Wolf Laurie Goldrich - The medical marijuana dispensary: understanding, medicating, and cooking with cannabis

Delicious Recipes for Edibles and Everyday Favorites LAURIE WOLF 2016 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc. Text 2016 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc. Photography 2016 Bruce Wolf First published in the United States of America in 2016 by Quarry Books, an imprint of Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc. 100 Cummings Center Suite 406-L Beverly, Massachusetts 01915-6101 Telephone: (978) 282-9590 Fax: (978) 283-2742 QuartoKnows.com Visit our blogs at QuartoKnows.com All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the copyright owners. All images in this book have been reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent of the artists concerned, and no responsibility is accepted by producer, publisher, or printer for any infringement of copyright or otherwise, arising from the contents of this publication.

Every effort has been made to trace the copyright holders and ensure that credits accurately comply with information supplied. We apologize for any inaccuracies that may have occurred and will resolve inaccurate or missing information in a subsequent reprinting of the book. Digital edition published in 2016 Digital edition: 978-1-63159-184-6
Softcover edition: 978-1-63159-116-7 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available Design: Samantha J. Bednarek Photography: Bruce Wolf The information in this book is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace the advice of a physician or medical practitioner. Please see your health-care provider before beginning any new health program.

For Bruce and my kids. I love you.

As I drive around Portland, Oregon, the city where I live, there are billboards advertising $79 prices for 1 ounce (28 g) of cannabis and others that promote cannabis concentrates. Its unbelievable. I never imagined that I would see this happen in my lifetime. I also never imagined that this was how I would make my living.

I have an edibles company that sells products infused with marijuana. Im a legal drug dealer, which still seems fairly hilarious. For me, the most important benefit of the legalization of cannabis is that it allows people to use this plant to treat their health issues. Being able to control my epilepsy without using any pharmaceuticals has been life changing. For twenty years, I took medication that had extremely unpleasant and difficult to deal with side effects. My seizures stopped, though I continued to have pre-seizure auras monthly.

But through using cannabis, for two years now I have been both seizure- and aura-free. Thats right, not a hint; there are no side effects, and the amount of cannabis that I need for medicinal purposes does not make me uncomfortably high. Thats pretty amazing. I love that I have been able to help people with serious illnesses, including multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, and chronic nerve pain. Friends who could not tolerate pain medicine are getting serious relief from ingesting cannabis. I find it hard to imagine cannabis not being a better choice than Vicodin or hydrocodone.

But thats me. Having been in the cannabusiness for more than three years, I see that many folks just dont want to smoke. Ingesting cannabis, as long as you have the dosing down, is preferable and also a delightful way to medicate. As a cannabis chef, I love offering people infused edibles that are both nutritious and will also help them deal with health issuesas well as enjoying recreational cannabis in a safe manner. Cannabis is here to stay. Whether youre going to use cannabis for health reasons or for fun, you need to understand the full picture.

First, this is not your mothers cannabis! Second, there are strains that wont get you high, but that can help alleviate a headache or a stomach spasm. Theres no reason why your cannabis experience should be anything but enjoyable, and I hope this book will serve as a trusted guide.

Cooking with cannabis is akin to learning to cook with a new and distinctive herb. What I have found is that some foods work well with a hint of cannabis and some are better with no cannabis taste at all. Some foods, such as mushrooms and white chocolate, taste amazing with a good hit of cannabis. Infusing your cooking fat, whether it be butter or a cooking oil, is a simple process.

As long as you follow the directions, you will have fabulous results. I highly recommend it.

Cannabis was a prescribed drug in the United States until the early 1920s. Around that time, the Federal Bureau of Narcotics had it declared a hazard to society, and it was banned almost entirely. Things got even worse for the plant in the 1950s, when cannabis was declared a Schedule 1 drug, the highest category of drug classification in the United States, meaning the government does not recognize any accepted medical use for it. This situation continues today, and the federal government continues to consider marijuana to have high potential for abuse, with no legitimate medical or therapeutic use.

As states begin to decriminalize cannabisat the time of this writing there are 23 states that have done sotheres hope that the federal government will change the status of cannabis. In states where cannabis is legal, the federal government has declared that it would decline to enforce federal drug laws. THE MOST COMMON HEALTH ISSUES TREATED SUCCESSFULLY WITH CANNABIS AIDS/HIV Alzheimers disease Anxiety Arthritis Asthma Cancer Chronic pain Crohns disease Depression Epilepsy Glaucoma Insomnia Multiple sclerosis Nerve pain and fibromyalgia The compound in marijuana that has gotten the most attention is tetrahydrocannabinol, thankfully called THC for short. THC is whats responsible for the psychoactive or mind-altering effect of the plant. The THC cannabinoid, which is a chemical compound found in the cannabis plant resin, is responsible for pleasure, pain relief, time perception, and coordination. When THC enters the bloodstream, it activates neural receptors and causes the production of dopamine, the chemical in the brain that is responsible for feelings of euphoria.

And who doesnt like feelings of euphoria? More recently, the compound cannabidiol has been the buzz of the cannabis world. CBD for short, this cannabinoid has been found to be even more helpful than THC in treating pain, inflammation, and anxiety without the psychoactive effects of THC. Numerous medical studies are being published on a regular basis pointing to the many therapeutic effects of THC and, increasingly, CBD. Preliminary clinical studies suggest CBD may have therapeutic benefits in the treatment of chronic pain, arthritis, anxiety, cardiovascular disease, cancer, strokes, schizophrenia, PTSD, and diabetes. The high CBD strain of marijuana called Charlottes Web was created by a group of brothers and popularized through its help with a young girls seemingly impossible fight against a rare form of epilepsy. This strain has allowed her, and many like her, to lead a normal life.