FULL INTERVIEW
Santi Balmes and Juli Saldarriaga , from Love of Lesbian, come to our greenhouse to tell us what benefits they have found in Cannabis , what they know about the plant and how, in the purest C.Tangana style, they have become apostles of CBD.WHY IS IT ESSENTIAL TO UNLINK CANNABIS FROM SMOKE?
“I think that disconnecting it from smoke is basically one of the wins that it is having now and that will lead to the boom of Cannabis with other uses. [...] You are detecting a change in society, which is much more relaxed, it was about time, right?” - Santi BalmesWhen we talk about Cannabis and well-being , we always do so by leaving aside certain routes of administration . Simply because one of the popular routes is inhalation (it should be noted that this route is illegal in Spain) through combustion . This way of using Cannabis (and more so in combination with substances such as tobacco) generates toxic and carcinogenic derivatives. The positive aspect of this route, if carried out using suitable devices such as vaporizers, is that, according to available bioavailability studies , the effect is obtained very quickly after inhalation. Therefore, it may be a suitable route, under medical advice , for certain users.
In Spain , the marketing and use of cosmetic products derived from Cannabis via topical administration is currently regulated , as long as the product contains less than 0.02% THC.
The growing popularity of these products , such as those we market at The Beemine Lab, could help us decouple recreational cannabis use from wellness cannabis use.
WHAT CAN CBD DO FOR PAIN?
“ I had an accident that left me with a fracture in the L1, I broke my wrist . For me as a guitarist it was a hard blow, it was a shock, a pretty serious break that made me rethink things. The exercises I did in the morning and the CBD, well , a year later I'm pretty well . And that's what has made me like... Not an apostle, but I highly recommend it to those around me” - Julian SaldarriagaPain is essential for survival , and it helped Juli realize that there were some injuries that she needed to pay special attention to and care for. But what can CBD do for pain when it persists ? The scientific studies and clinical trials that have been carried out so far describe CBD in a positive and effective way to reduce pain and inflammation. CBD's inflammation-stopping property has to do with how it modulates the immune system , which is responsible for the body's inflammatory response. These symptoms capture the immune system's way of responding to injury, infection, or damaged tissues and/or nerves. ( 1 )( 2 ) However, it is worth mentioning that not all CBD users have found an improvement in their symptoms after using CBD, but most have experienced significant changes in their overall well-being , including reduced pain, improved sleep, and lower anxiety levels. ( 3 ) At the moment in Spain we have cosmetic products that act in a localized manner, such asCBD oils and CBD balms .
CAN CBD ALSO BE USED FOR SLEEP?
“I'm also using it to sleep and relax because we have terrible schedules, they change, we depend on pretty hellish flight schedules. And you have a problem when you finish a concert and you go back to the hotel and you have the adrenaline pumping. And you say, 'How come you're not exhausted?'” - Santi BalmesThe normal amount of sleep is between 7 and 8 hours, but after an irregular schedule or a stimulating activity such as giving a concert, it is normal for us to have a hard time slowing down. Surveys conducted by Project CBD (Cultivating Wellness) to learn about the most typical uses of CBD concluded that most people use it to reduce pain, stress and/or improve the quality of their sleep . (4) In the study, users reflected that CBD helped them both fall asleep and stay asleep , reducing fatigue the next morning. Another study from the US National Library of Medicine found that CBD use improved sleep parameters (66%) and reduced anxiety (79%). ( 5 )
AND HOW CAN CBD HELP WITH STRESS?
“At the beginning of the year she had knee surgery and I spent a week looking after her in the hospital. My mother is a very active woman and always has to be doing things: yoga, friends, swimming… On the fourth or third day I was lying on the bed with my leg stretched out and I was having a bad time. I had some nervous episodes in the afternoons [...] Then I gave her the CBD and put a series on the computer, I was reading on the sofa and after a while my mother would do it for me, now yes. ”Changing contexts can cause instability, nervousness, and stress . By definition, these states of stress do not have to be negative; in fact, they are physiological activations that help us to have more energy and to deal with problems. However, when they occur over a long period of time, they give us a feeling of exhaustion. Preclinical evidence so far points to the potential of CBD for treating anxiety . This is because CBD has effective anxiolytic, antipsychotic, panicolytic and anti-compulsive properties. In addition, it also provides a decrease in fear and prevention of long-term anxiogenic effects due to stress. ( 7 )( 8 )( 9 )
Thank you very much, Santi and Juli, for sharing your story. Testimonies like this are very positive in dispelling those false myths about Cannabis and drawing a future for all people who can find in Cannabis a tool to improve their well-being. Bibliography:
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- Russo EB. The role of cannabis and cannabinoids in pain management . In: Cole BE, Boswell M, editors. Weiner's Pain Management: A Practical Guide for Clinicians. 7. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 2006a. pp. 823–44.
- Walker JM, Hohmann AG, Martin WJ, et al. The neurobiology of cannabinoid analgesia. Life Sci. 1999a;65:665–73. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- “ Can CBD Help with Anxiety? “ American Association of Anxiety. 2019
- Cultivating Wellness . Survey conducted by Project CBD. 2019
- Shannon S, Lewis N, Lee H, Hughes S. Cannabidiol in Anxiety and Sleep: A Large Case Series . Perm J. 2019
- “Can CBD Help with Anxiety?” American Association of Anxiety. 2019
- Esther M. Blessing et al. “Cannabidiol as a Potential Treatment for Anxiety Disorders.” 2015
- Scott Shannon, MD et al. “Cannabidiol in Anxiety and Sleep: A Large Case Series,” 2019
