If you live where Medical Marijuana is available and where there are dispensaries yo u may find EDIBLE CANNABIS PRODUCTS to help slow progression of Alzheimer's, calm anxiety, give a night's sleep, improve mood and so on.

Although there are not many problems with using a vaporizer, there have been some issues with edibles.

They look and taste like fine bakery items. There are also candies. The edibles are preferred by people who are experienced in using cannabis because they are not burned. Heat destroys some of the 100+ elements of cannabis.

The issue is not getting proper instructions on the POTENCY of edibles.

Always start with one small, very small bite and wait. Hours can go by before some it becomes active. People have eaten entire candy bars at one sitting and gone into deep sleep. An elderly person, a person of low weight needs much less than a large young man.

I ate my first edible 3 years ago while visiting my children. It was delicious. About an hour or so later I could not move my eyes. My daughter noticed, questioned me, shrieked "NO! Mom, you were supposed to have that last all week!"

I was put to bed and slept like I never slept in my life, woke up 8 hours later feeling like a new woman. Had I not been with my son and daughter I could have ended up in emergency room where they would have pumped me full of who knows what and I would have been traumatized.

Also know that although there is some money involved in getting started, the purchase of a good vaporizer makes for safe ingestion. No lighter or flame, no burned off active ingredients.

The endocannabinoid system in the human body was discovered in the 1960's and is being investigated now that the medical uses for MM are expanding.

Our brains and bodies have receptors for cannabinoids. The many active parts of the plant work together in a synthesis. It has been safely used as a medicine for 1000+ years. Now it comes to modern medicine and science and the fear of it is shrinking as evidence of its use expands.

Best to find a dispensary with personnel experienced with your particular problem or goal and remember (ha!) to take one puff and wait an hour or more to find how you react to that strain and potency. Edibles "come on" later, some up to 5 hours later.

For more information on the endocannabinoid system check here.

http://the-human-solution.org/education-resources/education/cannabis/the-endocannabinoid-system/

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1361971-overview 

http://www.thecannabist.co/2014/06/04/was-maureen-dowd-warned-about-edible-marijuana/13113/

So how can consumers find the right dose of marijuana-infused edibles? At the moment, exact dosing via edibles is impossible in Colorado for a number of reasons. But there are a few steps consumers can take as they attempt to dose properly in the Wild West that is Colorado’s early-2014 marijuana landscape, and here they are.

1. Are you experienced: “We always ask people if they have they tried cannabis before,” said Ean Seeb of central Denver dispensary Denver Relief. “Have they eaten or smoked before? If not, we’ll start them out slower.” It’s worth noting that tolerance doesn’t often translate from smoking pot to eating it. Read on and you’ll see that a high smoking tolerance doesn’t equal a high tolerance for edibles.

2. Listen to your body: “Know that body mass, age, metabolism, gender and body chemistry at that point in time all vary in the effectiveness of the medicine,” said Jayson Emo, better known in the Colorado weed community as Giddy Up and a production head at Gaia’s Garden, a 5-year-old infused edibles company. Ask your budtender a couple questions about your body type, gender and age; THC’s fickle relationship with fatty cells, regardless of how much pot you smoke, might throw you for an unexpected loop.

3. Never on an empty stomach: “We always recommend that people treat (edibles) like they would a painkiller — like Vicodin or Percocet,” said My 420 Tours’ Meinerz, who regularly advises tourists on the dos and don’ts of Colorado cannabis. “You never wanna have it on an empty stomach, so maybe start with a little bit, and have it with some food.” Just envision the sticker on your prescription bottle of antibiotics: TAKE WITH FOOD.

4. Measuring by milligrams: “We consider 10 milligrams to be a unit or dose of THC,” said Christie Lunsford, director of operations at 3D Cannabis Center. When you’re dosing out an edible, drink or tincture, you’ll calculate the amount of activated THC in each piece or square. If the 100-milligram chocolate bar splits into 10 pieces, each one is roughly 10 milligrams apiece. Dose accordingly — but only after reading No. 7 on this list.

5. Different brands, different consistency: “Some people have a different reaction or experience with infused chocolates or infused gummies, and one will often work better than the other for somebody,” said Giddy Up. “It ties into the comparison with the (marijuana) flower. If people find a strain they like, they go with that strain — or they might find a dispensary they prefer because of the growers there. It’s the same with edibles: If somebody finds an edible they really enjoy, and it’s a 10-milligram gummy and it’s consistent with the dosage and they know how their body will react and how they’ll react psychologically, it becomes their go-to brand.” So experiment with different brands. Again, ask your budtender and friends. Do your research.

6. The waiting game: “For casual users, people who don’t have high tolerances, 10-20 milligrams should be more than enough,” said Incredibles’ Eschino. “10 milligrams is the recommended serving size from the (Marijuana Enforcement Division). It’s a good place to start, especially with edibles, because you don’t wanna take too much. So start slow, and wait 45 minutes after you take it to see how you feel. You can always take more — but you can’t go back and take less.” And some edibles take longer than 45 minutes to kick in. Colorado edible brand Dixie Elixirs includes an Activation Time on each of its products — a smart graphic on the packaging that tells consumers how long they should wait before taking more. “Marijuana infused products can take 30 minutes to 2 hours to take effect,” says Dixie’s clever Marijuana 101 promotional pamphlet. “So take your time, because overindulging is not fun.”

7. Expect a different high: “I only eat edibles when I know I’m Ubering,” said Giddy Up, referencing the high-end taxi alternative. Giddy Up calls himself “an intense, heavy smoker who smokes on average a gram and a half to two grams of concentrate per day.” That’s a gargantuan amount of concentrate, and yet “a heavy smoker like myself is still an edible weakling,” he continued. “A lot of the reason why the ride is so intense in edibles is because of the minimal amount of membranes it passes through in the stomach. It doesn’t absorb the same way as smoking through the lungs.” So if you think your pot-smoking tolerance has prepped you for higher-milligram usage in edibles, think again.

8. No mandatory THC testing: “Right now testing the product is permissive,” Colorado Department of Revenue communications director Daria Serna told us in March. “Starting in May 2014, it could become mandatory for MIPs to test every production batch of edibles for potency.”

  In plain text: Companies making marijuana-infused edibles in Colorado right now are not required to test their product. We did an extensive panel of tests on 10 different MIPs (marijuana-infused products) and saw just how wildly the amounts of THC claimed on the labels are off. Dr. J’s claimed 100 milligrams of activated THC in its winter mint chocolate Star Barz when it only contained .3 milligrams. Incredibles’ product had the opposite results, testing at 146 milligrams of THC on its Mile High Mint bar labeled for 100 milligrams. (See all the testing results.) This is a buyer-beware situation that emphasizes the importance of finding a brand and a product that works for you and sticking with it.

It is my understanding that when the mj is heated, the degraded cannabis then has more CBD, which is what we would be looking, to ingest, to receive the 5 hour benefit, as opposed to smoking it (THC), which only lasts for maybe a couple hours, with a different high than from the CBD..

I have made the cannaoil and baked cookies, etc.. 

The strength of dose depends on the botanicals used, the temperature when making the oil/butter.. and the size of the cookie!

I think you missed the boat by not explaining the THC vs  CBD

Kathy

VicsP - 

I am no expert, just sharing what I know. Please expand on THC - CBD ratios and share your knowledge if you have something to contribute so we do not all miss the boat you are referring to. 

My first interest in this started with the story from a woman in Oregon who grows MM commercially. She posted on her web site about caring for her Mom who had ALZ - how she got her Mom (who arrived sick and lethargic and cranky) off an array of medications and started cannabis for her anxiety, confusion and depression. 

Her Mom made a huge comeback, becoming active in the gardens, sociable, and loving. She had photos, I began to research more...

What I THINK she advised was THC was needed to quiet the person, relax them. But more than enough agitated the person. 

My humble posts are here to help others considering using it to do it wisely. 

I am always hopeful more knowledgeable and experienced people will add to the conversation. I will look for your contributions on the subject.  

Note: more scientific minds post on this subject under clinical trials.

  I took care of my Father who had ALZ and now I have it. My posts are about what has helped me as a patient. 

 I see your husband has Alzheimer's so perhaps you might share on the Spouse and Caregiver forums.

  Glad to find others who want to help patients use MM wisely.

THC is probably best known for being the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. CBD, however, is non-psychoactive. In other words, CBD can’t get you high. While disappointing to recreational users, this unique feature of CBD is what makes it so appealing as a medicine.

Doctors usually prefer treatments with minimal side effects, which has been a major barrier to the acceptance of medical marijuana. Likewise, CBD has been used to treat younger children with various ailments.

2) Anxiety

THC is known to cause some people to feel anxious or paranoid. But CBD is believed to have the opposite effect. In fact, studies show that CBD works to counteract the anxiety caused by ingesting THC. A number of studies also suggest that CBD can reduce anxiety when administered on its own

) Antipsychotic

In addition to being non-psychoactive, CBD seems to have antipsychotic properties. Researchers believe that CBD may protect marijuana users from getting too high by reducing the psychosis-like effects of THC. However, regulating the mind-altering activity of THC isn’t all that CBD is good for. On its own, CBD is being tested as an antipsychotic medicine for people with schizophrenia.

4) Sleep

One of the most common uses of marijuana is as a sleep aid. THC is believed to be responsible for most of marijuana’s sleep-inducing effects. On the other hand, studies suggest CBD acts to promote wakefulness, making CBD a poor choice as a sleep medicine. The opposite effects of CBD and THC on sleep may explain why some strains of cannabis cause users to feel drowsy while others are known to boost energy.

5) Legal Status

While most countries have strict laws surrounding marijuana and THC, the legal status of CBD is less clear. In the United States, CBD is technically illegal since it is classified as a Schedule I drug under federal law. A pharmaceutical form of CBD, called Epidiolex, was only recently cleared by the FDA to be tested in children with severe epilepsy.

On the other hand, CBD is found in hemp, which can be legally imported and sold in the U.S.Some companies have taken advantage of this loophole by importing high-CBD hemp extracts from other countries where hemp is produced

Jfkoc Thanks for letting us know that.  I would have never known.