How To Use And Administer Medical Cannabis Oil

This post assumes the reader already has access to Medical Cannabis. If this is not the case and you are attempting to source Medical Cannabis Oil/RSO online, please read our dedicated post offering advice on how to stay safe: Buying Cannabis Oil/RSO online – Advice for UK and EU patients.

One of questions we are often asked regarding Medical Cannabis is, “How do I use and administer Medical Cannabis effectively“.

Therefore, we have put together this page with detailed advice.

The aim, particularly when treating chronic illness, is to ensure maximum ‘cannabinoid saturation’ without causing any unwanted side effects such as lethargy, psychoactivity or anxiety. Concentrations of cannabinoids can range widely from individual plants and strains, but there are also many other factors that can impact the effect.

Typical deciding factors on how you choose to use Medical Cannabis Oil are:

Dosage
Age and health of patient
Strain of cannabis
Method of administration
Individual tolerance to cannabis medication
Nutrition and diet effects on administration
Physical impairment
Biochemistry and body mass
Mindset and mood when administering

Understanding Different Strains When Using Cannabis Oil

The oil you choose to use will have different properties depending on the strain you initially use to make the extraction.

Individual strains of medical cannabis will have differing cannabinoid and terpene content, producing noticeably different effects. Many people report finding some strains more beneficial than others. For example, cannabis oil made from strains with more CBD tend to produce better pain and spasticity relief. Higher THC content is preferred for mood enhancement and anxiety. Effects can also vary for an individual based on the physiological state when administering.

What is the difference between Cannabis Sativa and Indica?

The difference between strains is quite significant and will reflect in the oil extract you choose to medicate with.

Sativas (C.sativa) – The primary effects are on thoughts and feelings. Sativas tend to produce stimulating feelings, and many prefer it for daytime use although in some cases it can temporarily increase anxiety and feelings of paranoia. Some noted therapeutic effects are:

Stimulating/energizing
Increased well-being
Reduction of depression
Elevation of mood
Relief from migraines/nausea
Increased appetite

Indicas (C.indica) – Indicas tend to produce sedated feelings, and many prefer it for night-time use. Indicas produce more of a body high as opposed to a more cerebral high experienced when using sativa or sativa dominant strains. Some noted Therapeutic effects from use of indicas are:

Muscles/spasm relaxant
Reduces pain/inflammation
Sleep assisting
Reduction of nausea
Reduction of intraocular pressure
Reduction of seizures/anti-anticonvulsant

How To Use Hybrid Cannabis Strains

Hybrids are strains bred from crossing two or more varieties, with typically one dominant. These will exhibit medical traits of that strain, with other traits demonstrated to a lesser degree. For example, an indica dominant strain will primarily assist with pain, inflammation and sleep, whereas a sativa dominant will be better for stimulating/energizing, focus and creativity.

There are many different strains that range from pure Sativas to pure Indicas and includes the full spectrum between the two. A hybrid strain is a combination of sativa and indica plants and can be bread to provide specific qualities giving patients the best of both worlds. If you choose a hybrid strain that is dominant to one way or the other, expect to experience more of the effects associated with the dominant strain. Hybrid strains fall in to one of three categories:

Sativa dominant Hybrids These hybrids typically provide a heady high that pairs well with a relaxing body feeling. Sativa dominant hybrids are typically used to relax and unwind both physically and mentally.
Balanced Hybrids (50/50) These are typically a true balance of indica and sativa plants. These strains are ideal for those looking to balance mind and body highs.
Indica dominant Hybrids Indica dominant hybrids generally provide a strong body high which makes them ideal for moderate pain relief or relaxation and sleep in the evening.

Understanding the difference between these different strains and hybrids will help you choose the correct cannabis oil medication.

How To Use Medical Cannabis Oil By Sublingual And Buccal Routes

Cannabis oil can be administered under the tongue (sublingually) or between the gums and teeth (buccally) so that it can be absorbed directly into the small blood vessels that lie beneath the tongue.

The cannabis oil is not swallowed using these methods. The sublingual route is especially good as absorption is rapid and immediately enters the bloodstream without first passing through the intestinal wall and liver. When you swallow any medication, it must first go through your entire gastrointestinal tract. This means passing through the stomach containing acids and bile, the intestines where most absorption takes place, and then finally through the liver.

Many pharmaceutical drugs can be absorbed poorly or erratically in the digestive tract or are destroyed by the acid and digestive enzymes in the stomach. Essentially, when a medicine is placed under your tongue, it diffuses through the mucous membranes beneath your tongue and avoids this process. The inside of the mouth is lined with these membranes. When healthy, the lining of the mouth (oral mucosa) is reddish pink. Healthy gums (gingivae) are a paler pink colour.

The effects from cannabis that is eaten may be more pronounced and onset will be delayed by an hour or more and typically the effects will last longer. Using these membranes the medicine has a direct route into your bloodstream. This results in the medicine working faster, and arguably more effectively than swallowing.

Sublingual delivery is also recommended for certain medications you may need to administer such as cardiovascular drugs, steroids and vitamin/mineral supplements.
With sublingual delivery, you may accidentally swallow some of the cannabis oil, leading to a changeable absorption rate so care needs to be taken when first experimenting with how to use and administer cannabis oil sublingually.

In addition to the speed, medications delivered sublingually are normally more potent. This is due to the action the digestive tract has in breaking down any swallowed substances. This process can adversely affect your medication.

How To Use Medical Cannabis Oil Via The Oral Route

Digestive processes alter the metabolism of cannabinoids and produce a different metabolite of THC in the liver.

This can produce markedly different effects depending on the individual. Because the oral route is convenient it is the one most often used when taking cannabis oil, capsules, or cannabis edibles. However, onset of effects is delayed and last longer due to slower absorption of the cannabinoids and is an important consideration when deciding on how to use and administer Medical Cannabis Oil.

Oral administration has limitations because of the way the cannabinoids typically move through the digestive tract. Most drugs are usually absorbed from the small intestine. The compounds pass through the intestinal wall and travel to the liver before being transported via the bloodstream to its target site. When cannabis oil is administered orally in its natural state and not in capsule or edible form, absorption may begin in the mouth and stomach producing a variable response time.

Individuals can experience different cognitive effects when using cannabis medications. The intestinal wall and liver chemically alter (metabolize) the cannabinoids, converting THCA into the psychoactive cannabinoid compound THC. But also decreasing the amount of drug reaching the bloodstream.

Consequently, cannabis oil is often administered in smaller doses when used sublingually, buccally or rectally – and produces the same medicinal effect. When cannabis is taken orally, food and other drugs in the digestive tract may affect how much of, and how fast the cannabinoids are absorbed, and this can also be a major factor when planning how to use and administer cannabis oil effectively.

Other routes of administration are required when the oral route cannot be used, for example:

When a person cannot take and administer cannabis oil by mouth
When cannabis oil must be administered rapidly or in a precise or very high dose

Oral administration of cannabis oil is generally the most widely used.

How To Use Medical Cannabis Oil As A Suppository

Cannabis oil can be very successfully administered rectally as a suppository.

In this form, the oil is either inserted in a gelatine capsule or is mixed with coconut oil that dissolves or liquefies after it is inserted into the rectum. Because the rectum’s wall is thin and its blood supply super rich, the cannabinoids are readily absorbed and as the cannabinoids are not processed via the liver there is far less to zero psychoactive effect from the THC compounds.

Suppositories may not be the most pleasant product you’ll ever use. But they can make it easier to take medicine that you can’t swallow or that your stomach or intestines wouldn’t absorb well. Suppositories have a base made from gelatine or cocoa butter that encases the drug. As the warmth of your body melts the outside, the drug slowly releases. A suppository is generally prescribed for people who cannot take and administer cannabis oil orally because they have nausea, cannot swallow, or have restrictions on eating, as is required before and after many surgical operations. However, it is one of the most effective methods of administration and utilizes more of the available cannabinoids.

In the administration of cannabis oil it can be beneficial for patients who wish to avoid any psychoactive activity. As the cannabis oil is absorbed directly into the bloodstream it bypasses the digestive system and liver. There has been some debate about the effectiveness of administering cannabis oil by suppository, however, arguments aside it is an effective method. Read more about cannabis suppository administration.

How To Administer Medical Cannabis Oil Vaginally

Cannabis oil may be administered vaginally by women.

This can be as an oil, cream, suppository preparation, or capsule. The drug is slowly absorbed through the vaginal wall. This route is often used with cannabis oil-based creams during menopause to relieve vaginal symptoms such as dryness, soreness, and redness.

Intravaginal administration is a route of administration where the substance is applied inside the vagina. Pharmacologically, it has the potential advantage to result in effects primarily in the vagina or nearby structures (such as the vaginal portion of cervix) with limited systemic adverse effects compared to other routes of administration.

Drugs primarily delivered by intravaginal administration include vaginally administered estrogen and progestogens (a group of hormones including progesterone), and antibacterial and antifungals to treat bacterial vaginosis and yeast infections respectively. Drugs may also be administered intravaginally as an alternative to oral route in the cause of nausea or other digestive problems.

How To Use And Administer Medical Cannabis Oil Transdermally

Transdermal simply means applying to the skin.

Our skin is the most accessible and largest organ of the body with a surface area of 1.7 m2, compromising 16% of the total body mass of an average person. The main function of the skin is to provide a protective barrier between the body and the external environment against microorganisms, the permeation of ultraviolet (UV) radiation, chemicals, allergens and the loss of water.

Though these outer layers of skin do a good job at keeping elements like water from seeping in, absorption of certain chemicals through the skin is a useful fact when administering certain types of medication. Many medicines are delivered through the skin, most often in the form of patches or gels. This method is very effective at delivering chemicals into our body and it’s even possible to die from an overdose on a fentanyl patch.

Gels, emulsion creams, sprays and even lip balm stick applicators are all examples of transdermal medications and are effective in getting medicine into the bloodstream quickly. Cannabis oil is classed as a lipophilic, which means that it can be dissolved into a fat-soluble substance and readily enter cell membranes. It can be effective when applied topically on the skin and can be used transdermally to relieve pain and many skin conditions.

Acute Psoriasis Treated With A Topical (transdermal) Application

The treatment was applied three times a day for nine days in an experiment conducted by Team Cannabis Cure. The results were remarkable and provide compelling evidence of the efficacy of administering cannabis oil topically.

LEFT : Treated long term with the chemotherapy drug Methotrexate.

SIDE EFFECTS: Nausea, Fever, Diarrhoea, Abnormal liver function and increased chance of infection.

RIGHT: Same arm after nine day treatment with cannabis oil applied topically three times daily.

SIDE EFFECTS: Can now go swimming with her family for the first time.

Medical cannabis oil can be a used as it is, incorporated into a balm, lotion, ointment or rubbing alcohol solution. Traditional herbal remedies were prepared by soaking cannabis buds in alcohol and the solution was applied as a poultice to arthritic or swollen joints.

This is still an effective treatment to consider when considering how to administer cannabis oil for transdermal application. The oil can be dissolved into an alcohol solution prior to administration.

Transdermal administration is ideal for many skin conditions including skin cancer, pain management as well as sports and paediatric medicine and it is one of the best ways to administer cannabinoids quickly and effectively.

How To Administer Medical Cannabis Oil By Inhalation

If you choose to administer cannabis oil by inhalation, we would recommend using a vaporiser rather than smoking.

Cannabinoids administered by inhalation through the mouth must pass through the windpipe (trachea) and into the lungs. Inside the lungs, they are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream. Pipes and bongs can be utilized to smoke cannabis oil, but it is an inefficient delivery method. Vaporisers can be effective; however cannabis oil is better administered using the other methods described above.

Overdosing on cannabis – what’s good to know:

Taken too much of your cannabis medication?

Contrary to what you may have heard, there have been zero reported cannabis overdose deaths. Cannabis has been part of human history for thousands of years of human, so despite how paranoid, anxious, freaked out or sweaty you may get, you won’t die from excess consumption.

How To Administer Medical Cannabis Oil Extracts Like THC For Medical Conditions

Cannabis extracts or concentrates are cannabinoids extracted from the cannabis plant.

These are made utilizing methods that generally involve the use of a solvent, although recently carbon dioxide extractions have become popular. An extract is the generic term used to describe any oil that has been processed to concentrate the cannabis plant’s chemical compounds. This is achieved through a variety of extraction processes and solvents, the most common being butane. Advancements in extraction technology have enabled the use of other solvents such as carbon dioxide and pure hydrocarbons.

The result is a highly potent oil of varying consistencies generally used for vaporization and dabbing. They are significantly more potent than regular cannabis with some forms of shatter containing over 80% THC content; however, the extraction of cannabis extracts is a potentially dangerous process. There have been serious accidents involving explosions that have occurred due to mistakes, carelessness, or complacency that people have made during the extraction process. The difference between ordinary cannabis buds and cannabis extracts are the purity.

Flowers of the most potent cannabis strains contain approximately 30 percent cannabinoids, the active ingredients in cannabis. In addition, the flowers also contain an amount of plant material that contains few cannabinoids. This plant material has almost no medicinal value. Correctly produced cannabis extracts contain around 75 to 90 percent active ingredients making them far more suitable for the medical user, in part due to their direct effect.

The Albany University, State University of New York, recently performed a study on dabbing which is a term used to describe the method of smoking cannabis extracts. The nail is held at the end of a tube of glass pipe and heated until glowing; a small ‘dab’ of cannabis extract is placed on the end of a thin glass rod and then touched to the hot nail. The smoker inhales the vaporized concentrate through the glass pipe.

The data collected showed that there is no evidence of more harm caused by dabbing cannabis extracts compared to smoking cannabis buds. The present study aimed to gather preliminary information as to whether cannabis extracts users were increasing any potential health risks to themselves. In addition to test whether dabs use is associated with more problems than using flower cannabis. Researchers asked 357 participants about their history of cannabis use and how they identify as a cannabis user. Also, whether or not they consider themselves to be a recreational user or a medical patient. Mallory Loflin reported:“We were happy to see that demographically the sample was well representative of the U.S. population at large, normally marijuana studies attract a much larger percent of men than women. Surprisingly, we had women responding to our ad about as often as men”.

The investigators have also considered whether you administer cannabis oil using dabbing cannabis extracts may lead to a higher tolerance, and withdrawal symptoms. This isn’t surprising given the higher dose concentration with dabs. Explaining her interpretation of the study, Mallory Loflin had the following to say. “The results suggest dabs might lead more readily to a dependency-related syndrome than flower cannabis, but there’s no evidence that its use is interfering in people’s major domains of life more than what we see with the use of flower cannabis”.

Study participants were recruited online from major cities in each region of the U.S. Loflin, author of the SUNY study explains. “The survey was completely anonymous, and the only requirements to be involved were that you had to report some history of dabs use and be over 18 years old”. Participants did report that dabs led to higher tolerance and withdrawal (as defined by the participants), suggesting that the practice might be more likely to lead to symptoms of addiction or dependence. The report is available to view at Sciencedirect

Administer Medical Cannabis Oil Extracts: Dabbing

This method to administer Medical Cannabis oil extracts has become increasingly popular in recent years.

It is not a new phenomenon; it has been around for decades but with the advent of more advanced extraction techniques and the availability of high-quality cannabis concentrates there is renewed interest. A dab is a small, concentrated dose of cannabinoids. A dab is a small, concentrated dose of cannabinoids generally made by an extraction method using butane gas and refers to the process of touching or ‘dabbing’ this small amount of extract against the inside of a pre-heated titanium bowl or nail.

Carbon dioxide extracts are far superior to butane, but the equipment required is prohibitively expensive and beyond the scope of most cannabis extract producers. A modern ‘dab rig’ is essentially a glass chamber filled with water with a stem where a glass, quartz, titanium, or ceramic nail rests. All nails have their merits, glass heats quickly but ceramics have better heat retaining qualities.

However, they don’t last as long and tend to crack eventually; quartz retains heat evenly, but the most used are titanium. These are inserted into the neck of your water pipe and the nail or bowl heated using a small blow torch. Judging the temperature of your bowl or nail is important if you wish to preserve and vaporize as much of the cannabinoids and terpenes as possible. here are many options available but you can purchase a ‘Crème Brulee’ torch from any kitchen utensil suppliers and these work just as well as the more expensive torches sold specifically for dabbing cannabis extracts.

The small amount is collected for smoking using a thin metal dab tool; these can be purchased or improvised dental tools work well. The tool is used to hold the small ball of concentrate and it is touched against the inside of the pre-heated titanium bowl as you inhale. As a rough visual guide, a deep-red glow indicates a temperature of around 1050°F (565°C), whilst a faint red indicates temperature readings of around 950°F (210°C).

The ideal vaporization temperatures for cannabis extracts are between 300°F (148°C) and 400°F (205°C). THC vaporizes at a temp of 315°F (157°C) so any noticeable glow after heating with your blow torch indicates that your nail is too hot and your dab will burn. Titanium loses heat fairly rapidly; soon after the faint glow disappears your nail should be at the optimum temperature for vaporization. This allows us to vaporize a choice of dabbing extracts ranging from soft, sticky, viscous oils, potent waxes through to shatter, which is translucent, amber, brittle extract; when stabilized individual dabs can literally be snapped off the thin glassy slab.

Administer Medical Cannabis Oil: Shatter Or Butane Hash Oil (BHO)

Unfortunately there is no real data yet on the effects of long term use (dabbing).

That helps strip THC – the active ingredient in cannabis – out of the plant and leaves a glass-like extract that hardens to give the appearance of cooled caramel or honeycomb. To produce this involves a little more processing and purifying as you remove everything that blocks the crystallization process. Because there is not enough scientific literature, Loflin explains that researchers are unable to begin clinical trials just yet. However, the results indicated from this survey are encouraging and she agrees that further analysis is necessary.

Medical Cannabis Extracts – Vaporizing Pens

Also known as a vape, is a device used to vaporize substances for inhalation.

Dabbing using a dab rig is more often associated with recreational users and vaporizer pens are often used by medicinal users as they are more discreet and give a smaller more controlled dose when required, without the need for dab rigs and blow torches. Using a handheld vaporizer in conjunction with cannabis extracts has a slightly different effect and the dosage can be more controlled.

A handheld vaporizer or vape pen is similar in principle to a type of e-cigarette. They range in size from a standard pen to a slightly larger box size vaporizer that is not strictly a vape pen but works on the same principle.

They utilize a battery powered heating element called an atomizer to vaporize the cannabis extract. E-cigarettes heat liquid nicotine that is generally mixed with propylene glycol or vegetable glycerine, which are the main ingredients in the E-liquid. The first modern vaporizer pen was designed by Chinese pharmacist and inventor Hon Lik, and they vaporize liquid into a gaseous state using high-frequency ultrasonic vibration. Other vape pens just use a simple heater to replicate the effect. Vape pens can be used to heat oils and waxes to approximately 400 °F (205 °C) before combustion.

This allows the user to inhale pure vapor without the harmful toxins found in smoke. Most people have heard of electronic cigarettes by now. Vape pens look and work very much the same way and could easily pass as a high-end electronic cigarette. E-cigs contain a battery-powered heating element called an atomizer that vaporizes liquid nicotine. Just like e-cigarettes, vape pens incorporate the same technology.

The cannabis oil holder is usually called a tank if refillable, or cartridge if it’s intended for single use only. It’s also typically combined with the atomizer as a single unit. Tanks are usually polycarbonate plastic, but glass and stainless-steel tanks can also be found. The heater in a vape pen is called an atomizer that converts liquid to tiny airborne droplets. Atomizing is generally referred to as vaping. Vape pens use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries to power a tiny heater that reaches 400 degrees in mere seconds. Vaporizing pens and handheld vape units are discreet, easy to use and are an ideal starting point if you wish to try using cannabis extracts medicinally.