Personalize Medicine
Cannabis therapeutics is personalized medicine. The right treatment regimen depends on the person and the condition being treated.
For maximum therapeutic benefit, choose cannabis products that include both cannabidiol (CD), a non-intoxicating compound, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component of cannabis.
CBD and THC interact to enhance each other’s therapeutic effects. They work best together.
A patient’s sensitivity to THC is a key factor in determining the ratio and dosage of CBD-rich medicine.
Many people enjoy the cannabis high and can consume reasonable doses of any cannabis product without feeling too high or dysphoric. Others find THD unpleasant.
CBD can lessen or neutralize the intoxicating effects of THC. So a greater ratio of CBD-to-THC means less of a “high.”
Finding your ratio is the first step to effective treatment.
Find Your Ratio
For anxiety, depression, spasms, and paediatric seizure disorders, many patients initially find they do best with a moderate dose of CBD-dominant remedy (a CBD:THC ratio of more than 10:1).
But a low THC remedy, while not intoxicating, is not necessarily the best therapeutic option.
A combination of CBD and THC will likely have a greater therapeutic effect for a wider range of conditions than CBD or THC alone.
For cancer, neurological disease, and many other ailments, patients may benefit from a balanced ratio of CBD and THC. Extensive clinical research has shown that a 1:1 CBD:THC ratio is effective for neuropathic pain.
Optimizing one’s therapeutic use of cannabis may entail a careful, step-by-step process, whereby a patient starts with small doses of a non-intoxicating CBD-rich remedy, observes the results , and gradually increases the amount of THC.
In essence, the goal is to self-administer consistent, measurable doses of a CBD-rich remedy that includes as much THC as person is comfortable with.
The Biphasic Effect
Cannabis compounds have biphasic properties, which means that low and high doses of the same substance can product opposite effects.
Small doses of cannabis tend to stimulate; large doses sedate.
Too much THC, while not lethal, can amplify anxiety and mood disorders.
CBD has no known adverse side effects at any does. But an excessive amount of CBD could be less effective therapeutically than a moderate dose.
“Less is more: is often the case with respect to cannabis therapy.
Although banned by federal law, dosed cannabis medicine is currently available in the form concentrated oil extracts, infused sublingual sprays, capsules, edibles, and other products. Potent cannabis oil extract shave varying ratios of CBD and THC that are calibrated to suit the needs and sensitivities fo each patient.
“Dosage is everything.” – Paracelsus
