It’s the End of Another Year. Time For a Course Correction?

By Dan Reich

The end of a calendar year graces us with two contradictory activities…holiday celebrations and New Year’s resolutions. The celebrations encourage us to put restraint aside, at least until New Year’s Day. Then we pledge, sometimes successfully, to establish new habits (new gym memberships spike in January) or to rein in whatever bad habits we might have allowed ourselves to slip into. Following are some common-sense tips that will enhance your health, as well as ways to enjoy cannabis as part of a healthier life in 2024.

Clean up your diet.

Food in this country as provided by mega-food processors is loaded with things that are harmful and light on things that nourish the body. Sugar and salt, especially in the amounts that a fast food hamburger contains, can lead to diabetes, hypertension, and a host of other health issues. Carbohydrates, often in the form of starchy or doughy food such as potatoes and pizza, contribute calories to our bodies and little else of value. Not to mention the scourge of sugary soft drinks or unpronounceable chemicals added as preservatives or flavor-extenders.

The best single strategy to combat this is to bypass the processing as much as you can. Usually, that means buying fresh ingredients and cooking it yourself. But if your market has a hot food section, from an actual kitchen, you can avoid a lot of processing. If you’re in a hurry for lunch, substitute a prepackaged salad for that sandwich. The most commonly consumed (and advertised) foods tend to favor meat, cheese and carbohydrates at the expense of vegetables. So steam yourself some veggies to go with that chicken breast or salmon.

Like to relax after dinner? Instead of another glass of wine, why not serve an elegantly simple dessert of French Vanilla ice cream topped by one of our cookie edibles in either chocolate (indica) or ginger (sativa). With 10 grams of THC per cookie, you’ll unwind in a whole new way.

Get More Exercise

It matters less what you do to exercise than the fact that you do it. Weights, pilates, cycling, walking…whatever floats your boat (or kayak) will help your body burn more calories, develop muscle strength and balance, and contribute to your overall good health. The key to a sustainable exercise program is to choose something that speaks to you. If you’re not motivated to engage in a particular activity, you’re not going to keep doing it. Perhaps you’re the competitive type...Pickleball might be just right for you. Like solitude? Take up hiking. Every form of exercise has its version of “runner’s high.”

And while you’re exercising, keep in mind that many studies have found that participants in some activities, such as running or cycling, experience more enjoyment when they combine it with cannabis. Whether you prefer flower, edibles, tinctures or vaping, bringing cannabis along will help insure that you enjoy the activity enough to make it a regular habit.

Touch Grass

The texture of modern life…screens, world conflict, technology, AI…can often be overwhelming. Experiencing nature on a regular basis can help mitigate the wear and tear that modern life imposes on us. Something as simple as watching the waves crashing on a beach or listening to the call of a bird in your backyard can connect us to something more primal and rewarding than checking your smartphone again.

You may find that nature is the gift that keeps on giving, and you return again and again. And as with exercise, you may discover that the experience is enhanced with cannabis.

Add More Music to Your Life

Music has amazing healing properties, and it’s never a bad idea to have a soundtrack to your life. You may have a music library on your phone that you can access from your living room or car. The right music can energize a workout, comfort you when you’re down, or soothe you when you’re anxious. It’s pretty hard to engage in road rage if you’re listening to Debussy or the Spa channel on satellite radio.

And again, there has been a lot of research that suggests that enjoying cannabis while listening to music enables the listener to notice different things about whatever they are listening to. Maybe they notice that percussion instrument in the background for the first time or how the guitarist adds vibrato to some of their notes. If you’ve never experienced this phenomenon I suggest you curl up with your favorite cannabis product and listen to one of your favorite recordings. I promise you will hear something in it that you never noticed before.

As you make your way through the journey that is life, may it lead you to greater health and happiness.

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Sungrown Cannabis: Science Favors Nature

By Billee Sharp

Autumn has an air of completion about it, especially for those agriculturists and gardeners among us, who have just harvested their crops.

The traditional cannabis harvest in California runs from late September through October. Once the plants have been harvested the flowers must be carefully dried and cured before the harvest can be considered a success.

These days, much of California’s cannabis is grown indoors under artificial lights, which leads to multiple harvests instead of just one. The commercial advantages of indoor growing are obvious and indoor growing advocates argue that the controlled growing environment protects the plants from outdoor nuisances, namely insects and bad weather.

Indoor and outdoor cultivation are legal in California with the appropriate licenses and permits and both exist amicably side by side supplying the legal market.

However, for as many years as cannabis has been grown indoors there has been a lively debate about whether indoor or outdoor growing yields superior cannabis.

Finally, in January this year Molecules, the leading international, peer-reviewed, open access journal of chemistry, published a study by Columbia University that compares the two cultivation methods.

The study grew six genetically identical commercial plants from two different cultivars, Red Velvet and the unfortunately named, Cheetah Piss, with three plants of each strain outside and three inside. The outdoor samples were grown in raised beds using a mixture of all-natural, “living” soil and composts in full sunlight. The indoor samples were grown under artificial light in a proprietary growth medium.

At harvest, the researchers selected similar sized flowers from the top of the plants. They then tested the flowers using  gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to evaluate terpene composition, and ultra-performance liquid chromatography plus mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS) to measure cannabinoids. These methods are the industry standard for testing cannabis.

Outdoor cannabis samples showed greater diversity of terpenes compared to indoor cannabis from the same genetic stock. In addition  the outdoor samples revealed a greater concentration of sesquiterpenes compared to the indoor samples. Sesquiterpenes, are terpenes that have an extra isoprene unit. The most common sesquiterpene is B-caryophyllene, the spicy flavored element, present not only in cannabis but also hops, black pepper and rosemary. Sesquiterpenes are larger than terpenes and tend to be more robust, maintaining their properties more reliably during drying and curing.

In terms of primary cannabinoid levels, levels of CBGA and CBDA were relatively similar between indoor and outdoor plants, while CBCA was slightly higher in the outdoor grow THCA was slightly lower.

Admittedly, the study has some shortcomings; it doesn’t take every cultivation variable into consideration, nor does it  measure differences in the nutrient value of the growing mediums nor compare temperature and humidity conditions.

Despite the limitations of the study the results make a credible case that certain conditions associated with outdoor growing may be favorable to terpene production and  protective of cannabinoid degradation through the presence of extra sesquiterpenes.

Indoor growers will gleefully point to the slightly higher ratio of THCA and thus THC of indoor plants, but THC levels are not the only yardstick that cannabis is measured by. Medical cannabis growers are keen for the broadest expression of terpenes and cannabinoids and outdoor growing conditions are conducive to this outcome.

At Synergy Wellness, outdoor cultivation has been central to the development of hybridized cannabis strains rich in CBD, CBG, CBN and THCV. As staunch believers in the benefits of broad spectrum cannabis, where cannabinoids act synergistically, we see the advantages of sunshine in our plants and products!

 Further Reading: Zandkarimi, Fereshteh et al. “Comparison of the Cannabinoid and Terpene Profiles in Commercial Cannabis from Natural and Artificial Cultivation.” Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) vol. 28,2 833. 13 Jan. 2023, doi:10.3390/molecules28020833

How Cannabis Helps Your Body Eliminate Cancer Cells

By Nurse Lauren with Leonard Leinow

Our bodies are perfectly curated systems of tissues, organs, vasculature and more, that are all programmed to work in symphony to conduct the magic that we call being alive. Our cells are the building blocks of which the palaces of our being are built, and it is important to know a few basic processes that are fundamental for understanding how it all works. When we are taking any type of medication or doing any type of therapy it is crucial to understand the process by which it affects your body. When people comprehend their own bodies something extraordinary occurs, they become empowered about their health! They no longer feel like powerless victims floating through a sea of confusion, but rather informed participants making thoughtful decisions. How wonderful!

         As we all know, our bodies are made up of innumerable cells of all types and purposes. On the surface of every single one of them (including cancer cells) are various different receptors that receive compounds that initiate chemical reactions. Pertinent to our discussion here are the cannabinoid receptors, which are responsible for allowing our cells to interact with the various forms of CBD and THC found in cannabis. It is important to note here just how long our species (homo sapiens) had to exist alongside cannabis for our bodies to evolve receptors specifically for its molecules on our cells! It is compound that is crucial to our health and happiness, and this very fact shows us this.

         Researchers have identified two cannabinoid receptors thus far that exist in the bodies of mammals. The first is CB1, the most abundant receptor, which is predominantly found in the nervous system, connective tissues, gonads, glands, and organs. The second is CB2, which is predominantly present in the digestive and immune systems and its associated structures. Many tissues contain both CB1and CB2 receptors, each linked to a different action within the cell. Tumor cells have cannabinoid receptors on their surfaces as well. When THC and CBD bind to the receptors on tumor cells they create apoptotic, anti-proliferative, and anti-invasive results. Simply put, THC and CBD can induce cell suicide in a cancer cell. They can also slow cancer’s growth and spread by interrupting processes that it needs to survive.

         In a recent study conducted by St George’s University of London it was shown that THC, CBD and CBG are a potent combination in the fight against certain cancers. Preliminary studies like these are so important, as their results initiate further studies globally about cannabis and the human body. It takes many studies over many years before anything is ever widely accepted in medicine. These steps are crucial in educating everyone to the healing properties of cannabis at a scholarly level. In order to get these medicinal compounds to those that need them most we must study and spread the knowledge accordingly. Hooray for science!

         This is a good enough time as any to begin your healing journey with cannabis. Introducing a CBD and/or THC regimen into your life will assist your endocannabinoid system with lowering inflammation as a whole throughout your body. If you currently are dealing with cancer then the pain relieving and relaxing properties of THC and CBD should be considered as well. Cannabis assists with taking stress levels down so the body can rest and heal. It also boosts the immune system, needed to  restore health and stop the growth of cancer cells. There are innumerable reasons to take nature’s medicine, hopefully now you all understand a little bit more about how it works in your bodies.

In order to have effective cannabis medicine for this metabolic disorder, large doses of full spectrum CBD, THC and CBG are required. Synergy Wellness produces products designed for this purpose. Specifically, high dose suppositories are used, since administered this way, the medicine does not produce psychoactive side effects. Plus, suppositories are absorbed through the lymphatic system and delivered throughout the body, where needed.

Sending love to all on their healing journeys,

Nurse Lauren, BSN