A mother of a 15-year-old could be facing jail time for using
cannabis oil to help her son with the side effects of his brain injury.
Her son was finally seeing relief from daily migraines, muscle spasms
and uncontrollable outbursts.
“I broke the law, but I did it to save my son,” Angela Brown said.
She had traveled to Colorado to obtain the cannabis oil and brought it
back to Minnesota where it is illegal. She administered the Cannabis oil
safely to her son and the results were amazing.
Her Son’s Accident
Angela Brown’s son Trey was a healthy kid, but a baseball accident in
2011 led to a build-up of pressure inside of his head. He was hit with a
line drive to the head causing bleeding in his brain. At first, doctors
were not sure if he was going to survive. They chose to induce a
medical coma. When Trey finally awoke, he didn’t appear to be the same
kid according to his mother.
“I cry like every day before I go to bed, like my brain is about to blow up, cause there is so much pressure.” Trey said.
He began dealing with chronic pain, depression and difficult to
control outbursts. His mother searched everywhere to try and help treat
the effects of his injury. They went through 18 different medications
and none of them worked. Trey’s mother felt that the effects of the
medications even made her son suicidal.
Then they found cannabis oil and everything was starting to turn around.
Cannabis Oil
Cannabis oil
has been making news and headlines for a couple years in ways we may
not expect. Cancer and Alzheimer treatments, helping to reduce seizures
and replacing potentially harmful medications for many people. Cannabis,
although holding a negative stigma, can be seen as a natural miracle
substance in a way. It may hold the power to treat and potentially cure a
lot of people’s serious diseases.
In the case of Trey, cannabis oil helped to treat and bring quality
of life back in a situation where all else was tried and didn’t work.
“It stopped the pain and stopped the muscle spasms,” Trey said. “It
was helping me go to school until it then got taken away and then school
was really hard again.”
“It was a miracle in a bottle.”Angela Brown
But It’s Illegal In Many Places
The miracle in a bottle didn’t last for Angela and her son. When
Trey’s teacher asked how he was doing better in school suddenly, Angela
mentioned the oil.
“Well, I gave him an oil that we’d gotten from Colorado, it’s derived
from a marijuana plant. And then you could feel the tension in the
room.”
It only took a week for the sheriff’s department to confiscate the
oil. Later, county officials charged Angela with child endangerment
which required child protection to get involved. If she is convicted of
her charges she could face up to two years in jail and $6000 in fines.
“It’s asinine, I didn’t hurt my son; I was trying to prevent him from being hurt.”
CBS News, who attained the interview with the family, took the time
to reach out to the county prosecutor, law enforcement and Trey’s school
district. All declined any form of interview about the case.
The final killer in this story is that in May, Minnesota became the
22nd state to approve specific forms of medicinal marijuana. But the law
doesn’t go into effect until 2015. So although this substance is
already recognized as something that will become legal very soon,
helping her son get better is still a crime.
Why Do We Deny Things That Work?
You might ask yourself why this type of thing could even happen. Are
we really that disconnected as a society? Sure one could argue we don’t
have the necessary data to state whether or not cannabis oil could have
negative effects over time, but the crazy thing is we do have the data
that states our medications we so often prescribe have nasty side
effects, even after short periods of use. So why is one illegal and the
other not? The easy answer is due to social conditioning and stigma.
The deeper answer could go into the realm of business, profit and
control. It is often argued that many aspects of the medical system are
set up to create life long patients versus properly treating and curing patients.
Although cannabis is finally becoming legal in more places across the
world, there is still resistance when it comes to the potential
treatment and curing ability the natural plant can have on many serious
diseases.
With clinical trials
finally on the go with brain cancer patients, the next year of study
for cannabis oil could be monumental to the health of our world.
Cannabis as a medicine has an ancient history with anecdotes
dating back to the Vedic period (c.1500 BCE) in India and Nepal. It
wasn’t until 1839 that William Brooke O’Shaughnessy introduced the
therapeutic potential of cannabis to the western hemisphere, and another
75 years after that until Sir William Osler, the father of modern
medicine, proposed its use for the treatment of migraines and headaches.
The criminalization of cannabis has since hindered our ability to
research its potential; to-date, much of what we understand is largely
anecdotal or based on animal or tissue culture experiments.
However, as countries legalize cannabis and as public opinion
changes, cannabis research will flourish. What we already know of its
ability to treat migraines and headaches is promising.
What is a Migraine and What are the Symptoms?
A migraine is a complex condition with a number of symptoms including the following:
Painful headaches
Disturbed vision
Sensitivity to light (photophobia) and sound (phonophobia)
Nausea and vomiting
Disorientation
Problems with coordination
These symptoms can last several hours to several days, and in severe
cases reversible paralysis or loss of consciousness can occur. Migraines
are triggered by a variety of internal (somatic, physiological) and
external (chemical, environmental) variables. People who get migraines
are thought to have a genetic predisposition toward having abnormal
cells in the brain stem.
What Causes Migraines?
Evidence suggests that migraines are the result of a variety of
triggers interacting with a dysfunctional brain stem center involved in
pain regulation. These triggers activate the trigeminovascular system
(neurons in the trigeminal nerve that supply cerebral blood vessels with
nerves), and consequently the dilation of cerebral blood vessels, which
in turn activate brain circuits associated with pain and inflammation.
Anandamide and 2-arachidonylglycerol (2-AG) are endogenous cannabinoids naturally found in the nervous system that, together with cannabinoid receptors, form the endocannabinoid system (ECS). When anandamide
and 2-AG interact with cannabinoid receptors, they inhibit blood vessel
dilation and modulate the pain mechanisms activated by an individual’s
triggers (e.g. changes in atmospheric pressure, chocolate, or caffeine).
What are the Current Migraine Treatment Options?
Migraines are treated with a variety of acute (onset of an attack)
and prophylactic or preventative medications. The frequency and severity
of a migraine, as well as the lifestyle and constitution of an
individual, are all factors to consider when choosing the proper
medication.
Examples of acute medications for pain relief (analgesics) include acetaminophen, opioids, triptans, glucocorticoids (steroid hormones), and ergots.
In general, preventative medications include a variety of
cardiovascular drugs (beta and calcium channel blockers),
anti-depressants, anti-convulsants, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs. Side effects of these medications might include nausea,
dizziness, drowsiness, and muscle weakness.
The Mayo Clinic and the Migraine Trust also recommend a variety of complementary therapies including yoga, tai chi, acupuncture, massage therapy,
biofeedback, hypnotherapy, cognitive behavior therapy, as well as a
selection of herbs, vitamins, and minerals. Not surprising, there is no
mention of cannabis as a potentially viable approach to the treatment
and prevention of migraines.
Can Cannabis be Used as Migraine Treatment and Prevention?
Pain management is the best known medical benefit of cannabis, most notably of the cannabinoid CBD, which is thought to have analgesic properties that may help reduce a patient’s dependence prescription opiates as well as manage a host of negative side effects. Patients also use cannabis to help them sleep, stimulate their appetite, and manage mood and anxiety levels.
Migraine sufferers can experience debilitating pain, nausea, and
vomiting. These symptoms are potentially manageable with cannabis due to
the anti-emetic (vomit and nausea-preventing), anti-inflammatory, and
pain-relieving properties associated with specific cannabinoids,
including THC and CBD.
As with treating any condition with cannabis, there are a number of
factors to consider, including confounding ailments, dose,
administration and strain, socio-economics, previous experience with
cannabis, and the use of other substances such as prescription
medication, tobacco, and alcohol. The best thing to do is make an
appointment with a family doctor or visit a local cannabis clinic for
the best medical advice.
James Feeney, a surgeon in Connecticut, heard it from his patients. A few actually turned down his prescription for oxycodone, the popular opioid painkiller that has also gained notoriety with the opioid epidemic.
His patients, Feeney recalls, would say, “Listen, don’t give me any of that oxycodone garbage. … I’m just going to smoke weed.”
“And you know what?” says Feeney. “Every single one of those patients doesn’t have a lot of pain, and they do pretty well.”
Marijuana has worked well enough, anecdotally at least, that Feeney is following his patients’ lead and conducting a trial at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, CT. The state-funded study will compare opioids and medical marijuana for treating acute pain, such as that from a broken rib.
That distinction—acute pain from an injury—is also an important one. A small body of evidence suggests that medical marijuana is effective for chronic pain, which persists even after an injury should have healed and for which opioids are already not a great treatment. But now Feeney wants to try medical marijuana for acute pain, where opioids have long been a go-to drug.
“The big focus from my standpoint is that this is an attempt to end the opioid epidemic,” he says. Overdoses from opioids, which includes heroin as well as prescription painkillers like oxycodone and morphine, killed more than 30,000 people in 2015.
“Listen, don’t give me any of that oxycodone garbage. ...I’m just going to smoke weed.”
Marijuana might have a bigger role in curbing this drug abuse than previously thought. Its potential uses are actually threefold: to treat chronic pain, to treat acute pain, and to alleviate the cravings from opioid withdrawal. And it has the advantages of being much less dangerous and addictive than opioids.
The big roadblock? Marijuana’s status under federal law as a Schedule I drug—the most tightly restricted category—which makes it very difficult for researchers to study. Scientists first have to apply for a license from the Drug Enforcement Administration, which “can take people years,” says Yasmin Hurd, a neuroscientist at Mount Sinai who has a license to study marijuana and its derivatives. Another problem is sourcing. Scientists can only get marijuana from a farm at the University of Mississippi, which grows a limited variety. “You want to be able to study different formations, but if you can only get the compounds from one source, that makes it hard,” says Hurd.
This is especially relevant to Hurd’s work because her interest is not necessarily THC, the psychoactive chemical in marijuana, but cannabidiol, also known as CBD. Cannabidiol doesn’t get you high, but it affects the receptors in your brain more indirectly. In a small pilot study, Hurd has found that cannabidiol can reduce the cravings of people addicted to heroin. “They relapse because they are in conditions that induce craving,” says Hurd. By controlling their anxiety, cannabidiol also seems to be controlling their cravings.
Hurd is now running a larger trial to investigate if the substance could help people addicted to heroin, and she published a recent review on cannabidiol’s role in curbing substance abuse.
Using marijuana to treat chronic pain is a more established idea. A 2015 review of 28 randomized clinical trials found “moderate-quality evidence” that compounds derived from marijuana or synthetic versions thereof were beneficial.
Interestingly, patients already seem to be replacing opioids with marijuana for chronic pain. A handful of observational studies have also found correlations between states legalizing medical marijuana and a drop in painkiller prescriptions, opioid use, and deaths from opioid overdose.
And in 2016, Dan Clauw and his colleagues published a survey of patients with chronic pain who started patronizing a medical marijuana dispensary. They cut their previous opioid use by two-thirds.
“They felt a lot better when their pain was being controlled by cannabis rather opioids because opioids have a lot of side effects,” he says. Those side effects include dizziness, constipation, sexual dysfunction and—in the case of overdoses—breathing problems. That’s because opioids receptors are also in the brainstem, the part of the brain that regulates breathing. Marijuana acts on a different set of receptors.
Clauw, who runs a pain lab at University of Michigan, says he would to like understand how marijuana quells pain on a molecular level, but getting the license has proved too big a hurdle.
Meanwhile, Feeney’s hospital trial for acute pain is able to get around the logistics issue of marijuana as a scheduled substance. Medical marijuana is legal in the state of Connecticut, but neither Feeney nor his hospital provides it directly to patients. Rather, a doctor certifies a patient to use marijuana, and the patient then picks it up at a dispensary or pharmacy. “The strains I have to select from are so pure and so potent that the stuff they get from the University of Mississippi pales in comparison,” says Feeney.
The trial, which was just got started, will enroll 60 patients with rib injuries in total—30 on marijuana, 30 on opioids. The doctors chose rib injuries to study because the pain lasts a predictable six weeks. Because of the study’s design, patients get to choose whether they use opioids and marijuana to control pain. So far, the hospitals has enrolled a handful of patients. They’ve all chosen marijuana.
Best friend speaks out about ‘devastating’ impact on family and friends
A woman died in bed from a tumour after doctors mistook it for a migraine 14 times.
Stephanie Dickson suffered nine months of neck pain, headaches and dizziness, and was told to take painkillers to cope with her symptoms.
The 24-year-old eventually went to A&E at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh on 5 April 2016, where she was put on a drip but discharged the following morning.
Hours later she was found dead by her family.
An investigation by the local coroner revealed a benign tumour caused pressure to build-up in her skull. Had it been diagnosed correctly the night before she died, she would have had a 98 per cent chance of survival.
Laura Aberdour, Ms Dickson’s best friend, said her death had had a “devastating” impact on family and friends.
“We have all been left broken by what’s happened,” she said. “It’s taken me until now to be strong enough to talk about it because it should never have happened.
“She was only 24. She didn’t need to die.
“But I do remember going to the gym with her one day, and she suggested then she might have a brain tumour.
“I remember saying to her ‘oh, don’t say that’ but I do think she knew all along something wasn’t quite right. She persistently went to the doctors.”
Brian Cook, medical director for University Hospitals and Support Services, NHS Lothian, issued an apology on behalf of the hospital, reports the Daily Mail.
“We would like to offer our most sincere condolences to Stephanie’s family and friends, and we fully support the work they are doing to raise awareness of the symptoms and consequences of brain tumours,” he said.
A JustGiving page has been set up by Ms Aberdour to raise money for the Brain Tumour Charity, in honour of her best friend
CBD Paste is by legal terms "Hemp". But really it is our proprietary strain of Cannabis. We say this because the law stipulates that hemp must be under .3% THC which CBD Paste is. This is a major breakthrough in our industry as the common hemp contains around .2% THC and if lucky 2 to 3% of CBD. This means you need a lot of hemp to make a CBD product. There are some complications in concentrating hemp.
The THC also gets concentrated during the process and then chemicals or strong solvents are added. This causes the natural structure to be altered.
CBD Paste took 4 years of crossbreeding and testing over 330 cannabis plants to find what now tests at .24% THC and 21.37% CBD. The high strain of CBD means that we don’t have to use chemicals, butane, or CO2 to separate or concentrate our product. Our slogan is "The whole plant and nothing but the plant, so help me God".
What separates CBD Paste products from the rest of the world is we combine the product "Medium Chain Triglycerides" (MCT oil) as the added oil. Fatty acids bond to the cannabinoids which is essential for the cannabinoids to travel through the blood brain barrier. This in itself makes CBD Paste medicinally superior.
If one were to research all the companies that sells CBD oil, the retail cost per milligram of CBD averages 20 cents or more per milligram. CBD Paste cost per milligram (calculated with the free shipping) is under 8 cents per milligram.
TOP 10 HEALTH ISSUES THAT CANNABIS PASTE CAN HELP RESOLVE. THE NEW HEALING PASTE IS AVAILABLE IN ALL 50 STATES.
1. CANCER:
Cannabinoids, the active components of marijuana, inhibit tumor growth in laboratory animals, and also kill cancer cells. Western governments have known this for a long time yet they continued to suppress the information so that cannabis prohibition and the profits generated by the drug industry proliferated.
THC that targets cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2 is similar in function to endocannabinoids, which are cannabinoids that are naturally produced in the body and activate these receptors. The researchers suggest that THC or other designer agents that activate these receptors might be used in a targeted fashion to treat lung cancer.
2. TOURETTE'S SYNDROME:
Tourette's syndrome is a neurological condition characterized by uncontrollable facial grimaces, tics, and involuntary grunts, snorts and shouts.
Dr. Kirsten Mueller-Vahl of the Hanover Medical College in Germany led a team that investigated the effects of chemicals called cannabinols in 12 adult Tourette's patients. A single dose of the cannabinol produced a significant reduction in symptoms for several hours compared to placebo, the researchers reported.
3. SEIZURES:
Marijuana is a muscle relaxant and has "antispasmodic" qualities that have proven to be a very effective treatment for seizures. There are actually countless cases of people suffering from seizures that have only been able to function better through the use of marijuana.
4. MIGRAINES:
Since medicinal marijuana was legalized in California, doctors have reported that they have been able to treat more than 300,000 cases of migraines that conventional medicine couldn’t through marijuana.
5. GLAUCOMA:
Marijuana’s treatment of glaucoma has been one of the best documented. There isn’t a single valid study that exists that disproves marijuana’s very powerful and popular effects on glaucoma patients.
6. MULTIPLE SCELEROSIS:
Marijuana’s effects on multiple sclerosis patients became better documented when former talk-show host, Montel Williams began to use pot to treat his MS. Marijuana works to stop the neurological effects and muscle spasms that come from the fatal disease.
7. ADD and ADHD:
A well documented USC study done about a year ago showed that marijuana is not only a perfect alternative for Ritalin but treats the disorder without any of the negative side effects of the pharmaceutical.
8. IBS and CROHN'S:
Marijuana has shown that it can help with symptoms of the chronic diseases as it stops nausea, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
9. ALZHEIMERS:
Despite what you may have heard about marijuana’s effects on the brain, the Scripps Institute, in 2006, proved that the THC found in marijuana works to prevent Alzheimer’s by blocking the deposits in the brain that cause the disease.
10. Premenstrual Syndrome:
Just like marijuana is used to treat IBS, it can be used to treat the cramps and discomfort that causes PMS symptoms. Using marijuana for PMS actually goes all the way back to Queen Victoria.
GREAT OVERVIEW ON THE PASTE-- PLEASE READ FOR CLARITY.
Q & A
Who is Canna International?
Canna International is the creator of Cannabis Paste and CBD Paste. We are trade marked with 2 proprietary patents. Our CBD products, Holden’s Hope and Canna Doggy, are legal in all 50 states. Our high THC products are only sold in MMJ dispensaries.
What is the difference between CBD and CBD-A:
New studies show that over heating cannabis or hemp is damaging to the Cannabinoids and Terpenes. We never talk about the remaining 81 Cannabinoids found in Cannabis and Hemp. Why is that? It has been proven that CBD affects THC so we must think Synergistically when it comes to how all 85 Cannabinoids were created to work together. At Canna International we cook the buds at a very low temperature (longer cook time) compared to the 311F industry standard. This greatly preserves the Terpenes and it leaves about 10% of the Cannabidiolic Acid or the "A" from the CBD-A.
Canna International decarboxylates the majority of the CBD-A into CBD but highly believes that there should be some CBD-A left which in the end product has also preserved the Terpenes levels by over 300 percent.
Does CBD Paste and Canna Doggy have THC in them?
Technically yes but they have very small amounts, which are under the legal levels of 0.3%. For more information please visit this article What is CBD Paste?
Can I get high from CBD Paste products?
No. You would have to eat the entire jar and then maybe you would feel a slight buzz. The same goes with CBD oil you see online.
Are Holden’s Hope and Canna Doggy legal to ship anywhere in the US?
Yes. The pharmaceutical industry is passing false propaganda to discourage people from buying hemp products. You will NOT go to jail possessing our products.
How do I administer the paste?
The paste has an earthy flavor and actually tastes better than the CBD oil. Taking (sublingual) it under the tongue is the most effective method. If you can’t stand the tastes then just chase it down with some water. If you are one of those people who just gag on anything, then go to Walgreens and buy empty gelatin capsules, put the paste in the capsule, and take it like a vitamin. Rectal method using gelatin capsules is becoming popular but Sublingual is #1. Some people say its better to take it after a meal. Splitting your desired dose into 2 does per day is recommended. For pets wipe it on their tongue and hold their mouth shut until you see them swallow. Call Canna Doggy for dosage suggestions.
What dosage do I take?
FDA will not allow us to prescribe a dosage. Body weight, chemistry, diet, and many other factors can affect CBD results. In each box you will find an orange medical spoon that holds about 1 gram of paste. For example: Our 3oz jar contains over 2500 milligrams of CBD. 3 flat spoons is about 3 grams which equals 87 mg of CBD. This is a pretty big dosage of CBD compared to what you will find people(CBD specialists) are recommending as a dose. At 7 cents per milligram our cost is less than half the price of our competitors. A 3oz jar has about 85 scoops or 85 grams by weight. 1 flat (packed) scoop has 29.4 mg of CBD. Read this article Top Ten Secret Shopping Results for CBD Hemp Oil
What about breast cancer or skin cancer?
Years back the owner of Canna international had a crazy idea to mix DMSO with the paste. This targets the cancer. You can take it both orally and topically at the same time. Mix DMSO 50/50 with the paste.
What are the benefits of CBD?
Canna International would love to answer that question ,but the FDA would not like our answer. Canna International has just way too many good things to say about Cannabis and CBD Paste. We can point you to some amazing videos and articles.
What are the ingredients?
All our products including Canna Doggy are made from only two ingredients: a mix of proprietary high CBD Hemp buds and MCT oil, or your choice of coconut oil. To learn more about our proprietary hemp strains.
Do you ship outside of the country?
Yes, if CBD is legal in that country. There is a 6 jar 3oz minimum (free shipping), though as it will cost us over $110 to ship it, NO coupons are allowed on over seas purchases.
When do you ship the packages?
All orders received before 12 noon mountain time ship that day on the 2:15 pm Fedex pick up. After 12 noon orders go out the next day (2:15pm)
What are Canna International’s Business Hours:
Canna International is open from 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday and 10 am to 3 pm Saturday and closed on Sunday.
How long will a jar of CBD Paste last unopened?
Easily over 2 years in the fridge unopened. If you are planning on buying several jars to last over a year, we recommend choosing (Shopping cart drop-down) coconut oil as it is a natural preservative. An open jar will be fine for up to 6 months in the fridge. Keep refrigerated even if not opened to help prolong shelf life.
What oils do you use to cook with?
After a few years of research our first choice is MCT oil. We have 2 choices on the drop-down during check out: MCT oil and Coconut oil. If you have a specialty oil you want, feel free to call us. NOTE! MCT oil is a catalyst for cannabinoids and is highly recommended.
What is the difference between Cannabis/Hemp oil and Cannabis/CBD Paste?
This answer can be several pages long, so the short version is CBD oil is heated around 311F and that destroys some of the 85 different kinds of cannabinoids. Paste is cooked at very low temperatures for a very long time and preserves the delicate cannabinoids. Due to this natural method, paste has over 600% more Terpenes than oil. Chemicals are often used to make CBD oil. CBD Paste uses NO chemicals when making the products and uses natural added oils such as organic Coconut oil to create a soft paste type texture. Chemicals such as solvents do NOT bond to cannabinoids. Fatty acids like Coconut or MCT oils bond to cannabinoids. This means CBD and THC oils (RSO) will have a great difficulty passing through the blood brain barrier compared to paste. Our trademark slogan is "The whole plant and nothing but the plant, so help me God"
Read this article! Proof is in the lab test.
How much CBD is in each Jar? What's the cost per milligram of CBD?
There are 3 sizes. 30,60 or 90 scoop jars.
.75 of an ounce or 500 PLUS mg of CBD @12 cents a mg.
1.8 ounces or 1500 PLUS mg of CBD @ 9 cents a mg.
3 oz which is our best value at 2000 PLUS mg of CBD @ the worlds best price of only 8 cents a mg.
Note all the jars are the same size container.The amount of paste we put in the jar (by weight) is what makes the total CBD mg.
So if you get a sample jar please think the jar is half full and not half empty. A little food for thought.
I heard that CBD oil and RSO has to be concentrated to work?
Over the past years the most commonly grown hemp strain was under 2% CBD and needed to be concentrated. Canna International has proprietary cannabis and hemp strains well over 22% in CBD. There is NO reason to concentrate the plant as it is very damaging to the delicate cannabinoids and Terpenes. RSO is one of the worst methods since THC strains have always been strong enough to use without concentrating.
Why are CBD Paste products only 7 cents per milligram and other companies are 14 cent to 26 cents per milligram?
Because our proprietary process does not require a million dollar facility using machines that have to concentrate the product. It took Canna International over 4 years to create strains that have under 0.3% THC and over 26% CBD. Lab tests have proven that when making RSO and CBD oil that 80% of the cannabinoids are left in the plant matter that is thrown in the trash. This, in itself, allows Canna International to pass on this wonderful medicine to the people who normally could not afford it. 80% more cannabinoids means 80% more affordability. Another big factor is we grown our own Hemp and Cannabis.
What are the negative things about paste compared to CBD oil?
The paste is made from the whole bud ground to a fine green powder. Inside the bud is a stem which is a strong fiber. Even though we have a mesh screen filter sometimes you will find a micro fiber from the stem. It’s really a petty thing but if your asking that's the negative about paste. Lastly, it looks like cooked cannabis, so it’s not really pretty. It looks like cooked spinach but much thicker. Also it tastes a bit bitter.
NEWS! Federal law states that hemp farms must not have plants that contains over 0.3% THC. What happens when you concentrate CBD? Well the THC also gets concentrated. Do the math. Yes, CBD oil is technically illegal, but our product is not.
I thought I'd make this post in an effort to help those who, like me, suffer from what are known as "Cluster Headaches".
First, we need to know what a cluster headache is - as the name suggests, these are headaches that come in clusters; the description from the "migraine trust" website follows:
Originally Posted byMigraine Trust UK
Cluster headache is a rare type of headache that affects about 1 to 2 people in every 1,000. It is one of the most painful conditions an individual can experience, described as excruciating and even more debilitating than migraine.
The symptoms of cluster headache are very typical. The pain in your head is always unilateral (one sided), although for some people the side can vary from time to time. The pain is usually centred over one eye, one temple or the forehead. It can spread to a larger area making diagnosis harder.
During a bout of cluster headache the pain is often experienced at a similar time each day. The headache often starts at night waking people one to two hours after they have gone to sleep. The pain usually reaches its full intensity within 5 to 10 minutes and lasts at this agonising level for between 30 and 60 minutes. For some people the pain can last for 15 minutes, for others 3 hours has been known. It then stops, usually fairly abruptly.
You may experience the head pain every other day during a bout, or up to 8 times per day during a bad cluster.
In about 80% of people with cluster headache the bouts (or “clusters”) of head pain last for 4 to 12 weeks once a year often at the same time and often in the Spring or Autumn. It may then disappear for several months or even years. This is known as episodic cluster headache. The reason for this seasonal timing is not completely known, although it is one of the key aspects of diagnosis and may involve a brain area called the hypothalamus. The remaining 20% of people do not have these pain free intervals and are said to have “chronic cluster headache.”
People with cluster headache are usually unable to keep still during an attack and often try to relieve the agonising pain by pacing the room or walking outside, sometimes even banging their heads against a wall until the pain subsides.
Other symptoms which are characteristic of cluster headache are a blocked or runny nose, and on the same side of the head as the pain, a drooping eyelid and watering and redness of one eye. Many people also experience a flushed or sweating face.
All very informative and exciting. The informational fact sheet continues to discuss the following triggers; that is to say, things that can deliver the headaches to you:
Originally Posted byMigraine Trust UK
Alcohol is one well known trigger of cluster headache, often bringing on the pain within an hour of drinking. If you have cluster headache you should not drink any alcohol during a cluster period. Once the bout is over you will be to drink alcohol again.
A significant number of people find that strong smelling substances such as petrol, paint fumes, perfume, bleach or solvents can trigger an attack. During an episode of cluster headaches you should try to avoid these things.
Some people find exercise or becoming over heated will bring on an attack, so again avoiding these is the best advice during a bout.
Research has showed that heavy smokers are at an increased risk of developing chronic cluster headache so giving up smoking or cutting down is worth considering.
Clearly, for anyone who smokes, has children [and therefore exercises a lot] and likes to have a drink now and then, such a thing can be limiting.
There's good news and bad news for anyone with this condition and I will now deliver it to you in my own meandering way.
Weed as a treatment? No. Not directly at least. If you already have the headache, smoking pot WILL amplify the pain by orders of magnitude so vast you'll strain your brain trying to fathom it. I advise anyone currently suffering from a headache; cluster or otherwise, NOT to take weed.
While you're pain free? Yes. Based on tests that I've personally conducted using my own brain; I've determined that smoking weed can prevent an occurrence of a cluster headache. There are, however, caveats: Drink water - obvious but often overlooked. If you do not drink enough water, you're inviting a dehydration headache and for someone like me, that always leads to much worse headaches; i sometimes curse myself for taking the water in litres after I've already gotten the headache as the massive influx of water after the fact always makes it worse. If you've already got the headache, take sips, don't down pints in seconds (especially if it's very cold!)
Don't smoke it if you're very tired; if you sometimes smoke a bit of weed to get you to sleep because, for example you suffer insomnia, don't smoke it if you're already tired enough to be able to get over to sleep. The extra hour or so it will take you to sleep is a small price to pay to avoid losing a whole night's sleep to an evil headache that wants to ruin your life and get you fired from your job.
Do not mix it with alcohol; this is a recipe for pain the likes you've never known and if the headache does come, the vomiting will almost certainly accompany. I cannot stress this particular point enough. Don't mix weed and alcohol. Yes, your friends might get away with it but if you're still reading this post then no, you cannot and you never will. It's just the way it is.
Don't engage in strenuous activity, such as (but not limited to) sex, sports or evading capture by police officers. Anyone who gets this type of headache already knows this. Putting weed into the mix will just fuck you up worse. Your head will just beat like a second heart, hurting you in waves that are in sync with your pulse and the faster your pulse, the faster the waves. It's not great.
Do not over-smoke. Again, this should be obvious but guys will be guys and will show off in front of their mates, clearing massive bowls and rolling 20-skinner joints just to look cool. If it takes you one decent size joint to get comfortably stoned, stop there. Don't race through your stash and end up with a headache because we know that when that happens, your whole stone is blown and you just wasted whatever you smoked.
Avoid loudness; anything from an argument with the missus to Sin by Nine Inch Nails can download a fresh headache whether you're stoned or not, but it's more likely when you're stoned.
Turn the heat down but not too far down: Try to keep your head (at least) at a comfortable temperature; if it's too hot or too cold, you're basically fucked and take it from me, trying to normalise your temperature after you get the headache won't make a damn difference.
Avoid certain substances; whether you're stoned or not; as a fellow Cluster Headache sufferer, you'll already be accustomed to avoiding too much sugar, caffeine, nicotine and yeast. The three stimulants are obvious, however, the yeast can be insidious as fuck; that delicious crusty roll you had with your soup a few hours ago can work against you and you won't have made the connection. it took me YEARS to make that connection. You're welcome.
Don't smoke when you've got any illness that affects your sinuses; colds and flus. You're getting a headache anyway, so just ride it out and treat yourself to a fattie once you're done with the tissue box.
Be prepared: when you run out of weed, it's highly likely that a cluster fuck is coming your way. Usually within the "comedown" period. A way in which I counteract this is to take two paracetamol tablets, a good meal and an early night.
So, in conclusion (the tl;dr version)
Weed can be used prophylactically if you stay inside your sandbox. Weed will exacerbate an existing cluster headache. If the weed took away your headache then it was a weak headache and you're a lucky duck.
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