Cannabis + Me

Dispensary Works is committed to helping our customers understand what is known about cannabis and its use as medicine. We’ve drawn from scientific articles and sites, such as Americans for Safe Access, Universities, the National Institutes of Health, and National Geographic to try to answer questions we hear everyday. We hope the information we’ve compiled helps answer questions you may have. We always encourage customers to conduct their own research.

What is Cannabis?

You may know it as marijuana, pot, or other common names.

Looking to the web for a definition from a trusted source, we found most labeled it first as a psychotropic plant.  While that’s true, there are more than 400 elements in cannabis plants and thousands of strains, many with very little to no element to make you high.

We like the definition and discussion found on the Americans for Safe Access web site :

“Cannabis is a flowering plant that has fibrous stalks used for paper, clothing, rope, and building materials, leaves, flowers, and roots used for medicinal purposes, and seeds used for food and fuel oil. Cannabis leaves and flowers are consumed in several forms: dried flower buds or various types of concentrated, loose, or pressed resin extracted from the flowers or leaves through a variety of methods. Once mature, the plant’s leaves and flowers are covered with trichomes, tiny glands of resinous oil containing cannabinoids and terpenes that provide physical and psychoactive effects.”

This site further discusses the properties of cannabis – cannabinoids and terpenes,

http://www.safeaccessnow.org/using_medical_cannabis

Can You Get Medical Cannabis in Maryland?

More than 30 U.S. states have approved it for medical use, decriminalized it for recreational use, or completely legalized it and approved it for retail sale.

The State of Maryland legalized the use of cannabis for medical purposes in 2014.  Information about the Maryland Law is found at:

http://mmcc.maryland.gov/Pages/law.aspx

How Can I be Approved for Medical Cannabis?

First go the MMCC site and register:

http://mmcc.maryland.gov

Then follow the easy steps outlined at the site above.  Feel free to stop by or contact us if you need help with the on-line process.

What Should I Consider Before using Cannabis for a Medical Condition?

Dispensary Works most wants you to be a responsible consumer of cannabis.  We sincerely believe in the effectiveness of cannabis as medicine. We started this business to help patients, and your safety is our first concern.

Our best advice would be to “go low and slow.”  Consult your physician about any concerns he or she may have.  We find very little data suggesting negative side effects or contraindications with traditional meds.  The most obvious one might be excessive drowsiness if you’re already taking something that might make you sleepy.

Take a small amount first and pay attention to how it affects you.  Talk to your doctor about what you experience if you are concerned about how it makes you feel.  Check in with Dispensary Works for any suggestions on a different product if the first one is ineffective.

Our staff is highly trained on the science and strains of cannabis and their use.  We are not doctors, and want you to have the best combination of resources for responsible use.

To Smoke or Not to Smoke?

Everyday we meet people who don’t know that you don’t have to smoke cannabis.  Cannabis is available in dried product to smoke or inhale, but it is also available in oils that can be ingested and topicals  – such as lotions.

It’s important to know that the physical reaction to inhaling cannabis is different from the physical reaction to ingesting it.

In general –

Inhaling cannabis is felt very quickly – often within 5 minutes.  Ingesting cannabis takes longer to feel the effects, often gives a stronger physical reaction, and lasts longer.

How Does Cannabis Work?

History shows that people have used cannabis for thousands of years.  Only in the past few decades have scientists begun to understand how the wide range of elements found in cannabis work in the body.

Your body already makes marijuana-like chemicals that affect pain, inflammation, and many other processes. Marijuana (cannabis) can sometimes help those natural chemicals work better, says Laura Borgelt, PharmD, of the University of Colorado.

More resources:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2015/06/marijuana-science-drug-research-legality/

http://www.safeaccessnow.org/

Cannabis Myths

MYTH: Cannabis leads to use of stronger drugs.

Current studies show cannabis is a more effective medication and in many cases, aids in reducing the reliance on opiates.  This 2017 article from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health explains it better.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5569620/

There are many recent reports that deaths from accidental overdose of opioids have decreased substantially—as much as 25%–in states where cannabis is legal.

MYTH: You can lethally overdose from medical cannabis

There are zero deaths attributed to cannabis overdose in the United States. This number is in contrast to the numbers of deaths due to approved pharmaceuticals, alcohol, sports supplements, and even caffeine.

MYTH: Medical cannabis leads to increased crime.

Actually, the opposite is true. According to a study conducted by the University of California Irvine and published in the Journal of Urban Economics, closing medical dispensaries increased crime.

MYTH: Marijuana kills brain cells

A recent study conducted at the University of Louisville determined that marijuana use does not, in fact, kill off those precious brain cells. This confirms a 2003 report in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society published by Cambridge University that came to the same conclusion.