My First Medical Marijuana Dispensary Visit

I selected The Green Door, my neighborhood dispensary, for my first medical marijuana 'access point' experience. In addition to their convenient location, they had over 40 reviews online and were voted best medical marijuana dispensary by the Seattle Weekly in 2011. They are discreetly tucked into a multi level strip mall at 12th and Jackson in the International District.  The exterior could be mistaken for a spa - I went past it twice before locating it.

The Green Door: discreetly tucked away in a strip mall in Seattle's International District

I rang the bell and was buzzed into the humid, skunky smelling waiting room. The walls were green with dark wood accents and a flat screen television playing a Bob Marley documentary. Mike, the gentleman working there, introduced himself through the glass window. He was an easy going 30ish guy with long dreadlocks tied up in a turban. He reviewed my medical authorization paperwork and my drivers license. I had to complete a single page of paperwork which included a reminder of the limits of how much marijuana I can legally posess in Washington State (24 ounces of dried cannabis) and a statement to the effect of designating the Green Door as one of my medical cannabis care providers through some sort of collective gardening agreement. After reviewing my paperwork, they took my photograph and ushered me back toward the bud room.

The legal marijuana experiences I've had in Europe were heavily slanted toward hashish - coffee shops in Amsterdam and the open air hash market in Christiana, Denmark have relatively little cannabis flower selection. But the Green Door is a legitimate enterprise with a wonderful selection of cannabis. There were over two dozen different varieties of dried cannabis available - not including concentrates.

Really?? Really... Collards with Cannabis! Fun new product from CannaHaute cuisine

The bud room was well organized, clean and inviting. One wall had all the dried cannabis arranged in jars from 100% Indica to 100% Sativa, with hybrids in between. Another Mike, a mid-twenties gentleman with short brown hair, served as my budtender. I followed Dr. Z's advice and described my condition to him and asked for recommendations. I wanted to try a range of different products, so I selected a full indica, a full sativa and a few hybrids. Information about the producers and analytical data on the strains were not available.

For the full Indica, I went with one of Mike's recommendations and selected the Grandaddy Purple.  The medium sized buds were indeed quite purple and had the classic floral sweet 'purple' aroma and a decent frosting of crystals. It gave a soft, pleasant smoke that conveyed a fragrant 'purple' taste with a bit of a kick to it.

Cannabis from the Green Door

I decided to go with the Sour Diesel for a Sativa dominant strain (90% Sativa, 10% Indica). The buds were small and compact with an aroma dominated by a waxy fuel-oil aromatic note which was disappointingly subdued. A slightly musty aromatic note came through during smoking that tasted a bit flat. This Sour Diesel was intensely psychoactive, but not a flavor I'd seek out again.

My favorite strains tend to be Indica dominant hybrids and I've been curious to try some of the 'cheese' strains I have heard about these past few years. The Blue Cheese (80% Indica, 20% Sativa) came as nice chunky nuggets, but they lacked the aroma intensity I would expect from a strain named after something as pungent as blue cheese.

Medibles from the Green Door

The best strain in the bunch was the Ace of Spades (70% Indica, 30% Sativa). I asked Mike the budtender about the provenance of the strain, and he told me was a hybrid of Jack the Ripper and Black Cherry Soda. The aroma intensity of the Ace of Spades was stronger than the other strains I obtained from the Green Door. The smoke was thick and strong, without being harsh or hot in the throat. Psychoactively speaking, this delivered a pleasant buzz that was relaxing without giving the partial lobotomy feeling. I did, however, get the Motorhead song 'Ace of Spades' stuck in my head for a few days which didn't make me feel like much of a genius either.

In general, prices ranged from $10/gram to $12/gram, some strains were on special for $8/gram. Volume discounts are available for all strains. For being a first time patient, I received one pre-rolled joint - I chose the sativa strain Cynex as my free gift.

There was a case of medibles which were all expensive ($10 for a brownie, $8 for a bon-bon, $10 for a soda) but I tried a few products anyway. I was a little disappointed in the chocolate caramel brownie from The Chocolate Cure. Its portion was generous and its potency was good (one brownie was at least two, and probably more safely four doses). Unfortunately, the cannabis butter flavor was a bit dirty - something that could be easily improved by incorporating an additional water washing step in their oil/butter extraction process to suck out some of the chlorophyll contributing to that grassy taste.

All of my medicine was labeled with my name and the name of the strain. While Mike was weighing and packing my order, I thumbed through a copy of 'The Emperor Wears No Clothes' by Jack Herer. Thinking back to reading the book back in college about 20 years ago, I was saddened that hemp is still not legal in the US. But I was heartened when I realized that I was purchasing better quality marijuana, at a better price, from a better selection than ever before. Maybe the legalization of industrial hemp is next!

-------------(c) 2013 Stoner Living Blog

My Medical Marijuana Experience- a lupus patient comes clean about going green

As a sufferer of a chronic ailment - Systemic Lupus Erythematosus - I've had medical professionals unofficially recommend cannabis for years. This week I decided to get assessed to see if I was eligible for an authorization to use medical marijuana in Washington State.


'Green Wellness' Medical Authorization Clinic had an established online presence in addition to offering 24 hour a day, 7 day a week phone verification service. In order for a patient to visit a medical cannabis provider, the provider needs to verify the medical recommendation.  A specialty clinic that offers easy verification is desirable because a medical marijuana patient can spontaneously visit any medical cannabis provider (including farmer's markets) without having to wait two days for a doctor's office to return the phone call.

The Green Wellness online intake form was straightforward. After submitting it, they called me within an hour and sent a confirmation email saying I was 'pre-qualified' and offered me a variety of appointment times. I scheduled my appointment for the following afternoon. I did not have a copy of my medical records, so I was told my fee would be $178 ($20 less if you have your records). Although they did not take health insurance, they accepted cash, debit and major credit cards.

Their Seattle location is on the ground floor of a high rise at the foot of Capitol hill tucked by the freeway. Their lobby was a standard higher-end medical practice waiting room with leather couches and a pod style coffee maker. The office demeanor was professional, and I was given seven pages of paperwork to complete along with an authorization to release my medical records from my doctor (in my case, my rheumatologist).

The paperwork asked about the condition I was seeking to use cannabis for, along with questions about if I had tried cannabis for the condition. They were particularly interested in conditions where I could reduce my use of other drugs by using cannabis. Ironically, I had to add a section to their form because I find that using cannabis can help me stay compliant with one of the medications I take (Methotrexate) which is effective but has unacceptable side effects.

Medical Authorization to Use Cannabis in Washington State

Dr. Z came out and invited me back to the consultation room. We discussed my lupus: the onset of symptoms in 2004, the difficulty of getting diagnosed (common with autoimmune diseases) and the impact of my symptoms on my quality of life. My biggest complaints are joint pain (particularly in hands and wrists, but the hips, knees and feet too) along with appetite loss and fatigue. I explained the symptoms that came on in 2004 - a rash on my face I mistook for adult acne that wouldn't go away, fingers turning blue (a condition I would learn is called Raynaud's phenomena) and debilitating arthritis which developed primarily in my hands. I had always been healthy and strong, a bit of a tomboy and the one time recipient of a perfect attendance award at school. The formal diagnosis of lupus came in 2005 after my  blood chemistry showed a variety of antibody markers typically used to diagnose lupus.

Lupus is incurarable, and there hadn't been a new treatment approved for lupus in 50 years until Benlysta was released last year. Many of the medicines used to treat lupus (like Methotrexate) are off-label uses doctors have found to be effective. Methotrexate is prescribed for rheumatoid arthritis - a condition related to lupus. Methotrexate is a chemotherapy drug,  I take it orally once per week (in doses about 1/100th of the dosage used when give for leukemia). Although it helps reduce my inflammatory arthritis and some of the skin issues; the nausea, appetite loss and patchy hair loss are unpleasant. To reduce these side effects, my rheumatologist has also prescribed a drug called 'leucovorin' which I take 5 hours after taking my weekly methotrexate dose. The leucovorin hasn't been particularly helpful. Other suggestions to deal with side effects weren't viable (like taking it on Sunday so I could feel terrible on my day off instead of on a work day) or learning to inject it ('you'd only have to do it once a week!'). Benlysta, the new lupus drug, is an 'infusion' drug which is delivered through a multiple hour intravenous infusion every month along with an annual price tag approaching 30k.

I have a prescription for opiate pain medication, Vicodin, which I take for major flare-ups. But narcotics are habit forming and constipating and something I would like to use with moderation. I explained that cannabis seemed to make the vicodin more effective and that the marijuana was oddly effective in its own right. I don't think it actually quells the pain, but it makes me not care about the pain either.

Over the years I've learned to cope with pain, but appetite and related issues had taken the greatest toll on my overall well being and quality of life. Over the years my appetite faded and eventually disappeared; at the same time, horrible sores in my mouth made it excruciating to eat. I lived on coffee, instant breakfast and gelato. Food had once been the central theme of my life - I am a food scientist by vocation - and now I would forget to eat for hours at a time. I stopped making plans to eat meals with others because I couldn't eat.

Marijuana absolutely, unequivocally improves my appetite. Not every type of marijuana out there, but most of them. Now that I am eating again, I realize what a significant effect the lack of eating was having on my life. From a mood perspective, I imagine I was a beast to be around. With lupus, I am accustomed to aches and pains, so perhaps I just lumped the bad feeling from not eating into lupus  malaise. I had forgotten the joy of a delicious meal enjoyed with family and friends.

Routes of Administration for Medial Cannabis

Dr. Z recommended medical cannabis to me and provided some advice about how to use it. As a past cigarette smoker, he suggested I might consider a vaporizer to spare my lungs further damage. He also said that while he could not recommend a dispensary directly, that I should check out reviews online from other medical patients (there are a number of sites like leafly.com had such information available). He said there were a wide range of levels of quality in the dispensaries out there, but that at a good one the 'budtender' would be able to recommend ideal strains or products for my specific complaints.

I got an extra certified copy of my medical recommendation (a total of 3). I will keep one copy in my wallet, one at home and one will go to a care provider if I find someone willing to grow plants for me. A certified copy of my recommendation letter and my WA state identification is all I need  to begin exploring the dispensaries and farmer's markets sprouting up all over town.

Next Article: My first dispensary visit

------------------------(c) 2013 Stoner Living Blog

Consistency, Cannabis and Keeping it Cottage

The legalization of marijuana will change a lot of things, and one concern of cannabis connoisseurs is what I'll call the 'Budweiser effect': the standardization and homogenization which could come as large players enter the market and displace the current cottage industry. At public comment meetings related to the implementation of I-502 in Washington State, the fear of losing the boutique nature of the marijuana industry is often expressed with the analogy of microbrewed beer versus Budweiser. Given the immense popularity of marijuana, it seems likely that small, medium sized and large companies will all have a place in the emerging industry. There's a place for our beloved microbrews, but there is plenty of room for Budweiser too.

Fresh Hops in the Hands of a Brewmaster

Big brands like Budweiser deliver their product with consistency, reliability and accessibility - very comforting attributes to a consumer. You may think what you will about the flavor (or lack thereof) of the King of Beers, but you can order a Budweiser in Milwaukee, Seattle or Sioux City and it's going to deliver the same product experience every time. Familiarity instills a sense of comfort, it's a fact of human nature leveraged by marketeers every day, and is part of the reason Budweiser, McDonalds and  franchises in general are successful.

Hop Pellets offer Consistency

Hops are closely related to marijuana and are also members of the botanical family Cannabaceae. Consider the differences in how microbreweries typically use hops versus how hops are incorporated by large, corporate breweries. Hop pellets and fresh hops can both make beer, but hop pellets look like gerbil food.

As marijuana becomes commercially available, it is inevitable that product lines will develop to meet consumer expectations in terms of consistency and reliability. The existing tobacco smoking products industry (cigarettes, cigars and pipe tobacco) does a remarkable job offering consistent products to their consumers. Tobacco is an agricultural product, subject to effects of differing crop years and an ever increasing international market for raw materials. But the industry has developed technologies to ensure the consistency their consumers expect.

A Cigarette Sacrificed for Educational Purposes

Blending is the tobacco industry's strategy for delivering consistency to their smokers. Different varieties of leaf including Bright, Burley and Oriental (in the case of cigarettes), along with other components are mixed together to create a final blend. Within a single type of tobacco - say 'Bright' - a blend may have a mix of different crop years, and leaf from different continents. Rather than patenting formulas and having the details become public, most blend recipes are closely guarded trade secrets.

A Wet Mango Blunt Wrap from Royal Blunts

One dirty little secret in the art of tobacco blending is the inclusion of reconstituted or 'sheet' tobacco. Tobacco scraps and dust are ground into a slurry and turned into sheets in a process akin to paper making. This 'sheet' product can be produced very consistently, making it a great tool for a leaf blender trying to create a consistent smoking product. A robust industry exists supporting such technologies. Blunt wrappers are just squares of flavored sheet tobacco.

The future of the cannabis industry is history in the making, and much will depend on how the foundations are laid in Washington and Colorado. The cottage industry nature of NW cannabis culture can be preserved if the community demands it. The marijuana industry is destined for greatness, and there is room for players of all sizes.

The Author with Wild Hemp (2010)

Article by Heather Hjorth. Heather is the Principal Consultant at Hjorth Product Research - the world's first consumer and product research consulting firm dedicated to serving the legal cannabis industry.

Disclaimer: This article references Budweiser only as a reference for our audience. The author is not affiliated with Budweiser in any way; this article does not imply any knowledge of past, present or future business or marketing plans of Budweiser or Anheuser Bush.

--------------(C) 2013 Stoner Living

I-502 Public Forum on Marijuana Producer Licenses Packs City Hall

The public forum on the licensing of marijuana producers and processors had an overflow turnout at Seattle's City Hall on Thursday night, January 24th, 2013. The crowd filled the Bertha Knight Landies room to capacity and extra seating was provided in the city council room upstairs with video viewing of the proceedings. Representatives from the Washington State Liquor Control Board greeted the audience and made it clear this was a 'public forum' - not a formal rules making session - and that they were in 'listening mode'. Sharon Foster, chair of the board, kicked things off by thanking the public for their interest and noting how unusual it was for any meeting to have such robust attendance (indeed, they seemed to have to scramble to arrange the overflow seating area as such heavy attendance was not anticipated).

Crowd at I-502 Public Comment Meeting at Seattle City Hall (January 24, 2013)

Members of the WSLCB present seemed ready to take on the daunting task of overseeing the legalization of marijuana for the first time in modern history. They were engaged and respectful of the audience; their efforts to hold the lengthy list of speakers to their respective two minute limit was appreciated by at least this attendee as the session went from 6 PM to after 9:30 PM. Some of the board members present were Sharon Foster, Ruthann Kurose, Chriss Marr, Brian Smith, Samantha Trotter and Pat Kohler.

Key themes emerged throughout the evening. Some of the suggestions were not relevant given the nature of the initiative process and the process for changing provisions requiring a 2/3 legislative approval. The board members pointed this out politely at several parts of the evening. Some key themes emerged, and some points were clarified by the board.

Themes and Major Issues Addressed by Public:

• "keep it cottage" - don't cut out small scale production operations
• the whole world is watching
• address federal issues including federal tax filing guidelines needed
• regulated system must out compete black market to succeed
• processor license & tax step  - does it make sense*
• limiting plant numbers isn't a bad idea, most numbers were ~100-200 plants, up to 1000
• concerns about not letting major corporate entities dominate the market
• need for analytical testing of THC, cannabinoids, molds, pesticides
• banking, insurance and public safety service availability for producers/processors
• dont limit license #s
• drug war vetran amnesty for marijuana felons - allow them to participate
• recycling facilities for toxic grow bulbs
• being able to smoke in public (bar scenarios or sanctioned locations - not everywhere)
• more research needed on per-se DUI laws
• info on interactions with other pharmaceuticals (antidepressants, antipsychotics) requested
• a special license class type may be needed for research/breeding operations
• clarification on medical industry status

One of the themes repeated often throughout the evening was brought up by the first public speaker, Richard Dent, whose message was 'don't forget the little guys.' The cottage industry nature of the Washington marijuana scene was evident in the large number of ma-and-pa operations represented at the meeting, which may come to a surprise to some who believed the marijuana market to be dominated by gang and mafia type interests. That was certainly not the impression given by the room tonight. The famous producer Uncle Mickey summed it up when he exhorted the audience to "remember the love - this is not about money."

But, of course it is about money too - and getting along with the Federal Government, and paying taxes and a bunch of stuff less sexy than love. But passion, expertise and a lot of optimism filled the room. There were collective owners, cultivators, medial patients, lawyers, an addiction medicine specialist, entrepreneurs and more than a few veterans of the drug war who wanted to make sure their dedication to the product they loved and their expertise would not be forsaken by the I-502 rules.

Valid concerns about clear guidelines for product testing and labeling products were brought up repeatedly. A number of interests representing testing services and associated groups were in attendance. Brad Douglass from The Werc Shop, a group providing quality control and analytical services to California companies (but contemplating an expansion into Washington) mentioned the scary fact that 20-30% of the product tested by his group found mold - and pesticide residues are a concern to smokers too. He pointed out that some pesticides go right into the smoker at smoking temperatures. Organic certification options were brought up by several speakers throughout the evening.

Concerns about privacy came up several times, both because of personal privacy concerns but also in the lens of a product category that is still against Federal law. Phil Bocel spoke to suggest implementing some of the new security registry technology being developed at University of Washington to protect citizen privacy while also allowing some sort of registry.

Bo Odyssey Recommends the Book "The Emperor Wears No Clothes"

Bo Odyssey, the legendary 'scarf guy' and regular at City Hall meetings made a few comments reinforcing the important role of hemp in American culture, and recommended Ed Rosenthal's book, "The Emperor Wears No Clothes" to the audience. There were several other citizens interested in industrial hemp concerns who spoke.

Concerns about the "inevitable Federal showdown", as Anthony Gibbs, an attorney, so eloquently put it, also came up repeatedly. Late in the evening, a comment was made that the States Attorney General Ferguson is drafting some sort of state lawsuit to defend Washingtonians in some way - details will surely follow.

The wonderful Dawn Darington, a medical marijuana patient advocate from Choice Wellness and a part of 'All Day Live' was there, bringing her indomitable spirit. She pointed out that humans were meant to be assoicated with the marijuana plant - the human brain has receptors for the compounds in cannabis. As Dawn pointed out, our brains have cannabinoid receptors, but we don't have cabbage receptors.

One positive note for producers closely following this was the clarification by board member Chris Marr that the current LCB interpretation of the initiative was that producers who were also processors would not have to pay the 25% tax step between producing and processing, unless the product was further processed. He said this interpretation was being reviewed by the Attorney General.

Note - this is a breaking news story, please email any corrections to stonerlivingblog@gmail.com

 ----------(c) 2013  Stoner Living Blog

Bhang Beverages of South Asia – A Cannabis Gift from Lord Shiva

Bhang lassi, a south Asian treat, is a drinkable preparation of cannabis. The term ‘Bhang’ can refer to a number of different cannabis goodies ranging from hash-like concoctions, edible candy-like balls to beverages. According to Martin Booth’s ‘Cannabis – a History’, bhang refers to the lowest grade of cannabis sold in India, cannabis leaves with a few flowers mixed in. The other grades of marijuana are ‘ganga’ – female marijuana flowers, and ‘charas’ – hash. ‘Bhang’ grade marijuana has traditionally been used to prepare edible and medical cannabis formulations, though many bhang lassi producers today use ‘ganga’ grade marijuana in their preparations.  We’ll focus on the beverage preparations popular in many parts of India, bhang thandai and bhang lassi.

Government Authorized Bhang Shop - from Wikipedia

In Hindu culture, recorded use of cannabis goes back to 1000 BC.  Despite years of prohibition, cannabis remains important in Indian culture, where it plays a role in the institution of ayruvedic medicine. The Indian government licenses bhang vendors and medical preparations of cannabis can be obtained in ayruvedic apothecaries. Consumption of Bhang is associated with the worship of lord Shiva and the celebration of Holi – the spring festival of color. Holi is particularly popular and celebrated with gusto (and lots of bhang) in northern India. One of the main traditions of holi is the use of colored powders on others; festive bonfires are also involved. Lord Shiva is said to have discovered the transcendental properties of bhang, earning him the epithet ‘Lord of Bhang’. The ancient Indian text the Arthaveda describes bhang as a beneficial herb that reduces anxiety. Bhang is used by some holy men to boost meditation and achieve transcendental states.

The classic north Indian bhang beverage preparation, bhang thandai, is made with milk, nuts (usually almonds, sometimes cashews) and spices including lots of black pepper and cardamom. It is sold in marketplaces and by street vendors. There are government sanctioned and licensed bhang shops. Some The city of Varanasi is famous for its bhang preparations, and street vendors prepare and sell it at the ghats (stair terrace areas leading down to the river).

Bhang preparation - grinding the cannabis. From Khabar Express Website.

Different preparation methods are used to create bhang beverages. Because the active ingredients in marijuana are fat soluble, it is necessary to have fat in some form as a key part of the recipe. Many recipes involve boiling the cannabis in a bit of water, straining out the plant matter and then grinding the plant material into a paste along with some of the fat containing material (whole milk or nuts). A mortar and pestle are used to grind cannabis buds and leaves into a thick paste. Milk, ghee (clarified butter) and ground nuts are added to the cannabis mixture. Spices are incorporated and the beverage is served chilled. 

Bhang lassi is a ‘special’ lassi made with bhang in lassi, a yogurt based beverage. Lassi comes in many flavors, and can either be a savory, lightly salted beverage or can be a sweetened concoction incorporating fruits. Mango lassi is a popular flavor available at Indian restaurants in the US and Europe. 

As with other edible preparations of cannabis, it takes at least an hour for the effects of bhang to manifest. Although not readily available at medical marijuana dispensaries, cannabis aficionados can enjoy a cup of bhang when visiting India. A scene from Anthony Bourdain’s NoReservations shows him visiting a government sanctioned bhang shop in Rajastan where he is offered bhang lassi in three strengths: strong, super sexy strong, and 'full power 24 hour no toilet no shower' strong… whatever that means. Although bhang can be are nutritious and wholesome, consumers should be wary of unscrupulous bhang dealers who are rumored to use other drugs, such as veterinary tranquilizers, to enhance the effects of their wares. Bhang can be prepared at home, and a recipe follows:

From Society for the Confluence of Festivals in India (SCFI).

Flavoured bhang drink

  Ingredients
2 cups water
1 ounce marijuana (fresh leaves and flowers of a female plant preferred)
4 cups warm milk
2 tablespoons blanched and chopped almonds
1/8 teaspoon garam masala (a mixture of cloves, cinnamon, and cardamon)
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
1/2 to 1 teaspoon rosewater
1 cup sugar

Method
Bring the water to a rapid boil and pour into a clean teapot. Remove any seeds or twigs from the marijuana, add it to the teapot and cover. Let this brew for about 7 minutes.
Now strain the water and marijuana through a piece of muslin cloth, collect the water and save.
Take the leaves and flowers and squeeze between your hands to extract any liquid that remains. Add this to the water. 

Place the leaves and flowers in a mortar and add 2 teaspoons warm milk. Slowly but firmly grind the milk and leaves together. Gather up the marijuana and squeeze out as much milk as you can. Repeat this process until you have used about 1/2 cup of milk (about 4 to 5 times). Collect all the milk that has been extracted and place in a bowl. By this time the marijuana will have turned into a pulpy mass.
Add the chopped almonds and some more warm milk. Grind this in the mortar until a fine paste is formed. Squeeze this paste and collect the extract as before. Repeat a few more times until all that is left are some fibers and nut meal. Discard the residue.
Combine all the liquids that have been collected, including the water the marijuana was brewed in. Add to this the garam masala, dried ginger and rosewater. Add the sugar and remaining milk.
Chill, serve, and enjoy. 

(recipe from the Society for the Confluence of Festivals in India (SCFI).

Please send us your bhang recipe or stories about drinking cannabis for a chance to win a Stoner Living gift bag!

-------------- (c) 2013 Stoner Living Blog

Cannabinoids and Medical Marijuana - what all those hard to pronounce components in Cannabis do for you

Some of our readers will remember when Cannabis was called grass, you could buy it by the lid, and Thai stick and Panamanian Red were the stuff of connoisseurs. The intervening years have seen a revolution in potency and overall quality as well as consumer awareness of the product itself. The first legitimate forays into contemporary marketing of marijuana have been under the medical model, so it should be no surprise that a plethora of information about the active ingredients in marijuana is available to consumers from medical marijuana dispensaries and seed companies alike. So what do all those difficult to pronounce components do for you?

A plant's cannabinoid profile refers to the specific mixture of the quantity and type of cannabinoids produced by a given plant. Think of it as a window on a strain’s effect and potency.

Table: Cannibinanoids and Their Effects

Over 475 compounds have been identified within the Cannabis sativa plant; of these 66 are classified as ‘cannabinoids’ unique to the Cannabis plant. RaphaelMechoulam (discussed in a previous article) dedicated much of his career to understanding the natural product chemistry of the marijuana plant. The most famous cannabinoid, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), is the substance responsible for the majority of the psychoactive effects of marijuana. Other cannabinoids, including cannabidiol and cannabinol, alter the subjective experience of the ‘high’ by interacting with the way THC impacts the brain.

Much of the cannabis breeding of the past 30 years has focused on increasing the potency (ie. – the % THC) in strains, with considerations such as yield, pest resistance and other qualities getting some secondary attention. Furthermore, for years many in the breeding community held a belief that strains high in CBD had more of a ‘downer’ high and were seen as undesirable. Modern medical research has shown cannabidiol (CBD) to have tremendous potential as an anti-inflammatory compound with pain mitigating and possible anti-cancer effects.

Q. Why would anybody want a low/no THC strain of marijuana?

A. Medical marijuana users may desire a strain high in medically important anti-inflammatory CBD compounds without the psychoactive effects of a high THC strain.

The advent of the medical marijuana movement has seen the development of some high CBD strains, but it remains difficult for consumers to obtain high CBD/low THC strains even in medical contexts. One example of such a strain is The Remedy, available to qualified medical marijuana patients from the Dockside Coop in Seattle, WA.

Commercial interests have invested time in such ventures; GW Pharmaceuticals, the company behind Sativex, has done extensive research on cannabis breeding. Their website is clear they rely on traditional plant breeding techniques and do not use GMO technology. According to GW Pharma, four genetic loci control the cannibinoid profile of cannabis. They have a nifty explanation of their breeding strategy on their website here. They have numerous patents with specific genetic profiles – including high THC strains and 0 % THC strains.

There are a variety of techniques available for obtaining a cannabinoid profile, including specialized labs offering testing services such as Analytical 360. Other firms offer extremely portable thin-layer chromatography techniques, such as the one produced by Cannatest. Cannatest is a Seattle area business that offers home testing kits as well as testing services. The power to bring analytical testing in-house to cannabis breeding operations is critical at a time when shipping samples via USPS is in violation of federal law. The people at Cannatest also offer a mobile testing service in the greater Seattle area.

HPLC Plate of Cannabis Analysis Performed Using Cannatest Kit

The advent of legalization will see technologies for analytical testing of marijuana becoming commonplace – possibly even required – for the benefit of cannabis consumers. Opportunities for research abound and cannabis with a wide range of cannabinoid profiles (especially the hard to find high CBN/low THC strains) will soon be readily available to the public.



----© 2013 – Stoner Living Blog

Raphael Mechoulam: The Father of Medical Marijuana Research

Israeli pharmacologist  Raphael Mechoulam was a part of the research team responsible for identifying and synthesizing THC over 50 years ago. He continues to explore the chemistry and pharmacology of cannabinoids.

Raphael Mechoulam

“I believe that the cannabinoids represent a medicinal treasure trove which waits to be discovered,” says Mechoulam.

Dr. Mechoulam officially retired 15 years ago but continues to write grants and works from his lab at the Department for Medicinal Chemistry and Natural Products at the Hadassah- Hebrew University medical school in Israel.

Early in his research, he had difficulty obtaining high potency cannabis for his studies. Indeed, this remains a significant problem for researchers today. He contacted the army buddy of a colleague, who was the head of the investigative branch of the national police. Unaware of official protocol, the officer provided the young faculty member with five kilograms of seized Lebanese hashish. He credits some of his success to working in a small country where such connections were possible.

1963
Mechoulam and his research partners revealed the structure of cannabidiol (CBD), an ingredient in cannabis with anti-inflammatory properties.
1964
Mechoulam and his research partners isolated THC, the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, for the first time, established its structure and synthesized it.

Some of Mechoulam's latest research is focusing on the chemical basis of personality. "We have started looking at something nobody has yet really looked at thoroughly: The chemical basis for why eight billion people in the world have different personalities. The same compounds are found in all our brains; however, they all go up and down constantly.”

Thanks to Dr. Mechoulam for his contributions to science and we wish him the best on his future research endeavors.

-------- (C) 2012 Stoner Living