This product has not been analyzed, tested, or approved by the FDA. There is limited information on the side effects of using this product and there may be associated health risks as a result of using medical marijuana as a treatment option. While under the influence of medical marijuana, do not operate a motor vehicle or any heavy machinery pursuant to Massachusetts General Law, chapter 90, section 24.
Medical marijuana may react with other drugs. Use these products cautiously, and call your doctor, or the poison center if you have any negative interactions or adverse events independently or with other medications.
If you experience any negative symptoms including, but not limited to, sore throats, headaches, sinus issues, nausea, or skin irritation please contact your recommending physician immediately as some patients may experience an allergic reaction to various compounds contained within product.
Medical marijuana has been approved for use in Massachusetts to patients with a qualifying condition, a recommendation from a certified physician, and a state issued patient card. Medical marijuana should be used exactly to the specifications of your physician who is aware of all medications you are currently prescribed.
Side Effects: Medical marijuana side effects may include sleepiness or drowsiness. However, some patients can experience the opposite effect including an increase in energy or restlessness. Other common side effects include short-term memory loss and increased appetite. Please consult your physician with any concerns or issues about what kind of medical marijuana is right for you and report immediately if you are experiencing a side effect that is adversely effecting your treatment.
Patients should treat medical marijuana like they would any prescription and avoid operating a motor vehicle or heavy machinery, performing child or elder care, and making important decisions while under treatment.
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How to Rate your Symptoms and Pain
See the model below for a reference of how to utilize medical marijuana as an alternative pain management treatment for your symptoms. Base your self-assessment today on two factors.
“The best you ever felt”
- Pain= NO Pain
- Cachexia= Normal Appetite
- Seizure= No Seizure
- Muscle Spasms= No Muscle Spasms • Agitation= No Agitation
- Pain= Worst Pain I ever had
- Cachexia= No Appetite
- Seizure= Worst Seizure I ever had
- Muscle Spasms= Worst Muscle Spasms I ever had • Agitation= Worst Agitation I ever had
Frequency: Record your self-assessment daily until you find a satisfactory medication level, then weekly or follow the recom- mendation of your certifying physician.We recommend discussing your dosing and experience with our Dispensary Agents on each visit.
Strains and Products: Record the strains or products you are taking. We have provided a space for the strain or product name,THC and CBD content if available.
Patriot Care Patient Self-Assessment Log & Rating Scale
Click here to download a printable pain symptom chart.Click these links for more information on managing pain
http://www.patriotcare.org/thc_cbd/ http://www.patriotcare.org/a-recommendation-on-dosing/A Recommendation on Dosing
The potency of marijuana varies by genetic and individual harvest and each patient may have a unique and different response to an individual batch of marijuana. Consult your certifying physician for medical advice about what genetics may be right for your treatment and make sure to record your indications with individual genetics, potencies, and frequencies of usage of medical marijuana. Please feel free to ask general questions to any Patriot Care RMD Agent for general information about particular strains, strengths, and dosage.
ISOLATING YOUR DESIRED ACTIVE INGREDIENTS AND DOSING
For simplicity we recommend that all patients pick a starting dose of THC or Cannabi- noids (CBD) of between 5 and 10 milligrams (mgs). Each patient should prepare and take their first dose and record its effects and determine whether or not the individual dosing amount is too high or low, or is effective to attain the desired effect. Each gram of medical marijuana contains a certain percentage of active ingredients (THC & the collective Cannabinoids). When using flower the active ingredients represent the medicine and the flower’s biomass the delivery vehicle. When you, and your certifying physician, determine an effective dose you can calculate the total number of doses in each gram by following the following equations. Note: Each gram of medical marijuana flower is composed of 1000 milligrams of mass which when multiplied by the total cannabinoid profile will yield the number of mgs of active ingredients. The total number of active ingredients divided by your chosen dose will provide you with a guide to how many uses, and what proportion of the flower, needs to be used.
Inhaled Products: With any product that is inhaled we recommend waiting a minimum of half an hour prior to taking an additional dose, or increasing dosage.
Edibles: It is our recommendation that all patients wait at least two hours prior to taking another dose of any edible product.
Click here for more information on medical marijuana.
Methods of Consuming Medical Marijuana
INHALATION OF MARIJUANA
Patients may elect to use medical marijuana through traditional methods of inhalation including smoking the product in rolling papers, a pipe, or a water pipe. Additionally, patients can medical marijuana via flower (the dried leaves), oil, or premade cartridges in a variety of commercially available vaporizers or dispos- able units. These products heat, without burning the medicine, until it vaporizes and allows for the patient to separate the cannabinoids from the plant material. Patriot Care will dispense several different types of commercially available vaporizers and a selection of custom designed single use applicators.EDIBLE MARIJUANA
Marijuana Infused Products (MIP’s), or edible medical marijuana, are products that have been prepared with oils made from supercritical CO2 fluid extracted marijuana flower. For patients who wish to avoid inhaling the product, eating a MIP is an alternative that provides effective treatment and for some patients necessary additional calories. In addition, oral ingestion increases the available amount of cannabinoids to the body. Consequently, you may need to consume only 25% of the amount you would normally smoke or vaporize. In addition; edibles take longer to take effect, 20-60 minutes at least. Thus, it will take much longer to feel the effects of edibles. If you consume edibles be patient and wait; don’t over medicate.CONCENTRATED MARIJUANA
Concentrated marijuana oils and extracts are another alternative format that patients can choose for medicating. These products are produced through a solvent-less extraction process that separates, and concentrates, the essential oils from the marijuana flower. Concentrates allow a patient the ability to select a form of medica- tion that accentuates and intensifies the particular cannabinoid qualities they are looking for. Concentrates can be inhaled either by smoking or through vaporization.TOPICAL APPLICATION OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA
Topical treatments can feature both THC and CBD and come in a variety of different forms including lotions, ointments, and balms. These products can be used to treat a specific medical need or can be used, in conjunction with other topical regimes, as a preventive. All topical products produced will have undergone the necessary formula- tion to ensure that all the active ingredients will work in their transdermal form.Understanding Cannabinoids
Cannabinoids are the biological active ingredients found in the composition of the marijuana flower. These active ingredients interact with your own endocannabinoid system which regulates a variety of different biological receptors. An individual medical cannabis genetic, and even an individual harvest, may present a different variety of cannabinoids and each may affect the way that a particular genetic interacts with your body or treatment. These differences allow a patient and their certifying physician to select a genetic of marijuana with a cannabinoid profile that will best treat an individual’s unique symptoms.