Marijuana by Kevin P. Hill

Marijuana by Kevin P. Hill

Author:Kevin P. Hill [Hill, Kevin P.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781616495701
Publisher: Hazelden Publishing


Adapted from an image from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health

CBD is not psychoactive, but it does have a calming, or anti-anxiety effect, and increasing amounts of research point to CBD having antipsychotic effects as well in reducing the frequency and severity of psychotic symptoms.39

CBD may also have properties that help to reduce seizures. Many people have been talking about CBD recently as a potential treatment for patients with seizure disorders or epilepsy, who have not responded to traditional antiseizure medications. In 2013, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a brain surgeon and medical correspondent for CNN, chronicled the heartbreaking story of a young child with Dravet syndrome, a seizure disorder typically found in infants and children that can result in hundreds of seizures per day. As the child grows, the seizures disrupt his or her quality of life, causing developmental delays, movement issues, sleep disruption, and many other problems. Dravet syndrome has proved difficult to treat thus far, and Dr. Gupta’s television show stirred up a great deal of support for medical marijuana as the child’s family shared their story of successfully using marijuana strains with high concentrations of CBD to fight their daughter’s seizures. Clinical trials of CBD as a treatment for seizure disorders are ongoing in the United States today.

The concentration of THC or CBD—that is, amount of THC in comparison to CBD—determines the effects of a particular strain of marijuana. Therefore, it is important to know the concentrations of THC and CBD in any marijuana that is used. The technology of growing marijuana—using powerful lights and the best soil, for example—has improved by leaps and bounds in recent years. Before growing technology improved to its current level, marijuana usually contained roughly equal concentrations of THC and CBD. Today, technology allows growers to adjust the concentrations of THC and CBD in their marijuana to produce a desired effect, and this is a way to distinguish types of marijuana from each other in a crowded, competitive marketplace. THC concentrations are directly related to CBD concentrations; increasing THC typically results in lower CBD concentrations, while decreasing THC results in higher CBD concentrations. Strains of marijuana with high THC concentrations can produce more powerful highs, while strains of marijuana with high concentrations of CBD may be better in treating seizure and other disorders.

Once again, it is important to point out that today’s marijuana is very different from the marijuana that many of us grew up with in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. In those decades, the average THC content was about 1–2 percent. The latest average THC content established in the United States is 13 percent, meaning that marijuana bought today is usually at least six times stronger (more potent) than in previous decades.40 Also, keep in mind that marijuana with a THC content in the range of 27 percent can be purchased—that’s fourteen times more potent than marijuana of decades past.

Proven and Potential Medicinal Uses

Marijuana has a fascinating history as a medication, having been used over the past 5,000 years for a host of medical purposes, as noted in chapter 1.



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