Lately I have been watching a series on Netflix that brought up questions for me about medical marijuana use for fibromyalgia pain survivors. When I spoke with a person I know who works at a local medical dispensary for medical marijuana, my concerns became greater. In asking further questions of her, I discovered how to share answers with you that will assist anyone who is, or desires to use medical marijuana in any form to help lessen their pain.
One issue that concerned me after watching one of the episodes was the term used, “overdose” in respect to marijuana. There is no such thing. Overdosing means one is at the point of, or has, died from drug use. You can not die from marijuana. You can however, smoke, eat, or use too much of a marijuana tincture. If you ingest too much for your tolerance, breath, drink lots of milk and eat; wait it out. Of course this is not your best option, so here is how to remedy it before it ever occurs.
First, it needs to be broken down by category of medical means of usage, edible, smoking or tinctures. I am not discussing creams, either CBD or THC, as they do not penetrate the bloodstream and therefore are not a concern. Each type of product has different concentrations of THC or CBD in milligrams. All these products will be either CBD or THC dominant; there is a ratio of both, with the one you need, or want to use, being higher. The mixture of 30:1 is there to create the chemical reaction. The first numeral should be the one you wish to use, the last, the mix for reaction. The smallest dosage that would be suggested to use within this products is 5 milligrams, however, if you have never used this start with 2.5. Another point here is too complex for me to understand, but one you should know when smoking medical marijuana , is that there are two main types, Indica and Sativa. Both have different types of uses for pain and differing reactions. You should have knowledge of this, or a knowledgeable dispenser to assist you if this is your method of use. I do know that one hit is basically equivalent to 5 milligrams.
Before I talk about the two remaining types, I would like to hand out a warning that I am fairly confident applies everywhere, not just here in my metro area. My friend informed me that in the dozen dispensaries she has visited, only her place of work actually asks each patient how they feel that day and what they type of relief they need that day. Her place of work stresses intense self-education along with constant interaction between the workers to understand their products. When they receive new products, they are informed about them, so that they can inform their patients. The other dispensaries rarely ask about health every time, or at all, and often do not know anything about their products and pain. This is a warning to all of you; find a dispensary that is really in the business of helping your pain; not using the loophole to sell marijuana. This doesn’t mean they don’t have the same or similar products, but they are just not doing their legalized job or, they have not been told they need to as they are in fact, more like legalized recreational sellers.
Now let’s discuss edibles. They usually are THC in nature. THC does help with pain, but it will probably make you fall asleep for at least your first month of use. Edibles sold at her work start at their lowest milligram dosage of 15 milligrams. This means if you are new to the whole using medical mj for pain relief that you might want to start with 1/6 of the edible, or 2.5 milligrams to see the effect. Additionally, when you eat something, it has to go through your entire system until you feel the effect. Wait an hour at least, hour and a half to see how this affects you. Don’t plan on going out or having company unless you want a friend there for support in case you don’t like the feeling and have to wait it out with milk and mindful breathing.
As I have previously discussed, smoking medical mj is beyond my basic understanding, so lets move on to tinctures. Tinctures can come in CBD or THC also. Both have their place in dealing with pain. Both are effective, however, THC is more sedating. CBD is relaxing. Some may wish, as they progress, to mix a few drops of both, depending on their pain needs. Again, the suggested dosage is 5 drops equaling about 5 milligrams. It can come in an alcohol or olive base. The suggestion is if your new to this pain relief method, start with two and half drops. All the same information about staying at home applies here. The difference is that you are now taking something sublingually. This means it has an immediate effect as it goes into your gums and right into your bloodstream. And, don’t forget that the CBD tincture is also made from huge vats of hemp which can be ordered online no matter where you live.
I hope this professional knowledge, from a dispensary worker of medical marijuana, assists those peers who wish to, or are, using it to relieve pain. I hope it helps any concerns about “overdosing”. I also hope that one day there will be legislation that requires all workers in dispensaries must be trained to help each patient, each day, with trusted and updated knowledge about their products.
*I am not affiliated with any medical marijuana dispensary, I am not an expert on this topic. Consult a doctor with any medical concerns.