CBD ratios in cannabis are changing the way producers look at treatment

As more users are turning to medical cannabis for treating pain, those developing the product are finding new ways to be more effective.

Terry Roycroft, CEO of the Medical Cannabis Resource Centre (MCRCI), explains how the medical benefits of the plant are being found in the bud as a whole.

“If you’re using it for pain relief, it works better if there is THC involved,” said Roycroft. THC creates a symbiotic ‘entourage effect’ which makes every chemical compound in cannabis work more effectively than each one on their own.”

Licenced producers have realized that this is the case, and many patients want the real benefits of CBD.

“We’re finding that even our medical patients don’t even want to get that high, and love the 1:1 ratios, or the high CBD ratios, so it is becoming a major medical scenario. It wasn’t before because everyone mistakenly thought that CBD didn’t do anything so there’s no real value to it, but those CBD producers always talked about the medical side of it,” Roycroft explained.

“CBD always works better with THC. CBD is great for your inflammation if you add a small amount of THC, it’s more effective.”

CBD isolates, different forms of CBD-isolated cannabis, are available on the market, but Roycroft suggests even having a 1% of THC could help the overall benefits to cannabis.

Tee Krispil, founder of Fleurs Tea in Vancouver, has been trying to perfect the preventative benefits of CBD in her tea blends by playing around with THC/CBD ratios.

“We’re often operating from our sympathetic nervous systems, our ‘fight or flight’ mode. We’re constantly being bombarded with information and stimulation and CBD is an amazing supplement for helping the body cope,” said Krispil.

“I love a 2:1 CBD to THC ratio, but I don’t always measure.”

Krispil uses a CBD isolate powder form in her blends, but opens up about intertwining THC and flowers into her marketing.

“I want to de-stigmatize cannabis, smoking a joint can be paralleled to drinking a tea- the two belong in the same category of wellness – plant-based/alternative medicine. I’m not afraid to show the ‘other side’ of cannabis, just because I’m a CBD company. I think integration is major.”

Roycroft projects a beneficial CBD to THC ratio that we may see continue

“As we move into the next area, they’re adding 1%THC to 25% CBD, ’25:1′ because CBD can also take away some of the high levels of intoxication effects. Because it mellows and coats some of your receptors, and protects you from getting too high.”

There are ways of being implemented by interest groups like Terry’s that can help connect concentrate producers with medical patients.

As this becomes the most direct way at this time in legal cannabis to gain access to concentrates, medical patients have more legal protection than recreational users in this sense.

“We have a whole patient base. This is only medical, as a recreational user, I’m not even sure if you can turn your own flower into anything. Only medical patients can alter their flower. I don’t know how they would even enforce that, but if you were just a rec user and you didn’t have a medical licence and had a whole bunch of shatter on you, they can take it away from you because that’s not the form that recreation is allowing at this point.”

Alli Hayes is a freelance writer based in Vancouver tackling all things in good spirit, art and music. Follow her journey on Instagram @bunnie604