What Are The Best Strains For Pain Relief ?

[TheOneWhoWhited]

I have killer lower back pain due to a couple herniated disks in the lower lombar region of the vertebrae. What are the best strains to smoke to relieve the pain ?

[Willjay]

Blue Dream

[TheOneWhoWhited]

Blue Dream

Thank you Willijay, will give it a try

[TwoCanucks]

had great spasm relief and muscle relaxation, epescially in back and lumbar with OG Kush. Also bubba has been very good also.

[MinnBobber]

X2 for Blue Dream. It's my #1 strain for pain

[OneHighMofo]

Don't want to piss on anyone's chips here because the efficacy of pain medication can be very subjective but cannabis is thought to help regulate pain due to THC being an analogue for anandamide - simply put; our bodies internal painkiller (amongst other things) and the compound that paracetamol mimicks.

Given that blue dream is blueberry x haze (and therefore contains just about every landrace known to man and subsequently contains a very homogenous cannabinoid and terpene profile) personally I'd be highly sceptical of that strain providing targeted relief where others can't.

My point for posting is in pointing out that any strain specific pain reflief is most likely placebo (i.e., not due to the specific strain, more to do with the properties of cannabis generally) and that any/most strains should work in this regard if indeed cannabis offers an individual pain relief for a particular condition. Unless of course that relief is affected by a particular terpene found specifically in the profile of said strain.

Just my opinion of course, placebo is one of the most well understood and well studied phenomena of healthcare and its effects can not be discounted as nonsense.

[RvanSteensel]

Herijuana period

[OneHighMofo]

There's lots of 'facts' out there on the internet about medical cannabis. Not all of it useful.

That post you made Ed - while it contains some good advice, it's also badly informed in a number of areas. Which makes it only semi-trustworthy. Is that good enough when considering advice about health? Personally I say no and take a hard line stance.

It seems like the article hasn't been kept up to date with recent developments and discoveries. That's often the danger when we consider blog authors and articles to have the same rigorous standards of publication as something we might trust. Like peer reviewed science for example.

If the author could even demonstrate an up-to-date understanding of the botanical classifications I'd be able to offer their 'medical Cannabis 101' title a lot more respect.

What I'm trying to communicate to the OP - is that asking for medical recommendations on the internet for particular strains is like bobbing for apples with no teeth in. It's a fruitless excercise likely to lead only to an adventure in finding out how subject to placebo you are.
If you want facts on the subject - don't ask for opinions, or read blog posts. They're almost always wrong, read research papers - get in touch with healthcare professionals that can give you sound advice based on science not hearsay.

[notsofasteddie]

There's lots of 'facts' out there on the internet about medical cannabis. Not all of it useful.

That post you made Ed - while it contains some good advice, it's also badly informed in a number of areas. Which makes it only semi-trustworthy. Is that good enough when considering advice about health? Personally I say no and take a hard line stance.

It seems like the article hasn't been kept up to date with recent developments and discoveries. That's often the danger when we consider blog authors and articles to have the same rigorous standards of publication as something we might trust. Like peer reviewed science for example.

If the author could even demonstrate an up-to-date understanding of the botanical classifications I'd be able to offer their 'medical Cannabis 101' title a lot more respect.

What I'm trying to communicate to the OP - is that asking for medical recommendations on the internet for particular strains is like bobbing for apples with no teeth in. It's a fruitless excercise likely to lead only to an adventure in finding out how subject to placebo you are.
If you want facts on the subject - don't ask for opinions, or read blog posts. They're almost always wrong, read research papers - get in touch with healthcare professionals that can give you sound advice based on science not hearsay.

The post came from a respected medical marijuana advocacy group, Americans for Safe Access, so it has some value as a starting point. While it has some factual errors, it does treat cannabis medicine as a serious topic, encourages the potential patient to treat it seriously, and provides some guidance as to how to do that.

Having said that, I agree with you re: medical recommendation regarding the efficacy of specific strains for pain. Such recommendations should come from medical professionals.

My wife is a chronic pain medical marijuana patient here in Florida based on her Primary Care Physician and MMJ Doctor's recommendations. Interestingly, because of the way the law is being implemented, strain is never directly an issue as smoking is not permitted and thus flower is not available at medical marijuana dispensaries.

The available medical products at her dispensary include vape pens, sprays, tinctures, and topicals. Since they are pre-packaged you get descriptions like this

Explore The Product

The Relief product line formulation harnesses the power of several terpenes, such as b-Myrcene and b-Caryophyllene, recognized for their pain relief properties. Combined with the psychoactive properties of THC, patients may experience strong feelings of relaxation.

Cannabinoid Content 10+ MG (SDU)
20+ MG (SDU) 1mg CBD, 9mg THC 10mg SDU

30mg CBD, 270mg THC, 300mg PER BOTTLE

Standard Daily Use (SDU) is suggested .33mL taken 3 times daily. Based upon the SDU, each bottle represents a 30 day supply. Your recommended dosage may vary significantly– please consult with your physician for proper dosage.

Ingredients: Cannabis oil, naturally derived terpenes, coconut oil, natural Florida orange extracts.

As you can see, there is a bit of an "act of faith" involved and certainly some room for the placebo effect.

Much to my surprise, the other dispensary in town does mention strains in association with their vape pens cartridges, e.g., Flavors available are Blueberry, Bubble Gum, Chem Dawg, GSC, Raspberry, and OG Kush. Thus, doubling down on the "act of faith" aspect.

[OneHighMofo]

Thanks for the reply and the debate Ed - your time is much appreciated.

I should clarify:

Having said that, I agree with you re: medical recommendation regarding the efficacy of specific strains for pain. Such recommendations should come from medical professionals.

My positon is that there is no specific strain recommendation for 'pain' (a very loose term that would need further definition were we to debate this seriously). My position on this is based purely on the fact that Cannabis (despite variation in varietal) now has a relatively homogenous cannabanoid profile due to inter-breeding. Especially when we're talking about a strain like Blue Dream which has been re-created by at least 10 'breeders' that I know of due to it's high demand in the marketplace.

Put simply - there is no way to credibly state that 'Blue Dream' (or any strain) has stable effects / geneology / properties once product is ready for sale due to the huge number of factors involved.

I do agree - and firmly beleive that terpenes have a modualtory effect on cannabanoids and that some people may experience enhancements to the effects of cannabanoids as a result of this modulation.

As you can see, there is a bit of an "act of faith" involved and certainly some room for the placebo effect.
Much to my surprise, the other dispensary in town does mention strains in association with their vape pens cartridges, e.g., Flavors available are Blueberry, Bubble Gum, Chem Dawg, GSC, Raspberry, and OG Kush. Thus, doubling down on the "act of faith" aspect.

Not 100% sure what you mean by the 'act of faith' part, but I should also clarify that I'm not exhibiting cynicism about the therapeutic effects of cannabis being highly subject to the placebo effect (although that is of course true). Rather I'm cynical about hearsay regarding the therapuetic nature of specific strains.

[Fat_old_dwarf]

Are there people immune to the pain relief effect?

I generally avoid painkillers for minor aches and pains, not because I'm heroic but because I'm a wuss, so I'm terrified they won't work when I really need them. Earlier this year I managed to do something to my arm/shoulder that resulted in agony. I took full advantage of British OTC codeine/ibuprofen mixtures, took twice as much as recommended and slathered the arm in Tiger Balm. After a week or so it was bearable.

But -- wait! Didn't I have a variety of strains of cannabis available to me? OK, I didn't select them for pain relief, but surely they should do something. But if anything they made it worse. I try to ignore pain as much as I can, but smoking made me focus on it. The danger of having my arm accidently jostled was vividly in my mind, even when there was little danger of it happening. And I began to feel guilty for betraying the Resistance. Not that I had, or that there was a Resistance for me to join, but surely that was just an accident of history. If anyone threatened to start bashing that arm, I'd have told them all I knew in a heartbeat.

Is it just me, or are there others who don't get any relief from cannabis, even if they enjoy it in other moods?

[2stick]

I felt the need to sprout out my 2 cents about this... There is most certainly the audience for cannabis related reliefs. Claims of pain, insomnia, anxiety, glaucoma and what not. What ever can be claimed, in order to get "the green card".

Yeah, I for one would be sure to get one. But purely because for the reason that I enjoy partaking the herb.

Yes, I am tired and depressed and stressed and my back hurts once a while, and I cannot sleep sometimes. It still most certainly wouldn't put me in the same line with the ones actually benefitting from cannabis.

Charlottes web? Yes, it is very much some cruel media porn, innocent and disabled kids suffering.

That does bring genuine tears to my eyes, fucking beautiful stuff all the way. Forbidden plant helping the feeble ones. But I have to put it really blunt here. Those kids have nothing to do with bunch of stoners wanting to get high.

I am pretty certain that most of you guys sign the same. After all we are all looking for the better tomorrow. For us, the stoners and the ones that actually need the remedy.

[OneHighMofo]

I personally don't experience any relief from the physical symptoms of pain from cannabis use.
I certainly experience a muscle relaxant effect which helps with back 'pain' in the sense that I feel looser and more able to move but it does nothing to dull the pain. The psychological effects are defintely therapetic for me but if anything - I find the extra focus that Cannabis gives me can often excacerbate pain. Or at least makes me focus on it more.

By contrast - my mother suffers from Restless leg syndrome; a not particularly well understood condition that is very painful - so painful in fact that she has a 20 year opiate addiction; now culminating in large doses of Morphine.
She's adamant that a small amount of smoked Cannabis is enough to reduce the pain significantly.

In answer to your question FOD, and elaborating on my point with Ed - I very much think efficacy depends on the type of pain we're discussing and the subjective experience of the individual. It's such a broad term with such a huge range of interpretations. Add the fact that research on the topic is hampered by prohibition and we find that after decades of study we still have literally only a handful of people with the knowledge to talk authoratively on the subject. Everyone is still learning. Often from less than credible sources unfortunately.

And that's primarily the reason I'll oft find myself debating this issue - because there simply isn't a credible position, regardless of our level of understanding. So to my mind - there's little point trying to eschew one.

[Kermit]

I have killer lower back pain due to a couple herniated disks in the lower lombar region of the vertebrae. What are the best strains to smoke to relieve the pain ?

This thread has me

Doctors in the house, simple remedy to your problem is Quantity, smoke loads and you will feel no pain, when you can’t smoke/vape/Bong take edibles, Works for me enjoy

[Willjay]

I have killer lower back pain due to a couple herniated disks in the lower lombar region of the vertebrae. What are the best strains to smoke to relieve the pain ?

This thread has me

Doctors in the house, simple remedy to your problem is Quantity, smoke loads and you will feel no pain, when you can’t smoke/vape/Bong take edibles, Works for me enjoy

Good advice we all agree that marijuana has medical properties and when the assholes prohibitions get out of the way and the scientists can really study this subject we will have some answers but till then we are on our own

Now let’s get back to strains and if they worked for you or not I think blue dream has both high thc and cbd counts and that’s why it works well I would like to hear of other strains

Happy New Year ACD