Dr Frankel talks about Trigeminal Neuralgia and the positive effect he has seen cannabis have on patients dealing with it. Some feedback received by three recent patients is also included.
Anyone familiar with my views on the cannabis plant knows that I am a
“whole plant guy” and for the most part have found hemp/industrial hemp to be a poor source of medication. Undeniably, hemp is a wonderful source of fiber, and now with the Farm Bill in effect, we will be growing a lot of industrial hemp to be used to make everything from paper to buildings.
There is no doubt in my mind that the current version of industrial hemp has tremendous value. The theory makes sense; going back a few thousand years, hemp and cannabis plants were always found on the spectrum of industrial fiber and medicine.
Hopefully, the value of cannabis in whole plant form will be recognized and reserved for medication, but it’s not so simple anymore. A group at UC Davis was able to cross a CBD rich whole plant cannabis plant with a hemp plant, yielding a very low THC cannabis plant. Additionally, from what I’ve heard, it can be grown very economically as well.
In my practice, about 20% of my patients use primarily CBD, leaving 80% requiring THC and more. There are other cannabinoids that are more rare that are emerging on the marketplace, such as THCV, which I suppose could be crossed with a Version 2 hemp plant. Since by law, there can be no more than 0.3% THC in these new Version 2 medically laden hemp plants, the majority of my patients will still need whole plant cannabis for optimal medicinal benefits.
So, does this new hybrid change my mind regarding the value of hemp in medicine? Not yet. I have been meeting with folks in the industry for nearly one year and I have never been able to receive a “bud” of this new hemp CBD.
I am eagerly awaiting samples of the Version 2 hemp plant and intend to extract them, measure the terpenes and report back.
If anyone out there actually has a few buds, as it is legal, please let me know if you’d like to make some available to me for testing and research.
You Might Also Enjoy...
Dr Frankel talks about Trigeminal Neuralgia and the positive effect he has seen cannabis have on patients dealing with it. Some feedback received by three recent patients is also included.
Dr Frankel talks about his experience with prostate cancer therapies that have reduced his testosterone and the effect it has had on his life.
With COVID, we have never been more aware of critical shortages of masks, ventilators, hospital beds, etc., all leading to rationing. In this BLOG, Dr Frankel, examines how rationing in our medical care is a much bigger problem than just face masks.
There are "acid" and "neutral" forms of every cannabinoid molecule. Early man knew the difference and would either just eat the cannabis raw, or heat it to convert to the neutral or "active" forms of the cannabinoids.
Cookie Bekkar is a cancer survivor and patient of Dr Frankel's. She has created a website to share her story, what worked well for her and as a resource help inspire/educate other patients.
Early studies in both Israel and Canada show findings consistent with CBD's effect on COVID-19's ability to take hold in the lungs or the gastrointestinal tract. If the receptors are reduced, the viral infection and pulmonary toxicity should be reduced.