Year: 2019

Medical Marijuana

All about Cooking with CBD 

by Deborah

CBD like other cannabis products is soluble in fat, which means that you can use this in cooking, and it’s very simple to use. You can infuse it with olive oil, ghee, and other products in order to create the most savory of dishes. You can also use neutral fats like coconut oil too in order to make these treats. 

First, only use Quality Oil 

When you’re cooking with CBD oil, you want to always make sure that you’re using a product that’s high quality and made by a manufacturer that’s reputable. The oils with bad ingredients and terrible processes can make it not as effective, and some of them contain traces of other chemicals too, including pollutants, pesticides, and fungi, along with other contaminants to ingest too. 

With the flower itself, you do need to decarb them in order to release the chemicals and convert it to both CBD and THC and let them live there correctly. Once decarbed you then extract these compounds within a carrier oil to use in the cooking. 

Some people like to use olive or canola oil, but the key here is any cooking fat that you like and prefer. Take it, and put it in low heat for a few hours, strain it, and then make sure it cools. You have to decarb because otherwise, it won’t be able to be pure CBD or pure THC, and it’s something that must be done. 

Infuse it 

Once you’ve done this, you simply infuse it into different types of foods that you enjoy. Some people like to start off with a couple drops of CBD in the tea that you have, or maybe in your morning coffee. This is good if you prefer to have it in the morning, or at night with a nice herbal blend of tea. 

Smoothies are another since well, they taste good and cannabis works with this. You can drop some CBD in there, and even just a few drops of the oil itself, to truly get the benefits f this and infuse it correctly. Soups are another popular one, since you do use oils for this, and you can put the CBD in a fun carrier oil. It is good too since you can use this in a variety of different soup types. 

Like to dip veggies or other fun treats not your favorite dips and sauces? Well, you can add CBD to this to infuse it, and it’s simple to do. This is because there’s a lot of fat in this, so it’s vee as to infuse this with the canna oil or the butter itself. 

You can use this as both an appetizer dip, or even as a sauce that you put on top of your favorite foods and desserts too. 

Finally, we’ve got brownies and cookies. This is probably the most common way to do it, since well, it uses cooking fats and oils and it’s very easy for you to put it in there.You can infuse pretty much any baked good with CBD, and it also works for cannabis products too. 

Make sure to dose it correctly. 

When you do this, just like with THC, you want to dose it correctly.  If you’re serving something and you normally take a certain amount of CBD oil every day, multiply that by the servings of the recipe before you eat it. Be smart with it, since while it isn’t psychoactive, it offers a more familiar way to properly dose and get the effects of CBD, no matter what you choose to do with it.

Medical Marijuana

Other Plants and Fungi that Contain Cannabinoids 

by Deborah

While cannabis is known for the cannabinoids that are in there, with over 100 of them being in there, you might wonder what other plants may incorporate this. Here, we’ll go over some of the other popular plants that do have this, and why it’s worth mentioning period. 

Why do they make these cannabinoids? 

These plants do this to protect themselves. For the most part, it’s used for production and growth, but also for chemical warfare too. The molecules get churned out so that the pests go away, and it also puts off herbivores that are trying to munch on this and also protects these organisms against the harmful UV rays that can destroy them. 

This is pretty cool, and the thing is, not all plant sand fungi product the same cannabinoids, so it’s good to try different ones and see what you can get from them. With that said, let’s go over a few of the top plants with cannabinoids in them. 

Coneflowers or echinacea 

These are plants commonly native in the North American region. Coneflowers are already used in a variety of holistic medicine, including teas, capsules, and tinctures, and for a lot of researchers, they start to understand the components of this, and also the different aklomides that are in this family. 

This plant does have endocannabinoids that work with the CB1 and CB2 receptors, and it also activates the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors, which are part of your “expanded endocannabinoid system” 

Electric Daisy 

They’re called this because when you chew them, it actually causes a tingle in the tongue. 

This plant is native to Argentina and Brazil and was used in the past to help tackle different problems including toothaches.  This plant produces what’s called spilanthol, which is a binding element to the CB2 receptor area. 

While it’s not the most effective in terms of blinding, there is some affinity there, and it plays a huge role in immune response. We might see more studies on this, and the different benefits of this plant. 

Wooly Umbrella 

Let’s look at this one, which is a plant that has sulfur-yellow colored flowers. This is native to Africa, particularly in Zimbabwe and also along the eastern part of the cape. This one doesn’t have THC or CBD, but instead there some CBG in this plant, and while we’re still looking at the benefits of this, there were some studies that did find CBG in this as well. 

The research is still early though, and some scientists are struggling to get samples, but there is a chance that this may product cannabinoids that are psychoactive as well. 

Turkey Tail 

This is a very common fungus that is on wood that’s rotting, and it has a formation that looks like a shelf, with concentric circles and white pores that you’ll be able to easily spot. 

This fungi actually contains complex carbs that can be used for the treatment of cancer, and it has been used in that way in Japan. One of the polysaccharides that is out there is the polysaccharopeptide, which binds to your CB2 receptors. Researchers are still exploring the way this mechanism works, and whether or not it will truly alleviate pain, and also help to curb inflammation. 

Right now, there is still a lot of studies being done on this, and we’re still learning a lot about each of these plants. Hopefully down the line, we do learn more, and we can find out new and innovative ways to truly use these cannabinoids in the treatment of many different problems in the body.

Medical Marijuana

Is hemp biofuel the Answer to the Environmental Crisis 

by Deborah

For years, with global warming and climate change wrecking the world, we’ve wondered about different fuels we can use, such as biofuel. Biofuel is made from living material, including animal fat, vegetable oil, and also other plant material, and it’s basically mixed to make a fuel that’s not going to harm the environment. One that we’ve looked at so far is hemp. Is it worth using? Can it be used as a biofuel? The answers to all of these questions here. 

Can Biofuel really change things? 

Well, yes it can. It can help with the reduction of fossil fuels, and also get rid of the undesirables in the air. 

Due to the organic material in this, it takes the carbon dioxide, and when properly combusted, this is then re-released. This pattern doesn’t cause a CO2 buildup, and from there doesn’t contribute to the global warming crisis. It also helps get farmers more income, which is good to keep them in business. 

It also will reduce the disruptions in the supply chain, making it more affordable for people. It is controversial though, since there is a study that says it may actually increase the emissions, and there is also the emissions that come from mailing the biofuel. 

Another thing is that it may emit the same amount of CO2 that normal petrol does, and it actually may also cause crop displacement. But does hemp offer the answer? 

Is Hemp the biofuel that we need? 

Hemp is actually a possible poetical biofuel. There are big car brands that are using this already for some of the components. But is it a viable option for fuel? Hemp ethanol is basically an alternative to using ethanol that doesn’t use the food sources like how wheat and corn due. This may offer more of a possible chance for production while also reducing the disruption too. 

Hemp is also a whole lot easier to grow than these crops, and they are hardier than corn and wheat. This also has a much clearer sort of output compared to grapeseed and soybean biofuels. This does have a higher flash point too, so it’s easier to store and handle as well. 

Hemp doesn’t also require a ton of fertilizer compared to other plant sources. This means that you’re not messing with the ecosystem or killing other plants, animals, and the water either. This means that you can have it in bad soil, and you’ll still get some great yields too. 

It also is returned directly to the soil. Well, the nutrients that is. About 70% of the nutrients go back to this, and it doesn’t require a bunch of water either to grow.  You only need about 12 inches for it to grow, whereas the others need almost double that. Finally, it can use every single part of the plant, and it could possibly be used to also grow better, more abundantly, and also is a much more solid fuel source too. 

Any downsides? 

The biggest downside is the economic side o things. It tends to have more expensive startups. But it also  is not hard to farm in some cases, and it might be hard for mass processing distribution. It also may cause a rise in emissions too. 

It’s also not as efficient compared to petrol, since it won’t have more fuel economy than that and less power. So do we need it? Possibly.  With the beating that mother nature’s been taking, we do need to look at other options, and hemp may be the biofuel of the future for many.