Medical cannabis and CBD (the holy grail?)
Medical cannabis is going from strength to strength across several continents, its a trend which is gathering momentum. Thats partly because cannabis prohibition is losing its legal stranglehold, and partly because there is now so much publicity about the therapeutic benefits of medical cannabis. The medical genie is out of the bottle, and its not going back in. The steady normalisation of the medical use of cannabis is occurring in various countries in the northern and southern hemispheres. Traditional THC-rich varieties of cannabis have always been popular with medical users, but increasingly CBD-rich varieties are finding applications too. On top of that the seed banks such as Dutch Passion are quietly working on enriching cannabis with some of the more unusual cannabinoid compounds such as CBG, THCV etc. And rumour has it that there will soon be ultra-low THC (high CBD) cannabis varieties available in Europe. With more happening than ever before on medical cannabis breeding now is a good time to look at the future possibilities for medical cannabis.
Many medical users have claimed that CBD-rich varieties take pain and symptom relief to new levels. Patients with illnesses such as MS, Crohns disease, epilepsy related illnesses etc have all remarked on the extra medical benefits that CBD brings. But its worth saying that many medical users wonder why there is so much fuss about CBD. For some medical users, CBD simply does nothing special and offers nothing more than an old-fashioned THC rich variety. But for some medical users a CBD-rich variety is the only one worth smoking/vaping. So its fair to say that CBD has been a real blessing for medical cannabis users, but it isn’t a universal blessing. However, those that do enjoy their CBD-rich varieties often comment that they prefer the reduced intensity of the psychoactive element of the smoke. We should remember that we all have a unique endo-cannabinoid system in our own body, and we may all receive slightly different benefits from cannabis. Perhaps thats why so many people have different ‘favourite’ cannabis varieties.
CBD - the holy grail of medical cannabis?
Since CBD (cannabidiol) first appeared a few years ago there has been lots of feedback, but not all of it has been 100% positive. In the seed world, a variety is regarded as CBD rich when it contains 4% or more CBD in the dried buds. Most cannabis varieties tend to have CBD levels around or below 0.2%, it takes skilled selective breeding to create a CBD rich variety. But its also worth saying that CBD rich cannabis plants do occur quite randomly in nature, you may have grown one without realising it.
Many medical users have claimed that CBD-rich varieties take pain and symptom relief to new levels. Patients with illnesses such as MS, Crohns disease, epilepsy related illnesses etc have all remarked on the extra medical benefits that CBD brings. But its worth saying that many medical users wonder why there is so much fuss about CBD. For some medical users, CBD simply does nothing special and offers nothing more than an old-fashioned THC rich variety. But for some medical users a CBD-rich variety is the only one worth smoking/vaping. So its fair to say that CBD has been a real blessing for medical cannabis users, but it isn’t a universal blessing. However, those that do enjoy their CBD-rich varieties often comment that they prefer the reduced intensity of the psychoactive element of the smoke. We should remember that we all have a unique endo-cannabinoid system in our own body, and we may all receive slightly different benefits from cannabis. Perhaps thats why so many people have different ‘favourite’ cannabis varieties.
THC-rich cannabis
After all the publicity that CBD has got over the last few years, it will seem strange to refer to THC-rich varieties as medical. But experience in the USA, and elsewhere, has shown that many medical cannabis users find that traditional THC-rich cannabis does a great job of dealing with pain and symptoms. Whether it is dealing with psychological trauma caused by PTSD or physical symptoms caused by some other illness, THC-rich cannabis has helped countless numbers of patients over the years. And its also for to say that many of the USA medical marijuana dispensaries find the same thing, CBD-rich varieties are richly appreciated but THC-rich varieties dominate sales.Dawn of a new era. Selective breeding for minor cannabinoids.
It takes many years, and there are no guarantees in the world of cannabis breeding. But many are hoping that we won’t be talking about just THC and CBD in the future. There is a lot of behind-the-scenes work going on to selectively enrich a cannabis variety with a different cannabinoid compound such as THCV or CBG. These are exciting times for cannabis, prohibition has left a legacy where no-one really knows which minor cannabinoids will be most useful or desirable. Nor do we really know how the different minor cannabinoids can help with various illnesses. But its important to know that the work continues with less state-sponsored hindrance than previously. One thing that is abundantly clear is that cannabis is now creating genuine mainstream medical excitement as barriers to medical use are lowered in the more progressive countries. And yes, we can expect big pharmaceutical conglomerates to start taking more of an active interest in cannabis science. Curiously, a glance at the USA market for medical cannabis shows that big pharma are still a little bit shy of embracing cannabis science. Some observers had predicted big-pharma would be dominating the cannabis industry by now, and yet they are still cautious about involvement. That leaves plenty of opportunities for the traditional cannabis industry pioneers to widen their influence further. What will the future bring in terms of cannabis science? No-one really knows all the answers yet, we are all still working on it as hard as we can. By Tony, Dutch Passion Seed Company.
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