Hydrolife Magazine June/July 2016 (CAN Edition)

live
There are more than 80 unique compounds
in the more than 400 naturally
occurring compounds in marijuana.
These compounds are unique to the
plant and not found anywhere else in
nature except the human body as endocannabinoids.
The CB1 and CB2 receptor
sites on various tissues in the human
body allow the plant compounds to enter
the metabolic pathways for medical
therapy in a uniquely safe and effective
way to treat medical conditions.
The cannabis plant has undergone a
rapid transformation in genetic mixing
over the last 50 years. The intent of this
mixing somewhat mirrors the way that,
in the past, the properties of land-race
varieties were selectively encouraged to
grow based on the desired effects stemming
from the regions of cultivation—
either euphoria and mental stimulation
(African sativa strains) or sedation and
meditation (Hindu Kush indica strains)
in ancient cultures. Today’s cannabis
strains exhibit a plethora of mixtures of
chemicals in a wide range of ratios as
varietal mixes of the two. However, there
is one mediator in all of this: the terpene
fragrance compounds that modify the
effect of the cannabinoid compounds for
different medical applications.
With the above in mind, I am creating
a Physician’s Desk Reference for
Prescribing Cannabinoids as the first
book on the subject geared to the medical
community. The reference will help
medical practitioners better understand
the application and effects of using cannabinoids
for medical therapy. I believe
that fragrance may be used as a general
tool for administering prescription cannabis.
For instance, different ratios of
the terpenes D-Limonene, Alpha-Pinene
and Beta-Myrcene can moderate THC,
CBD, CBC and CBN effectively to provide
relief from insomnia, pain, lack of appetite,
depression or nausea in strains with
nearly the same levels of CBD and THC.
Pain is slightly mediated by strains like
OG Kush and Tahoe OG, or not at all in
the strain Blue Dream, even though it
has a similar CBD content. The specific
application for additional, secondarysymptom
relief with the lemon or pine
fragrance that guides the user for their
individual range of conditions is a hereto-fore
unsuspected connection to olfactory
identification and application. This
terpene moderation is what is called the
entourage effect.
You can see that the strains listed in
Fig. 1 contain nearly the same CBD and
THC content, but the terpene ratios affecting
their fragrance are very different per
strain. Some pain reduction is a common
trait in the OG strains, but the stronger
Cannabinoids (%) Terpenes (%)
SAMPLE STRAIN CBC THC THCV CBG CBN CBC CBL Linalool B-Mycrene A-Pinene D-Limonene B-Caryophyllene
OG Kush 0.30% 26% 0.80% 1.40% 0.30% 0.30% 0.40% 0.30% 0.70% 0.50% 0.60% 0.50%
Tahoe OG 0.30% 25% 0.30% 1.20% 0.05% 0.20% 0.70% 0.20% 0.30% 0.30% 0.50% 0.60%
Blue Dream 0.20% 24% 0.20% 0.20% 0.10% 0.20% 0.00% 0.10% 1.10% 0.70% 0.20% 0.20%
Fig. 1
Blue Dream is a euphoric strain
with calming effects. It is not at
all a mediator of pain and shows
a higher content of A-Pinene and
B-Myrcene and low D-Limonene and
B-Caryophyllene compared to OG.
40
grow. heal. live. enjoy.
myhydrolife.ca