BudDigest

Have you heard of “Covid brain fog?” It seems as if some new and frightening symptom arises on an almost weekly basis during this pandemic. However, CBD might be ideally suited to treat this particular newly identified symptom of Covid-19.

So what exactly is Covid brain fog? In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, survivors of the insidious disease are facing symptoms of on-going cognitive impairment including confusion, dizziness, and memory loss. This disease has recently been dubbed “Covid brain fog.”

Everyone past a certain age will experience “senior” moments. It’s common to find oneself mentally grasping for a word or name or forgetting the reason you walked into a room. However, this post-Covid condition has serious implications, far beyond garden-variety memory glitches experienced in later life.

The term for survivors with lingering symptoms is “long-haulers” — an apt name for the phenomenon.

Some medical professionals theorize Covid brain fog is due to inflammation of the blood vessels in the brain. Dr. Serena Spudich, chief of neurological infections and global neurology at Yale School of Medicine believes inflammatory molecules, releasing an invasive….

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Missouri is getting closer to selling medical marijuana, as the state’s first testing facility begins inspecting the drug.

The testing site, EKG Labs, passed final inspections in late September and quickly began testing cannabis for BeLeaf Medical. BeLeaf was the first cultivation site approved by the state, and co-founder John Curtis said it expects to receive the results from the first round of testing soon.

“Our first batch is in the hands of EKG Labs,” Curtis said. “They’ve had it about a week, actually maybe a little longer… which is common and perfectly normal for that first test to take a little bit longer.”

Curtis characterized the first round of testing essentially as a trial run. He said the facility likely needs to get its machines calibrated correctly and to ensure all equipment is working as it should. Once that happens, he said the testing will go much faster.

“Once they’re really up and running and all of their calibration is complete, it should be a five-day turnaround,” Curtis said. “So, if we drop a sample off on Monday, we hope to hear back by Friday if it can be put on the shelves for sale.”

Some in the industry indicated that sales at open Missouri dispensaries could begin as early as this week. Jack Cardetti, a spokesperson for the Missouri Medical Cannabis Trade Association, said there are….

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Things may go green in four states this fall, as voters will decide on legalizing and taxing marijuana.

Arizona, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota all have measures up for a vote to legalize and levy recreational marijuana.

Thus far, 11 states have legalized recreational pot: Alaska, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont and Washington state.

Levying legal weed is looking attractive at a time when states are anxious to boost their coffers.

Jurisdictions often slap an excise tax, along with a state general sales tax, on pot sales.

Just don’t count on legalized marijuana to singlehandedly save state budgets.

That’s because the amount of revenue they can collect will depend on the structure of the tax and the ease of obtaining a license for growing and selling the product, according to Ulrik Boesen, senior policy analyst at the Tax Foundation.

“You can have a good tax system, but if your regulatory system isn’t effective, you won’t see the revenue,” he said.

Boesen pointed to Oregon as an example of a state that’s been relatively successful at legalizing and….

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There is a body of clinical evidence and a mountain of anecdotal evidence to support the idea that medical marijuana can indeed both help to treat and even to prevent a potentially debilitating condition. 

TBI is caused by trauma to the head resulting in damage to the brain. The condition is characterized by symptoms such as impaired cognitive and motor abilities, chronic pain, sleep disorders, depression and anxiety, apathy, impulsive behavior, and potentially seizures and spasticity.

Athletes who take part in high impact sports such as football and boxing are especially susceptible to CTI/CTE. 

A report by New Frontier Data estimates that “anywhere from 80% to 90% of football players use some type of cannabis medicine” to treat symptoms ranging from chronic pain to emotional issues to impaired motor capabilities. The report suggests that cannabis might not only treat the symptoms of CTI but might actually protect the brain from these conditions. 

There is also a range of mildly-traumatic and non-traumatic brain injuries that produce symptoms which are commonly treated with medical marijuana.

Let’s take a look at some of these various conditions, and how medical marijuana can be used to….

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Delta-8 THC is a minor cannabinoid known to be an analog of delta-9 THC — the most abundant cannabinoid found in marijuana.

The molecular structures of the two cannabinoids are similar, albeit with some significant differences.

For starters, delta-8 THC has a far lower psychotropic effect than delta-9 THC. This might be due to the fact that, unlike D9 THC, D8 THC interacts with both the CB1 and CB2 receptors in the human endocannabinoid system (ECS). CBD, which also interacts with CB2 is known to reduce the psychotropic effects of THC.

Delta-8 THC, unlike delta-9 THC, is not produced directly by cannabinoid-synthesizing enzymes in the plant. Rather, special breeding and molecular isolation are applied by growers and extractors to produce larger quantities of delta-8. It can be produced in both marijuana and hemp.

Because it is produced in such minute quantities (less than 0.3 percent) its presence in hemp flowers does not automatically disqualify a hemp crop from being legal. However, concentrated D8 THC falls into….

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There is much controversy surrounding the use of cannabis in Texas medicine these days. This is despite the promising results of numerous studies being conducted worldwide. And this controversy is even more profound when it comes to the treatment of children, and in particular, children with autism.

However, resistance to the idea of treating autistic children with safe,  non-psychoactive CBD oil is catching on, with Texas adding Autism as a qualifying condition for medical marijuana. Let’s take a quick look at the autism spectrum including Asberger’s syndrome and discuss how CBD oil might provide some measure of relief for these young patients.