If you are not familiar with the various methods of medicating with medical marijuana you are probably reading this thinking that patients must SMOKE it in order to get it’s benefits.    Actually a high percentage of my patients who have been using cannabis for quite some time thought they had to smoke it. There are really two ways to medicate:

1. The first is to INGEST IT in edible form.  Basically patients can mix the plant and make a cannabutter that is used to cook with.  I have seen some collectives offer it in tincture form in pill caps.  I have seen soda’s and teas.

The problem with ingesting cannabis is that is is VERY UNPREDICTABLE.  Patients can ingest something and not feel the effects for 30 minutes or 3 hours.  When it does hit their system it may be 10X the dose they need or 1/10th the dose they need.   It can create some very uncomfortable experiences for patients who ingest too much at once.

Secondly, edibles are not regulated by ANYONE.   Pretty much you have no idea who is making them, whether or not they have a clean kitchen or even if they wash their hands.   So there are concerns about bacterial, fungal and other contamination.   I WOULD STRONGLY ADVICE NOT PURCHASING EDIBLES AT ALL.   If you are dead set on using them learn how to make them yourself.

2. The second way is to INHALE the medication.  This is preferred because it makes it very easy to determine how much you need.  It will hit your system within minutes and it is very easy to titrate the dose.        You will be much less likely to use too much if you go this route.

Now traditionally people inhaled by smoking the plant.  They actually burn the plant (joint, pipe, water bong etc) leaf itself and inhale the medicine in addition to the by products of combustion which are Carbon Monoxide (deadly), PAH compounds (carcinogenic) and the ash which deposits in the airways of your lungs.  ALL BAD!

However you can eliminate the smoke by using a VAPORIZER.  They allow you to inhale just the medicine without burning the leaf which in turn has NO SMOKE, VERY LITTLE ODOR, and is MORE EFFICIENT.  So you won’t stink, your clothes won’t stink and you neighbors aren’t going to know you medicate with cannabis.   So it is much more private.   You can smell a patient who has been smoking a mile away.

The reason why vaporization works is because all of the medically active ingredients in the cannabis plant on are the surface in glands which the plant secretes.  They are stored in little capsules called Trichomes.  These crystals are dotted all over the surface of the leaf.   SO THERE ARE NO MEDICALLY ACTIVE INGREDIENTS IN THE PLANT LEAF ITSELF (that we know of).  All the medicine is on the surface.   These trichomes will evaporate at a lower temperature than when you burn it.   Approximately 360 degrees fahrenheit.

So what a vaporizer does is heat the plant to 360 degrees (in that range) where the trichomes evaporate allowing you to inhale them… without burning the leaf itself.  SMOKE FREE MEDICINE!

This obviously creates a huge advantage for patients.   I have many patients who suffer from asthma, COPD, or have cancer and can not smoke anything.  They can inhale without coughing, wheezing or feeling that burning sensation in their lungs when they medicate.   It is simply like inhaling a warm breath of fresh air.

If you are a physician reading this I would encourage you to educate yourself on vaporizing so that if your patients ask you about using medical marijuana you can at least give them some basic guidance about how to medicate.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE A VAPORIZER PLEASE CALL OUR OFFICE AT 877-721-0047 AND WE CAN ASSIST YOU WITH GETTING ON AT A VERY GOOD PRICE AND DISCOUNT.

Be blessed,

Dr. Breen