Whether you smoke it, eat it, vaporize it, or ingest it as an oil, the medicinal cannabis you put in your body contains many chemicals that work together to make you feel better. Of course THC and CBD are the major healing compounds, but there are hundreds of other chemical compounds in the cannabis plant. The interaction of these chemicals is called “the entourage effect.”
Pharmaceutical companies eager to create a patentable medicine derived from cannabis are always looking to extract one or two chemicals. Marinol, sold in the US by AbbVie, is a pill containing synthetic THC that’s used to stimulate appetite in cancer and HIV patients. GW Pharmaceuticals has patented Sativex spray, made from a mixture of THC and CBD, to treat pain in multiple-sclerosis patients. But there’s a problem with these extracts—they don’t work as well as whole-plant therapy.
As Dr. Sanjay Gupta recently pointed out, cannabis has 480 identified chemicals. Sixty-six of these are cannabinoids (the group that includes THC and CBD). But there are many other compounds found in the plant, including cannabigerols, cannabichromenes, nitrogenous compounds, amino acids, ketones, and terpenes, among others. While the effects of each individual compound are not yet understood, one thing is clear: The whole is more than the sum of its parts.
“Unlike other drugs that may work well as single compounds, synthesized in a lab, cannabis may offer its most profound benefit as a whole plant, if we let the entourage effect flower,” says Gupta.
Paul Armentano, a senior policy analyst at NORML, reviewed the studies and surveys to gauge the relative effectiveness of Marinol vs. whole-plant cannabis, and he came to the same conclusion: Synthetic THC is not as effective as real cannabis.
“The active ingredient in Marinol is a synthetic analogue of only one of the compounds in cannabis that is therapeutically beneficial to patients,” he concludes. “By prohibiting the possession and use of natural cannabis and its cannabinoids, patients are unnecessarily burdened to use a synthetic substitute that lacks much of the therapeutic efficacy of natural cannabis and its cannabinoids.”
Don’t miss out on the benefits of the entourage effect! There is no reason to treat your ailment with an inferior medicine—choose whole-plant cannabis.
- The Entourage Effect
- Ethan Russo Reviews the Evidence
- CBDs: There’s more to weed than THC
I always learn so much from your blog posts. Thank you!
I TOTALLY AGREE ON WHAT SHE SAID LOVE WHAT U LEARN OFF BLOG..
Trying to figure out the correct strain to deal with my conditions. Legal in Illinois but no docs in place yet to get card. It helps control pain so well and my doc agrees and prefers this over pills
Leila,
When treating chronic conditions and disease, the strain is not what is important…it is the ratios of THC to CBD. Additionally, there is much to understand when it comes to pain as it depends on where the pain is coming from i.e.; Arthritis, auto-immune or cancer.
If you would like to further discuss with one of our nurse practioners, please feel free to schedule yourself in for an appointment here.
I hope this helps,
UPG
I am 45 years young and I have been smoking pot for 25 years . I would like to stop smoking it because ppl in my life don’t like it. I get sick and stressed out when I don’t smoke it for few days. I can’t eat or sleep. Does anybody have any answers for me to stop smoking weed?
Where is cannabis legal for difficult.chronic illness & how does a patient get an appt?
Sue,
This would depend on where you live, if it is legal and what the laws are there. I have added our “Laws by State” link here for your convenience.
Best,
UPG