4-Day Program - Inhalation
Have a positive first experience with cannabis.
This program is designed to allow your body to become sensitive to cannabis and to ensure you achieve the optimal therapeutic benefits at the lowest effective dose. With cannabis it is important to remember that less is usually more (a lower dose can produce better therapeutic effects).
Understand and determine the right cannabis dosage for you.
Using the correct dose of cannabis is the single most important factor in having a successful therapeutic relationship with cannabis. Unlike most medications, cannabis cannot be prescribed at a certain quantity and frequency based on body weight and age — everyone resonds differently based on our unique physiology. This program helps you find your optimal cannabis dosage.
Prevent negative side effects.
For most patients, using less cannabis can provide superior medical benefits. Using too much cannabis will often decrease its effectiveness and increase the unwanted side effects. Patients report that by using less cannabis they achieve maximum therapeutic benefits while having more energy, feeling more clear-headed, and having minimal to no unwanted effects.
Before You Get Started...
During these first few days, the goal is for you to begin to feel some of the therapeutic effects from cannabis. We know that you’re excited to experience all that cannabis has to offer you. You want symptom relief or control of your condition – and you will be able to achieve these goals by following this program. Over the next four days, you are going to sensitize your body to cannabis, allowing you to use a lower dose with greater efficacy, and maintain those great effects for the long run.
Using the correct dose of cannabis is the single most important factor in having a successful therapeutic relationship with this healing herb. Unlike most medications, cannabis cannot be prescribed at a certain quantity and frequency based on body weight and age. We all have a unique internal chemistry, and the cannabinoid system is very complex, so different dosages will be best for different people. With cannabis it is important to remember that for most people, less is more. Many of the benefits of cannabis actually diminish with increased dosage, and very high doses can actually worsen the symptoms one might be trying to alleviate.
Thousands of patients have reported that when they first try cannabis at low to moderate doses, they do not feel any effects at all until their second or third dose. Then, they suddenly begin responding to cannabis at the same dosage previously tried. Animal research gives us clues to understand this “sensitization” effect: THC can trigger production of more cannabinoid receptors increase the sensitivity of existing cannabinoid receptors, and increase the production of the body’s own endocannabinoids, at certain doses.
On the other hand, high doses of THC have been shown to have the opposite effect, decreasing the number of available cannabinoid receptors.4 By following this protocol, you can improve the tone of your endocannabinoid system, an integral component of our capacity to adapt to stress and restore balance at a cellular level. Not only will you achieve better results with cannabis, you will also enhance your capacity for self-healing.
Considering its broad therapeutic effects, cannabis is an incredibly safe medicine, with most side effects described as mild, perhaps bothersome, but rarely dangerous. The most commonly reported side effects include changes in balance and fine-motor
control, tiredness, anxiety, dry mouth, increased appetite, and impaired short-term memory. Luckily, when using this protocol, patients usually build tolerance to the negative side effects of cannabis within the first 3-5 days, while the positive effects continue to increase!
Cannabis can augment one’s emotions, both comfortable and uncomfortable – this is one of its healing powers and one common cause of unwanted effects experienced by new users. While cannabis can help patients “turn the page” on stuck emotions and unhealthy thought patterns, it can also amplify these states. Patients often will not know which outcome to expect, and amplification of certain emotions or thoughts can be uncomfortable or distressing, though this can be a therapeutic experience as these feelings are addressed with love and acceptance.
You can direct this property of cannabis and prevent these side effects simply by paying attention to your mindset and surroundings before using low doses of cannabis. Prior to administering cannabis, take a few minutes to check-in with yourself by using the Inner Inventory and rating your current state of breath, body, and mood. Think of what you hope to achieve by using cannabis, and imagine what positive changes you’d like to see in your life as your health improves. Also, observe your external environment, and if its stressful or uncomfortable, you may want to wait for a setting more conducive to a positive initial experience with cannabis.
In addition to helping you find your optimal dose of cannabis, this program will show you other simple and powerfully effective ways to improve your health and augment the power of cannabis. The Inner Inventory is a self-awareness tool that can be used to better integrate one’s mind and body, assess the benefits of other health care activities, and take control of the enhanced neuroplasticity (capacity to make new connections in your brain) unlocked by cannabis. Enjoyable and easy to learn exercises included in this program, and specific foods, such as omega-3 fatty acids and dark chocolate, have also been shown to enhance the endocannabinoid system.
While performing this program we also recommend that you review our program “Strategies for Non-psychoactive Cannabis Use” if that’s one of your intentions.
How to inhale Cannabis?
We recommend using an herbal vaporizer, which is a device that heats the cannabis flower to a temperature that causes the medicinal components to evaporate but does not burn the plant material. This produces a healthier and more cost-effective method to inhale cannabis. Smoking small amounts of cannabis is also safe for most people – We recommend a glass or stone pipe with a long stem. Avoid cannabis cigarettes (joints), water-filtered pipes (bubblers and bongs), and high potency vape pens (>70% THC) until you have more experience with cannabis inhalation, or entirely, as these have a higher likelihood of producing tolerance-building and adverse effects.
Begin by exhaling completely. Place the tip of the vaporizer or pipe between your lips and draw vapor or smoke for 1-3 seconds. Then remove the device from your lips, inhale fresh air until your lungs are completely full, pause for 1-2 seconds, and then exhale completely.
IMPORTANT NOTE
*Use Caution. The goal is to use the minimal amount of cannabis to achieve the maximum benefits. If at any time you notice that you are developing tolerance to cannabis (needing a higher dose to get the same effect), then you have likely exceeded your optimal therapeutic dosage. We recommend you try our Sensitization Protocol. We advise patients to avoid smoking joints or eating edibles. Both of these methods predispose patients to inhale or ingest too much cannabis. Vaporizers and tinctures are preferred methods and allow patients to dose correctly with the right amount of cannabis.
– Bangi Afrika Herb Culture