Cannabis 101

Note: Our Leaf411 Blog periodically shares articles from The Cannigma, a trusted resource for research-backed medical cannabis education and information. We loved their recent piece on cannabis journaling! Journaling is a practice we often recommend to callers.

You don’t need to be a gifted writer to keep a cannabis journal! The purpose of the journal is to record your goals and experiences using specific cannabis products, doses or CBD:THC ratios, which can help you identify the most effective cannabis regimen moving forward. 

Cannabis journaling only requires a notebook or a simple spreadsheet. However, there are several apps on the market that can help, if you’re looking for a more customized approach. Check out the Cannigma article below to learn more about what to track and how journaling can help you dial in cannabis to your health goals. Remember, too, that the Leaf nurses are available to help at no cost via our hotline: 844-LEAF411 (844-532-3411) 

This article was originally published on The Cannigma and appears here with permission.

by Ben Hartman
Feb 15, 2021

Despite the traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, and years of PTSD, Otha Smith considers himself one of the lucky ones. 

Pronounced dead at the scene of a car accident in 2003, a friend and medical student he was traveling with performed CPR until a medivac helicopter arrived, giving him another chance at life.

Otha Smith, CEO of Tetragram (Otha Smith)

Smith eventually recovered, but “started to go down a really dark path” with the prescription medications, so he turned to cannabis. 

Years later, when medical cannabis was legalized in Maryland, where he lives, Smith told The Cannigma how he suddenly had access to a whole world of weed he had never encountered with his old dealer. He had to find the products helped him the most, and it was a lot more work than just choosing a jar with a pleasant-enough sounding strain name.

Fast-forward to 2020, and Smith and two co-founders launched “Tetragram,” a mobile app designed to help medical cannabis patients determine which products — including which strains, formulations, and delivery methods — work best for their ailments or even their recreational use goals. 

Tyler Dautrich, the COO of Releaf, another cannabis journaling app, told The Cannigma that his app “is geared towards helping that individual lessen the amount of time and money they spend in that trial and error process and strictly hone in on what works for them.”

Both apps are technological tools for journaling, a technique that can be used by medical patients looking to treat specific symptoms or conditions, but also by recreational cannabis users trying to hone in on the products and delivery methods that will reliably produce the effects they’re looking for.

What is cannabis journaling?

Cannabis journaling can be in the form of a simple diary or journal, Hello Kitty stationary, or an Excel spreadsheet on your computer. Online apps like Releaf and Tetragram are growing in popularity, and are well-suited for a smartphone. 

Journaling can make cannabis use more mindful, deliberate and based on goals, past experiences, and your own personally cultivated data tracking what works best for you. It’s a way of getting the most out of the legal cannabis field in which there is an almost bewildering amount of options. 

It can also help cannabis consumers tune out some of the noise, Dautrich said. 

“As legalization trends continue and more and more options become available, companies are branding completely different products in the same way so there a lot of products that are labeled differently than what they’re actually for,” Dautrich stated, adding that “with journaling, you have a lot of knowledge and data and information backing up your purchase so you know you’ll get a similar outcome.”

When you go to the grocery store or pharmacy, Dautrich explained, even if you can’t find the exact brand and product you’re looking for, you can be confident that you can find an alternative that produces the same results. Cannabis consumers do not have that luxury.

Dautrich said that there isn’t a typical Releaf user, and that their users include new cannabis consumers who are looking for some help navigating the world of cannabis, as well as connoisseurs who are using the app to track their consumption and rate different brands and products. He likened the connoisseurs using the app to craft beer fans who use similar apps for beer, to record beers they’ve tried, the taste profiles, aromas, and how they feel.

But what should cannabis users be journaling?

What to track in your cannabis journal

Regardless of what journaling method you decide upon, it is important to take some time and set it up and acquaint yourself before attempting to record your first session or product. There are many different ways to journal your cannabis use — a lot will depend on your goals of treatment but also what information or insight you hope to gain from journaling. From the sections below, pick those that feel most relevant to why you are journaling your cannabis, and make sure to be consistent so that can easily spot trends and useful insights later.

• Set and setting
  When and where is the particular cannabis session. What is the time? The date? How do you feel as you start? Is there anything unique about the situation or about how you feel?

• Your goals
  Why are you using cannabis right now? Are you looking to treat specific symptoms or alleviate a particular health condition? Are you looking to relax in the evening or find a product that produces an energetic high during the day? Do you just want to get a good night’s sleep? Identifying and setting your usage goals allows you to gauge which products produce the results you are looking for, and which miss the mark. 

• Product type, delivery method, and dosage
  How are you taking the cannabis? Are you smoking? (If so, from a pipe or bong or joint?) Vaping? Using a tincture? Taking an edible? Different delivery methods can affect you in different ways, even if they come from the same chemovar or strain. How much are you taking? Be specific! With edibles and tinctures it’s easier to know what dose you took down to the milligram, but if you’re smoking a joint or using a vape pen, write down how many puffs you took.

• Product details
  Different products can have the same strain name but different cannabinoid and terpene profiles, and different batches of the same product produced by the same company can even have different THC or CBD levels. That’s why recording the brands and products names is so important for making sure you are able to replicate the good sessions and avoid revisiting the disappointing ones. While this often involves writing down the strain name, as long as you’re also noting the brand and product name you should have all the information you need.

• Cannabinoid and terpene profile
  Recording the THC, CBD, and other cannabinoid content of your cannabis product is crucial. If it’s flower or a vape pen, you’ll want to record the listed percentage of THC, CBD, or other dominant cannabinoids. If it’s a tincture, edible, drinkable, or capsule, you’ll want to record the milligram unit of each cannabinoid that you are taking during your session. But don’t stop there. Terpenes can also have a major impact on the effects, as well as the flavor and aroma of your cannabis. Knowing and recording which terpenes are present in your cannabis is an important tool for figuring out what cannabis products work for you. 

• How it made you feel
  This is the most important part. How did the session make you feel? Did you achieve your goals? Relieve your symptoms? For how long? Did you like the way it made you feel? Were there any adverse side effects? If it’s helpful, you can rank each of the effects from 1-10 to track how effective the session was for each of your goals. Just make sure you’re consistent with how you record this info — it will make it easier to compare and see what is working best. Ultimately, this is the most crucial factor in determining if a product is right for you and it is at the core of why cannabis journaling is important. 

After a few, dozens, or hundreds of entries into your cannabis journal, you should be able to see the common denominators of what factors contributed to a successful session — be it the dose, cannabinoid profile, terpene profile, delivery method, time of day, or any combination of those or others. Don’t be discouraged if the answers aren’t apparent right off the bat — it could be a process of narrowing a broad range of products down to a few. You may even find that different products work for you in different situations or for treating different symptoms. A cannabis journal can also be very helpful to bring to your next doctor’s appointment to discuss what is and isn’t working in order to find the right treatment regimen.

Different cannabis journals

There are several options out there for journaling your cannabis use, whether it’s as a patient, budding connoisseur, or any other reason. You can go the DIY route and make your own physical journal or Excel sheet with custom formulas, use one of the specially designed online apps, or purchase a beautiful physical cannabis journal.

Releaf

Designed with what the company describes as “the basic principle that there had to be a better way to track and demystify the world of medical cannabis,” Releaf is a free mobile app that allows users to track a wide range of aspects of their cannabis use, including their dosing, level of symptom relief, feelings, and side effects, among others. The app also provides customized trends and insights that are based on the user’s own input. 

On the app’s “sessions” dashboard, users can review all of their sessions in detail. While on the “cannabis on hand” section, users can organize all of the different cannabis products they have at the moment, by name, rating, and date. 

Rating makes it easy to see which product has been the most effective for the user, in that it presents a score which is the average rating the user gave it for each parameter. Users can also provide feedback on products at any time.

Tetragram

Tetragram is a free “smart, digital journal that helps you get the most out of medical cannabis.”

The app allows users to create a digital diary of their cannabis experiences by way of sessions in which the user logs a series of data points including strain, product, intake method, dispensary where it was purchased, symptoms treated, quality of experience, and flavor and appearance. 

Users can rate each individual cannabis product and share their ratings as well as photos and comments with the community of Tetragram users. 

The app can also be used to find similar products to ones that worked well for the user. 

The app is fully customizable for every user’s particular cannabis needs and goals. 

Goldleaf

Anybody who has ever held a beautiful glass pipe in their hand or gazed longingly at a perfect trimmed and cured, frosty nug of cannabis knows that sometimes form can be almost — but not quite — as important as function. 

Goldleaf produces a wide variety of sophisticated, informative, and handy journals for all types of cannabis users. The templated and educational notebooks are suited for everyday users, patients, and growers alike, and come complete with infographics and artwork covering a variety of topics in cannabis. 

Take for instance “the Cannabis Taster,” a “pocket journal for those who appreciate fine cannabis.” It comes with 25 full-spread templated entry pages, as well as purveyor sections for logging favorite dispensaries, growers, and products, as well as flavor and terpene infographics. 

And of course, if none of those strike your fancy, you can find lots of custom-made and beautifully designed cannabis journals on Etsy.

How journaling can make cannabis better

In addition to helping patients optimize their cannabis use, online cannabis journaling platforms can also have a potential benefit to the cannabis industry. The anonymized data is made available to scientists and people within the cannabis industry, to help them design products with the right chemical profiles to treat specific conditions and symptoms. 

According to Smith, “all this aggregated data we’re collecting we can provide to the medical professionals and say listen, this is no longer a ‘he said, she said’ — we have actual data about these strains and products and how effective they are at addressing medical conditions.”

A December 2020 study published in the Journal of Cannabis Research examined data from 670 users, who recorded their cannabis use sessions with the Releaf app. The study looked at how cannabis use changed feelings of agitation/irritability, anxiety, and stress, as well as side effects, producing findings that could be of valuable use to cannabis producers.  

According to the researchers, the data indicated a decrease in symptoms intensity levels in 95.51% of cannabis usage sessions. The data also served to indicate that mid and high THC forms of cannabis “were the primary independent predictor of increased symptom relief.”

Dautrich said the Releaf app isn’t meant to replace the doctor-patient relationship, rather, to improve it by helping both patients and doctors have a more informed and educated relationship with cannabis. 

He added that Releaf is also working with companies in the cannabis industry, to allow them to use customer reports to help them improve formulation decisions for their products, as well as which products to market to which customers.

How doctors view cannabis journaling

Dr. Lewis Jassey is the Medical Director of Pediatric Medicine at Leafwell, a network of online medical cannabis clinics. He told The Cannigma that in his practice he uses a form that patients can fill out to describe their health condition and how it affects their daily life. This information is later used to determine how medical cannabis is helping these issues, in order to gain what he describes as “an objective barometer to determine if treatment is working for a patient.”

Jassey shared a version of the questionnaire used for chronic pain patients, which contains nearly two dozen questions about their history with pain. 

“This is designed to establish that there is a true medical indication for you and your body and it’s not just, ‘oh you’re in pain and I’m approving you [for medical cannabis].’”

For Jassey, this sort of data collection is key not only in helping the patient, but also in showing the efficacy of medical cannabis. 

“We want to be pioneers and in the forefront of helping to demonstrate that medical cannabis can in fact help out with many conditions, but you have to have objectivity in your notes.” 

Journaling and these forms of questionnaires are also a way of making sure that treatment is customized for that particular patient’s needs, Jassey said. 

It’s not appropriate to take a cookie-cutter approach to every patient, Jassey said, adding that “this is not a meat market, or a factory, this is peoples’ lives and this is their day-to-day functionality and this is trying to establish medical cannabis in a more mainstream way and to do that you have to establish the credibility.” 

“So it’s not about churning out the next patient, or how many patients I can see in a day. It’s about having meaningful experiences with them so that they can know what’s on their radar so when we have our next follow up I know what to look for and what their [cannabis] application should be,” he added.

State laws determine what cannabis products are legally available where you live

Medically reviewed by Katherine Golden, RN
Written by Denise Rustning

As we enter 2021, medical marijuana is legal in 38 states plus Washington D.C., and adult-use (recreational) marijuana is legal in 15 states, with several other states, including New York, poised to legalize adult-use in 2021.

If you live somewhere with legal cannabis, you might assume that the products you find locally are the same as you’d find in other legal states, but in fact, that’s not the case at all. The cannabis edible or flower (bud) found in Florida’s medical marijuana market will be different from what’s available in Oklahoma’s medical marijuana market, even if it says that it’s the same strain/cultivar or comes from the same brand.

Why Does Cannabis Vary Across States?

There are two big reasons for why cannabis differs across states:

• Cannabis remains federally illegal. As a result, cannabis plants and THC products are prohibited from crossing state lines, even between two legal states located right next to one another, since federal law governs interstate commerce.
• In legal states, marijuana regulations vary widely with different rules for packaging, dose sizes and even the types of products that are legal. State regulations also determine how you can get your cannabis, either by curbside pick-up, drive-thru, or delivery.

An Example from Two States: Cannabis Regulations in Florida Compared to Oklahoma

Going back to our example of Florida versus Oklahoma, we can take a look at how Wana’s medical marijuana market gummies have different packaging and product design across the two states. Wana’s website features photos and details for all their products by state on their website, making the comparison easy.

As you can see, the Wana products sold in Florida look quite different than those sold in Oklahoma! The Florida Department of Health, Office of Medical Marijuana Use, set strict rules for edibles, including requirements that they are not “of a primary or bright color” and cannot resemble any commercially available candy. Florida also requires white packaging that does not contain any images other than the required THC warning, while Oklahoma—the other image shown above—allows images, logos and other package coloring.

When it comes to potency, Florida has a limit of 10mg of THC per piece, while other states have higher THC limits for edibles. Looking at the two examples above, both contain 10mg THC per piece, though Wana also offers high-dose products in Oklahoma with up to 50 mg THC per piece. Other brands in Oklahoma offer gummies with up to 100 mg THC per piece, ten times the limit in Florida!

That’s one reason it’s always important to check the label for potency and dose size, especially when visiting other states. You may think you’re buying the same product you use at home, only to discover that the potency is different due to regulations in the state you’re visiting.

The same rule applies when recommending cannabis-infused products to a friend in a different state—the edibles in their state’s dispensaries may have different potencies than the ones that are available to you.

Our Leaf nurses understand how cannabis products vary between states and they can guide you on safe use with the variety of products you may have on hand. That’s why the nurses ask you to describe the product packages you have and ask where you are located when you call our free hotline (844-LEAF411), so that they can make suggestions for safe and effective use based on products available in your area. They will also guide you to the many vetted resources of support members we have listed by state.

Another Big Difference: Cannabis Plants and THC Cannot Cross State Lines

Earlier, we mentioned how federal law regulates interstate commerce. Since cannabis remains illegal at the federal level, all legal medical and adult-use (recreational) products must be produced with marijuana grown and processed within that state’s borders.

How does that work for brands sold in multiple states? That’s a good question! We have several Leaf411 supporting members, including Wana, incredibles, Altus and Mary’s Medicinals, that offer cannabis-infused products in more than one state.

In most cases, brands like incredibles set up licensing and manufacturing agreements with in-state producers who have in-depth knowledge of the state’s regulatory environment and trusted relationships with state cultivators. The brand shares proprietary recipes, procedures, potency and testing requirements with the manufacturer to ensure the final product is the same quality and consistency that would be found in any other state.

How Cannabis Flower Differs Between States

California’s Humboldt region is legendary for producing the best cannabis in the United States. In part that has to do with the decades of experience California farmers have in carefully cultivating unique, terpene-laden cultivars (more commonly referred to as “strains”), but it also is the result of growing the plant in an optimal environment that includes a mix of rich soil, ideal temperatures, precipitation and sunlight.

Needless to say, Bubba Kush flower grown outdoors in California’s Humboldt region will be different than Bubba Kush cultivated indoors in Massachusetts. One is not necessarily better than the other, though cannabis consumers will likely have opinions on which they prefer.

Even within states or local regions, a cannabis strain may vary in potency and flavor depending on specific cultivation techniques, time of year, and harvesting practices. In that way, cannabis is not so different from the produce you buy at your local organic market.

Also, as long as federal prohibition exists, the cannabis legally available in your state will generally reflect the genetics developed by growers in your area. While the Bubba Kush in your area may share similar genetics as the Bubba Kush in another part of the country, there will also be distinct differences in terpene profiles and effects that you’d easily notice if you sampled both products side-by-side.

Medical marijuana patients sometimes get frustrated in their search for a specific strain to address their health concerns, without realizing that other strains might provide the same or even better benefits. Our cannabis-trained Leaf nurses have specialized knowledge and experience helping patients find the best cannabis strain for their needs. Call our free hotline at 844-LEAF411 (844-532-3411) for help with your cannabis questions and concerns.

Cannabis Delivery, Curbside Pickup or In-Store: It All Depends on Where You Live

One of the big cannabis stories in 2020 was the rapid expansion of cannabis home delivery, offering a safe shopping alternative for consumers who didn’t want to risk visiting a dispensary. However, depending on where you live and whether you’re a medical marijuana patient or adult-use consumer, your options may remain limited to in-store pick-up. Even in states like Colorado, which technically allows delivery, the delivery licenses are being rolled out slowly, with the final decision left up to individual cities.

What Will Federal Cannabis Legalization Do?

Many people believe that if federal legalization occurs, cannabis will go the way of CBD hemp—lightly regulated and widely available in stores and online.

However, it’s more likely that legalization will lead to cannabis looking more like the legal alcohol market. States would continue to regulate adult-use and medical marijuana in much the same way as before, albeit without the risk of federal crackdowns.

On the bright side, legalization will drive progress on the cannabis banking front, allowing dispensaries to accept credit card payments, reducing the IRS 280E tax burden on plant-touching cannabis businesses, and opening up banking services like loans and lines of credit that are available in other sectors.

Also, legalization will effectively end the destructive War on Drugs that has incarcerated millions of Americans for low-level, non-violent drug possession convictions. Believe it or not, the number of drug arrests has continued to increase over the past 10 years, even as more states legalize. Marijuana possession makes up the majority of those arrests, with Black, Indigenous and people of color arrested, charged and convicted at higher rates than their white peers.

The Cannabis Landscape Is Changing—and We’re Here to Help You Navigate Your Options!

Regardless of where things stand with cannabis reform, our Leaf nurses can help you navigate the legal options available in your area, whether you’re seeking cannabis for pain relief, improved sleep, or simply for relaxation and stress relief. Even in states without legal cannabis, CBD hemp is an option that may help with common health concerns or wellness goals. Talk to one of our cannabis-trained, fully licensed RNs today at no cost at 844-LEAF411 (844-532-3411).

Medically reviewed by Katherine Golden, RN
Written by Denise Rustning

Cannabis as a useful workout tool? That was one of many insights shared on the December 2020 Emerge Winter Conference “Cannabis Health & Wellness: Edibles” panel that Leaf411 Co-Founder and CEO/ED Katherine Golden, RN, participated on. During the session, two of her fellow panelists Scott Jennings, CEO and Founder of Pantry Food Co., and John Houston, CEO of Kushla Life Sciences, shared how a small dose of cannabis provided pre-workout motivation and improved their mindset during exercise.

Their experiences may come as a surprise to people who mistakenly equate cannabis with laziness or lack of motivation. However, Jennings and Houston are far from alone in their experiences using cannabis as part of their workout regimen. Recent research suggests that pre-workout cannabis use may trigger a euphoric feeling similar to a runner’s high, motivating people to get moving.

Cannabis and CBD Hemp in the Professional Sports World

Full-time athletes contend with daunting physical and mental health issues resulting from their intensive training, high-stakes competitions and hectic travel schedules. They are frequently prescribed painkillers, NSAIDs and sleep medications that may be habit-forming and come with unwanted side effects that can hurt performance.

Athletes try to avoid products that dull their focus or competitive drive. They’re looking for every advantage possible to improve overall performance and wellness. After all, that’s why most high-level athletes rely on not only coaches but also nutritionists, sports psychologists, physical therapists and even meditation experts. An increasing number of these top athletes are adding CBD hemp or cannabis to their performance toolbox as well, when allowed by their sport’s regulating authority.

The International Olympic Committee’s World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) recently removed CBD from its banned substances list, and the UFC mixed martial arts organization just announced that a positive THC test will no longer be considered a violation of their anti-doping policy. The NFL and MLB also enacted new drug policies that take a much more balanced approach to cannabis.

On the research side, studies like the University of Colorado’s Athlete PEACE (Pain, Exercise, and Cannabis Experience) study provide support for athletes’ use of cannabis to address pain and sleep.

Also, organizations like Athletes for Care are speaking out about the benefits of cannabis as a safe alternative to pharmaceuticals for elite athletes.

Using CBD Hemp or Cannabis for Workouts

Odds are that you’re not an elite athlete; however, the science around cannabis and athletic performance applies no matter where you’re at with your exercise goals.

Remember that cannabis plant compounds, including cannabinoids like THC and CBD, interact with the body’s endocannabinoid system to restore balance—and everyone’s endocannabinoid system is different.

Keeping this in mind, we do have a few universal suggestions that may help if you’re curious about adding cannabis to your workout routine:

• Check with your medical provider: We always suggest consulting with your primary provider before starting a new wellness regimen. However, we know that not all physicians are up to date on the latest cannabis and CBD hemp research. Our fully-licensed, cannabis-trained hotline RNs are available at 844-LEAF411 (844-532-3411) to help with your questions and provide links to research you can share with your primary physician.
• Be realistic about cannabis’s potential exercise benefits: Cannabis is a tool, not a magic bullet. It works best in conjunction with other proven performance strategies, including a commitment to a regular workout routine, healthy diet, adequate rest and recovery time.
• Identify your goals for using cannabis as part of your workout: Are you looking to add marijuana or CBD for a pre-workout lift or as a post-workout recovery tool? This makes all the difference when it comes to product selection. Fast-acting cannabis with a rapid onset and short duration may be better suited for pre-workout, while either CBD hemp or a longer-acting edible with a mix of CBD and THC may be optimal for recovery. Our Leaf nurses are experienced in helping consumers find the best marijuana or CBD for their needs. They can guide you in the right direction, saving you money and time.
• Start low and go slow: This is our mantra for all cannabis consumers, whether it’s someone completely new to the plant or an experienced user trying a new product type. By starting with a very small dose and increasing that dose over multiple days, you can find the best amount of THC or CBD for your needs.
  

Use cannabis safely: Safety goes hand-in-hand with starting low and going slow, so that you can discover precisely how cannabis impacts your workout. For example, some people experience transient dizziness when using cannabis, similar to the sensation when you stand up quickly and feel off balance. This is not something you’d want to discover while running at full speed on a treadmill!

Our Leaf Nurses Can Help With Your Cannabis Wellness Questions

Today’s cannabis and hemp are becoming more sophisticated than ever, with products manufactured for specific needs. If you’ve recently browsed a dispensary’s online menu, you likely know how overwhelming it can be to sort through all the options!

Leaf411 cannabis-trained nurses are knowledgeable about different cannabis and CBD hemp products on the market today, as well as the research supporting plant-based medicine for wellness and relief. They provide balanced information, guidance and education that makes your dispensary visit less intimidating.

Curious to learn more? Our Leaf RNs are ready to help! Call our free, anonymous hotline at 844-LEAF411 (844-532-3411).