I ran a medical cannabis non profit organization in Denver for five years and one of my major goals was to understand what cannabis strains are the most efficacious for certain ailments, more simply put, what are cannabis strains best for. My findings were surprising.
It is true that certain strains are best for certain ailments. For instance if you are very stressed you will want to avoid strains that are considered a head high or cerebral effect. If you have appetite suppression due to depression or medication you want a strain that will stimulate appetite.
CBD / Cannabidiol
If you have inflammation a CBD or cannabidiol dominant strains should work out great to help to curb your inflammation, as it is well established that CBD does posses this anti-inflammatory ability; one such study is that from the National Library of Medicine.
I’ve seen long lists of phytocannabinoids (cannabinoids that occur in the cannabis plant itself) presented in marketing materials all with corresponding benefits to consumers. There is only one problem with all of this information, as far as I know there is no conclusive body of work or evidence that we fully understand how the cannabis plant truly interacts with our bodies.
I constantly see descriptions of strains that are great for x and y, but in five years of supplying cannabis to medical patients in Colorado as a state registered caregiver, what I noticed is that when the rubber really hits the road all sorts of unanticipated results are realized. In that time the most conclusive thing that I learned about cannabis consumption is that every person has a different reaction to cannabis.
Different Cannabis Patient Experiences
If I gave one specific strain to five different patients I would get five different descriptions of it. Before giving the strain to my clients I would ask them to not look up the strain description on Leafly or any other online source for a description of the feeling of the strain. The reason I did this is because I didn’t want placebo effect to derail the experiment. The reality is every consumers’ experience with this plant is unique. Are there always going to be some consistency to a particular strain or plant, yes some, but largely in my experience an individual’s endocannabinoid system is just as important, if not more important than the strain itself.
So instead of reading descriptions online for what strains are good for your ailments I encourage consumers to try different strains and be very honest about how these strains make you feel. If Cat Piss makes you feel the best, smoke it, don’t avoid it because you think you are too sophisticated for a strain with such a stoner inspired name.
Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) and USDA Illegal Pesticides in the Cannabis Industry
If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts it shouldn’t surprise you that I have to conclude this blog post in saying that commercially grown cannabis containing PGRs and USDA illegal pesticides will significantly alter your cannabis consumption experience in a very negative way. So find a strain you like and then grow it yourself at home safely.
