Hi there, I'm Liz,72 years old and totally ignorant when it comes to Cannabis

Hi Liz and welcome-
Look at this forum (Medical Cannabis) for info and post there....scroll down forum threads.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/forumdisplay.php?f=7

Once you have 50 posts (not in Intro thread), PM me. Can help.
Good luck!

Hi Liz

Welcome to IC,

Have any of your Doctors recommended Organic. Here's a fun link https://honestmarijuana.com/organic-marijuana-guide/?age-verified=b93164d4a8 I would definitely say something with the least amount of pesticides is what you want a long with the cannabinoid ratios people recommend. When you ingest/eat marijuana it creates 11 hydroxy metabolite in your liver. It's 5 times more psychoactive than THC. So little bits at a time is what you want. If you start smoking try lighting the joint let it burn for a second take a couple hits/puffs and put it out and see how that goes. Maybe have a nice tea or soda while doing it, Or even some food. I prefer booze but thats just me lol. A lot of the time new smokers will smoke an entire joint and have a really bad trip or find it to much. Baby steps at the beginning, I cant stress that enough. Just my two cents. All the best while you experiment

PS I also learned from a fellow IC mag'r a nicer way of rolling. If you can get your hands on the larger RAW organic papers and rip the glue off and use the frayed edge as a grip (instead of the glue) you set yourself up for a really nice smoke. Here is a neat vid on how to roll without glue. I dont recommend zig zags though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8sq43MtHiw

Thank you

Thank you

I'm reading every post and taking notes. I don't want to walk into the dispensary and be completely stupid about cannibus and what I want. Your hlep here is absolutely wonderful and I can't thank you enough.
Please keep the suggestions coming...I'm taking my notes

Another question about what kind of leaf?

Another question about what kind of leaf?

My husband suggests I try a pipe . What kid of "leaf"sorry I don't know the name...but what kid of cannibus do you suggest I smoke in a pipe for the neuropathy?

In my somewhat limited experience, CBD is great as an opiate replacement.

Sorry, another question

Sorry, another question

Do you suggest I either smoke ,use CBD and THC OR use BOTH smoke a pipe AND use CBD and THC?
Also, is a pipe as good as rolling? My hubby has smoked cigarettes and he says he thinks if I use a pipe, I won't get a burning in my throat from inhaling. What do you think?
Again, sorry I'm so darned stupid!

Liz said:

My husband suggests I try a pipe . What kid of "leaf"sorry I don't know the name...but what kid of cannibus do you suggest I smoke in a pipe for the neuropathy?

Click to expand...

It should not matter a whole lot IMHO. Whenever I had neuropathy issues I smoked and regardless of which kind it was, I would always get some relief. In fact when I used black hash it gave me the best relief of all.

The important thing is to try and find a clean supply and as emphasized by all, start slow. I also feel your husband is wise, a pipe is certainly a great way to control quantity.

Hi Liz

I'd say your husband is right to go with the pipe. Take a couple hits and see how that feels for around 15-20 mins to start. Then if you want more repeat the process. You may even prefer using a glass pipe cuz some say its a cleaner smoke. Or even using a wooden match to light it cuz its better then a lighter. Some people start tasting the lighter fluid after a while. The cleanest i have ever experienced is using an unscented candle to light my joints. We are talking about medicinal, so I'm trying to give you the best options. If you eat it i feel like your gonna experience what a lot of ppl experience. Which is "wow that completely knocked me on my ass." and you can be messed up anywhere from 3-6 hours and it usually takes 30-60 mins to kick in. So your gonna be sitting around waiting for the effects to kick in. I dislike eating it so I'm probably the wrong person to give advice on edibles. Vape or smoke is the way i recommend.

The other big component is the Organic. If you get a grower who uses pesticides or doesn't flush the plant properly to get rid of the chem nutes you can wind up with a headache or an increased heart rate from all the chemicals. Which some ppl associate with it being the marijuanas fault but its not. Its all the chems ppl use. So its always best to do the little puffs/tokes everyone is recommending. Try and get your bud/marijuana from a reputable grower. Ask them how they grow their marijuana. Do they use things like neem oil for a pesticide alternative (which is a bit better). Or are they one of those dastardly growers spraying it with raid....which then you are inhaling or eating. Or are they using a systemic pesticide that stays in the plants body (which is awful). Think of it like a really nice piece of fruit or vegetable. Do you want something grown with a ton of chemicals that then winds up in your body or do you want something more healthy that can survive and flourish without those things added. Here is a neat article https://www.permaculture.co.uk/news...-farming-outperforms-conventional-agriculture

As far as the THC and CBD together question (and this is just my opinion). If you get a really nice Organic clean Indica dominant plant. I think you will have positive results. Finding the CBD dominants can be hard but since your in California it might be easier. Here a couple helpful charts to keep on your computer. Just drag and drop.

Liz said:

Do you suggest I either smoke ,use CBD and THC OR use BOTH smoke a pipe AND use CBD and THC?
Also, is a pipe as good as rolling? My hubby has smoked cigarettes and he says he thinks if I use a pipe, I won't get a burning in my throat from inhaling. What do you think?
Again, sorry I'm so darned stupid!

Click to expand...

Hi Liz

I smoke for relief from diabetic neuropathy.

I am still only a few months into the learning process since my state just recently legalized recreationally. I've been smoking for three decades and never knew there was different kinds of chemicals. I believe all buds have both THC and CBD . During the day I like to use a strain that is high in THC. At night I prefer a lower THC with higher CBD. I find that the THC keeps me awake and the CBDs help me relax at night. They both seem to help with the pain.

As far as smoking is concerned I use a dugout. I have never liked smoking paper. With the dugout you use a very small amount at a time. You do have to be careful not to drag too hard or you can end up swallowing the Ash.

I have found the easiest thing for my lungs to be a water pipe. Just remember to go easy. It is really easy to get too much smoke with a water pipe.

Remember that Google is your friend.

Good luck. I hope you can find as much relief as I have.

Hi Liz,

If you have a few bucks I would recommend a vaporizer. They will not bother your throat or make you choke.

The best one for me is the "Volcano", I have others but this delivers consistent vapor. It also fills a bag with vapor which you can take to another room.

The biggest downside of the "Volcano" is it's price. It's more than $650.00.

In the bigger scheme of things it is a great value and the safest way to inhale Marijuana.

Everyone is giving you good information on their experiences.

Keep on, Keeping on

Liz said:

Do you suggest I either smoke ,use CBD and THC OR use BOTH smoke a pipe AND use CBD and THC?
Also, is a pipe as good as rolling? My hubby has smoked cigarettes and he says he thinks if I use a pipe, I won't get a burning in my throat from inhaling. What do you think?
Again, sorry I'm so darned stupid!

Click to expand...

If you've never smoked anything then a simple pipe will not be a good idea, you'll cough and it'll be painful

If your dispensary has a 1:1 CBD/THC oil for oral consumption then go with that as a base point, it's what I start my patients on

If the dispensary is any good they should be able to give advice and assistance as to specific remedies for your symptoms

Have you got your 215 card yet?

Liz said:

My husband suggests I try a pipe . What kid of "leaf"sorry I don't know the name...but what kid of cannibus do you suggest I smoke in a pipe for the neuropathy?

Click to expand...

Try an Indica or Indica Hybrid.

The Budtender should be knowledgeable and helpful.

215 card?

215 card?

Hi there, I have a license that expires in March 15,( I got a license and never took advantage of it before now) anyway, I also have a doctors letter saying marijuana will be beneficial for me. So, if a 215 card is one of those, then yes, I have a 215 card.

420somewhere said:

If you have a few bucks I would recommend a vaporizer. They will not bother your throat or make you choke.

Click to expand...

My wife thought that would be a great idea as well. Unfortunately, she gets a headache from it for some reason. I seem to cough more, not sure why, but oil does the same so the higher oil content probably has something to do with it.

Hi Liz,

It all really depends on your budget.
Get yourself altleast a tincture or oil of some 1:1 THC/CBD.

If your budget is a bit larger you can also buy a bottle of some pure THC tincture/oil (without CBD) and a bottle of pure CBD oil. You can then try them all seperately and see what works best for you.

As said before pure CBD will not get you 'high' but pure THC definitely will.
CBD will also counteracts the psychoactive effects of THC. Both THC and CBD have there own medicinal properties.
As for the 1:1 THC/CBD the CBD will counteract the 'high' effects and the combination of both will give you the full spectrum of the medicinal values of cannabis with reduced psychoactive effects.

Read this link if you need some info about the medicinal value of cannabis: http://mychronicrelief.com/cannabis-101-thc-cbd/

You could also buy some dried cannabis flowers, but if you're a non-tobacco smoker that might be a bit more difficult for you to use. If you would like to buy some ask for an Indica dominant strain of cannabis. They work best for pain relief. Only take a very small puff the first time and wait atleast 15min and see how it goes. Cannabis is very strong and can be very scary to inexperienced people when taken to much of it. And yes, you can use a pipe.

Cannabis consist of a few species with the more interesting being the Indica and Sativa strains.
Read this link for some info about the different strains and their effects: http://www.truthonpot.com/2016/03/14/indica-vs-sativa-whats-the-difference/

Great post Cvh, and thanks for the links. I will check them out for sure. My favorite site so far for current, accurate CBD info is projectcbd.org.

I forgot to mention that when using an oil or tincture it might take up to 2 hours before you feel the first effects. Usually much faster. Do not take more before atleast 2 hours have passed. And start with the lowest dose.

As for smoking the effects might take up to 15 min. Only take one small puff the first time and wait.

The golden rule is you can always take more later after some time have passed (min 2hours for oils/tinctures and 15 min for smoking) or at a second attempt. But you can't untake!!! Use some CBD oil if you took too much.

Everyone is moving to a 1:1 ratio of THC to CBD because anecdotally the meds seem to work better and help each other out for better medical results. I agree with Mohave Green "try them all and keep notes and pick the best one". The various bottles of meds have all different ratios, so no you don't need to mix your own ratios. Good luck with it and from what I have read it should work for you.

Don't underestimate the value of getting "high" from thc sometimes in pain management. I can be in pain and irritated by it. I'll smoke a joint and get a buzz- the pain is still there but I'm separate from it now. No longer irritated and can concentrate on other things. Instead of the pain being in control it's just along for the ride. Everybody get high!!!!!!!

WOW Thanks to everyone who has replied to my questions. I can only say Thank you, thankyou, thankyou. I appreciate your help so much!