Recipe: How to Make Cannabis-Infused Tea

Cannabis tea can be made in a variety of ways from many different ingredients depending on your personal preferences. A few methods include: 

1.       An infusion of dry flowers and water -- typically less psychoactive because THC is not water-soluble.

2.       A mixture of cannabis infused with fat (e.g., coconut oil, butter, and/or dairy) combined with tea leaves and water to make a chai or latte-type drink.

3.       A mixture of regular tea leaves and water heated with an alcohol-based extraction (such as a tincture) added to it.

Unfortunately, making infused tea that provides the wide variety of medicinal, psychoactive, or recreational effects cannabis offers isn't as simple as you might think. THC extraction can be a little finicky thanks to decarboxylation and solubility factors, but fear not: once you understand a few simple concepts, it’s all green fields from there! 

During the process of decarboxylation, the non-psychoactive compound THCA is converted to the compound THC, activating its many medicinal and psychoactive properties. The heat applied to cannabis when smoking or vaporizing provokes decarboxylation without any extra effort on our part. When making edibles, the process naturally occurs when the cannabis is cooked with butter or oils, or when hash and kief are added to a favorite recipe and then heated on the stove.  

If you choose to decarboxylate your cannabis using a heating method before adding it to the tea, remember that the optimal time and temperature for decarboxylation may vary depending on the following factors:

• The amount of moisture in your product
• How much product you use
• The type of oven you have access to (e.g., gas or electric) 

There are many ways to make cannabis tea. Your preferred method will depend on the following:

• Skills and experience cooking with cannabis 
• Desired effects of the tea (medicinal or recreational)
• The potency and type of strain(s) used to make the product
• Amount of cannabis (flowers or leaves) added to the product
• Method of production and extraction of THC

Health Benefits Of CBC (Cannabichromene)

Health Benefits Of CBC (Cannabichromene)

CBC doesn’t get a lot of praise nor attention as it’s brothers THC or CBD, but it has shown to have great medicinal benefits. Very few patients are aware of a compound in marijuana called cannabichromene. However, and according to Halent Labs, a top lab-testing facility, it is believed to inhibit inflammation and pain. In addition, it is believed to stimulate bone growth. Still not impressed? Let us put it this way – even though after THC it was CBD that got all the attention, but CBC is actually the second most abundant cannabinoid in marijuana, which means there is likely more CBC in your cannabis than CBD! One of the most intriguing findings about cannabichromene is its relationship with cancer.

CBC Boosts THC

Researchers are convinced that hat CBC’s primary purpose is to enhance the effects of THC. Apparently, elevated CBC levels will make a high-THC strain of cannabis even more potent. CBC provides patients with pain relief that is believed to be the result of interplay with THC. The theory is that CBC’s ability to fight pain is derived from its role in increasing THC’s pain relieving properties. Besides, CBC provides sedative effect, inhibits inflammation, and helps the body establish homeostasis (balance). Some fascinating recent research has shown that this cannabinoid has an anti-depressant effect that is 10 times greater than that of its more popular sibling CBD.

CBC Might Be The Cancer Killer

Based on the way CBD interacts with an endocannabinoid called anandamide, researchers are starting to think that it may be a tool in the fight against cancer. Anandamine aka The Molecule Of Extreme Pleasure Anandamide is a molecule which acts as a neurotransmitter, and which has a structure very similar to that of THC. It is an essential fatty acid neurotransmitter – a messenger molecule produced by the human body that plays a role in many bodily activities, including appetite, memory, pain, depression, and fertility. It has also been found to reduce colorectal cancer and breast cancer.

CBC Stimulates Brain Growth

According to the latest research on CBC, it may actually help your brain grow. This is probably the most fascinating benefit of this compound. Apparently, it increases the viability of developing brain cells – a process known as neurogenesis. You must have heard somewhere that your brain stops growing once you reach a certain age. Well, neurogenesis doesn’t stop; it continues to occur in a specific part of the adult brain called the hippocampus, which is the portion of the brain that plays important role in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory and spatial navigation. A lack of growth in this area of the brain is believed to be correlated with a number of disorders, including depression and Alzheimer’s. While CBD’s mind blowing ability to promote neurogenesis is a very recent finding, previous studies have shown that THC and CBD can do the same. Apparently, most drugs that people abuse are actually suppressing brain growth. Marijuana is the only one that promotes it!

Recipe for Cannabis Tea Latte

Recipe for Cannabis Tea Latte

Makes about 4 (6 oz) servings

Ingredients

• 6 grams fresh ground flowers or 12 grams of fresh sugar/fan leaves, finely chopped (decarboxlyated, if desired)
• 2 cups hemp milk or other full fat milk (choose a milk with at least 8 grams of fat per serving)
• 1/8 stick of butter, softened, or ¼ cup coconut oil, melted (fat helps to extract THC)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Dry tea leaves + tea infuser (amount will vary)
• 1 cup water
• 4 tablespoons on or other spice for each serving

Directions

• Add the cannabis, hemp milk, fat of choice, and vanilla extract to a blender and mix thoroughly 
• Once blended, allow the mixture to sit for about 1 hour at room temperature
• Add this mixture to a sauce pot, fill your metal tea infuser with your favorite tea leaf blend, add water, and stir
• Cover and simmer over med-low heat for 15-20 minutes, reducing heat if the mixture starts to boil
• Remove from heat (strain the “pulp,” if desired)
• Pour into your favorite mug, add 1 tablespoon of honey, and top with a dash of cinnamon

Your cannabis tea latte is ready to serve!

Study Finds Marijuana To Beat Current Alzheimer’s Drugs

Extremely low levels of the compound in marijuana known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, may slow or halt the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, a recent study from neuroscientists at the University of South Florida shows.

Findings from the experiments, using a cellular model of Alzheimer’s disease, were reported online in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Researchers from the USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute showed that extremely low doses of THC reduce the production of amyloid beta, found in a soluble form in most aging brains, and prevent abnormal accumulation of this protein — a process considered one of the pathological hallmarks evident early in the memory-robbing disease. These low concentrations of THC also selectively enhanced mitochondrial function, which is needed to help supply energy, transmit signals, and maintain a healthy brain.

“THC is known to be a potent antioxidant with neuroprotective properties, but this is the first report that the compound directly affects Alzheimer’s pathology by decreasing amyloid beta levels, inhibiting its aggregation, and enhancing mitochondrial function,” said study lead author Chuanhai Cao, PhD and a neuroscientist at the Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute and the USF College of Pharmacy.

“Decreased levels of amyloid beta means less aggregation, which may protect against the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Since THC is a natural and relatively safe amyloid inhibitor, THC or its analogs may help us develop an effective treatment in the future.”

The researchers point out that at the low doses studied, the therapeutic benefits of THC appear to prevail over the associated risks of THC toxicity and memory impairment.

Neel Nabar, a study co-author and MD/PhD candidate, recognized the rapidly changing political climate surrounding the debate over medical marijuana.

“While we are still far from a consensus, this study indicates that THC and THC-related compounds may be of therapeutic value in Alzheimer’s disease,” Nabar said. “Are we advocating that people use illicit drugs to prevent the disease? No. It’s important to keep in mind that just because a drug may be effective doesn’t mean it can be safely used by anyone. However, these findings may lead to the development of related compounds that are safe, legal, and useful in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.”

The body’s own system of cannabinoid receptors interacts with naturally-occurring cannabinoid molecules, and these molecules function similarly to the THC isolated from the cannabis (marijuana) plant.

Dr. Cao’s laboratory at the Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute is currently investigating the effects of a drug cocktail that includes THC, caffeine as well as other natural compounds in a cellular model of Alzheimer’s disease, and will advance to a genetically-engineered mouse model of Alzheimer’s shortly.

“The dose and target population are critically important for any drug, so careful monitoring and control of drug levels in the blood and system are very important for therapeutic use, especially for a compound such as THC,” Dr. Cao said.

Source:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/08/140827131801.htm

Cannabis Oil Helped Stop 8-Year-Old Forrest Smelser's Seizures When Other Drugs Couldn't

Forrest Smelser is only 8 years old and living with epilepsy. When typical prescription drugs only made him worse, his family began looking into medical marijuana.  

A go-to argument for marijuana opponents is that its legalization will lead to more use among young teens and kids, as it becomes more accessible. But while all-out legalization is one issue, what about when those kids need it medicinally? It’s probable many of these opponents would be against that too, but they’re not seeing the benefit it brings to some kids, either. Eight-year-old Forrest Smelser, from Eugene, Ore., is one of those kids, and is among the 467,711 children living with epilepsy in the United States.

Forrest was diagnosed with epilepsy only a week after his eighth birthday. The disease causes recurrent seizures that range in severity; an epileptic seizure can cause anything from a blank stare or rapid blinking to unconsciousness, rigidity and muscle jerks, and confusion. On some of Forrest’s worst days, he’d experience these seizures every 15 minutes, KOMO News reported. “If he has a seizure that lasts longer than three minutes, we’re venturing into brain damage territory,” his mom, Tanesha Smelser, told KMTR Eugene.   

Doctors prescribed Forrest Trileptal, an anti-seizure medication. But although his seizures had stopped, he was experiencing side effects the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notes occur in about one of every 500 people. “He would scream, he would fight, he would punch himself,” Melser said. Combined with his anger, he also had suicidal thoughts, and once even attempted it. This was her family’s breaking point, and they began looking into giving Forrest medical marijuana.

Nine weeks into being 8, and Forrest’s life is looking a lot calmer, but it’s not because he’s high all the time. The medical marijuana he gets comes in a capsule filled with marijuana-infused oil. Provided by TJ’s Organic Gardens, a Eugene-based medical marijuana farm that’s providing the marijuana for free, it’s a special strain of marijuana containing mostly cannabidiol (CBD), the second most active ingredient in marijuana — behind the high-inducing THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). But unlike THC, it skips the high and provides analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-epileptic effects. In one 2013 study on CBD’s effect on epileptic kids, 16 of 19 parents “reported a reduction in their child’s seizure frequency.” 

Forrest’s pills are produced through an organic ethyl alcohol extraction process, after which the extracted oil is then mixed with another edible oil, and put into the capsules. Forrest takes three each day. “Now that I’m on this medication, I feel like a normal boy,” he told KMTR. Roughly 195 of the 69,000 medical marijuana patients in Oregon are under the age of 18, according to the Oregon Health Authority.

“I feel like it’s saved his life — it has saved his life,” Smelser said. “I know it sounds scary, and I know it sounds unconventional, but it’s working. It’s working!”

http://www.medicaldaily.com/cannabis-oil-helped-stop-8-year-old-forrest-smelsers-seizures-when-other-drugs-311960