CBD Nation – Full Review

CBD Nation is an excellent documentary about CBD and cannabis that most people will never watch.  You can watch it on Prime Video for $4.99 (rental) or $7.99 (purchase). 

Maybe it was supposed to be released in theaters. Maybe it will be free next year.  It’s worth paying this small price to watch this year.  If you have friends and family who are skeptical about medical cannabis, buy it for them as a gift.  

The film starts with a study that found high levels of pharmaceuticals in bay mussels.  The obvious contrast is with the cannabis plant that can heal without many of the side-effects of harsh drugs. We then hear true stories of patients, including young Jayden David who had life-threatening seizures.  The legal medical cannabis industry is a patient-driven phenomenon.  Harbourside Medical Center in Berkley provided Jayden with a CBD tincture in 2011.  This medication virtually eliminated his seizures.

Jayden David’s epilepsy was controlled with CBD from cannabis.

Raphael Mechuloum is interviewed briefly at strategic points throughout the film. Mechuloum is the Israeli researcher who discovered THC also discovered the seizure-blocking effects of CBD 35 years ago.

Medical cannabis and CBD are presented as alternatives to harsh pharmaceuticals; and as promising treatments for difficult syndromes such as Graft versus Host Disease (GVHD). This leads to a presentation of the endocannabinoid system – our body’s natural system that helps maintain balance. Our bodies produce natural cannabinoids that maintain the balance of other systems in the body.  Cannabis appears to be a plant that contains substances that help our bodies maintain and restore balance.

Rylie Maedler was the inspiration for Rylie’s Law legalizing medical cannabis for children in Delaware

Rylie Maedler was a young girl when she developed an aggressive bone tumor that began destroying the bones in her face. Her mother began researching alternative treatments for shrinking tumors and started Rylie on cannabis oil.  Surprisingly these treatments worked to regenerate the bones in her face and to shrink the tumor. She did not require the reconstructive surgery that is usually needed.  The Delaware legislature unanimously passed “Rylie’s Law” to legalize medical cannabis for children like Rylie.

Veterans with PTSD are then featured. Colin Wells is a founder of the group “Veterans Walk and Talk” who use medical cannabis and hike several times a week in Southern California.  The founder of Irwin Naturals then describes his mission to offer CBD at reasonable prices.

The film is professionally produced and it makes a strong case for cannabis medicine. I wish this documentary could be widely viewed without paying a fee, but I guess that’s not realistic.  Check it out on Amazon Prime Video or Apple Video.  It’s worth the small cost of admission.

There is Early Evidence that Medical Cannabis may improve Executive Functioning

The stereotype is that marijuana makes you stupid.  This certainly seems to happen in the short run. Marijuana has been shown to negatively impact cognitive processes in adolescents.  Short-term memory suffers in adults too; as pot smokers forget things – why they just entered that room, for example.   In medical cannabis this is considered “the negative side-effect of impairment.”  When dosing medical cannabis the goal is usually to dose low enough that impairment is minimized.  Research has shown that in some cases cannabis is neurprotective.  It may prevent damage to brain cells. Can medical marijuana help improve cognitive functioning?

A 2016 study led by Staci Gruber, Ph.D. suggests that medical marijuana may actually improve executive functioning in adults. Dr. Gruber works at the McLean Hospital Imaging Center in Belmont, Massachusetts and is on the faculty of the Harvard Medical School.  She and her colleagues followed 24 certified medical-marijuana patients over a three-month dosing period. Their cognitive skills were measured with a battery of tests that included the Stroop Color Word Test and Trail Making Test.

Subjects in the research improved in their speed of performance on these two tests and their accuracy remained constant.  The authors acknowledge that there is a possibility that this improvement in speed is due to “practice effects.” We tend to do better on a test when we have taken the test before. The authors cited past studies that people taking these particular tests don’t usually improve, even with weekly “practice.”

The authors note that the medical marijuana patients participating in the study also reported improvements in many of their symptoms.

You can read the full study here:

Splendor in the Grass? A Pilot Study Assessing the Impact of Medical Marijuana on Executive Function