Cannabis Balm Project

Cannabinoids are nature’s most versatile & prolific remedies

‘People First’ Legislation

Sometimes people are motivated to search for alternative cancer treatments in order to help a friend who will not live through another round of chemotherapy or merely wants to find ways to prevent the ‘Big C’ themselves and avoid the long list of hardship and horrors the current medical system would then place on them. I am one of those people, and what I found in my research made me very happy about the change in marijuana legalization. Not because I partake in the recreational aspect where the high from the cannabinoid THC is the goal, but because it opens the necessary doors to endless opportunities to use the other 84 cannabinoids like CBD as a natural medicinal herb for its remedial properties, which we direly need in the face of toxic prescription overload.

Self-Sustenance of Herbal Medicine

On this planet we have access to an infinite supply of naturally healing flora that we have barely scratched the surface of exploring and revealed ancient wisdom shows we would not be alive today without those same medicinal plants and herbs that are now being revisited with modern vision and relabeled as ‘Superfoods’. The most prolific of these superfoods is the Cannabis Sativa that is being hailed daily with revelations of healings and cures of ailments in every single form known to humans, including cancer.

The other great news about Cannabis is that you can grow it yourself much like an herb, but with more attention to making it strong and healthy enough to produce many buds and leaves. The trick is in the timing of when to start/stop to pot, water, feed and place for optimum wind and sunshine for which there are countless web sites available to provide that information or just stop by your local hydroponics store for advice and supplies.

Cannabis Experiment

After all of my research into the healing properties of Cannabis Sativa I was delighted by the thought of being able to stop my own muscular pain and came up with the idea of making a topical Cannabalm and set out to learn all about how to do it. I started with buying ‘Double D, Summer Strain’ seedlings in May that were subsequently harvested in October.

A few things I learned about growing cannabis:

1. they need lots and lots of sunshine (14 hours/day)

2. they need wind to make their stems strong enough to hold up the many buds and leaves

3. they grow incredibly faster than a weed and will get root-bound quickly, so transplant them soon into 5 gal pots

4. sifted garden soil makes an ideal potting base

5. they need nitrogen-rich food up until a certain point and then stopped entirely

6. the leaves can’t touch when hung upside down to dry in a well-vented room

Cannabalm Experiment

Topical Cannabalm largely appeals to me because I can’t take prescription drugs for the residual damage from an old back injury where the muscles around the lower back are easily strained; C-balm works really well for muscle & joint pain and skin conditions. This was a fun learning experiment and easier than I expected with all of the steps involved. My notes on what I learned with making a cannabis-infused butter/balm with an edible coconut oil base and some of my own Cannabis leaves:

1. coconut oil is solid at room temperature that melts on contact with skin and is also used alone for its own health benefits ($8 at health food store)

2. adding beeswax or shea butter for a more solid texture is an option, as is olive oil and essential oils for aroma, but not used here

3. decarboxylation by oven at 110C for 60 mins is an important step as heat is needed for releasing the medicinal compounds for the infusion (parchment paper optional)

4. double-boiler method is safest and a canning pot with a large sturdy plastic bowl works well (maintained on simmer for 1.5 hours)

5. after the simmering is done and once the stems are scooped off the top of the oil, cheesecloth works well as a sieve when pouring into a 1-quart canning jar

6. before it re-solidifies pour some oil into small containers for personal use and store remainder in dark area of fridge or freezer

7. when refilling container do not melt in microwave, rather let jar come to room temp and set in pot of hot water until enough melts to transfer and then replace main jar into storage