HEALTH
great concentrations of THC, and the male plant
is predominately a plant that provides the other
cannabinoids like cannabidiol or CBD. There are
other cannabinoids that are important medically.
There’s the acronym CBG for cannabigerol, which
is a cannabinoid that is very potent for people
who have hypertension or glaucoma. There is
another cannabinoid, cannabinol, CBN, which is
a great non-psychoactive cannabinoid that helps
people with sleep. There are about 90 different
cannabinoids, and the plant itself provides oth-
er essential oils. Most of the effects that people
will have actually come from what are called ter-
penes or other plant essential oils that provide
the scent of a given cannabis strain. You’ll have
some strains that smell like lemon, some strains
that smell like blueberry, some strains that smell
like lavender; those essential oils actually provide
what’s been termed as the entourage effect for
cannabis. Those are really potent chemicals that
work together with THC to create the euphoric
effect of “being high”, or the effect of being sleepy.
inhale or smoke cannabis. Other modes of thera-
py are ingestion, such as a pill form, or raw in the
form of juice; topically as lotions or suppositories;
so you have lots of different modes of therapy.
I’m someone who believes that inhalation is fine
if done properly, but you have to look at the mar-
ketplace, and most of the products out there and
most of the ways that people do it can be really
harmful for them.
I think it’s important to point out that these
terpenes are very widespread in the plant
kingdom, and it’s just that marijuana seems
to bring them together a particularly potent
and useful mix. If someone, let’s say, smokes a joint or uses a pipe
to smoke the flower, they’re actually harming
their lungs because of the intense heat – the tem-
perature of the vapor that you’re inhaling can get
up to 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit. Once you get up
above 800 degrees Fahrenheit you’re also creat-
ing toxic gases like toluene that are carcinogenic.
When I talk to patients I encourage them to use
these mini-vaporizers on the marketplace now
that limit the temperature of the vapor that some-
one’s going to inhale to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
The boiling points for most of the cannabinoids
and terpines are anywhere from about 345 de-
grees to 425 degrees Fahrenheit, so you’re going
to get most of the good things from the plant
without any of the other bad effects due to the
temperature or toxic gases that might be created
by smoking it a different way.
Absolutely, you’re very correct. Now in terms of
mode of therapy, most commonly people will Because inhaling it is the fastest way to get it into
your bloodstream, I’m an advocate of people us-
8 | HAPI Guide