SS 196 – Marijuana and CBD

Episode 196 Show Notes

Grant and Heavey shed light on a question from Jason, a longtime podcast listener, who is curious about the benefits of CBD oil (a compound specifically found in marijuana). Listen in as they tackle how marijuana is being viewed on a federal and state level, its different medical uses, and why it’s so promising that it may just be the magic elixir that some people claim to be.

 

[00:55] Are You Eating Too Low or Too High Carbs?

 

Grant brings up an article saying that having too low or too high of a carb diet is going to increase your risk of early death.

 

A study involving 15,000 people between 45 and 64 coming from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds across four U.S. regions. They calculated the average intake of calories and their proportions from various food groups. They also looked into the types of food they consumed, how they ate, and how much.

 

After following them up for a 25-year median, 6,283 died. They found that those with the greatest risk of mortality are the people who ate 40% less calories or more than 70% more calories from carbs. Whereas, the lowest risk of death was seen in those people where they had 50% of their diet coming from carbs.

 

[03:50] CBD Oil from Marijuana

 

Jason, a longtime listener of this podcast, is asking about CBD oil and their benefits. He’s also drinking Weller Special Reserve and wondering if the show could feature it as well.

 

CBD oil stands for Cannabidiol, which is a non-psychoactive component of marijuana. In short, it’s not going to make you high.

 

If you’ve smoked marijuana legally or illegally, there’s a good chance that it was a combination of CBD, THC (the fun compound that gets you high), and a bunch of other stuff found in marijuana.

 

[06:17] Schedule I vs Schedule II Drugs

 

Marijuana in the U.S. is classified as a Schedule I drug, along with heroin –  a group considered as the most dangerous, highly addictive drugs that have no medical application.

 

Drugs that fall under Schedule II drugs are cocaine, meth, oxycodone. They’re classified as such since they’re considered to have medical applications. But for some reason, the federal government doesn’t believe the same for marijuana. However, some states disagree and they’ve made it legal for medical uses. Missouri, for example, has made marijuana available for medicinal uses, but the conditions they’ve classified are very tight.

 

[08:35] CBD and Marijuana

 

Even though marijuana is illegal at the federal level, CBD, in its isolated form is not considered a drug by the FDA and is available legally in all 50 states.

 

Quick trivia: Did you know marijuana contains 483 chemicals?

 

Based on marijuana’s classification by the government, the ability to research it is severely limited in the U.S. It’s only restricted to a few universities. In fact, there’s only one legal source that can procure it for research. This is a real challenge.

 

Heavey says this is too bad because there’s a lot of promise for medical use of marijuana but there’s a lot of political garbage that comes along with it that is slowing things down. Good thing many states have legalized it for medical use and many are going beyond that, in fact, legalizing it for recreational use.

 

[11:37] Medical Uses of Marijuana

 

Marijuana is well known to alleviate pain and increase appetite. The most common application for this would be in patients undergoing chemotherapy. Research shows that it can induce cell death and inhibit cell growth. It slows metastasis in tumor cells. It’s got some interesting properties that need more research since they do offer real promise in the future.

 

Another well-documented benefit of marijuana is among PTSD patients. One study showed 75% reduction in symptoms among PTSD patients. There is no parallel for this with conventional medical approaches. It has become a wonder drug when it comes to PTSD.

 

Marijuana is also being investigated for its effect on inflammation and chronic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis and showing some promise in that area as well. Again, research is still pretty early on this.

 

[13:44] How Marijuana Works

 

Marijuana acts on the cannabinoid system governed by two receptors CB1 and CB2. The therapeutic effects that come as a result of acting on the CB1 receptors, which are receptors of tolerance. If you’ve smoked on a regular basis then you can certainly build up a tolerance to marijuana usage.

 

People using it for anxiety protection and anti-epilepsy may see diminished results because of this tolerance effect. While tolerance is observed with regular THC exposure, it doesn’t appear to be present with CBD. This could be the reason, many people refer to CBD as a magic elixir since while the THC-related improvements may taper off, the CBD benefits haven’t.

 

[15:12] Extraordinary Claims on the Benefits and Dangers of Marijuana

 

Heavey points out that while people are making extraordinary claims about the dangers of it, the truth lies in the middle. Now, a lot of the claims are based on animal models, but human evidence is slowly mounting.

 

CBD, in particular, has been found to dramatically benefit kids with very aggressive epilepsy by decreasing seizure frequency. This being said, the medical community is very cautious when it comes to giving anything to kids. (Ketogenic diet is very beneficial for these kids with epilepsy as well.)

 

[17:15] Effect of Marijuana on Sleep

 

Heavey also found another research study that highlighted the effect of marijuana on sleep. They found that a combination of THC and CBD reduced stage 3 sleep and increased wakefulness. THC alone had none of these effects. Researchers concluded that the THC is likely sedating but CBD probably increases alertness. Hence, marijuana may negatively affect your sleep quality.

 

[18:35] Other Medical Benefits of Marijuana

 

CBD has also been found to be the most effective compound of marijuana for inhibiting prostate cancer cell growth.

 

Additionally, marijuana with higher CBD concentration has been associated with lower incidence of psychotic symptoms. THC, on the other hand, has been shown to have an opposite effect.

 

Heavey points out how interesting it is that there’s this give and take with THC and CBD and a lot of times, they balance one another out when they’re taken in their whole form. However, many people in this country only have access to CBD and no access to THC-containing products because it’s illegal in their states.

 

[20:25] CBD in Different Forms

 

CBD is available in a variety of ways. You can get it for smoking, or as topical creams or ointments for your skin. They’re also available as edibles.

 

As to which form is best, Heavey mentions oil may have a longer half-life than if you were to smoke the flower. Therefore, CBD oil may last longer.

 

[22:15] There’s a Lot of Promise for CBD in the Future

 

Based on animal models, CBD has been shown to reduce the incidence of diabetes and obese mice. Some people, however, would then conclude that CBD can cure diabetes based on this study. It’s critical that studies are done in human trials and there’s a follow up on human trial that showed lower fasting insulin levels among regular marijuana users that had CBD in their hair. All this being said, you can’t really draw any major conclusions from any of this yet.

 

[24:00] Marijuana on Chronic Inflammation and Anxiety

 

Heavey personally believes marijuana seems to be helpful for reducing chronic inflammation. It does stimulate appetite and reduce pain. For instance, those with rheumatoid arthritis which is an inflammatory condition may benefit from supplementing with CBD.

 

CBD may also have varying effects on anxiety levels. While it may reduce anxiety levels for some, others found it to exacerbate their anxiety. This could be due to various factors like the dose, strain, etc. So there’s a lot more to learn about this.

 

[25:50] Time for Bourbon!

 

Based on Grant’s research, Weller Special Reserve is well-regarded and surprisingly inexpensive. It’s got outstanding reviews across the board and has received a gold and silver medal in two different competitions in 2018.

 

Interestingly, Grant finds it very unique in that it replaces the mash bill of a typical bourbon. A quick review – bourbon has 51% or more of a corn-based mash. And most of the rest is in rye. The inverse is true for rye whiskeys where 51% has to be rye.

 

But here, they replaced the rye with a wheat. Rye typically provides more flavor and keeps that spicy, grassy flavor (this is where the bourbon comes from). Wheat, on the other hand, is often more flavorless (used for vodka). What this does for this particular spirit, is that it makes it smoother and goes down easier.

 

Links:

Low- And High-Carb Diets Increase Your Risk Of Dying Early, According To A New Study