Are there still benefits to marijuana if a low dose is taken where the person is not buzzed? Or is it the case that to see any improvement, it’s necessary to take enough where you are high?
To relate to something I’m more familiar with, how similar is it to drinking alcohol? One beer is enough to reduce normal day-to-day stress and produce a small improvement in mood. But if someone was suffering from severe stress and anxiety where they needed medical intervention, one beer would not be enough. If someone was using “medical alcohol”, that person would likely need to get drunk to alleviate their more severe symptoms.
Is it kind of the same for marijuana? Is the quantity they need to ingest for symptom relief large enough that they will also get high in the process?
No. There are some strains of weed with very little of the psychoactive component. I doubt your buddy with the VW Westfalia can get it for you, though.
This was brought-up in a legal challenge in NC a few years ago.
I’ve recently been giving my elderly, arthritic dog treats containing cannabis oil. She showed remarkable improvement in her mobility after only three doses. Since I can’t see there being any placebo effect since she has no clue this is supposed to make her feel better, I’d say it works.
I can’t really look it up where I am, but what are some of the medical benefits of just THC? If you took enough THC to receive its medical benefits, would you almost certainly get high as a side effect?
The placebo effect isn’t working on the dog; it’s working on you. You believe it should make the dog more mobile, therefore you perceive the dog as being more mobile.
Therefore the answer to the question of the OP is No, it is not necessary to get high to get the benefits of THC or marijuana. Most of the effects are placebo. It might make the placebo effect stronger if you feel high, because you would have something to remind you that you are supposed to feel better, and expensive placebos work better than cheap ones, but until clinical trials establish some benefit to non-high-producing marijuana compounds, no strain is any better or worse than any other.
I first tried OTC CBD (hemp oil) for my arthritis/bad hip & 2 bad knee pain). It really did not help. Then, after getting Medical Cannabis Card, I was put on Low THC (approx. 0.74%) med. cannabis, starting at 12 mg per day, then 15, then 20, then 30mg, but I still was not getting much relief. I understand the CBD/THC ratio is like 12.5:1.
Just recently started on 1:1 CBD to THC ratio stuff, vaping it. Dr. prescribing it is having me start a low level, 1.5mg (three - 3 sec. puffs), 3 times a day. The box label says to take 14 times that much! It says 3 mg, 20 times a day!!!
As it is, I am spaced out most of the day! (still not sure if it is helping the pain). Each 3 hit salvo lasts about 2 1/2 to 3 hours or so.
It is not necessary to get high. There are strains that have very little of the stuff that makes you feel stoned.
One example, I have this cannabis-based oil, which works better than the hydrocortisone you can buy OTC (but not as well as the prescription stuff). No high at all, although you do smell pretty dank. Specific example: For a psoriatic skin thing going on, the prescription stuff takes care of it in a day. The OTC stuff takes care of it in three days. The CBD oil takes care of it in about a day and a half. Left untreated, it just goes on and on, and gets worse.
And you don’t have to make a doctor’s appointment and go in and beg for more. Instant relief.
Yep. My 88 yo mother takes a few drops of CBD tincture under her tongue when she feels a migraine coming on. Nothing else helps. the CBD stops it in it’s tracks.