Hope the plant works for you. I have PN and I know it does for me. However not everyone gets the relief. Let us all know how you do. All information helps those seeking answers. ginnie

The plant you tried may have had more THC (the chemical that induces "highs") than CBD (the chemical that treats pain). Some strains are now being bred specifically with low THC and high CBD.

It appears that, as in some other countries, while cannabis/marijuana is illegal in Ireland, hemp is legal (even though they're the same plant). Some here (review the thread) are looking into hemp oil, which may contain the CBD for pain, without the THC. I don't know if this is an option for you, but I think it's worth looking into.

http://hempworld.com/Hemp-CyberFarm_.../irelandh.html

hemp in ireland

Doc

Very interesting thread and thanks to the original poster for bringing it to everyone's attention. I don't have pain associated with my IPN but tons of numbness and tingling. Since I live in California it shouldn't be tough for me to get a medical MJ license. Then I can at least do some research in the stores to see if any carry the CBD product. If it helps with the tingling alone it'll be worth it.

Please keep us updated on that. I've not heard of anything yet that substantially helps tingling & numbness from PN.

Doc

For me, it eliminates the antagonizing tingling completely. I understand some people have tried pot, gotten high and didn't realize a decrease in symptoms but as Dr. Smith pointed out, they could very well have been strains containing high THC and lower or no CBD. The general population of pot smokers seek the high THC since that is what provides the high. In medicine however, and more specifically to treat neuropathic pain as we are discussing here, high CBD and low or no THC products (and some with a ratio of 1:1) are being used in studies with significantly positive outcomes.

I would like to pass on my limited experiences. I am 63 with PN for the last 2 years. Previous to that, I hadn't had marijuana in 30+ years. I was never a heavy or regular user.

On a trip thru Colorado, I decided to pick up some (actually quite a bit). I also bought a small pocket sized vaporizer. Marijuana, especially recreational, is very expensive. But so are some prescription drugs. In CO, recreational mj may cost twice as much as medical mj for the same stuff. And that is before CO tacks on an extra 29% for recreational or 7% or so on medical. Based on my readings, both THC and CBD cannabinoids provide some pain relief for some people, both only THC gives you the high.

Smoking the marijuana is the best way to get relief if you want relief NOW. By vaporizing instead, you get a reduced amount of inhaled smoke, but I still get some using my low end pocket vaporizer. It takes about 1/4 teaspoon of weed in the vaporizer for me to get a buzz. But it doesn't last very long. It is hard to avoid getting high if you smoke or vaporize the weed. At first you don't feel anything, but all of a sudden you are at least "one toke over the line".

Will smoking marijuana increase your change of getting cancer? Well, unlike cigarettes, you are not going to find anyone who smokes 2 packs a day. There is still some debate as to whether or not smoking marijuana increases or decreases your chance of cancer. Below is what the National Cancer Institute says about cannabis.


"cancer.gov/cancertopics/pdq/cam/cannabis/healthprofessional/page4"

Most strains of marijuana have high levels of THC and low levels of other cannabinoids. Hey, that is why people smoked marijuana in the first place. They wanted to get high. You can buy oils and other forms that have higher levels of CBD. To do this, I think there is a process used to separate the various cannabinoids. You can vaporize that. Oils, waxes, etc. are usually a very high potency. A little goes a long way. So be very careful.

I only rarely vaporize it now. Instead I simmer it in oil for about an hour. Then I strain out the weed as it will only contain very little, if any, remaining cannabinoids. It really is just grass at that point.

At first I was using the oil to make brownies. I wanted to go slowly, but my sweet tooth got in the way and I would consume it too quickly. As a result, I would get too drugged to do anything that required my brain. So now I just save the oil in a jar and take a 1/4 teaspoon every hour or two. That seems to give me quite a deal of pain relief without getting high from the THC. It doesn't taste very great, so sometimes I will put in a cup tea.

Do I now use marijuana every day. No, primarily because of the high. I limit it to days where I no longer will be driving anywhere. I also can't use much if I need my brain. Low levels are fine, but if I am high, my speech is slurred and my short term memory goes. That is similar to what used to happen when took too much gabapentin.


Whatever you do, start slowly. During my first high in over 30 years, I ate too much of a brownie too fast. I just ate more of it when I realized I was already pretty high. I am a little anxious at times, so at first I started to freak. But within a few minutes I calmed down and went along for the ride. Since then I usually try to avoid getting. When I do get high, I actually feel more pain for a while (may 15 minutes) but then it calmed down and the relief lasted for several hours. If I vaporized it rather than eating it, the same cycle occurred but over a much smaller time frame.

I am moving to AZ in October. This was something my wife and I have been planning to do for several years. In fact we bought our new home in AZ just a few months before I first got PN. Now I plan to get a medical mj permit so I can legally buy it. Also, places that sell medical mj are more likely to have some edibles with high CBD and little or no THC.

For those not aware of it, there are online sites (including Amazon) that purport to sell "legal" high CBD hemp oil and some even have "legal" smokable bud. Keep in mind that "legal" really just means no government agency has shut them down yet. Online poker sites used to claim they were all legal until the Feds shut them down.

I am going to order some and try it to see if I get the same benefit as mj without the high.

When you see the prices these places charge ($45 or more for 200 mg of CBD) you may be in shock. Keep in mind that if you smoked 1 gram of mj a day, you would get about 200 mg of THC and maybe 2 to 10 mg of CBD. So if you want to just try the amount of CBD typically consumed by mj users, a drop or two daily would accomplish that. But if you want the therapeutic dosages suggested by some sites, you would want much more and the price could get prohibitive. If the demand grows, there will be more effort put into developing mj plants with higher CBD. Hopefully, the price will eventually come down. But when all is said and done, you may still want all of the cannabinoids, including THC, to get the full benefit.

Thanks for your update Steve.

I've been looking at these CBD oils. They were mentioned on another site. I'm finding them to be a bit confusing in regards to choosing one over another. The other forum I visited mentioned "real scientific hemp oil - RSHO". They come in various percentages. Some are the concentrated oil and others are diluted in a fatty oil.

Please keep us informed. Would love to know how effective these are.

Here's the site I found. There are others but I can't tell if they're the same manufacturer.

http://hempmedspx.com/order-products/

Marlene,

I have not had the time to vet individual companies, but from what I have read about these companies in general is that their supply of raw materials is dubious. I am uncomfortable with going forward on any of the product available at this juncture, though if I were in a legal state with access I would be all in on trying it.

Steve,

Thanks again for sharing and updating.

Jon

I came across an interesting article on RSHO and now understand why all the confusion in the marketplace. RSHO, in the past and still today, is associated with the originator of CBD oil derived from marijuana plants. His name is Rick Simpson. His oil is called Rick Simpson Hemp Oil. In short...RSHO. You cannot purchase it online, he does not produce it commercially and it's illegal in the states that do not have MM laws. But he does tell you how to make your own and how to use it. (his oil is a combo of thc and cbd based upon the strain of the plant)

The commercially available RSHO that's available to purchase online is derived from hemp plants. They call their product "Real Scientific Hemp Oil. It's also Dixie Dew Drop, Canchew (cbd gum) and Cibdex. From what I can tell, it has therapeutic value but it is in no way the same as the CBD compound derived from the marijuana plant. Rick Simpson has used his oil for cancer successfully. It is not the same CBD oil in the Sanjay Gupta's documentary that highlighted the efficacy of the Charlotte's Web strain (high CBD content marijuana) used for epilepsy.

So just know, they are not the same and don't expect the same results if you try the commercially available hemp derived oil. I am in no way dismissing the potential of the Real Scientific Hemp Oil. Just want to try and add some clarity around this.