Managing Pain with Cannabis

Let me preface this by saying, these are just MY go to routines for pain management. Everybody’s body is completely different and certain methods or strains may work better than others.

Life is tough, and not everyone is blessed with the same circumstances medically speaking. We all deal with situations or problems that cause us physical or mental pain.There are many recommendations for stuff that helps with PTSD in Dads posts if people are looking for the mental side of relief. Me, Im more on the physical side of pain after a car accident required me to get spinal surgery. As with most things in life, the best answers come from trial and error. My treatment has taken me through a million and one strains, extracts, edibles, and topicals. Typically if I have the available resources, this is a rough estimate of the way I would go about dealing with my pain. 

Cannabis (flower) is typically smoked in a joint or a glass piece when I have a minor ache or pain like non migraine headaches, light nausea, or just general muscle tension from the day. I prefer the effects of the flower over something like motrin because you can control the dose a lot easier by starting at a few milligrams as opposed to a few hundred. I try to go with a nice hybrid so I can get the best of both worlds effect wise. If I manage to find a CBD rich flower, I may just make a little salad for myself.

If there is severe skin or muscle pain/damage a topical would be a good place to start. If my back or knees start to hurt then Ill use a topical rub or a patch.. I like them because I am able to target one specific area for relief and keep the dosage as high/frequent as I would need. Id definitely go with a indica/CBD topical. A good topical works just as well if not better than a muscle rub like icy hot, and smells better.

Due to my accident, I have serious spinal pain and muscle spasms in my shoulders so when pain flairs up I always go to my favorite way to medicate….concentrates. I enjoy dabbing so much because you get so much relief in just a few seconds. Id equate taking a nice size dab with smoking a whole joint or blunt or bowl pack in one hit. Id also put it on the same level as a narcotic pain killer in terms of effect. Dabs are STRONG! A cannabis flower tops out around thirty percent thc (in some cases more but typically around thirty) while dabs can sit at between seventy five to about ninety percent thc. If you have something to do, id recommend a sativa or a hybrid dab to avoid couch lock but if theres nothing to be done, indica all the way. If I feel like really going the extra mile, I can get CBD distillate and add it to my other terps. The effects typically last longer than just regular flower so thats always a plus too.

For a problem that needs relief all day or for someone who doesn’t enjoy the act of smoking like some consumers do, Id recommend edibles. MAKE SURE you start slow and low with the dosage. People can become overwhelmed with an edible high because it can get intense at high dosages. If I need relief all day Im eating about 100 – 150 milligrams maybe more depending on pain level. Just remember my tolerance is high so for new users you might wanna start with increments of 10’s or 20’s. It has to be be saliva or hybrid based for me or Im just gonna take a long weed nap (unless thats what I need then I’m eating 300mg-500mg+)

There is another route of administration which I am not too familiar with personally but for those who can’t handle edibles or smoking or have stomach issues there is rectal administration or suppositories. The benefit of those is it is introduced into the blood stream a lot quicker than edibles. They usually start at lower doses since onset seems to be shorter.

To wrap all of this up, these are just my suggestions and collected knowledge. Cannabis is not a be all end all for complete pain relief because Im not completely off all pharmaceuticals BUT Ive DRASTICALLY reduced the dosage I was at because of it. It helps me have more of a quality of life without feeling zombied out. The two problems I have though are effectively managing my pain at times and having that treatment be somewhat cost effective. Its a balancing act but hey, life’s always gonna throw you curve balls…you just have to be ready to react!