r\nWhen a person drinks a Sprig, they will feel the effects more quickly than if you eat an edible, such as a brownie. Due to the fact it is a liquid, you will feel the effects in about 30 minutes and will not last for more than 3 hours. An edible you eat may take up to an hour or more to feel and can effect you for as long as 6 or 8 hours.\r\n\r\n**What is the process you go through to create a can of Sprig soda?**\r\n\r\nWe use a raw CO2 based extract, which is a very clean extract with no nasty solvents. Once we have created the CO2 extract, it is distilled in a similar way to liquor. The distillation process takes out some of the remaining impurities, and so you end up with very pure THC oil. There is no meaningful CBD presence within the extract and it almost looks like a honey-type substance. It is very viscous, amber colored oil. Once we get the refined CO2 oil, it is put into a soda and from there we combine it with organic cane sugar. It is your basic beverage but it has THC. \r\n\r\nThe flavoring is similar to a Fresca, and people seem to love this. When we were trying to create the soda from scratch, we steered the chemists towards the things we wanted to be somewhat like, which was a cross between a Fresca, an Orangina and a Japanese sodas, which often are less sweet than typical American sodas. After some back and forth, Sprig is what we came up with.\r\n\r\n**What would you like people to know about Sprig?**\r\n\r\nOur goal has been to release a very simple product. It is a THC infused soda that is meant to be socially positive. We don’t aim to get folks crazy high and we want people to have a good time and feel good while drinking the soda and afterwards. We wanted to develop a safe way for people to take cannabis. It is meant to be psychoactive and fun.\r\n\r\nWe believe our product has a wide appeal to people of different ages and backgrounds. It could be a poolside or beachside drink and if I think of a setting where it is consumed I think of happy, casual social get-togethers. This is not a product that is meant for hard partying, like say, Red Bull vodka. We think of a group of people enjoying each other’s company and smiling more. We want our brand and our product to look and feel uplifting and positive. \r\n\r\n**Where can people find Sprig today?**\r\n\r\nWe are currently in 110 dispensaries from San Diego up to Sonoma/Santa Rosa area. Initially, it was not easy to get into dispensaries. I would knock on doors and hustle it into various shops, it was good experience, but it was hard. Now, we add about 2 to 3 accounts a week and now people are calling us to find our product and some distributors are helping us with this. We would like to be in 200-350 dispensaries by the end of 2016. \r\n\r\nCurrently, we are focused on California, which is the nation’s biggest cannabis market. That said, Sprig's ambitions are national as well as international. We will want to ensure that we have quality control wherever we distribute so someone drinking a Sprig in Illinois or Washington will have the same experience as someone in Los Angeles. That's our end goal with wherever we take our product.\r\n\r\nIf you are new to cannabis and want to learn more, take a look at our [Cannabis 101](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/cannabis-101-your-quick-guide-to-medical-marijuana) post. [HelloMD](https://www.hellomd.com/) can help you get your medical marijuana recommendation; it's 100% online, private and efficient.\r\n","image":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/png;base64,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","aspectRatio":1.3333333333333333,"src":"/static/3d55f2472ec0da60edca2ed724c0553c/ee604/3aa2637a7077c1375b7a65f2bb468a8a.png","srcSet":"/static/3d55f2472ec0da60edca2ed724c0553c/69585/3aa2637a7077c1375b7a65f2bb468a8a.png 200w,\n/static/3d55f2472ec0da60edca2ed724c0553c/497c6/3aa2637a7077c1375b7a65f2bb468a8a.png 400w,\n/static/3d55f2472ec0da60edca2ed724c0553c/ee604/3aa2637a7077c1375b7a65f2bb468a8a.png 800w,\n/static/3d55f2472ec0da60edca2ed724c0553c/f3583/3aa2637a7077c1375b7a65f2bb468a8a.png 1200w,\n/static/3d55f2472ec0da60edca2ed724c0553c/f90fa/3aa2637a7077c1375b7a65f2bb468a8a.png 1365w","srcWebp":"/static/3d55f2472ec0da60edca2ed724c0553c/58556/3aa2637a7077c1375b7a65f2bb468a8a.webp","srcSetWebp":"/static/3d55f2472ec0da60edca2ed724c0553c/61e93/3aa2637a7077c1375b7a65f2bb468a8a.webp 200w,\n/static/3d55f2472ec0da60edca2ed724c0553c/1f5c5/3aa2637a7077c1375b7a65f2bb468a8a.webp 400w,\n/static/3d55f2472ec0da60edca2ed724c0553c/58556/3aa2637a7077c1375b7a65f2bb468a8a.webp 800w,\n/static/3d55f2472ec0da60edca2ed724c0553c/99238/3aa2637a7077c1375b7a65f2bb468a8a.webp 1200w,\n/static/3d55f2472ec0da60edca2ed724c0553c/5e0b8/3aa2637a7077c1375b7a65f2bb468a8a.webp 1365w","sizes":"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"}}}}},{"node":{"id":"Article_2022-markdown","title":"Medical Cannabis Counseling: Helping Dementia and Cancer Patients Find Relief","slug":"medical-cannabis-counseling-helping-dementia-and-cancer-patients-find-relief","content":"If you are in the cannabis industry in Northern California, it does not take long before you hear the name Eloise Theisen (MSN, RN, AGPCNP-BC), the founder of [Green Health Consultants](http://www.greenhealthconsultants.com/). Eloise spent 15 years as a patient-focused nurse specializing in cancer, epilepsy, chronic pain, ALS, dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, PTSD, fibromyalgia, and various autoimmune and neurological diseases. She founded Green Health Consultants because she saw a gap in the market for services that catered to patients needing individualized cannabis counseling. \n\nGreen Health Consultants is unique in that it is one of the first such services being provided within the state of California. Eloise has an extensive medical background as well as in-depth experience with cannabis treatments. This experience provides credibility as she helps develop individualized treatment plans for her patients in collaboration with dietitians and/or a patient's doctor. Unlike your local dispensary’s ‘bud tender’ (people who help you select cannabis at a dispensary), Eloise is able to thoroughly evaluate a patient’s medical history and current diagnosis. Through this analysis she is better able to guide her patients towards the best application of medical cannabis. \n\nEloise counsels patients [in person, over Skype or by telephone](https://www.vcita.com/v/ghc.eloisetheisen) and will often stay with patients throughout a treatment plan giving additional counsel when needed to ensure the right treatment plan is found. Since opening her service in Northern California last year, Eloise has seen a full roster of patients on a weekly basis. She has been covered by [CBS](http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2015/09/12/senior-citizens-bay-area-medical-marijuana-club/), [Fox News](http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/09/04/how-weed-is-being-embraced-by-wellness-movement.html), [Newsweek](http://thenationalmarijuananews.com/2015/09/could-legal-marijuana-be-the-first-billion-dollar-industry-not-dominated-by-men/) and [SF Gate](http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Rossmoor-seniors-fired-up-about-curative-powers-6210220.php) among others.\n\n**What led you to start Green Health Consultants?**\n\nI was an Oncology nurse for thirteen years and in addition I did palliative care as well as hospice care. During this time I went into management at John Muir hospital in Walnut Creek, where I managed the oncology, geriatric and endocrine units. Around this time, I unfortunately got in a terrible car accident. I was injured badly and essentially became disabled. Unable to work, I lost my job and I ended up trying to manage my pain with standard pharmaceuticals with little to no success. A close friend pushed me to try cannabis, and after a certain point I decided I had nothing left to lose, so I tried it. It was the first time I felt my pain was well managed. I started with [edibles](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/5a7ce0f6f24d1300077ccb3d/3-popular-questions-about-marijuana-and-edibles-answered), then I did a lot of high CBD, [full extract cannabis oil](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/562fc90bb8c41f000c000000/cancer-cannabis-oil-and-the-united-kingdom) and I smoked periodically. Eventually, I decided to wean myself off of all pharmaceuticals and I used cannabis to go through the withdrawals.\n\nDuring this time, while I was going through my journey to better health, I realized none of the medical professionals knew how to help me with cannabis. In fact, when I told them of my success with cannabis, they did not even have much curiosity to find out more. I had worked with many of them and I knew them well, so I was surprised. As a result of my experience, I decided to go back to school to become a nurse practitioner, initially thinking I might go back to oncology. I was doing my nursing hours at a local clinic and about 50% of my patients started asking me about incorporating cannabis into their treatment plan. With my own success with cannabis, I realized the need for someone to guide patients in how to properly incorporate cannabis into their treatment regimen.\n\nThere is such a gap from when the doctor gives a person their recommendation to when they take their medicine. So many physicians I knew did not want to deal with it, as they did not want their patients to get hurt or to fall into a hole. So essentially, they turn their back on it. My point has always been that patients are already using it, and it is in the physician’s best interest to help their patients find the right solution. Patients need to learn and become educated so that they can take the medicine safely and effectively.\n\nWhen I was injured, I met an experienced cannabis oil maker. She knew I was a nurse practitioner and she was looking for a case manager, for someone to follow her patients throughout their treatment. Working with her I researched applications of cannabis, learned best practices, monitored drug interactions and potential side effects. This experience really helped influence and shape my knowledge base, giving me the more in depth experience for when I opened my business just over a year ago.\n\n**What are the most common conditions you treat within your practice?**\n\nPain, sleep and dementia are some of the most common ailments people would like to treat when they see me. Based on my oncology background, I see a lot of cancer patients. Many people with cancer find me online and are seeking symptom management and may or may not be dealing with chronic pain. Probably 50% of my patients are oncology patients and around 50% are [senior citizens](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/55b929f53632330006140000/retirees-flock-to-states-with-medical-marijuana).\n \nA lot of seniors that come to see me are from Rossmoor, a local retirement community here in the East Bay of San Francisco, but I also see seniors from all over California. In most cases, senior citizens need a lot of reinforcement and ongoing education. They are used to being told to take a certain dosage at certain times of day, but cannabis does not typically work this way, so they need a lot of extra support. I typically spend at least an hour with a senior patient and often my consultations continue so that I may help them with the appropriate type of medication and ongoing dosage recommendations. Many times it takes time to find the right combination.\n\nThe [‘Truth About Cancer’](https://go2.thetruthaboutcancer.com/global-quest/episode-1/) is a video series that was recently released and based on that, I have gotten a lot of people seeking my services. I also do a lot of patient outreach and education, so that people start to understand better the options that are available to them.\n\n**You are also active with the American Cannabis Nurses Association?**\n\nYes, I am a board member on the [American Cannabis Nurses](http://americancannabisnursesassociation.org/), a national organization dedicated to expanding the knowledge base of endo-cannabinoid therapeutics among nurses. We are developing a curriculum so that people who would like to advise others can become competent in cannabinoid therapies. ACNA currently offers a course for nurses that demonstrates competency after 6 hours of instruction. At the beginning of the year we hope to launch a new online program. There is a great need for education and standards among nurses and nurse practitioners.\n\n**People often ask “Can CBD oil cure cancer?”  What is your answer to this question?**\n\nThis is a big topic and I try to be as straightforward as possible when people come to me asking this question. People with cancer are desperate for an answer and most people hope for a miracle cure. From my experience in treating hundreds of patients, I can count on my two hands the number of people I have known that have gone from stage 4 and have 'cured themselves' of cancer. Many within that handful, the cancer did come back and some have since passed away. \n\nI am not sure that we fully understand how [CBD oil can cure cancer](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/55f4574a3366380006540000/government-cancer-study-shows-cannabis-kills-cancer-cells). Everyone’s response is unique and often THC is needed. CBD only has been, in my experience, less effective than a combination of THC and CBD. That said, it does reduce tumors and stabilize their tumors and most importantly there is a quality of life that comes along with its use. Often people will use it in conjunction with their chemotherapy, and I believe there is only positive value in using CBD oil in addition to traditional therapies. I believe there are a lot of misconceptions about CBD oil and people read various things online that may not be true.\n\n**What guidance do you give to senior citizens who are new to cannabis?**\n\n85% of my elderly patients have never tried cannabis and the average age of an elderly patient who sees me is about 76. These people typically missed the time period in the sixties where everyone was smoking weed at the Grateful Dead. My number one concern for them is their safety, so I always start them “low and slow”. It is important for them to know that typically there is no magic bullet and that this process may take time in order to find the right dosage and ratio. \n\nMost often, an elderly person will not understand self-titration, so I spend a lot of time with them to empower them with going up and down on their dosages. I try to tell them what they should expect based on what is the most common outcome, but I also prepare them for the fact they might be on the opposite end of the spectrum. Sometimes, I get really complicated cases, mainly women who have mystery illnesses where their doctors have been unable to help them. Although I would like to work with their doctors, many people do not want me to tell their doctor and frankly many doctors are still not open to an elderly patient seeking out cannabis as a treatment. This is very unfortunate.\n\n**How do you help people actually get the right medicine for their condition?**\n\nIt depends on where the patient is located. If they are local to me it is easier as I work with a local dispensary, which carries the medicine I prefer to use. If someone is not local, sometimes I will call the local dispensary for them to find out if they are willing to carry products I would like to recommend. It can be challenging, because even dispensaries that carry the products I recommend, may run low or be out of stock. It’s important people go to the right dispensary and get the right medication for their condition.\n\n**There have been new studies on how cannabis may affect dementia, what are your thoughts on this?** \n\nThis is a hot topic. Dementia is a big issue and I work with a facility that is an assisted care facility where many of the dementia patients are in a locked unit. Often they will have very aggressive behavior which pharmaceuticals are unable to manage. Cannabis has been shown to help with aggressive behavior. Most of the dementia patients I see, we use cannabis to manage their behavior not to actually slow down the onset of dementia. These patients often become so aggressive that they need one on one care, which many families are unable to afford. An aggressive dementia patient will often disrupt other residents and often they may even be on the verge of being kicked out of the facility. This is a really, really big problem. Right now, I have a patient who had to be removed from his living situation within his facility. We are in the midst of finding the right dosage of medication for him, so he can better manage his behavior and frankly, have a better quality of life.\n\nCannabis for a dementia patient can bring relaxation, happiness and joy back into a patient’s life. Dementia can cause aggression, anger and total loss of control. The introduction of cannabis can bring back a sense of calm and peace for these patients. A positive outcome with cannabis can be very powerful for both the patient and the family. Family members can be so stressed about taking care of a family member with dementia. It negatively impacts everyone involved.\n\n**Can cannabis help people get off of and stop chronic over use of pharmaceutical drugs?**\n\nIn my experience it certainly seems to help. Recently I treated a patient that was about to be moved to a care facility for the onset of dementia. I learned she had been on narcotics for over 40 years and so we decided to slowly wean her off the narcotics and have her use cannabis as the replacement. Very quickly she became a different person, for the better, and she became as sharp as a tack. People were amazed because what they believed was dementia was actually the side effects of so many years of narcotic use. The cannabis was able to help her manage chronic pain and allowed her to sleep well. She is a new woman! She is now able to stay in her independent living facility where she lives today. This patient is the walking poster child of how cannabis can turn someone’s life around for the better. Yes, cannabis can help people get off of pharmaceuticals.\n\n**What else would you like to communicate to people who are new to cannabis?**\n\nI think people need to manage expectations as to what cannabis can do for them and in what time frame. At the moment, cannabis is on a pedestal as almost a ‘cure all’. It is often superior in terms of effectiveness in lieu of other medications, but at the same time many people need to realize that some things may not work for them and it will often take time to explore what does actually work. Often people will try cannabis, it does not work well for whatever reason, and then they want to give up trying. Sometimes it takes a lot of back and forth to find the right medication and the right dosage. \n\nI also think it is important for a medical professional to follow someone who is new to cannabis, throughout the initial stages of their treatment. Too often people get their recommendation and that’s it. They go to the dispensary ‘bud tenders’, they get the wrong medication and then receive free samples on top of that, and often things will go terribly wrong for the patient. What I really hope for is better education, outreach and for medical professionals to step up and help patients out when they need it most.\n\nGreen Health Consultants operates within the San Francisco Bay Area and welcomes new patients both nationally and internationally. You may book an [appointment online](https://www.vcita.com/v/ghc.eloisetheisen). Eloise conducts her consultations in person, over the phone or on Skype.\n\nIf you are new to cannabis and want to learn more, take a look at our [Cannabis 101](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/56201c206430320006bb0000/cannabis-101-your-quick-guide-to-medical-marijuana) post. [HelloMD](https://www.hellomd.com/) can help you get your medical marijuana recommendation; it's 100% online, private and efficient. \n","image":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/jpeg;base64,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","aspectRatio":1.3333333333333333,"src":"/static/e51d16687ead3f07b32db0551119a2be/14b42/7b38d96b8bd9a699fa50212b9c08bdca.jpg","srcSet":"/static/e51d16687ead3f07b32db0551119a2be/f836f/7b38d96b8bd9a699fa50212b9c08bdca.jpg 200w,\n/static/e51d16687ead3f07b32db0551119a2be/2244e/7b38d96b8bd9a699fa50212b9c08bdca.jpg 400w,\n/static/e51d16687ead3f07b32db0551119a2be/14b42/7b38d96b8bd9a699fa50212b9c08bdca.jpg 800w,\n/static/e51d16687ead3f07b32db0551119a2be/47498/7b38d96b8bd9a699fa50212b9c08bdca.jpg 1200w,\n/static/e51d16687ead3f07b32db0551119a2be/54ac5/7b38d96b8bd9a699fa50212b9c08bdca.jpg 1365w","srcWebp":"/static/e51d16687ead3f07b32db0551119a2be/58556/7b38d96b8bd9a699fa50212b9c08bdca.webp","srcSetWebp":"/static/e51d16687ead3f07b32db0551119a2be/61e93/7b38d96b8bd9a699fa50212b9c08bdca.webp 200w,\n/static/e51d16687ead3f07b32db0551119a2be/1f5c5/7b38d96b8bd9a699fa50212b9c08bdca.webp 400w,\n/static/e51d16687ead3f07b32db0551119a2be/58556/7b38d96b8bd9a699fa50212b9c08bdca.webp 800w,\n/static/e51d16687ead3f07b32db0551119a2be/99238/7b38d96b8bd9a699fa50212b9c08bdca.webp 1200w,\n/static/e51d16687ead3f07b32db0551119a2be/5e0b8/7b38d96b8bd9a699fa50212b9c08bdca.webp 1365w","sizes":"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"}}}}},{"node":{"id":"Article_2001-markdown","title":"Introducing Sava: a Premier Online Marketplace for Artisanal Cannabis Goods","slug":"introducing-sava-a-premier-online-marketplace-for-artisanal-cannabis-goods","content":"I met Andrea Brooks, Founder of the newly launched [Sava](http://getsava.com/), at Chow a popular eatery in San Francisco’s Castro District. She was busy towards the back of the restaurant on her Apple Workbook, tapping away, adding some finishing touches to her newly released online retail site. Sava is a new player in the world of cannabis and is a breath of fresh air in a marketplace awash in bud, oh and more bud.\r\n\r\nIn Andrea’s words [Sava](http://getsava.com/) is “like Etsy, only more curatorial in its approach. We find best of breed in smaller, artisanal brands and help bring them to the fore.  Our brands highlight the best and the brightest in lesser-known harder to find cannabis brands. When we select products, we choose them based on what  we would  use ourselves, products we could really get behind and are excited about. Like Etsy, we allow our producers to set up a shop and highlight their products in a way that best suits their style.”\r\n\r\nI was happy to spend time with Andrea to better understand [Sava](http://getsava.com/) and her business model as I am often stumped as to what to purchase in a traditional dispensary. After looking at the initial line up of shops within Sava, I became even more excited by her concept. Storefront dispensaries often carry the same brands and products and most, across the board, are very high in THC. Also, many will only exclusively carry flowers (bud, weed, the green stuff) and not even venture into other product types, such as tinctures and topicals. Andrea’s curatorial approach has the potential for a home run. It certainly hit the sweet spot for me; an active Mom who is not looking to smoke a big joint, but would rather soak in some CBD Epsom salts or take it down a notch with some flavorful THC laced jam on toast. Oh, yum!\r\n\r\n**You compare [Sava](http://getsava.com/) to Etsy, how is Sava like Etsy and how does it differ?**\r\n\r\nOne of the aspects I love about Etsy is that you can learn about who is making your product - it’s a lovely personal touch.  Even more so than something like jewelry or a furnishing, I want to know where my medicine comes from.  Why has the provider chosen to pursue this path?  What inspired them?  What is their method of making their product?  [Sava](http://getsava.com/) is like Etsy in that we showcase our providers and make them accessible to patients. It helps to de-stigmatize the products and cannabis in general.  When I was injured and turned to medical cannabis for help, I was lucky enough to have someone  guide me.  I would now like to guide others in a transparent and informative way. \r\n\r\nHowever, we do differ from Etsy. At [Sava](http://getsava.com/), we carefully curate  providers we showcase and allow on the site.  We do significant research to learn about their sourcing and process.  We want high quality products, produced by people that are passionate about building their brands and helping others.  In addition, we are also launching new producers and providing them access into the industry.\r\n\r\n**What are the types of products and brands you highlight within your Sava shops and how do you curate the selection?**\r\n\r\nI’m a fan of the whole plant and all its uses, but I’m a particularly fond of topicals, tinctures and edibles. It’s important to us to highlight the ways these types of products can have medicinal benefit.  When I reach out to new folks to discuss [Sava](http://getsava.com/), and I show them the types of products that I am offering, more often than not I hear “I’ve never seen that before!” or “ I didn’t know that existed!”   This feedback comes from people  who regularly shop at  dispensaries and they haven’t been exposed to artisanal 'cannabis makers' and this needs to change.  There are so many amazing medicinal uses to discover, from medicated epsom salts to expertly crafted high CBD tinctures to THC-rich shea butter creams to small-batch infused jam.   I use topicals, tinctures and edibles to help with my own pain and inflammation.  A significant group of our sellers provide products that address common ailments, as well as a beautiful end product. \r\n\r\n**What challenges do artisanal product manufacturers face in the cannabis world today?**\r\n\r\nArtisanal producers in this industry face many of the same challenges they do in other industries - it can be very expensive and time-consuming to produce a high-quality product.   Assuming one can manage the ups and downs of product development, the next step is getting the product to market.  It can be a long journey. If you don’t have the right connections, especially in the cannabis industry, the journey gets longer. I’ve spoken with many women within the industry about the challenges of getting into a dispensary; it was one of the inspirations for Sava.  The whims of a dispensary owner can keep an amazing product off a shelf.  As such, new channels need to be created.\r\n\r\nHowever, it’s all about finding the right partnerships.  I’m active in the [Bay Area Women Grow](http://womengrow.com/) chapter and have met so many incredible women through that group, many of whom I developed a working relationship with.  I feel very lucky to have these resources available to help create a primary goal of Sava: to  create a space that is dedicated to providing  products  to women. \r\n \r\n**I imagine that smaller product manufacturers are excited to gain exposure on your site. What has the response been like?**\r\n\r\nYes!  I find that as excited I am to have them, they are equally excited to be showcased in a new environment.   I want to support them as much as possible, from periodically highlighting different shops to helping owners write blog pieces on their areas of expertise.   I’ve found that  everyone has a special story that lead them to enter this industry.  For example, team Strictly Topical , which makes Sweet Releaf - a trichome infused body butter.  The daughter in the mother-and-daughter team suffered a car accident which left her with severe chronic pain.  It’s a moving story  - and Sweet Releaf is amazing! Additionally, some of the smaller producers will be able to scale over time.  We are happy to help them along the way and provide necessary support as they expand.\r\n\r\n**What products are you most excited to use yourself?**\r\n\r\nOh wow - that is hard to choose!  So many exciting options!   I am also a fan of both THC and CBD, so I’m making sure I have products that are rich in both.  \r\nI’ve had a few friends recently that have pulled me aside and said “What’s this new CBD strain I keep hearing about?”  Well, as we know,  it’s not new and it’s not a strain. But with the creative products Sava is offering, there will be many new experiences to be had.\r\n\r\nAlong the lines of CBD, I can’t wait to try the CBD Raw Sipping Cacao from Om Edibles.  Not only does it have all the antioxidants of this superfood, all the benefits of CBD as well.  I’m anticipating this beverage being my constant companion as we move into the winter.  And Flour Child, which makes amazing THC-rich edibles, has a Lavender-Mint scented CBD-rich relief balm. I’ll probably be using that on my hands when I’m done sipping the cacao!\r\n\r\n**Today's cannabis user is no longer seen as the stoner who cannot get off the couch. Who do you see as your target market and what demographic do you most hope to reach?** \r\n\r\nThat is so true re: the stereotypical stoner!  There is still a stigma to overcome - and I’m happy to be part of dismantling it.  De-stigmatization is incredibly important as it helps connect patients with medicine that can help them.  Doing this work, I meet so many people.  The more I get out and talk with people, the more I’m amazed at how many people are turning to cannabis as a new, viable remedy for what ails them.  The same way I did.  \r\n\r\nI see my target market as women over 30 who have already explored alternative health and wellness options. They have likely tried medical cannabis - or maybe they’ve been thinking about it and they are ready to take the plunge.  These are women that want to continue to explore new alternatives to pain management, auto-immune challenges and dealing with PMS.  This is who we are here to help. In my previous life I worked in animal welfare and senior care - so those two populations are incredibly important to me as well.\r\n\r\n**What inspired you to start [Sava](http://getsava.com/)?**\r\n\r\nMy inspiration to start [Sava](http://getsava.com/) is very personal.  A few years ago, I suffered a disabling injury that left me with systemic nerve damage.  I went from serving on a SF city commission, the board of a local animal rescue group and working as a program director & case manager in the field of fair housing to becoming completely disabled within a very short period of time.  The pain was unbearable and I lost my independence, becoming bed-bound for nearly a year.  My doctors gave me drugs and more drugs - some of which helped with the pain, but none of which had a healing effect.  And then came the side-effects.  It felt as if I was watching my life take a long, slow spiral downward, punctuated by doctors telling me different things I would never be able to do or regain, such as the full usage of my right side. One day, a friend brought me a strain he thought would help and also made me a tincture.   It was a dramatic turning point in my recovery.    I was able to manage my pain without the side effects and my mood improved dramatically.  I was able to wean off all the prescription drugs, move and stretch, do the physical exercise I needed to help heal myself. \r\n\r\nAs I continued in my healing journey, I tried more uses of medical cannabis.  But I couldn’t find everything that I wanted in one place, and I often needed to have my medicine delivered as it was hard for me to get around.  I also couldn’t find out the level of information I desired.  So, with Sava I’m creating what I wished existed for me:  a comfortable, safe shopping experience with the female customer in mind.\r\n\r\n**Can anyone order from your site? How do people receive their orders?**\r\n\r\nYes, you need to have a California medical card, and you need to be the legal age to purchase  - just like purchasing any other medical cannabis products.  For many that shop at [Sava](http://getsava.com/), this will likely be the first time that they want to get a card.  As such, we’ve kept it as smooth and simple as a shopping experience as possible.  There are shop information pages where you can read about the collective, their methods and background - or you can also go straight to where all the products are listed and search by what you are looking for or what condition you want help with.   Every product states the full ingredients and guidance on use.  Once you select what you want and proceed through checkout, your items will arrive safely the next day!\r\n\r\nIf you are new to cannabis and want to learn more, take a look at our [Cannabis 101](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/cannabis-101-your-quick-guide-to-medical-marijuana) post. [HelloMD](https://www.hellomd.com/) can help you get your medical marijuana recommendation; it's 100% online, private and efficient. \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n","image":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/png;base64,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","aspectRatio":1.3333333333333333,"src":"/static/c818dcd65bd2d487b2fef59c7674721e/ee604/582f1774caa4264162c668f435cd9a79.png","srcSet":"/static/c818dcd65bd2d487b2fef59c7674721e/69585/582f1774caa4264162c668f435cd9a79.png 200w,\n/static/c818dcd65bd2d487b2fef59c7674721e/497c6/582f1774caa4264162c668f435cd9a79.png 400w,\n/static/c818dcd65bd2d487b2fef59c7674721e/ee604/582f1774caa4264162c668f435cd9a79.png 800w,\n/static/c818dcd65bd2d487b2fef59c7674721e/f3583/582f1774caa4264162c668f435cd9a79.png 1200w,\n/static/c818dcd65bd2d487b2fef59c7674721e/f90fa/582f1774caa4264162c668f435cd9a79.png 1365w","srcWebp":"/static/c818dcd65bd2d487b2fef59c7674721e/58556/582f1774caa4264162c668f435cd9a79.webp","srcSetWebp":"/static/c818dcd65bd2d487b2fef59c7674721e/61e93/582f1774caa4264162c668f435cd9a79.webp 200w,\n/static/c818dcd65bd2d487b2fef59c7674721e/1f5c5/582f1774caa4264162c668f435cd9a79.webp 400w,\n/static/c818dcd65bd2d487b2fef59c7674721e/58556/582f1774caa4264162c668f435cd9a79.webp 800w,\n/static/c818dcd65bd2d487b2fef59c7674721e/99238/582f1774caa4264162c668f435cd9a79.webp 1200w,\n/static/c818dcd65bd2d487b2fef59c7674721e/5e0b8/582f1774caa4264162c668f435cd9a79.webp 1365w","sizes":"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"}}}}},{"node":{"id":"Article_1954-markdown","title":"Auntie Dolores: The Forefront of the Gourmet Edibles Movement","slug":"auntie-dolores-the-forefront-of-the-gourmet-edibles-movement","content":"[Auntie Dolores](http://auntiedolores.com/), a gourmet cannabis edibles company, was founded by Julianna Carella in 2008. The idea was hatched in the ever popular Dolores Park in San Francisco during a time when the cannabis industry was still in its infancy. Except for the ubiquitous home made ‘pot brownie’ and the odd gummy bear, Julianna was hard pressed to find other edible choices in the marketplace. Inspired by the gourmet foods movement in her hometown, Julianna surged forward to provide gourmet edibles to a sophisticated crowd of cannabis patients and enthusiasts. Auntie Dolores took off quickly and is now represented by hundreds of dispensaries across California with big plans for future expansion. HelloMD spoke with Julianna to get to know more about her company and the philosophy behind it. \r\n\r\n\r\n**When you launched Auntie Dolores, what were your first products offered?**\r\n>The first unique product that became very popular was the savory pretzel. They are vegan and low glycemic. After the pretzels became popular, we developed our chili lime peanuts and the caramel corn. We’ve always had brownies and cookies, which are a staple in most dispensaries. Yet our brownies are vegan, low glycemic, and made with coconut oil and coconut sugar. We wanted to make something that not only tasted great, but was healthier than other products out in the market. We wanted to appeal to a wider clientele with both great flavors and new savory products. At the time we started Auntie Dolores, everything was made with white sugar and white flour and with extremely unhealthy ingredients.\r\n\r\n\r\n**I read on your website that the Latin root of Dolores is ‘Dolore’ which means pain. Naming your company Auntie Dolores is meant to represent anti-pain. When you created your company were you thinking about targeting the medicinal community?**\r\n>Absolutely, there are many, many people who are using cannabis as medicine and we wanted to reach those people. However, we also want to appeal to a wide array of people, whether they are using it for pain management, anxiety, epilepsy, or just to feel good.\r\n\r\n**Is it fair to say that you are aiming to create gourmet foods that are also healthy?**\r\n>Yes. The first thing we always start with is the flavor of our foods. Cannabis can usually be tasted so we are interested in finding ingredients that can mask the flavor of cannabis really well. We have found that the savory products do a great job of that. We also include super-foods in our products because it is a way of making edibles an overall healthier experience. \r\n\r\n>Coconut oil, which is a common ingredient for us, and cannabis have a lot of the same health benefits and they work well together. A lot of the super-foods, like cacao for instance, are really good for you and have a strong flavor that helps to mask the cannabis flavor, so that is an example of how we might select an ingredient. Almost all of our products have coconut oil in them. We love coconut oil! \r\n\r\n**It sounds as if you were ahead of the coconut oil movement which is so popular now.**\r\n>Coconut oil used to get a bad wrap as a saturated fat, but it has a lot of health benefits, as we all know now. It also does a great job of extracting cannabinoids because of the high fat content. We use CO2 extracted cannabis oil infused into coconut oil to bring cannabis into our products.\r\n\r\n\r\n**What is good about CO2 extracted cannabis oil?**\r\n>It is so concentrated so you can really achieve a better flavor with that product, because you are using such a small amount. You end up with high potency, without the flavor of cannabis, which is ideal. With CO2 cannabis oil, you’re using a lot less oil because it is so concentrated which creates more consistent potency and an overall better flavor. \r\n\r\n\r\n**Elderly patients are beginning to discover cannabis as a form of medicine for a variety of ailments. How do you educate  a less experienced patient population on how to use your products effectively and safely?
**\r\n>Over the years we have gained insight into the elderly community and how they use our products. For instance, I recently heard from an elderly woman who told me that she eats one caramel corn a night right before bed to help her sleep. A lot of elderly patients choose to use our products for arthritis, and they tend to only need one or two savory crackers at a time because their tolerance is fairly low. \r\n\r\n>Our products are designed so you can eat a little bit or a lot, but it also depends on the person’s tolerance level. The dosage is on the package, each pretzel has 3 mg so you may only need 3 or 4 of those pretzels to give you a 10 mg dosage, which is often enough. You can experience the analgesic effects without feeling high, if you know how to regulate your dosage. I think people who have had difficulty with edibles, who have had a bad experience with them, find our products a lot easier to work with because they can eat 2 pretzels and have the effect they are looking for. It’s important to start slowly as everyone is different but we do state dosages on our packaging very clearly.\r\n\r\n**You have some new CBD (cannabidiol) products coming out, can you tell me a little about that?**\r\n>We have secured a great source for CBD and it took us a long time. Now that we have a consistent source, we are in the process of developing new products. We hope to sell our CBD edibles worldwide. \r\n\r\n**Is the CBD hemp derived?**\r\n>Yes, the CBD we use for our international products is derived from Hemp.  We chose to use hemp-derived CBD so that we can sell this product outside of California, being that it is below the legal THC threshold. That way, if someone is interested in the CBD products, you will perhaps have better access to those products. Also, you can independently mix them with THC if you want. Our 50mg CBD brownie and our 10mg THC brownie combined will create a 5:1 ratio (CBD:THC) or you can take a 100mg THC brownie and our 50mg CBD brownie for a 1:2 ratio (CBD:THC). The brownies are small and low in calories and many patients combine to get the effect they are looking for.  There are many different combinations you can create or you can just have the CBD brownie on its own. \r\n\r\n**Are the hemp derived CBD products as effective as cannabis derived CBD products on the market today?**\r\n>Yes, CBD is CBD. There are a lot of misconceptions about CBD. We have sourced a superior form of CBD that is free of heavy metals and other contaminants. Usually the concentrations of THC in marijuana are going to be hard to take out, but if you start with CBD in hemp, where there is no THC present, it is easier to get a pure CBD product. It is advantageous to have both CBD and THC in a product, but that is not something we can ship it across the country. \r\n\r\n**What is most exciting development within Auntie Dolores right now?**\r\n>We are extremely excited about launching our line of CBD products. We’ve only had the CBD brownie out for a few weeks and the response has been overwhelming. We are also looking forward to when the price of CBD comes down to the price of THC. CBD has a lot of great applications but it can be 4 times as expensive as THC, so we are having to charge so much more for our CBD products. We look forward to the day when we can give access to everyone who wants CBD products at a fair and balanced price point.","image":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/jpeg;base64,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","aspectRatio":1.2903225806451613,"src":"/static/e4c93fc5ad37b4bf5dbf809664de85da/33aa5/d3512a02960b3efad954ba0d9204eebd.jpg","srcSet":"/static/e4c93fc5ad37b4bf5dbf809664de85da/f836f/d3512a02960b3efad954ba0d9204eebd.jpg 200w,\n/static/e4c93fc5ad37b4bf5dbf809664de85da/2244e/d3512a02960b3efad954ba0d9204eebd.jpg 400w,\n/static/e4c93fc5ad37b4bf5dbf809664de85da/33aa5/d3512a02960b3efad954ba0d9204eebd.jpg 768w","srcWebp":"/static/e4c93fc5ad37b4bf5dbf809664de85da/7f8e9/d3512a02960b3efad954ba0d9204eebd.webp","srcSetWebp":"/static/e4c93fc5ad37b4bf5dbf809664de85da/61e93/d3512a02960b3efad954ba0d9204eebd.webp 200w,\n/static/e4c93fc5ad37b4bf5dbf809664de85da/1f5c5/d3512a02960b3efad954ba0d9204eebd.webp 400w,\n/static/e4c93fc5ad37b4bf5dbf809664de85da/7f8e9/d3512a02960b3efad954ba0d9204eebd.webp 768w","sizes":"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px"}}}}},{"node":{"id":"Article_1996-markdown","title":"Are there Neurotoxins in your Marijuana?","slug":"are-there-neurotoxins-in-your-marijuana","content":"An interview with Dr. Robert Martin – Co-Founder of CW Analytical Testing Laboratory\r\n\r\n*What does CW Labs do?*\r\n\r\n>We started our lab so that we could: educate patients on the need for testing, provide the clearest, simplest representation of accurate lab test results, and provide dispensaries and growers with the ability to carry out thorough testing on their products at an affordable cost.  Our end goal is to provide the safest possible products to the patient and hopefully, in the process, educate patients as to why testing is important. We, at CW labs, believe there should be more industry regulations that mandate consistent testing by growers and dispensaries. The more quality control required, the better it is for patients and the industry as a whole. Our ultimate goal is to legitimize marijuana through testing and education.\r\n\r\n>Our lab has been designed to mimic labs used in the food industry, an area in which I have been involved for many years. We have our lab set up so that when new product comes through the door, it goes through the same sequential set of tests every time. Consistency in our testing is important for accurate and comparable results for all of our products. My preference for lab design is a horse-shoe pattern: a product enters on one side of the horse-shoe, works its way around the curve, and ends on the other side of the horse-shoe.  I aim to keep the lab quiet, a focused environment is fundamental to decrease possibility of error. We believe in consistency. We are committed to a rigorous scientific process to provide the most accurate results that we are able to. Not all labs or facilities have actual scientists or people trained in the scientific process to run the tests like we do. Tests must be conducted more than once in order to provide corroborated, truly valid results. If we test a product for a bacteria and we find that bacteria, we promptly retest the product to make sure those results are accurate. There are liabilities in running a lab. We want to make sure that we have done our job properly and protected the patient to the best of our ability to prevent patients from illness as much as possible.\r\n\r\n*Who submits their products to testing?*\r\n\r\n>We find that the majority of people who come to us are dispensaries, however, growers do come to us as well. In our experience about 90% of the dispensaries in the East Bay test their products, whereas only about 60% of the dispensaries in San Francisco test their products regularly.\r\n\r\n*Why should a dispensary test?*\r\n\r\n>Patients are often not aware of what might hurt them. Any dispensary that sells medicine should have the patient’s best interest at heart, but often they do not. We regularly see things in the medical marijuana products that would be extremely alarming to many of our patients. For instance, we saw the presence of cholinesterase inhibitors, a neurotoxin, from multiple growers for a 3-4 month span of time. Apparently, a new product was introduced that was intended to kill mites and multiple growers had started to use it. It is only because the product was tested and the toxin was detected that we saw a decline in the use of the pesticide. \r\n\r\n>We have seen a new cycle emerging in this industry: growers use a new un-tested chemical on plants that turns out to be harmful to consumers, when the products are tested by dispensaries these chemicals show up in the results, and then pressure for them to stop using the chemical. The patient and the industry need to put pressure on the dispensary to test all products before they are released, so none of these harmful products fall through the cracks. It is exceptionally irresponsible to subject sick patients to untested, potentially harmful medications. Ethical dispensaries, who test their products regularly, have the ability to transform the growing industry by forcing the growers and producers to clean up their act.\r\n\r\n*What does you lab test for?*\r\n\r\n>We test for cannabinoids, the CBD to THC ratio, pesticides, microbiological material, such as ecoli, terpins, and residuals of any kind and the DNA. We also test for yeast and fungi. Fungal abatement is important. An organic grower may lose about 20% of the crop due to fungus. That said, I believe that organic, outdoor grow operations create a higher quality product with less risk to the patient overall. Additional things that we may test for are growth hormones and Aflatoxins. When we test the bud, we use a randomly selected specimen from each one pound bag. The cost for an average dispensary is around $120 per one pound of bud we test, it adds up to about 28.7 cents per gram for the dispensary, which is affordable.\r\n\r\n>We look for microbiological material and bacteria in products. Typically, the living plant will have none of the bacteria we look for, perhaps due to the amount of terpenoids present. Once the plant is harvested, however, that is when the plant normally starts to collect bacteria. How it is stored and handled greatly effects what is on the cannabis product (i.e. Are gloves used in the harvesting process? Where is the plant put after harvesting? How sterile is the processing area?), often just changing hygiene protocols will yield dramatically better results.\r\n\r\n>We test for 33 of the most commonly used pesticides, as dictated by the EPA. Pesticides are an awful thing to have in medication, they do not break down in your body no matter how you ingest them. Having pesticides in ones body is not good for their health in any way.  Patients should be aware, also, that when concentrates are made from cannabis that have been treated by pesticides, the pesticides are in an extremely concentrated state just like the marijuana.\r\n\r\n>We typically see a 20-30% failure rate from new dispensaries’ products the first time we test them. With in 3-4 months the dispensaries with failures usually return with almost 100% passing products. When the dispensaries understand how their products are harmful, they usually shape up, which is great for the patient.\r\n\r\n*What happens when a product has a negative test result?*\r\n\r\n>We inform dispensaries of their results immediately. If it is a contamination like E.coli we get on the phone right away to inform them of the issue with their product. Dispensaries are responsible to do the right thing when their results are negative, we have no jurisdiction to take personal action. Not all dispensaries will do the right thing by pulling the product off their shelves, but then again there are many dispensaries who will never test to begin with.\r\n\r\n*What misunderstanding do you commonly see?*\r\n\r\n>Many people, including dispensaries, do not understand that lab results do not represent an absolute. There are variables in all tests and results. Absolutes are theoretical and there is variation in just about everything. So, for instance, even in Big Pharma, there is about a 7.5% allowable variation. In the food industry there is about a 20% variance. Here at CW labs we have accomplished about a 10% variance, which compared to the food industry, is really an amazing result to achieve. Another thing people often do not understand is dosages. The medical marijuana industry is based on milligrams, which is often hard for people to get their arms around.\r\n\r\n*What excites you about where CW labs is today?*\r\n\r\n>We want to give back to the patient. Our goal is to educate and help reform an industry that needs stronger regulation, whether that comes from the inside or outside.  Based on the lack of regulation we have witnessed, I helped found an organization called the ACCL (Association of Commercial Cannabis Laboratories), which is dedicated to addressing the lack of regulation in the industry with the hopes of creating the highest standards possible. One thing that we do on a yearly basis is allow for a 3rd party to send independent labs products. We in the ACCL all test these products, then we post our results publicly.  We believe in reliability and accountability and we follow strict guidelines as a whole to work towards achieving those goals.\r\n\r\n>What I have seen as this industry has grown is that there is a new type of cannabis patient. It is a 66 year old woman with chronic pain or a 70+ patient who wants to get off heavy prescription medications. We want to be able to help inform them, allow them to make smart choices, and ultimately provide them with the safest possible medication.\r\n","image":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/jpeg;base64,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","aspectRatio":1.3333333333333333,"src":"/static/81b66fa7bd264277d71665b5d4503dbc/14b42/f8e1c1845b8aefb4a43e27ba2931a3f5.jpg","srcSet":"/static/81b66fa7bd264277d71665b5d4503dbc/f836f/f8e1c1845b8aefb4a43e27ba2931a3f5.jpg 200w,\n/static/81b66fa7bd264277d71665b5d4503dbc/2244e/f8e1c1845b8aefb4a43e27ba2931a3f5.jpg 400w,\n/static/81b66fa7bd264277d71665b5d4503dbc/14b42/f8e1c1845b8aefb4a43e27ba2931a3f5.jpg 800w,\n/static/81b66fa7bd264277d71665b5d4503dbc/47498/f8e1c1845b8aefb4a43e27ba2931a3f5.jpg 1200w,\n/static/81b66fa7bd264277d71665b5d4503dbc/54ac5/f8e1c1845b8aefb4a43e27ba2931a3f5.jpg 1365w","srcWebp":"/static/81b66fa7bd264277d71665b5d4503dbc/58556/f8e1c1845b8aefb4a43e27ba2931a3f5.webp","srcSetWebp":"/static/81b66fa7bd264277d71665b5d4503dbc/61e93/f8e1c1845b8aefb4a43e27ba2931a3f5.webp 200w,\n/static/81b66fa7bd264277d71665b5d4503dbc/1f5c5/f8e1c1845b8aefb4a43e27ba2931a3f5.webp 400w,\n/static/81b66fa7bd264277d71665b5d4503dbc/58556/f8e1c1845b8aefb4a43e27ba2931a3f5.webp 800w,\n/static/81b66fa7bd264277d71665b5d4503dbc/99238/f8e1c1845b8aefb4a43e27ba2931a3f5.webp 1200w,\n/static/81b66fa7bd264277d71665b5d4503dbc/5e0b8/f8e1c1845b8aefb4a43e27ba2931a3f5.webp 1365w","sizes":"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"}}}}}]}},"pageContext":{"limit":12,"skip":48,"numPages":6,"currentPage":5,"id":5383,"name":"Industry Spotlight","slug":"industry-spotlight","country":"US"}},"staticQueryHashes":["3949754563","4179947113","4202924991"]}