Let’s understand some terms as we discuss what is medical about medical marijuana:
|Cannabis||is a genus of plant that produces over 400 compounds, the most famous of which is THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), which is one of over 100 cannabinoids that react with the body’s endocannabinoid system. THC gives what is known as the euphoric high. The other cannabinoids have other health effects which are just beginning to be recognized and researched.|
|Marijuana||is dried substance from the leaves and flowers of the cannabis plant that contain the most THC.|
|Note:||Both cannabis and marijuana which contain THC are on the Drug Enforcement Agency’s (DEA) list of Schedule 1 drugs, which have “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” As described on our Cannabis Law page, marijuana is illegal at the Federal level, but legal for medicinal or recreational use in thirty states plus the district of Washington DC.|
|Hemp||is the Cannabis plant, however, it has been bred to contain less than 0.3 percent of the cannabinoid THC, which provides the euphoric high of marijuana. The Hemp Farming Act of 2018 removed hemp from the Schedule 1 list of controlled substances. Hemp has been used for centuries in making rope, producing clothing, and numerous other industries.|
|Cannabinoids||are chemical compounds found almost uniquely in the cannabis plant that have various effects on the endocannabinoid system in our bodies. Endocannabinoids are fat-based neuro-transmitters that bind to cannabinoid receptors in our bodies. The system helps regulate physiological and cognitive processes that can give us a state of euphoria, but is also the basis for potential healthful effects of cannabis. The body produces its own cannabinoids that play a role in regulating feeling, thinking, memory, movement of the body, awareness of time, desire to eat, awareness of pain, and the five senses (taste, touch, smell, hearing, and sight). Ingestion of cannabinoids from cannabis products can enhance effects of those natural substances already in our bodies.|
|THC||Tetrahydrocannabinol is one of over 100 cannabinoids in the cannabis plant that produces psychoactive effects which can have significant medical benefits. Dronabinol, a synthetic form of THC, has been approved by the FDA for appetite stimulation in AIDS and anti-nausea treatment for those receiving chemotherapy.|
|CBD||Cannabidiol is another of over 100 cannabinoids in the cannabis plant which can account for up to 40% of the plant’s extract. It may have an effect on anxiety, disordered thinking, and as an anti-psychotic. CBD may be produced with or without THC for beneficial effects.|
|Sativa||is a subspecies of cannabis plants which produces greater energy, alertness, is uplifting and promotes creativity.|
|Indica||is a subspecies of cannabis plants which promotes relaxation and sleep. It is also known as an appetite stimulator and a pain reliever.|
|Hybrid||is a name given to specific formulations of cannabis strains or product which contain various concentrations of both sativa and indica.|
|Terpenes||are the essential oils of a plant. They offer a discernible flavor or scent. Cannabis terpenes also interact with cannabinoid receptors and can therefore enhance or decrease the effect of particular cannabinoids in a product.|
|Strains||are the specific types of cannabis plants that can be grown which are designed and cultivated by growers to emphasize specific medicinal qualities, such as choices between indica and sativa, or emphasis of terpenes.|
|Extracts||are those materials extracted from the cannabis plant via various methods such as drying, heating, using solvents, sifting, pressurizing. Extracts from different strains can also be combined to enhance medicinal effects.|
|Marijuana products||are finished products produced from extracts which comes in various consumable forms: flower, concentrates, edibles, cartridges, and topicals.|
Cannatrials’ Mission and Vision is to create partnerships at the State level where cannabis already is legal, with medical marijuana products formulated by producers and growers, and distributed by dispensaries.
CannaTrials will bring together marijuana doctors and patients with ailments to perform comparative clinical trials which determine whether specific products effectively improve medical conditions so that product labeling is accurate, has medical science behind it, which increases consumer trust and reliance on products, and increases the reputation of both producers and dispensaries participating in studies.
This path will quicken the acceptance and use of medical marijuana for clinical purposes by patients, physicians, processors and growers, dispensaries and state governments.