There’s a mounting amount of evidence for using cannabis to help manage your pain. A lot of people with chronic pain or people who suffer from certain ailments have found great relief with cannabis but for some reason, it’s still such an uphill battle to get it legalized for reasons other than the substance itself.
Understanding Cannabis & Pain Relief
One of the core reasons that more research hasn’t been made readily available is that marijuana is really hard to understand when it comes to the breakdown of the material. It’s complex and the chemical makeup isn’t easy to break down, which has given researchers a lot of trouble when they try to break it down.
The question isn’t whether or not THC can help reduce the amount of pain you feel but researchers want to know why. No one’s really sure exactly how or why cannabis can help manage pain.
Cannabis is super complicated though. There are over 560 different molecules that makeup cannabis and whoever first invented or accidentally came across cannabis is either incredibly lucky or a complete genius.
You see, in the body, there’s an endocannabinoid system that helps regulate stress, pain, tension and other kinds of emotions or physical feelings. Cannabinoids that are in marijuana help regulate some of these feelings, whether they be physical or emotional. The two primary cannabinoids found in cannabis are THC and CBD.
THC & CBD
If you want the quickest way to remember which is which, CBD is the substance that doesn’t get you high but still gives you the same medical benefits of THC, along with inflammation reduction. CBD oils is a popular product you’ve probably seen around, and their legality among states is questionable.
Some states don’t really seem to care if you have CBD products and others are classifying them as a drug still, for some reason. THC has made some breakthroughs in legality among the United States with some states imposing far lesser penalties for having it and some states making it completely legal to own up to a certain amount.
Legality & Complications
Before you go looking for the nearest CBD or THC provider though, just because it’s legal in your state doesn’t mean there aren’t complications. First, there are the medical states. These are states that have only legalized marijuana for medical use and in most cases, you have to have a note or prescription from your doctor to use that excuse. In some of the medical states, personal use of marijuana is still strictly prohibited.
Then, there are the legal states. You’re probably thinking that it’s fine to go there and smoke as much as you want, right? Not exactly. Even in the states where it’s legal, you can only have up to a certain amount and if you’re found with more than that certain amount, you can be fined.
If you’re found with a certain amount (it’s different in every state), you could even be charged with trafficking of marijuana even if you’re not actually trafficking and this carries heavy prison times.
Are the rules still iffy and ridiculous? Yes. However, it’s something you need to know before you think you can just go to another state that allows the use of recreational marijuana and think you should be able to smoke as much as you want.
Do Strains Matter?
There are thousands upon thousands of different strains when it comes to THC and people swear by all of them being different. Truthfully, you probably won’t notice too much of a difference when it comes to strains for pain management, however, the potency of the high of a lot of different strains will make quite an impact, but that’s not what we’re aiming for. It also depends on what kind of pain you’re dealing with.
Researchers, on the other hand, don’t like to use the word strain. A strain is commonly a word used by people who grow the plant and dispensaries.
The research found that there are main chemical types that appear in most strains and it really depends on the ratio of THC to CBD chemicals in the overall mix.
How Effective is THC & CBD For Pain Management?
There are a few things to consider here before you can effectively determine just how effective THC or CBD for pain management altogether. First, there’s the amount of THC or CBD in the actual product that you’re taking.
This makes a big difference. Obviously, products with a much higher rate of THC and CBD will give you better pain management options but that’s not the only thing to consider as well.
The dosage you’re taking is something you should carefully consider as well. You don’t want to take too much and every CBD product you buy should come with instructions on starting dosage and what to increase it to over time. For typical CBD products, you should be starting out with 7.5mg at least three times a day but again, this will be different for every product.
For THC however, you should be starting out with 15mg a few times a day and again, this will depend on the overall level of THC found in the product. If you increase this number by a high amount without consulting a doctor, you might experience some unpleasant side effects first but nothing too serious or dangerous.
We can’t find any cases of people experiencing drastic side effects while under the effects of THC, even under a high dosage. Some people feel that they’re a bit nauseous, get a headache, a stomachache or other mildly inconvenient side effects but that’s about it.
Then, there are man-made options that combine some elements of THC and CBD. These are known as synthetic THC or CBD products and you have to be careful when you’re taking synthetic products. You have to really know and you have to really trust who’s giving you synthetic products because you don’t know what they’ve put in them and they could’ve put anything in them.
100 Million
Approximately over 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain every single day. This is an alarming number and it’s no secret as to why. So many Americans work 9-5 in hard labor jobs, straining their muscles and their joints out. Over time, this can create some long-term lasting effects that definitely put a strain on the body.
The OPIOID & Painkiller Problem
A lot of people end up turning to prescription drugs and painkillers to help manage their pain. Sure, they’re effective at first but the real problem is, they’re highly addictive. They’re fatal if taken in large doses and over time, people can become addicted to them.
Also, some of them have some horrendous side effects and painkillers even have extremely unpleasant withdrawals if you just stop taking them. So, why do we still use them as an effective way to treat pain? Because big pharmaceutical companies make a lot of money off of selling them. Pharma makes billions of dollars every single year off of people’s suffering.
The Truth is, marijuana, THC, and CBD can go way back in treating pain and helping people manage their chronic suffering.
Using Kratom For Pain Management
Kratom for pain management has been a hot topic lately but the question remains, is it effective? Kratom works in a similar manner to opioid drugs in the same manner for treating pain. However, Kratom isn’t addictive and doesn’t give you horrific side effects if taken to excess.
Kratom has more uses than just pain relief and management, however. A lot of people generally use Kratom for stress management as it’s one of the most effective stress relief methods. It can help you also boost your energy by a significant amount.
Some people take Vitamin B supplements for energy and mental alertness, and some people have started turning to Kratom for a boost of energy throughout the day. Whether or not Kratom is great for an energy boost has yet to be seen as these just claim that some people like to make.
However, Kratom has been researched and shown to thoroughly reduce the amount of pain that you feel or experience. The same receptors that help reduce the amount of pain you feel from Opioids and painkillers are the same receptors that work in Kratom to help reduce the amount of pain you feel.
Again, you have to be careful with the amount of Kratom you take because there are some slight side effects associated with this as well. What are the side effects of Kratom? There are very minor side effects like cramping, some increased anxiety, and nausea.
However, the DEA says that Kratom can be addicting and once addicted to the substance, heavy users can experience things such as hallucinations, confusion, and delirium. We have no hard evidence of this but you should take every pain management option with caution and in small quantities.