Cannabis
(Part-three.)

The use of Marijuana in New Zealand is governed by the Misuse of Drugs Act 1975, which makes unauthorised possession of any amount of Marijuana illegal.

Note: This act was recently amended (2017) to make it legal for New Zealanders who are suffering from ‘terminal illness’ or any debilitating condition to use Marijuana or Marijuana products with the support of a registered medical practitioner.

There are political efforts to remove penalties on its ‘full’ use for those over 18 years of age. (A referendum which was scheduled for 2020 now seems likely to move to 2019). ^1,2,3

When reading this blog-post series, will you please try to keep an open-mind about what I have to say about Cannabis?

I know it’s really hard to see things from a new or different perspective when you’re so used to seeing things from, well, the way you’ve always been shown them…

I fully acknowledge that Cannabis, at any dosage, will not suit everybody, and that due to one-off experiences — either directly or indirectly — some people will not be receptive to the usage of Cannabis in any manner and will continue to shun this plant. So be it.

One day, very soon, I will have Cannabis in my medical herbal dispensary.

It will be available in both liquid, pill, and dried herb form — just as it has been used for 5,000+ years.

And, it will primarily be dispensed to clients who need stress & sleep support, and pain relief.

Disclaimer:
It will be just one of the medical herbs that I use. Herbs such as those that I’ve discussed here, are idiopathic in nature. This means that certain herbs will suit certain people better than others.

Cannabis is not a physically addictive substance.
However, it can create psychological dependency.
This is how any habit is formed — if something satisfies a need or desire.

Note: Dr Lester Grinspoon (Cannabis advocate) has been studying Cannabis since the 1960s. 

One night, in 1939, Billie Holiday stood on stage in New York City and sang a song that was unlike anything anyone had heard before. ‘Strange Fruit’ was a musical lament against lynching. It imagined black bodies hanging from trees as a dark fruit native to the South.

Here was a black woman, before a mixed audience, grieving for the racist murders in the United States. Immediately after, Billie Holiday received her first threat from the Federal Bureau of Narcotics.

Note: I took this excerpt straight from Politico – you can read the full story here.

She lost her license to perform in New York cabarets and continued to be dogged by law enforcement until her death⁷.

For more about the racism that surrounds the outlawing of Cannabis, read part-one of this blog-post series.

“The endogenous cannabinoid system, named after the plant that led to its discovery, is perhaps the most important physiologic system involved in establishing and maintaining human health.”

— Dr. Dustin Sulak

Note: Our Endocannabinoids were only found because they were researching THC (from Cannabis). ‘They’ were all like “Why-on-earth do we have a little ‘slot’ in our bodies specifically designed to get high?”

Cannabis contains around 400 different chemicals, of which, cannabinoids make up around one quarter.

Note: A cannabinoid is a chemical compound that acts on cannabinoid receptors in the body. There are two main cannabinoid receptors – cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) and cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB2). 

The most notable cannabinoids are:

THC
(A.K.A delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol) 
This is the main psychoactive agent in Cannabis, which can change a person’s mental state or produce a high.

CBD
(Cannabidiol)
This non-psychoactive chemical is credited for its therapeutic value (pain relief, anti-nausea, antispasmodic).

The remaining three-quarters of the chemical constituents in Cannabis comprise of Terpenes (around 200 different chemicals) and flavonoids.

Terpenes are what give Cannabis its distinct smell and flavour. And more importantly, these integral (but entirely under-rated) chemicals actually balance-out the total effect of the plant.

Because ALL of the ‘components’ in Cannabis work together — no one ingredient can be given credit for its effects.

This is why I’m no fan of isolating the chemicals in this plant, or tampering with the plant to produce higher THC levels that don’t reflect the original makeup of the plant that Mother Nature provided us.

As humans, our body can make many of the nutrients that it needs to carry out its processes for growth, development and continuing health.  (These types of nutrients are called non-essential nutrients.)

However, some nutrients can’t be made rapidly enough, or at all, to meet our daily requirements. (These types of nutrients are called essential nutrients.)

So, in order to stay healthy, the large majority of our nourishment must be obtained from outside sources (protein, carbs, fat, water, vitamins and minerals.)

Now, as we saw above, our body can make some Endocannabinoids…
Would it not follow then, that the large majority of Cannabinoids should be sought from an outside source — for optimal health?

Here are some plants that activate the Endocannabinoid System (besides Cannabis):
Black Pepper, Black Truffles, Cacao, Echinacea, Flaxseed, Kava, Maca, and Rosemary.

Maybe we’re not getting enough of this type of phytochemical in our diets? This could explain why our general health (primarily cancer and mental health disorders⁹) appears to be getting progressively worse — even though we’re supposed to be more educated and medically equipped than ever before?

Note: It would now seem that every client that comes to me is experiencing some form of stress or mental health disorder. This is something that I’ve observed in my practice over the last twelve years as a Naturopath & Medical Herbalist.

Cannabinoids actually travel in the opposite direction in the synapse between neurons — they go against the general flow of neurotransmitters.

Note: Nitric Oxide also works ‘backwards’ like this. 

Therefore Cannabinoids don’t distribute information as such, but rather they simply regulate it — helping to achieve balance in the body¹⁰ 👊

You know that this isn’t the only herb that can go-up-in- puff-of-smoke, right?

Here’s just a few of the hundreds of herbs that you can also smoke to experience a therapeutic effect: Angelica, Anise, Blackberry (leaf), Catnip, Chamomile, Damiana, Hops, Horehound, Hyssop, Lavender, Lobelia, Marshmallow, Mugwort, Mullein, Passionflower, Peppermint, Red Raspberry (leaf), Rose (petals), Skullcap, Spearmint, St John’s Wort, Thyme, Uva Ursi, and Willow Bark…

You can use these herbs on their own for their therapeutic effects, or use them in with your Cannabis — to reduce the need for tobacco and/or to modify the effect. You can also use these herbs to transition off Cannabis and/or tobacco.

So yeah, NASA enlisted some spidies

What you’re looking at in these images are the webs spun by ordinary House Spiders — ‘high’ on various drugs.

NASA wanted to determine the toxicity of various chemicals.

01— Normal (the control — no chemicals are used)
02—Cannabis
03—Chloral Hydrate (a heavy sedative)
04—Benzedrine (an amphetamine)
05—Caffeine!
06—Mescaline (a psychedelic plant which occurs naturally in the peyote cactus)

This study was published in ‘New Scientist’ magazine in 1995. The verdict: The more toxic the chemical, the more deformed the web. Take from this, what you will 🤪

Note: Not that I’m into tormenting poor wee spiders, but it would have been very interesting to see how a drunk and/or a stressed spidy spun!