If the act of vaping itself was truly a health risk we wouldn’t be seeing all of these incidents in such a short time window. What we are seeing is people putting stuff into vspe pods (oils) that are causing lung issues.
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After what we’ve seen happen with cigarettes and lung cancer, why fool around with inhaling a vapor at all, esp. as an endurance athlete? Why not edibles? For those who are so inclined, what am I missing here?
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If you are using a e-cig type thing to consume your THC, you are inhaling all sorts of toxic compounds, not the least of which is formaldehyde. The reports of severe lung damage among e-cig users are starting to accumulate.
Lack of legal sources. While marijuana is legal edibles get greater scrutiny due to being food so taking longer to become available
Apologies if this has been asked elsewhere in the thread, but if we go on the assumption that CBD does help reduce inflammation, would that mean we wouldn’t want to use it chronically (pun totally intended) as it would hinder normal physiological responses to training loads, similar to how we want to avoid chronic use of NSAIDS for the same reason?
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I think you raise a fair question.
Based on my readings, my guess is that the amount of CBD necessary to have a noticeable impact on inflammation is pretty high.
It seems that the studies reporting good effectiveness are based on high doses. Where I leave, such doses would be really pricey!
Taking chronically small doses may have the same effect that (very good?) anti-inflammatory food.
I’m by no mean an expert or have any qualifications on the subject.
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Edibles, outside of actual food infusion, seems to be the best method for avoiding lung damage, keeping dosages as consistent as possible and still maintain some convenience. Oil infusions such as olive, or coconut oil seem to work well along with alcohol based tinctures. Some even eat it raw after a decarboxylation which works too.
Basically, if you have access to the raw plant matter, you can create a method of dosing your thc without bothering with brownies or a pipe. It’s ALL about a quality “de-carb” which can be carried out in an over (carefully and admittedly stressfully). I invested in an Ardent Lift which is a smart oven for cannabis decarboxylation and oil infusions which is a much better method. Using cannabis in this way, lots of thought in dosing and delivery method, takes it from a recreational only drug, to a potential medicine. For me, it’s helpful for sleep. Occasionally I use while riding, but only if I feel like eating more and going slow, both of which have their place in any training plan.
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This thread has been surprisingly interesting and informative, even though I’ve never (and probably will never) used marijuana or even smoked, for that matter (just never saw the allure).
But I was interested to see that cannabis is allowed out of competition but banned in competition; how does it provide an artificial boost to performance?
Many endurance athletes, especially runners, have been using edibles for both mental and physical relief to great success it sounds like. For some reason I can’t really figure out, edibles have little to no effect on me, I’m talking like 1000+ mg doses, so i don’t get the same mental effect as with smoking. I’ve boiled it down to either really high tolerance or a gut that just doesn’t absorb THC that well.
I am in Canada so I expect a lot of new THC products to be hitting the shelves in the next year now that edibles will be legalized as well so maybe ill find the magic combo then.
I believe it is on the basis that it can help with quicker recover, pain relief, and even training gains. This now seems like a ridiculous reason due to all the high-tech gadgets that work 100% better than THC would. Here’s a good read: Here is how cannabis could help you get faster on the bike - Canadian Cycling Magazine
This is great advice. I’m coming up on a harvest and may go this direction with a majority of it. Do you have a good decarb resource you could share?
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There’s a ton of good oven based method information floating around.
The basics for me:
No need to break the greens down, I used to overly grind the buds before going into the oven, it’s not needed.
240 F Seems to be the agreed upon temperature for decarboxylation. Use an oven thermometer and plan to babysit the project for about 45 minutes to an hour. You have to keep a close watch because ovens can swing in temp up to 20 degrees or more so you want to try keeping the temp as stable as possible. From there you have activated product and can use it in an oil or alcohol infusion, even ingesting it at that point works, although I’ve noticed very long lead times for experiencing the desired effects that way. Disclaimer, your house/apartment will smell for a day if you go this route, be aware. Also, you will find other opinions on temp and technique, it’s a small risk since you know, the stuff isn’t free, but this has always worked well for me. It’s labor intensive.
OR…
Spend the money and buy an Ardent Lift/Nova which claims to decarb “perfectly” - I just got one and have used it successfully for two batches of oil. So far, it seems like a worthy investment.
DM if you have other questions or want tips on the classic oven method.
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Great thread - A co-worker turned me on to cbd oils a few weeks ago. I drop it under my tongue - so no smoking is needed.
So far, for me:
- It helps with anxiety
- I didn’t feel as competitive as normal while racing
- I have less of a desire to drink alcohol and coffee
- I have less of a desire to workout
- My temper is more even keel
Not sure i’ll continue daily use as the effect is pretty minor for me.
Looking forward to seeing some real studies ( Double-Blind Placebo - Controlled… etc) come out about it.
In order to get the THC effect, you need to pair it with foods that have fat. Using the tea method the typical recipe is to boil it down with coconut oil.
Full fat milk or heavy cream in coffee
Fats do seem to make absorption faster but from what I understand, and have experienced, a de-carb is all that is needed to get the effects. You can ingest decarbed cannabis directly with the same results, just takes a bit longer. Also - see alcohol tincture. No fats there. That said, I do prefer a oil based infusion myself.
Just to be clear and because it caused enough controversy : this thread is not about THC.
But I think it’s the same principle for CBD. It won’t transfer to water for exemple, but will in fat and alcohol.
It’s funny as the thread creator that someone else decided to make that determination…
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To be respectful, there are places in the world where marijuana is legal. In those places there are studies in progress looking at THC and its effect on stress. As well, general practitioners are also getting specialised training in prescribing marijuana.
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And here I thought all this time that this thread was specifically about THC 