By Dr. Lunglife

Why Vaporize THC Oil?

Chemical analysis has shown that a cigarette made of raw marijuana contains at least as much “tar” as an equal-sized cigarette made of tobacco. Although medical studies have not shown a connection to date, this fact does suggest that lung diseases such as cancer, emphysema, and bronchitis are possible consequences of heavy marijuana smoking just as they are for tobacco smoking. The frequency of use and the amount smoked are both important when considering lung damage. Fortunately, pot smokers generally smoke much less than tobacco smokers. If one uses high-grade marijuana such as sinsemilla, manicured buds, or fine-screen shake in moderation, lung damage is not likely, as only small amounts are needed to obtain a high. If you have access to high-grade smoke, this article may not be useful, especially if you use a water pipe. However, if you decide to grow your own in the woods, the quality may not be as good. Extracting this essential oil from cannabis will concentrate mediocre-grade marijuana into a powerful liquid. Several irritating and smelly ingredients are removed from this hashish or THC oil. It also takes up much less space, which may be important if secrecy is necessary.

This article suggests a method for decreasing lung damage by inhaling the essential oil of cannabis after vaporizing it. Vaporization means the boiling off of the THC oil, using heat, but not fire. The intense heat of fire promotes many chemical reactions with oxygen, which destroys some of the THC and creates new chemical substances. Some of these firecreated chemicals may be hazardous. By vaporizing the essential oil, some danger is avoided, that of inhaling tar, burnt cellulose, carbon monoxide and combustion products into the lungs. Although the process of vaporization does still produce heat, the vaporized oil is at the boiling temperature for the oil rather than at the much higher temperature of flame.

Method A: using aluminum foil, candle, and a tube

An easy way to vaporize THC oil is by placing a drop on a piece of aluminum foil, heating this over a candle, and inhaling the vaporized oil through a tube such as a straw. A tube that works especially well is from a clear plastic Bic pen. The tube is an improvement over the nose in getting over the rising air full of the vapor, which rapidly condenses into tiny droplets of oil. The tube also helps to control the temperature of the vaporized oil before it enters your lungs, by catching it an inch or so above the foil after it has cooled some. Hold your tongue near the mouth end of the tube, as a way to further cool the vaporized oil. Your tongue should be protected against the heat by wetting it often with saliva.

Method B: using a high intensity light, dimmer, and tube

The materials for this electrical oil vaporizer are easy to obtain, and not difficult to make. The most expensive item is a light-dimmer which includes a power outlet. If you are handy, you can easily construct a box to include a dimmer and an outlet at a cost of around $8. The type of dimmer that pushes on or off, and rotates for power level is the best, for you can keep the best power setting ready to go. The second major item is a small high-intensity reading light, which was recently found on sale for $8 at a local department store. It features a 12 volt incandescent bulb. Hidden in the base of high-intensity lights is a transformer that converts 120 volt house current to a safe 12 volts. A 12 volt bulb is not only safer, but also has a compact filament ideal for the purpose. The only other items would be a toothpick or wooden cuticle stick for applying oil, and the pen tube mentioned above.

To use an electric vaporizer, a 12 volt auto bulb (#1156) is broken in such a way that the filament remains intact. A safe way to do this is to wrap the bulb in a kleenex, and then hit the bulb sharply with pliers so that it breaks. Some remaining pieces of glass will have to be removed with pliers. Orient the light shade sideways to catch excess drips of oil. The THC oil is then dabbed onto the filament, and the filament is heated just enough to vaporize the oil, but not enough to glow. Be prepared to dab oil on a glowing part, in order to protect the filament from air and make it last longer. The rising vapor is sucked in through the tube. Slow deep breaths will maximize efficiency. Turn off the heat before your lungs fill, to avoid wasting oil. It is convenient to use a glass syringe to hold a supply of oil. At first the filament cannot hold much oil, but after some time a dark crust forms, which helps hold oil. This crusty stuff has a higher vaporizing temperature than the desired THC, and is worth keeping out of the lungs. After many uses, the filament is surrounded by a thick ball that is able to hold a full drop of oil. Even with care, a filament will eventually burn out after a few months of use. But until then, one lungful is enough for an enjoyable high.

Method C: The Compact “High Tech” Vaporizer

To make a more sophisticated vaporizer, all the necessary parts are readily available and can be put into one small box. The following list is for the oil vaporizer illustrated here, but you can of course be inventive regarding design and material. The first three parts may be purchased at Radio Shack:

(1) an experimenter’s box 7 3/4″ L X 4 3/8″ W X 2 3/8″ D, black plastic case with an aluminum top, cat. no. 270-232 $2.99;

(2) a push on/off rotary dimmer, cat. no. 61-2699A $6.95;

(3) a small power transformer 120 VAC to 12 VAC 450 mA, cat. no. 2731365 $3.99.

Items that can be purchased at an automotive supply store such as Track Auto include:

(4) an auto turn signal/back-up light bulb #1156, two for $2.84;

(5) a simple single-filament bulb socket, such as for a Ford/Chrysler ’71-76 cars, which costs $1.99.

The remaining supplies include:

(6) a standard 2-wire electrical power cord;

(7) an electrical “nipple” for use in a lighting canopy kit, which is a 3/8″ o.d. tube threaded on the outside, and two matching nuts;

(8) two feet of rubber or plastic tubing and;

(9) a drinking glass, or to be fancy a 3″ glass display dome. The total cost is under $25. Tools needed include an electric drill and various bits; several electrical connectors of the twist type; needle-nose pliers; small nut and bolt pairs; and a screwdriver.

To build the vaporizer, first remove the plastic rotor from the light dimmer, determine the size hole necessary for its shaft, and measure the location for the hole on the metal lid of the box. Drill that hole, insert the light dimmer, and use a pencil to mark the location for the small nuts and bolts which will hold the dimmer in place. Then place the transformer close to the dimmer and drill holes for its bolts. The light socket needs a hole that is tight, so you may need to use a file to finish its hole. The design illustrated uses an 11/16″ hole. Near the bulb socket will be a hole to attach the suction tube. A method that works well is to push a 3/8″ rubber tube over a threaded electrical nipple, which goes through the hole and is held in place with nuts above and below the metal plate. A hole is also drilled in the plastic case for the power cord and a larger hole for the suction tube. Connect the wiring as shown, with the house current going to the transformer inputs, after the hot line also goes through the light dimmer. One line from the 12 volt transformer output goes to the lead from the light socket, and the other is wrapped around one of the bolts in order to use the metal top of the box as the return circuit. Tighten the bolts and screws, and it is ready to go except for the bulb. Prepare the 12 volt bulb the same way as with method B, but because the bulb will now be aimed vertically, a little epoxy glue, nearly filling the base, will make it easier to retrieve oil that will drip. Do not accidentally glue the bulb to the socket.

While the bulb is being conditioned, the high-tech vaporizer is used the same way as the high intensity light model, but after the filament can hold enough oil, an overturned glass can hold the vaporized oil until thick enough to inhale in a short breath.

How To Extract THC Oil

Extracting THC oil is not difficult.

It does require a concern about safety, as all the solvents listed are flammable. The steps necessary to obtain “hashish oil” or the essential oil of cannabis, may be found in two informative books. The first is a book entitled Cannabis Alchemy: The Art of Modem Hashmaking by David Hoye, first printed in 1973 by the HIGH TIMES/Level Press. Another book which describes the same procedures is Marijuana Potency by Michael Starks, 1977, And/Or Press, Berkeley. These books are available from book dealers who advertise in HIGH TIMES. They contain information to help one extract and purify the essential oil of cannabis, making it quite potent. Consult these or similar books for details.

The process essentially involves leaching the THC-containing oil from marijuana in a manner similar to percolating coffee. However, instead of water, the solvent is denatured alcohol, which is evaporated prior to consumption. Denatured alcohol is a common solvent and fuel found in most hardware stores. It is 95% ethyl and 5% methyl alcohol. Other alcohols can be used, but this is the cheapest and most commonly available.

The extraction can be done safely in a pressure cooker, over an electric heating element. Keep the heat very low as alcohol boils much more easily than water. No fire or sparks can be tolerated, and there must be good ventilation. Have a fire extinguisher handy, water will not extinguish an alcohol fire. The first step involves powdering your marijuana and placing it in a pressure cooker and covering it with denatured alcohol. Boil it for one hour, drain and save the alcohol, and boil the marijuana one more hour with fresh alcohol. The leached marijuana is thrown out, and the alcohol is boiled off to leave the first stage oil, which is green. I suggest saving the alcohol for further use by running the alcohol steam through a condensing coil leading down to another pressure cooker, which is kept cold in an ice bucket. When the alcohol is nearly gone from the oil, finish the removal in a Pyrex double boiler. The top pot contains the oil, and fits into the lower pot which contains water. The boiling water prevents the oil from getting too hot, but is still hotter than the boiling point of the remaining alcohol. The green THC oil from this alcohol extraction can be vaporized and inhaled at this time, or it can be isomerized and further purified if desired.

The oil contains THC and also similar but less desirable molecules called cannabidiol and cannabinol. Isomerization changes cannabidiol into tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and the THC to the most active isomer, delta-9-THC. To isomerize your oil, first weigh it, then dissolve it in 10 times its weight of denatured alcohol. Add one drop of strong sulphuric acid (auto battery acid) for each gram of oil. Wear goggles and gloves as concentrated sulphuric acid causes burns. Have bicarbonate of soda handy to neutralize spills.

Boil this mixture for two hours, adding more alcohol as needed to replace the amount lost to evaporation. To reduce alcohol evaporation and the danger of fire, you may cover the pot with a large overturned metal lid, filled with ice. This cool surface will condense the evaporated alcohol, and allow it to drip back.

Further purification is done by mixing the isomerized oil and alcohol mixture with an equal amount of water. Add one gram of sodium bicarbonate for each drop of sulphuric acid. Place this in a smallnecked glass bottle. Add more water so the fluid level is near the bottle top, where it narrows. Then add a small amount of a non-polar solvent. Shake the bottle gently, and remove the solvent and THC oil layer by sucking it out with a baster or an eyedropper. The final step is to heat (electrically only) the result in a double boiler over water to remove the non-polar solvent. Suitable nonpolar solvents include petroleum ether, ligroin, ethyl ether, benzene, xylene, toluene, chloroform, methylene chloride and carbon tetrachloride. All of these except the last three are highly flammable and lighter than water. Good ventilation is essential. It is also important when the solvent is nearly gone to add a drop or two of water and keep heating until the water has evaporated, to be sure that the lower boiling point solvent is totally evaporated. At this point you have a highly concentrated oil, with all toxins removed, which contains a high proportion of THC. For more detailed purification and isomerization procedures read the books. Dr. Lunglife says, “Safety first!”

The author, known to us only as Dr. Lunglife, never told us his real name. He did tell us that he used to live in New England, where he had fun sneaking into the woods and growing his own pot. After years of mediocre crops he finally enjoyed a bumper crop on his hidden 10’ x 12’ plot (odd shaped for camouflage). The seven pounds dry weight he harvested was boiled in alcohol to extract the oil; and the crude oil was further concentrated, isomerized and purified using the methods in the books listed. The oil he derived from this one crop boiled down to six ounces, and has lasted him for seven years, with use nearly every evening and weekend. He reports that vaporizing THC is not only efficient but has protected his lungs. He wants to stress that this article was written, not to encourage illegal activity, but to inform those who are currently smoking marijuana about advances in technology.

This article appears in the May 1989 issue of High Times. Subscribe here.

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Federal law enforcement agents sent a warning letter dated Nov. 27 to pharmacies across Georgia, warning them that dispensing and selling cannabis oil is illegal under federal law. The letter arrived a month into Georgia’s medical cannabis program.

Last June, Georgia’s Board of Pharmacy released a set of regulations that enable the state’s independent pharmacies to dispense cannabis oil to eligible patients enrolled in a registry maintained by the state Department of Public Health. Beginning last Oct. 27, Georgia is the first state in the U.S. to permit independent pharmacies to sell low-THC oil. The move made it legal for over 400 independent pharmacies in Georgia to apply for the program and dispense cannabis oil. Over 100 have applied for the program so far.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warned them that dispensing THC is illegal because it remains a Schedule I drug. 

“All DEA registrants, including DEA-registered pharmacies, are required to abide by all relevant federal laws and regulations,” reads a letter sent to a Georgia pharmacy by Matthew J. Strait, a DEA deputy assistant administrator in the agency’s Diversion Control Division. “A DEA-registered pharmacy may only dispense controlled substances in Schedules II-V of the Controlled Substances Act. Neither marijuana nor THC can lawfully be possessed, handled, or dispensed by any DEA-registered pharmacy.”

Keep in mind that things could change soon on the federal level: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) sent an Aug. 19 letter, recommending to the DEA that cannabis be rescheduled and moved to the Schedule III drug category, making the substance legally accessible through a prescription at the federal level, which would make it legal in Georgia pharmacies. Last October, President Joe Biden requested that the HHS secretary and attorney general conduct a review of the classification of cannabis under federal law, and they did so.

“No one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana,” Biden said Oct. 6.

Since Georgia only allows low-THC and CBD cannabis products, it’s unlikely people seeking a high are going to go through its medical program.

Anti-Cannabis Reform Orgs Rejoice

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) celebrated the blow to medical cannabis patients in a news release, posting the memo on their website. Opponents said Georgia’s program that supplies low-THC cannabis oil to patients “flies in the face of the position of every major medical association.”

NORML explains that Georgia’s low-THC medical cannabis law only allows for cannabis oils containing not more than 5% THC and an amount of CBD equal to or greater than the amount of THC. Today strains of cannabis in other states can exceed 30% THC. And then in Georgia, it has to be stored in a pharmaceutical container labeled by the manufacturer indicating the percentage of THC.

“The Georgia Pharmacy Board’s move to allow the sale of THC oils over the counter in drugstores is a disaster for public health because it implies an FDA endorsement of these dangerous, psychoactive products that can have very serious consequences for users, especially young people,” said SAM President Kevin Sabet. “The DEA’s repudiation of this policy is good news for consumers, and I applaud their affirming the federal government’s position that marijuana is not medicine. 

“As we’ve stated clearly throughout this debate, THC drugs are not medicine and federal law makes clear sales of marijuana and non-prescription THC drugs are illegal.The Board’s decision to allow pharmacies to dispense unregulated THC oils flies in the face of the position of every major medical association, Surgeons General appointed by both parties, the FDA, and the DEA. 

“Unlike with prescription medications, there is no legitimate dosing regimen or other quality control mechanism in place for these drugs. THC oils are often so high in potency that any level of consumption could be dangerous to physical and mental health. Pharmacies found to be violating federal law should be shut down immediately and face the harshest penalties under the law.”

Georgia’s own anti-cannabis reform organization, Georgians for Responsible Marijuana Policy, also responded. 

“I imagine, in the short term, the pharmacies who started dispensing medical marijuana would have to stop or risk a confrontation with the DEA,” Michael Mumper of Georgians for Responsible Marijuana Policy told 11Alive. “You know, there’s always been that tension between marijuana being illegal at the national level, while 38 states have approved it for medical reasons and 24 now for recreational reasons. There was always that tension about where is the federal government going to draw the line. Where Georgia went the furthest is that they were the first state in the country to have pharmacies dispense medical marijuana. And so I think they just pushed the DEA to a certain point.”

But Georgia’s pharmacies supply patients, often who have run out of options.

“We believe that this is an important thing,” Ira Katz of Little Five Points Pharmacy in Atlanta told 11Alive a month ago, “because who better than your independent pharmacist, who knows your history and knows your medical history, is able to best dispense medical marijuana?”

It’s unlikely Georgia pharmacies will be able to continue dispensing cannabis oil as-is.

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Keep the temps low and the materials pure.

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Pain and insomnia reports fell. Quality of life improved.

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A recent report from Associated Press (AP) News examined the state of cannabis cultivation in New York, spotlighting issues with current conditions.

In an interview, AP News spoke with cultivator Seth Jacobs of Slack Hollow Organics (and his brand, Bud & Boro) who confirmed that due to the limited number of legal dispensaries, he’s stuck with a significant amount of cannabis. “We are really under the gun here. We’re all losing money,” said Jacobs. “Even the most entrepreneurial and ambitious amongst us just can’t move much product in this environment.” He explained that he has 100 “bins” of cannabis flower in storage, or about 700 pounds that was harvested in 2022, and 220 pounds of distillate being stored as well.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul had projected that the state would license up to 20 new dispensaries every month since the beginning of 2023. Currently, New York only has 11 operating dispensaries throughout the entire state, although there are 300 licenses available to be awarded to qualifying applicants.

The result led to a surge in unlicensed cannabis shops and trucks, but for obvious reasons that isn’t an option for cultivators like Jacobs. AP News states that the value in legal cannabis product is estimated to be “hundreds of millions of dollars,” and 80% of it is cannabis oil. Eventually, the flower will become too old to sell, even though cultivators like Jacobs are storing the product in temperature-controlled storage containers.

Brittany Carbone of Tricolla Farms also told AP News that she’s storing 1,500 pre-rolls and 2,000 packs of edibles for the same reason. “What we really need to see is more retailers get open, and that’s going to actually give us the sustainable solution,” Carbone said.

Due to the abundant product supply in storage, Jacobs added that he doesn’t plan to produce any additional distillates this year. Carbone also said that Tricolla Farms would reduce its number of plants until more dispensaries are open.

AP News also cites issues with prioritizing social equity applicants as another potential delay. The program included $200 million earmarked to assist such businesses, with $150 million coming from “private investment.” The news outlet could not confirm that any private investments have been made, but in contacting state Dormitory Authority spokesperson Jeffrey Gordon, he explained that the state’s “complex and unprecedented” task of evaluating potential dispensary locations, setting up safe banking, and more has been a challenge.

The New York Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) recently approved 50 dispensary licenses, and there are plans to allow cultivators to partner with retailers in a farmer’s market style of sales to help sell product. During an announcement in late May, OCM Chief Equity Officer Damian Fagon projected that this could happen “optimistically, within a month.” The plan would be to have a minimum of three growers and one licensed retailer host a farmer’s market event. 

John Kagia, OCM Director of Policy, explained the benefits of these events. “We think this is really important because it does two things,” said Kagia. “One, it allows the growers to get in front of the consumers who are going to be buying legal regulated product in New York, and allows you to tell your stories. Two, it allows you to sell product much more quickly across the state, so the idea would be that the retailers are going to be confined to the regions where they’re authorized to operate, but the growers would be able to do this anywhere in the state.”

OCM spokesperson Aaron Ghitelman also told AP News that the farmer’s markets would help alleviate the problem. “We know these cultivators are worried about how to sell last year’s harvest as they decide whether to plant a cannabis crop in 2023, and we will continue to support them as more adult-use dispensaries open to sell their products,” said Ghitelman.

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Texas has some major changes surrounding cannabis on the horizon.

The state’s House of Representatives has given initial approval to a bill allowing doctors to recommend medical cannabis to patients as an alternative to opioids for chronic pain treatment. The bill would specifically expand eligibility for low-THC cannabis products, granting legal access to patients with “a condition that causes chronic pain, for which a physician would otherwise prescribe an opioid.”

According to the Center for Disease Control, one in five Americans live with chronic pain. In 2021, more than 106,000 people in the U.S. died from a drug-involved overdose, including illicit drugs and prescription opioids, according to the National Institutes of Health. In Texas specifically, there was an 80% increase in reported synthetic opioid-related deaths in 2021 compared to 2020, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.

Conversely, even the DEA admits that no deaths from cannabis overdose have ever occurred.

A New Chapter for the Texas Cannabis Industry?

The legislation, House Bill 1805, would also replace the THC cap established under Texas’s existing medical cannabis law. Texas’s medical cannabis law is currently CBD-only, with a cap of 1% THC for cannabis oil. Should the bill be enacted, the THC limit would shift to the volumetric dose of 10 mg. The bill further stipulates that Department of State Health Services (DSHS) regulators could approve additional debilitating medical conditions to qualify new patients for the cannabis program through rulemaking.

The bill from Rep. Stephanie Klick (R) cleared the chamber after a 121-23 vote on Tuesday, and it needs one more round of approval in the House before it can move to the Senate. If enacted, the bill would take effect on Sept. 1, 2023.

Texas NORML has also encouraged supporters in the state to reach out to lawmakers and voice their support of the reform, encouraging lawmakers to approve it. Jax James, executive director of Texas NORML, said in a news release that he is “thrilled” to see the advancement of the proposed legislation.

“Passage of this legislation will provide qualified patients with a state-sanctioned option to access a therapy that has proven to offer significant benefits,” Jones said. “Medical cannabis is an objectively safer alternative to the array of pharmaceutical drugs that it could potentially replace. I urge my fellow Texans to voice their support for this important legislation and to reach out to their Senators to encourage their backing as it moves through the legislative process.”

One of Many Recent Shifts

Of course, this move could be seen as a small step compared to other states that have enacted more wide-reaching medical cannabis legislation, or ended prohibition as a whole, though it still represents significant expansion for Texas. It’s also one of several recent moves that show Texas may be broadening its horizons when it comes to cannabis.

Texas lawmakers recently held a hearing on House Bill 218 that, if passed, would lower the penalties for possession of cannabis and cannabis concentrates. Last month, the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee also voted 9-0 to pass a bill that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of cannabis.

On Election Day 2022, five Texas cities also voted to decriminalize low-level cannabis possession: Denton, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin and Harker Heights. In the weeks since, some cities clashed with lawmakers, who argued that the decriminalization effort violates state law and hinders police officers.

Recently, a Texas Federal Court also ruled that the federal ban on cannabis users owning firearms is unconstitutional. The judge on the case, Kathleen Cardone, said, “It strains credulity to believe that taking part in such a widespread practice can render an individual so dangerous or untrustworthy that they must be stripped of their Second Amendment rights.”

Texas Residents Favor Updated Cannabis Policies

And while Texas still has very restrictive cannabis laws, they don’t align with views the state’s citizens hold.

According to a University of Houston study released earlier this year, out of 1,200 Texan adults 18 and older, four out of five adults said they would support an expanded medical cannabis program. The survey also found that the majority of respondents supported decriminalizing cannabis possession, lessening the penalty of possessing small amounts of cannabis to a citation, and two-thirds of surveyed individuals support legalizing cannabis for adult use.

Another poll, conducted by the University of Texas and the Texas Politics Project in 2022, similarly found that a strong majority (72%) back decriminalizing cannabis by making the offense punishable by a citation and fine with no threat of jail time. Only 17% said they would support a complete prohibition on cannabis usage, including medicinal cannabis.

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Have you ever wondered how to make weed-infused candy? We whipped up an easy and delicious cannabis lollipop recipe just for you!

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A small study of children with treatment-resistant epilepsy has found that whole-plant cannabis therapies reduced seizures by 86 percent, according to research published recently by the journal BMJ Paediatrics Open.

To conduct the study, researchers collected retrospective clinical data from caretakers and clinicians of 10 children with intractable, or drug-resistant, epilepsy. All 10 patients recruited for the study had not responded to CBD products.

When the patients were given a whole-plant cannabis oil containing THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids as well as compounds including terpenes and flavonoids, the frequency of their seizures decreased by nearly 90 percent.

“Seizure frequency across all 10 participants reduced by 86 percent with no significant adverse events,” the authors of the study wrote. 

The dosage of cannabis oil was determined by each patient’s physician. On average, the children in the study received about 5mg of THC per day, although they did not get high from the medication. Parents reported results to researchers by phone or via video conference calls. Few adverse effects, including excessive tiredness before exact dosing was determined, were reported to researchers.

“All parents reported that the whole-plant products were well-tolerated and the children showed improvements in their mood, behavior, eating anding as well as substantial improvements in their cognitive [mental] abilities,” said study author Rayyan Zafar, a fellow at the Centre for Psychedelic Research and Neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London.

The research also revealed that using the cannabis oil resulted in a dramatic reduction in the number of other medications taken by the patients in the study. At the onset of the research, patients were taking multiple medications daily, a figure which declined significantly after treatment with cannabis oil was begun.

“Participants reduced use of antiepileptic drugs from an average of seven to one following treatment with medical cannabis,” the researchers wrote.

Researchers Support Improved Access to Cannabis Therapies

Although U.K. Home Secretary Sajid Javid (now the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care) announced in 2018 that cannabis medicines would be made available to patients “with an exceptional clinical need,” so far few patients have received a prescription from the National Health Service. The authors of the study “noted significant financial costs of £874 per month to obtain these medicines through private prescriptions” and believe that the data collected on whole-plant cannabis therapies provide evidence to introduce such medications into the NHS under current prescribing guidelines.

“Such a move would be hugely beneficial to the families, who in addition to having the psychological distress of looking after their chronically ill children, have also to cover the crippling financial burden of their medication,” the authors concluded.

Parents Cautioned Against Unsupervised Cannabis Treatment for Seizures

Dr. Kevin Chapman, a neurologist at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital and spokesperson for the American Epilepsy Society, said that more research is needed and warned parents not to try to medicate their children with cannabis from a dispensary, saying “it’s still buyer beware.”

“There isn’t enough evidence to support using these products at this time especially instead of prescribed epilepsy treatments,” Chapman said.

The authors of the study acknowledged that there are risks treating young people with psychoactive compounds, but noted that commonly used medications for epilepsy also have serious side effects. Dr. Peter Grinspoon, a primary care physician at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and a board member of the advocacy group Doctors for Cannabis Regulation who was not involved in the study, noted that worries about how cannabis therapies may affect children should be considered in the context of the risks associated with other commonly used medications.

“I’d imagine that any concerns about the use of THC in a pediatric population would be at least in part alleviated by the drop of anti-epileptic drugs, many of which have side effects,” Grinspoon told UPI.

“It is not difficult to understand why there is such a determined parents’ movement in support of access to cannabinoids for pediatric epilepsy,” he added.

The researchers noted that the individual dosage and blend of cannabis oil was tailored to each patient by their doctors and warned against using the medication without proper supervision.

“Medical oversight is important,” Zafar said. “We encourage parents interested in using these medicines for these children to approach clinics and discuss this option with their physician.”

The authors of the research cited several limitations of the study, including using data that was retrospective and relied on caregiver recall, although parents often kept diaries for recording seizures as documentation of their experiences as they occurred. They also noted that the study was not randomized and did not include a placebo group with which to compare results. 

Researchers also cited the small sample size of the study as a limitation, but noted that the results were consistent with other research. The authors called for further study into the benefits of whole-plant cannabis products for epilepsy patients who experience seizures.

A report on the research, “Medical cannabis for severe treatment resistant epilepsy in children: a case-series of 10 patients,” was published on December 14 by BMJ Paediatrics Open.

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Looking to experience CBN, the rare cannabinoid with a buzzy reputation? Check out these seven CBN cannabis products.

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Whatever your questions about 420, Leafly has the answers. Find out what cannabis strains to smoke, where to get the best deals on marijuana and accessories. and how to celebrate cannabis every year.

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