Exclusive Interview with Medically Correct

Here in the United Kingdom, the use of medibles is rare amongst cannabis users. Some of us have memories of hash brownies, often with varying levels of THC. But getting the right dosage can be difficult, and the predominant method of consuming marijuana is by combustion.

In Colorado, this is not the case. 50% of marijauna sales come in the form of medibles; cookies, cakes, chocolate bars…even lollipops.

More frequently than ever, we hear of patients turning to medibles and oils over smoking and vaping. The longer lasting effect of cannabis passing through the liver can increase bio-availability and pain relief.

The market in the USA is fairly regulated but there have been some scare stories in the media about the safety and consistency of products. We head stateside to interview Bob Eschino, founder of Medically Correct, the largest Cannabis Edibles Company in Colorado, to find out what all the fuss is about:

Your holding company is called Medically Correct. Do you see all the products you sell as holding true to this value?

Definitely! We have always treated our edibles and extracts as medical products. The items we sell on the adult use market are benefiting from the fact we take so much pride in our medical products. We came out with our e-portion marketing system last year. Each of our servings is marked with the active milligrams of THC, so the patient and customer knows exactly how much activated THC they are ingesting with each square.

Do you fund any research into the medicinal benefits of cannabis either in relation to the products you sell or in general?

There is very little research being done in the US due to federal regulations. We are anxiously waiting for the day when it will be legal to conduct real research on the plant. We see anecdotal evidence every day of the positive effects.

Are you legally able to make medical claims about your products without full medical trials? Do some of your products work better with some illnesses that others?

We are not allowed to make any medical claims about our products. We do however hear stories every week from patients about how the plant is transforming their lives. We are not allowed to sell directly to the public, so our access is very limited. The dispensaries gather data on what strains and products work best for their patients. We hear from patients often about the positive effects, but we cannot narrow that down to a particular product. As we control more of the cannabis we use in our products, that will change. We have started growing strains that we use now and we should be able to get some better feedback.

The edible market seems to have exploded in places like Colorado. Is this both with recreational consumers and medical ones in your experience?

Edibles and concentrated have become almost half the sales in Colorado. I believe that is in large part to how ‘incredibles’ and the entire industry has improved in quality and consistency. Five years ago, customers were afraid of the inconsistency with edibles. We have worked very hard to fix that and we feel that edibles are now the most consistent way to consume cannabis. You can now take one serving of 10mg of activated THC and we have test results to prove it. In my mind there is very little difference between medical and recreational use. Even if you are not buying the product with a doctor’s recommendation, you are still using the plant therapeutically.

You state that you work very closely with CannLabs to ensure that customers know exactly what is in their purchased product. Do you test the oil as well as the final product?

We feel testing is one of the most important things we do. We were one of the first companies to test every batch of oil. This allowed us to know exactly how much THC we added to our products. As food people, this just made sense. We were shocked it wasn’t being done more. The entire industry is now required to test for potency. We test all of our oil and our finished product as well. Colorado has set a hard cap on 100mg edibles, so our goal is to come as close to that number without going over. If you have a 101mg edible, you have to destroy the product. If you look at the back of our labels, we provide the customers with the potency numbers. We are typically between 95-100mg of THC in our 100mg bars, more consistent than the pharmaceutical industry.

When testing your extracts, do you look for terpenes?

We do test for terpenes on our extracts. Most of the terpenes are degraded during activation for our edible products. We manufacture closed loop extraction systems for ourselves and the industry. With our IP, we have been able to extract some of the highest terpene percentages our labs have ever seen. This provides for an incredible extract experience.

Which strains do you use to make your hash oil? Do you prefer indicas or sativas?

Our BHO for edibles ends up being a hybrid that is a little heavier on the sativa side usually. Due to the fact that we are processing about 1000 pounds per month, it’s difficult for us to use the same strains. We have a large variety of trim we process. Our Black Label extracts however are made from our pesticide free plants that we control form start to finish. They sell out so quickly, it’s hard to see a trend towards indica or sativa. Our customers love them all!

Do you have any plans for high-CBD products?

Yes! We have finally sourced a great CBD supplier! There has not been a lot of options for high quality CBD in the past. That is changing now. There are a number of amazing CBD suppliers and we have started incorporating them into our products. We have come out with our Mikiba bar, which is 50mg THC/50mg CBD. Sprouted seeds, vegan and gluten free! We are working on an entire line of wellness products for the Colorado market and we are also going to start a line we can provide to other states and countries.

Do the cannabinoids make a large difference to the flavour of your products?

Cannabinoids do effect the flavour, but we do an incredible job to mitigate that. We have some of the best tasting products on the market. The different carriers do have different effects. High sugar content will typically hit harder and faster.

How does the effect differ when consuming one of your high THC edibles? Does this have any medical benefits?

It provides a stronger, longer lasting effect. We find for patients, this is a desirable outcome. It is beneficial for sleep, pain relief and most lingering ailments. The duration is the biggest difference between edibles and smoking. It does take up to 2 hours to kick in though, so you need to be patient when eating edibles. We also recommend you start with 5-10m of activated THC for your first time, so you get a feel for how they will affect you.

There have been a number of incidents in the news concerning children eating infused edibles. How do you ensure your products are childproof?

There have not been a large number of incidence of children ingesting edibles. The few cases that were reported last year prompted changes in the industry that have almost eliminated this. We are trying to find the data, but we haven’t heard of an accidental ingestion for almost a year now. Statistically speaking, these occurrence are minimal compared to other products on the market. We do have all of our products in opaque, child resistant packaging. We have also been using our e-portion system for a year now. Every square is marked with the activated THC levels, so is easily identifiable outside of the packaging.

You have won countless awards for your Edible products. Which product are you most proud of?

My favourite award is the people’s choice award from Westword. This is one of the most prestigious awards for any Colorado company. We were chosen by the people of Colorado as their favourite edible. This speaks volumes to us and has pushed us to become even better.

Do you believe Colorado has adopted a sensible, sustainable regulatory framework for businesses such as Incredibles? Do you get involved in lobbying or the regulatory process at all?

I have spent the last 18 months lobbying and getting involved in the regulation process. I could talk for hours. Colorado has the most robust market around. I believe the rules and regulations are working, but we are approaching over regulation with the last round of changes the state has proposed. We are in the middle of the process now and hopefully we can make some changes to improve the language.

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Parents Demand Court Order to Treat Severely Ill Baby with Cannabis Oil

A Vancouver couple are demanding a court order for more medical control over their child after it emerged that doctors had stopped treating the 18-week-old with cannabis oil.

Michelle Arnold and Justin Pierce, parents of young Mary both have severe epilepsy and use cannabis oil to control their symptoms.

Mary was born 25 weeks premature and is suffering from serious health problems including cerebral palsy, severe seizures and brain bleeding.

After giving temporary custody of their child to the Ministry of Children and Family Development, Arnold and Pierce are now demanding a court order to gain back control after it emerged that treatment with cannabis oil had halted.

Pierce spoke to the media about the deterioration in his daughters condition since the removal of cannabis oil as treatment.

“She definitely was a lot happier. Now since being off of (the oil), she’s definitely going back … into the condition where she looks almost as she did right before we gave her the oil.”

The couples lawyer, Jack Hittrich said his clients deserve to use anything it takes to try and save their baby.

“What the ministry was looking at was terminating this child’s life. That is ultimately the biggest decision that any guardian or caregiver can make,”

The Ministry refused to comment to the media.

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Terminally Ill NHS Nurse Joins Fight to Legalise Cannabis

“Its our human right to be pain free and comfortable.” – Sandra Smith, August 2015

While Ron Hogg has effectively decriminalised growing cannabis for personal use in the County of Durham, a former Care Nurse turned human rights campaigner has become the latest heroine out of the North east.

Sandra Smith is married, she pays her taxes, owns her home, votes, and was a hard working professional. She had never broken the law until now. Her life’s work was caring for others, as an NHS palliative care nurse she saw people die of cancer on a daily basis. They were wracked in pain, suffering from the crippling side effects of Chemotherapy and radiation, and she would watch them fade away.

This year aged 49, the mother and care nurse was given her own terminal diagnosis: Brain, liver and lung cancer. Within days she was undergoing chemotherapy sessions on a concoction of prescription drugs. Within months she was bed ridden and movement was confined to a wheel chair.

“My life stopped and I lived in hospital, lost friends as well as my independence and my confidence. The pain was physical, emotional and mental –. I’m still young and I felt cheated. It was horrendous to go through chemo, I had all the side effects, sickness, diarrhoea, constipation, exhaustion.”

At this point her husband, buoyed by the National Cancer Institute’s clear information on cannabis in the treatment of cancer and the growing global awareness to its medicinal properties, suggested cannabis oil treatment. At first the former nurse was terrified having had no experience with cannabis or any illegal drugs, but given her options she decided to give it a try.

“They told me there was no way I’d see the end of the year and there was nothing to lose. The NHS has offered me three more rounds of chemo and if the cancer doesn’t get me, the chemo will. I’ve got nothing to lose.”

She started on a daily dose of 1 gram of 1:1 oil, the first dose gave her the best night’s sleep she had since her diagnosis, and two months on, she credits cannabis oil as giving her a quality of life back.

“I’m in no pain at all, I don’t take prescription drugs, I sleep at night and it helps with inflammation. I know if I stopped taking it, I’d be in hospital in days and at this stage, I should be in bed by now, waiting to die.”

Sandra, like so many others who discover the medicinal benefits of the Cannabis Sativa L plant has now dedicated her life to campaigning for its decriminalisation. Supported by a network of CCC’s in the north east, she is now self-sufficient and makes her own medicine at home. She also fields daily calls, offering advice and emotional support to other cancer sufferers across the UK. Shaking her head at their plight and hers, she rues the day if ever the Police come knocking:

“I’d love my day in court, love to see the police try to take my medicine – I’ll tell them about the people like me out there suffering and the children left suffering that could be helped with cannabis. It’s disgusting I have to do something illegal to get pain relief that works.”

She now urges the Government for its immediate decriminalisation:

“I will never understand why the government allows this to happen and I will fight to the end for cannabis to be decriminalised for all. It will keep people safer, they can become self-sufficient, everyone will know what they’re getting and it would genuinely help people like me.”

“I’m not knocking traditional medicine but it comes down to personal choice and it’s our human right not to suffer.”

Mrs Smith believes she will die pain free, and with dignity and strength, with memories of a day trips to the Yorkshire coast and smiling to the end.

We salute you Mrs Sandra Smith.

Cannabis Oil kills cancer as advised by the National Cancer Institute

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Young Girl's Leukemia in Remission 6 Days After Starting Cannabis Oil Treatment

Young Girl’s Leukemia in Remission 6 Days After Starting Cannabis Oil Treatment

Mykayla Comstock was just 7 when she was diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukeamia.

After suffering from countless symptoms including fevers, night sweats, coughing and body aches, a trip to the doctors confirmed Mykala’s parents worst fears.

Nearly 3 years to the day after her initial diagnoses, young Mykayla is in remission. Her mother Erin credits cannabis oil for her daughter’s recovery.

After countless treatments had failed to improve the young girls health, Erin decided to take matters into her own hands, and purchased cannabis oil. Mykayla started ingesting the oil in pill form and in brownies baked with cannabutter.

Astoundingly, after just 6 days of using cannabis oil, Mykayla was told by the doctors that her leukaemia was subsiding and she is now in remission.

Doctors treating Mykayla refused to comment on whether cannabis oil is the direct cause of the recovery. However, at the very least, the oil gave some relief to the 10-year-old’s constant pain.

The FDA has still not approved cannabis oil as a treatment for leukaemia or cancer.

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The Unlikely Rise of UK Cannabis Compassion Clubs (CCC’s)

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy practice compassion. Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.” – His Holiness the Dalai Lama addressing the audience on the main stage at Glastonbury 2015.

With the growing global awareness and increasing discoveries of the true medicinal properties of the Cannabis Sativa plant, in particular reference to the use of cannabis oil as a potential safe and effective treatment for cancer, the demand for cannabis oil has never been higher.

Nearly 90% of our messages at MMJ, and most messages to our colleagues at CISTA, UPA and Bud Buddies relate to the demand for cannabis oil; cancer patients and their friends and family desperately seeking a cure or some relief from chemotherapy, parents of epileptic children in search of CBD rich cannabis oil, Crohn’s patients suffering from pain with every meal, MS patients unable to afford the £500 pounds for the 0.5 grams of oil in a Sativex bottle just to name a few.

Although most evidence relating to cancer is anecdotal at this stage (current legal restrictions on research mean that most research is in vitro or related to mice), individual success stories such as David Hibbitt’s publicised in national media and the fact that an average of 350,000 people will be diagnosed with cancer this year in the UK (50% facing mortality) only make the search for cannabis oil more desperate.

The most common accepted dosage for cancer patients as advised by Jeff Ditchfield (founder of Bud Buddies UK and the inspiration behind UK CCC’s) is 1 gram of Decarboxylated 1:1 oil per day for 90 days. Now given the fact that it takes 7-10 grams of raw cannabis flower to make 1 gram of oil, and a gram of raw cannabis can cost anything from £10 -£25, full “treatments” can end up costing upwards of £2,000.

To someone dying of cancer or suffering from the side effects of chemotherapy, the lack of any central information source or regulatory framework of product testing (unlike the USA) and the mortal timeframe considered, the search for the right or trusted source along with the cost, can become an emotional and economic minefield.

Tragic stories highlighted in Project Storm of Stage 4 of cancer patients looking for hope and spending their final savings on low strength oil, mothers, daughters and families clubbing together only to be ripped off by someone offering them a cure. The multitude of scammers praying on families searching for hope, combined with a wholly capitalistic and secular society that we live in, make the idea of growing a plant (anyone live in Durham?), and providing cannabis oil for free an alien concept.

Out of this quagmire comes the unlikely rise of the UK CCC’s. Cannabis Compassion Clubs are local community run clubs that dispense free cannabis (donations accepted) medicine to people in need. They are not on Facebook or the internet, they are in the local community around you. They are not run for profit or do not make claims on being able to cure you. They are not a brand and you won’t find them advertised. They provide access to cannabis oil and dispatch medical clones locally. There may be one on your street, you might even know a member already. MMJ has reports of 36 current clubs operating across the UK.

Compassion clubs are not a new thing, the B.C Compassion Clubs running in Canada for eighteen years behind the law now operate lawfully and provide a body of medical care and access across the whole of Canada. The BC Compassion club’s core value states that “Compassion has called us to engage in civil disobedience because the current laws fail to make medicinal marijuana available for those in need. Cannabis is an important therapeutic plant that must be readily accessible”. The UK CCC’s are run in the same manner and for the same reason, the idea being that people with access to cannabis are the ones who can make a difference to the terminally ill and those in pain by providing a medicine that is not available yet through conventional means. Even with the Washington Post reporting on St.George’s University London’s discovery of cannabis as potential treatment of cancer, the UK government remain stalwart in denying the medicinal benefits of the Cannabis plant. Legal access especially for cancer patients remains a moot and moral point.

Every week, we hear heart-warming stories; stories of pensioners setting up grows in cul-de-sacs to supply their cancer ridden neighbours. People like Mike Cutler and others just like him who have had no previous experience with the Cannabis plant suddenly dedicating their lives to learning, growing cannabis and supporting their local community, NHS nurses like Sandra Smith, cancer ridden yet coming off pharmaceutical drugs through the use of cannabis oil and calling on the Government to legalise cannabis and reschedule it for medical purposes. CCC’s, all over the country, are now providing tinctures, oils and butters often for donations but mostly for free to people in need .

We spoke to founding member Mr Glen Peas of the King’s Cross CCC:

“What we wanted to do was to help people whilst changing the notion and nature of how the public view the cannabis plant. From a drug that gets you high and that you buy to a plant that you, your neighbours and community have readily accessible for cancer patients today, to take this plant away from profiteering gangsters and dealers, and put it in every community in the UK through the art of compassion. We hope our model can go out across the world and start supporting local communities today, so that when it’s your mother, brother or cousin that’s diagnosed with a life threatening disease there’s a CCC already there to provide them access with medicine where the NHS won’t. That medicine could save their lives and people with access to cannabis can provide it. Our apoptosis for your high.”

There are some UKCSC’s operating already that now have CCC’s running within them. Orson Wells the head of the London Cannabis Clubs stated, “It’s a wonderful idea, I can see it flourishing.” According to our source CCC’s come with a basic set of guidelines.

These are as follows:

1. Cannabis Oil is a medicine you make it for your neighbour.

2. Cannabis Oil is a medicine you make it for your community.

3. Cannabis Oil can save and improve lives in your community today.

4. DECARBOXYLATION

5. CCC’s are not on Facebook or the internet, they are local and in your community.

6. A CCC is made up of a minimum of 3 people donating a gram a week.

7. CCC’s meet once a week in the local community.

8. CCC’s democratically choose their patients and may donate publically or privately.

9. CCC’s can save lives; you start with cannabutter and learn more.

10. The larger the CCC the more good it can do.

11. Cannabis oil is a medicine and is not made or sold for profit.

12. Onwards and Upwards.

Are you a member of a CCC? Is there one running local to you? Would you consider starting one? It takes 3 people and access to any type of cannabis to start one…..

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An Exclusive Interview with Dr. David Casarett

As the fight for international access to medical cannabis continues to gather pace, it appears essential that the tipping point for possible scheduling restructure lies in the hands of respected medical professionals vocalizing their approval.

A couple of years ago, Dr. David Casarett may not have been the ideal candidate as a medical spokesperson for legalization. Before writing his most recent publication ‘Stoned: A Doctor’s Case for Medical Marijuana’, Casarett admits that he perceived the idea of marijuana as medicine as “a joke”.

“We all know that marijuana is a popular recreational drug. So when people say that they’re using it for medical purposes, it’s pretty easy to be skeptical. And many of my physician colleagues (still) believe that medical marijuana is just a way to get access to safe, reliable recreational pot.”

The associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania took the decision to research and publish a book on medical marijuana to satisfy his own curiosity.

“I wanted to write about whether medical marijuana works, and how it works. Many people want to read stuff like that.”

In preparation for his new literary venture, Casarett travelled around the globe, meeting medical marijuana patients, cultivators and experiencing the effects of cannabis himself. However, it wasn’t until he met one particular patient, that his opinion of marijuana as medicine completely changed.

“The patient I described in the introduction (of the book) – Caleb. He told me that marijuana helped him, but that nothing else did. He had a good-sized stash of morphine and other legal drugs in his trailer, but he wasn’t using them. So that made it pretty obvious to me that at least some people are using marijuana medically. Not to get high, or for fun, but for symptom relief they couldn’t get any other way.”

After meeting Caleb, Casarett became fascinated with the specific symptoms that marijuana has been evidently successful in treating. He focused his studies on cannabis and its effects on neuropathic pain specifically.

“Basically, neuropathic pain is pain that results from injury to a nerve. Unlike regular ‘nociceptive’ pain (from a sprained ankle or a broken wrist), neuropathic pain is caused when something damages nerves. That might be an injury, or a metabolic condition like diabetes. People get neuropathic pain after chemotherapy and sometimes with autoimmune conditions like lupus. Neuropathic pain can be hard to treat, and it doesn’t respond well to drugs like morphine. But it seems to respond to marijuana, and maybe particularly to one cannabinoid in marijuana: cannabidiol (CBD).”

After seeing the positive effects that marijuana had on neuropathic pain, Casarett decided to become a guinea pig himself, using marijuana as medicine for the first time in his life.

“I tried it for my acute, severe back pain. It worked pretty well – I was surprised, actually, by how much relief it provided, at least for a short time.”

Throughout ‘Stoned’, Casarett maintains an interactivity with his topic, often ingesting marijuana or assisting with creating products to truly ascertain its medicinal value rather than relying on conjecture.

And it is these experiences while writing his book that have dramatically altered Casarett’s perception of cannabis, especially its current scheduling which he describes as “especially confusing”.

“There are other ‘drugs’ – alcohol, and of course tobacco, that don’t have those restrictions. Tobacco and alcohol cause significant harms, yet they’re available to all adults. (There is) no question that this designation has limited research and made it very hard to get research funding.”

After publishing his book, Casarett wanted to create a place where patients like the ones featured in ‘Stoned’, could share their experiences with others. He decided to create a Kickstarter campaign in order to launch a website that could facilitate such conversation, thus marijuanaresults.org was born.

“Our goal with marijuanaresults.org was to give patients a way to share their experiences with each other. If you want to know whether medical marijuana might help your Parkinson’s or anxiety, or pain, there often aren’t good clinical trials to tell you whether you should use it for those reasons. But we thought that a website where people could learn from each other would provide answers and guidance for patients until science catches up. Also, patient stories can guide researchers, telling them which symptoms seem to respond best to marijuana, and should be the focus of clinical trials.”

When asked about the future of the medical marijuana industry, Casarett believes that detailed research and testing is the key to national scale legalization.

“One (opportunity) is delivery mechanisms: finding ways to deliver doses of cannabinoids in a safe and reliable way. That might include vaporizers, tinctures, or lots of other preparations, including (maybe) formulations that can be absorbed through the skin.”

“(When I ingested marijuana) I was surprised by the side effects: confusion, paranoia and hallucinations. Those sorts of side effects aren’t common, and most people don’t get them. But I used way too much, because I didn’t realize how potent the stuff I was given was. For me, that’s a good argument for testing of marijuana products, so naïve users can know in advance just how strong the product is”

In recent times, there has been a wealth of testimonies from patients indicating marijuana’s success on symptoms of cancer. Casarett states that he would “still put (his) trust in chemotherapy and surgery (to cure cancer), for now”, but would be very open to use it for other health issues symptomatic of the terrible disease.

“Sure (I would use cannabis based medicine). Particularly for chemotherapy-induced nausea. I’d probably try that very soon. Also for a loss of appetite. Although marijuana probably doesn’t help people with cancer gain back the weight that they lose, it does help with appetite. And of course for pain—especially neuropathic pain.”

You can buy Dr. David Casarett’s book ‘Stoned: A Doctor’s Case for Medical Marijuana’ here. Or if you would like to fund the marijuanaresults.org Kickstarter campaign, click here.

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Charlotte's Web CBD Oil Goes on Sale in the UK

Charlotte’s Web CBD Oil Goes on Sale in the UK

In a huge breakthrough, UK CBD have become the first company to distribute the now famous ‘Charlotte’s Web’ CBD Hemp Oil in the United Kingdom.

Since the oil was made legal on July 31st of this year, many companies have been eager to get their hands on the product, made by the CNN reported Stanley Brothers from hemp.

The oil is named after Charlotte Figi, a young girl who experienced an incredible reduction in seizures after taking CBD rich cannabis oil at 5 years of age.

Although this Charlotte’s Web hemp oil is not the actual whole plant CBD rich cannabis oil that so many parents of epileptic children are desperately seeking, its levels of CBD are higher than any product out there and the Stanley Brothers experience in dealing with paediatric epilepsy and cannabis is second to none.

Nicholas Ellis, the owner of UK CBD spoke to the media after news broke;

“As the leaders in the UK CBD market we are extremely proud to partner with CW™Botanicals and to legally add their exclusive Charlotte’s Web products to our already impressive range. Their passion and dedication to making such high quality products is already well known globally. We believe that introducing these products to the UK market will help many people suffering from ECS (endocannabinoid system) deficiencies or for those who just wish to add these nutritious cannabinoids to their daily, dietary supplementation. Hemp is also rich in vitamins, minerals and omegas 3 & 6.”

More to Follow…

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No Increased Physical or Mental Risk for Teenage Cannabis Smokers, New Study Finds

A new research study claims that heavy cannabis use during adolescence does not increase the risk of mental or physical health complications later in life.

The detailed study, conducted by the University of Pittsburgh and Rutgers University tracked 408 men from their teenage years to their mid-30’s. No correlation was found whatsoever between the health of an adult male and their use of cannabis during adolescence.

Lead researcher Jordan Bechtold, a Psychology Researcher at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center stated;

“There were no differences in any of the mental or physical health outcomes that we measured regardless of the amount or frequency of marijuana used during adolescence.”

Despite this being one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind to ever be conducted, Bechtold warned that one study isn’t enough and, until cannabis is removed as a Schedule 1 substance, proper investigations are not viable.

“We wanted to help inform the debate about legalization of marijuana, but it’s a very complicated issue and one study should not be taken in isolation,”

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Cannabis Oil Helps Manage Texan Mothers Back Pain

Posted on a Texas Cannabis Blog, Stephen Carter explains how cannabis oil ended his wife’s chronic back pain. Read his incredible post below.

After 4 years of doctors, surgeries, and pain medicine it was time to try something new. We packed up the whole family and drove to Colorado for a 2 week test run to see if cannabis oil could fix my wife’s back pain. To say the results were shocking is an understatement.

Jessika, my wife, got pregnant with our second son in 2010 and it triggered a birth defect in her back called Spondylolisthesis. I had never heard of it either and probably still wouldn’t today if she didn’t have it.

What started as some minor back pain, led to more serious pain, which led to surgeries and a whole host of monthly doctors visits and prescription drugs to try and help her live a normal life. Jessika has been through 14 procedures ranging from epidural shots to having surgical implants attached to her back twice. Today she takes up to 14 pharmaceutical pills per day to be able to move around and block the pain.

This summer we finally decided to visit Colorado and let her try medical marijuana as a last ditch effort to find a cure for the pain.

The first dispensaries I visited to find her medicine were Peaceful Herbs and Faragosi Farms in Trinidad, CO. These stores recommended some Dixie Elixer tincture with a CBD/THC blend to help with the pain. I also bought a topical salve to rub on her back. These products helped a little bit but didn’t have enough effects to see any real change in the pain.

High Country Healing in Silverthorne, CO is where we got her cannabis oil. The budtender explained how they make the oil from a high CBD strain called Sour Confidential. The oil is up to 38% CBD with THC also. He was great at telling us how to use it by ingesting the size of one grain of rice twice per day.

On the first day Jessika took cannabis oil, she went 16 hours without taking any pain medicine. That was awesome! She usually takes something every 4-6 hours. As we continued to stay in Colorado and she used the cannabis oil (and only the oil) her pain completely disappeared.

Here’s a simple illustration of how well it worked. In Texas both of our parents’ homes are 2 stories. She hasn’t been upstairs in over a year because it hurt too bad going up and down. In Colorado, we accidentally rented a 3 story house with two flights of stairs between each level. She handled that house like a boss and never once mentioned being in pain. It was harder dealing with shortness of breathe from being in the mountains!

Did cannabis oil solve everything?

No, because she also has Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and the oil didn’t make her more energetic. Would it over time? Maybe. I would love to find out.

For now we are back in Texas talking with her doctors and surgeons about her results and deciding as a family what’s next.

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Dispensary Raid Threatens the Life of Young Epilepsy Patient

Katie Ann Lepine has taken her story to the Canadian press this week after becoming concerned about her sons health, due to a local dispensary raid.

Lepine’s 15-year old son, Christopher, suffers from spina bifida, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and a heart condition. Having been prescribed countless pharmaceutical drugs without success, Katie Ann decided that medical cannabis was the final option. The Edmonton based mother saw an immediate change in her son;

“When he first started doing it (cannabis), we noticed a difference. He was waking up. He was doing all kinds of things, he was sitting up,”

Christopher had been dealing with two or three seizures a day. They stopped. He also stayed awake for longer periods during the day and was more responsive to his mother and his live-in caregiver.

Legalities in Canada mean that medical cannabis patients can only access their medicine through 1 of 18 dispensaries in Alberta. With no access in their home town of Edmonton and not wishing to receive cannabis products in the mail, the Lepine’s acquired the necessary medicine from the Mobile Access Compassionate Resources Society (MACROS), an NPO that had been working at the back of a hemp shop for nearly 2 decades.

However, disaster struck for Edmonton patients when, last week, security forces stormed the hemp shop and arrested the owners of MACROS.

This leaves the Lepine family without a reliable source to access Christopher’s vital medication.

Speaking to local press, Katie Ann stated,

“I don’t know what we’re going to do now, I’m just hoping that everything changes. Hopefully we will get some more somewhere.”

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