Medicinal Marijuana Today

In the practice “Primary and Speciality Care,” one of the specialties is recommending MMJ.
When I mention to my baby boomer patients that you can relax because you don’t have to get high or smoke MMJ anymore to get the relief (pain, anxiety, seizures, Parkinson’s, migraine, PTSD, uterine pain, etc.), my patients are relieved. Why?
They are not interested in getting high or inhaling smoke. I applaud them.
Now, some do want to only use it for the psychoactive effects or to get high. Some only want to smoke it, or vape it. They are the connoisseurs of fine marijuana for their medical condition.
What if you used MMJ in the ’60s or early ’70s? You probably consumed too much, became highly intoxicated, and went to sleep for a while, until it wore off. That psychoactivity (getting stoned) may have been so strong, that you vowed to never try it again.
Fast forward 40-50 years, and you still feel the same. You have the same aversion. No way will you get close to that MMJ again. 
Give MMJ a second chance. There are multiple ways to get the active therapeutic plant cannabinoids (CBD, THC) into your systems circulatory.
When you go to the dispensary, ask the “budtender” – not bartender – about marijuana infused oils. With this, you can put drops under your tongue where it will be absorbed into your blood, or ask for lozenges, which you may suck on, chew, or bite into pieces and swallow.
You may purchase infused mints. This is nothing new, but you can mix the dry leaf into a brownie mix, cookie mix, regular butter, cocoa butter, and other foods.
You may buy creams, salves, and lotions, or make them yourself. These don’t have to be combusted or lit up.
Hopefully, we have established that one doesn’t have to smoke it if you choose, but what about getting high?
Not getting high is now an option, unless you want to. If you use CBD with a tiny bit of THC, you absolutely will not get high (with THC less than 0.3%). Impossible. Just won’t happen. CBD is not psychoactive.
You can get CBD online, and from pharmacies and doctor’s offices (the dispensaries carry CBD with a ratio of 23: 2-3 CBD:THC).  Using topicals do not penetrate deep enough to get into your circulation (it goes to the CB2 receptors in the skin or periphery, so one will not get high). Salves rubbed on the sore spots, arthritic joints, itch from insect bites, psoriasis, give you relief with one or repeated applications. 
Smoking (or combusting ) MMJ is only an option, but some baby boomers do not want to smoke or vape – the vaping injuries you hear about are not referring to vape products from the official dispensaries. Use lozenges, mints, salves, and oils instead.
Further, forget about getting high if you don’t want to. Lozenges are strong, so take them and go to bed if you need them. While eating or making edibles, you will get high (but you don’t have to smoke it). I recommend the salve or Sativa (you will not get high with this) – this is not medical advice, so please speak with your doctor before you try MMJ.
What’s Sativa, Indica, CBD, THC? Well, you will have to make an appointment with me.
Dr. Rodney Brunson is located at 201 Tilton Rd., Northfield, NJ 08225. Call (609) 484-7000 for more information.