Some Assembly May Be Required
The act of consuming medical cannabis from start to finish can sometimes be an elaborate process. Whereas some ingestion methods like cannabis oil and oral sprays are quick, discrete, and easy, other methods may require extra accessories and add-ons.
The first part of this article will cover accessories for medical cannabis patients such as grinders, scales, and cleaning tools as well as providing helpful instructions on their use.
The second part of the article will focus on the essential matter of keeping medical cannabis fresh. After all, cannabis is organic, and like all things natural, it is susceptible to spoil and mold. From this reading, patients will gain a basic understanding of cannabis maintenance and preservation, how to maintain cannabis at correct humidity levels as well as where to store it for maximum product lifecycle.
This article serves as a useful entry point for both experienced medical patients who may be looking for a quick refresher as well as those who are brand new to medical cannabis.
Keeping Medical Cannabis Fresh
As an organic substance, cannabis is prone to spoiling. Keeping cannabis fresh is vitally important to make sure it keeps working as an effective medicine. The key here is to store cannabis at adequate humidity levels, which ensures that all of the beneficial cannabinoids are well-preserved while discouraging mold growth.
Why Humidity is Important in Preserving Medical Cannabis
There is an acceptable humidity range that is ideal for preserving cannabis. If there’s too much humidity present, it could lead to mold and harmful contaminant growth. While too little humidity will cause cannabis to dry up and result in a loss of essential cannabinoids. The sweet spot is usually between 54% to 63% relative humidity. Patients don’t have to worry about being exact.
How to Store Cannabis
As long as patients keep their cannabis secured in a cool, dark, and dry location that is away from direct light, the cannabis will stay adequately preserved. As for containers, patients can choose to store their medical cannabis in the original container or a glass mason jar if the original packaged container is lost or damaged. Ideal storage locations include drawers and cabinets.
Preserving Medical Cannabis
The best bet for medical patients storing their medical cannabis for maximum longevity and quality would be to divide up their cannabis supply into two designations: long-term supply and immediate supply. For example, patients could designate a week’s supply into a small container while keeping the main supply in a large container. For maximum preservation, we recommend using the original container or a sizable glass mason jar with an airtight seal. This way, the bulk of the cannabis will be better preserved since patients won’t be exposing it whenever they need to medicate.
Medical patients seeking an elegant solution can opt to store their medical cannabis inside a “cannador.” This specially designed receptacle utilizes the same humidity technology used by humidors to keep cigars fresh by maintaining a steady moisture level at all times.
Humidity Packets
Patients looking for an economical way of keeping their cannabis prescriptions fresh for long-term periods should consider humidity packets. These inexpensive and ingenious products serve a dual purpose: providing adequate humidity while absorbing excess moisture.
These packets automatically ensure that the relative humidity required to keep medical cannabis fresh is always maintained. Usage involves placing one or two humidity packets in the container used to house their cannabis and let the packets do all of the work. Humidity packets typically last two months in a container that’s frequently opened.
Preparing Medical Cannabis for Consumption
This section will outline how to go about ingesting cannabis in its dried flower form. Patients commonly use a grinder to break up their dried flower into smaller bits. Smaller bits will decarboxylate and vaporize much easier than big clumps.
On the other hand, extracted forms of medical cannabis such as cannabis oil, oral sprays, and topical creams aren’t required to go through this grinding process. Patients should opt for a grinder that has three levels. The first level uses metal teeth to grind up the dried flower into smaller bits. The second level acts as a tray to catch and collect the grounded up dried flower. The third and final level acts as a collector for trichomes (the fine crystalline particles on the surface of the dried herb).
Weighing Out Your Medical Cannabis
Scales are especially useful for medical cannabis patients who need help keeping track of their daily usage. Weighing out medical cannabis into accurate portions ensures that patients aren’t overusing or underusing, but medicating as prescribed.
Unlike typical bathroom scales, cannabis scales are designed to weigh small amounts with most scales being accurate down to a tenth of a gram. There are even scales that are accurate to one-hundredth of a gram, but patients don’t require that level of granularity. Most modern scales today are also digital and can be easily operated at the touch of a button. Costs of scales can vary with high-quality models priced in the hundreds, but medical cannabis patients can get what they need for around $20.
Cannabis Cleaning Tools
If patients choose to consume their medical cannabis through a pipe or other similar devices, they should be aware that regular cleaning is recommended.
Over multiple uses, a brownish residue will collect around the pipe as a result of cannabis being decarboxylated or heated. Users should invest in an inexpensive cleaning kit that includes small steel brushes and pipe cleaner solutions to make sure their devices are resin-free. Having clean hardware will result in a more appealing experience as resin build-up can produce a harsh taste.
Eye Drops
One of the potential side effects of consuming medical cannabis is that one can experience redness or dryness on the eyes. A quick application of eye drops will quickly alleviate this problem.
The phenomenon of red eyes that are sometimes caused by cannabis consumption is entirely harmless and nothing to worry about. Red eyes are just the result of THC decreasing blood pressure in the body. This reaction causes ocular capillaries to expand and dilate, which allows for more blood flow that can make eyes appear red. Eye drops contain a chemical called tetryzoline, which causes blood vessels in the eye to constrict and reduces redness. Eye drops can be easily purchased as over-the-counter drugs and are a great accessory to have in hand.
Dosing Diary for Medical Patients
Cannalogue is an all-comprehensive medical patient platform created by doctors and made for patients. Along with providing patients a vast selection of cannabis products to choose from, Cannalogue also gives patients the ability to conveniently track how products affect them.
Since different products help different patients, the built-in functionality of a “dosing diary” lets patients figure out which strains work best for their medical ailments. Patients can track single or multiple medical cannabis products according to the date in which they started using them and continually rank the product’s efficacy. The dosing diary, in conjunction with assessments from a healthcare practitioner act together as an intelligent monitoring tool to ensure that patients are on the right path.
