The Cannabis Connoisseur

By Anthony Ricciuto

Hey everyone I am proud to announce another new column here at Power Nutritionist. This will be a question and answer format relating to everything about cannabis. If it’s about strain selection, edibles, concentrates, medical cannabis along with holistic health, growing, vaping, and the latest of what’s going on in the 420 industry, this is the column just for you. I want to cover as many topics as possible to give you some insight into what your deepest darkest questions may be. So send them over and let’s get started.

Healthy Cannabis Consumption

Q: Hey I just wanted to let you know I really liked the article you did on cannabis and insomnia. You went in-depth on the topic and covered so many different modalities. It was amazing how you incorporate holistic health and biohacking with cannabis. This isn’t something I have seen before and it’s really nice especially since it targets the health-conscious cannabis consumer. My question is about what is the healthiest ways to consume cannabis? I am new to this and I am someone who workouts out, eats clean, and takes my health supplements. I just want to be sure I make the best choices on my cannabis consumption method as well. Love to hear back from you.

Sincerely,

Sherry
(London, Ontario)

A: Hi Sherry it’s so nice to hear from you. Thank you for writing in. I appreciate the kind words about my article. I put a lot of effort into each one and I always want to bring my readers the best cutting edge information. It’s nice to know that you started incorporating cannabis into your health regimen. Yes, it is one of the healthiest things you can do, but as you mentioned making sure you consume it in the best method is also important. So let’s get started.

Dry Herb Vaping

Now when it comes to flower, the best way to consume it is with a dry herb vaporizer. This is one of the healthiest ways to consume cannabis. When smoking cannabis you cause combustion, this isn’t the case with vaporizing dry herb. There are negative health effects associated with any form of combustion so you will want to avoid this. Now, this is not the same as using a distillate pen or smoking other forms of cannabis like rosin, honey oil, etc in a cartridge. That is a complex topic for another article but I will touch on that later. But for now, cannabis flower using a dry herb vape is one of the best ways to go about getting that THC and CBD into your system. Go with a good quality vaporizer because you get what you pay for. I like the PAX 3 because of the many features it has. It really is like the iPhone of cannabis vaporizers and I am sure you will love it.

The PAX 3 is my Top Choice for Vaporizers!

Organic Flower for the Win

The next thing you want to do is make sure your flower is organic. This is important because pesticides, fungicides, and other harmful chemicals are not what you want to be putting in your body if health is a major concern of yours. When it comes to pesticides some are worse than others. This is why some pesticides that are less harmful is allowable for Canadian LP’s to use. Then others are straight away banned because they are horrendous. But you can’t go wrong with pure organic flower the way nature intended it. If you grow your own this is something you can take care of yourself this way you know exactly what you are putting in your body with no worries. Remember, as a Canadian you are allowed to grow 4 plants for personal use. If you are thinking of growing your own green goodness, get hooked up with a seed bank or an LP that can set you straight and have some fun growing your own.

Organic Flower is the Best  For Health!

Alcohol and Oil-Based Tinctures

The other method of healthy cannabis consumption is tinctures and concentrated oil extractions. Since many of the clients and athletes that I consult with are looking to use cannabis for health improvements or medical issues, this is one of my top choices. Tinctures are cannabis-infused with alcohol. Many people don’t like the intense burn under the tongue and even complain of ulcerations if they are using larger amounts. This is because a high proof grain alcohol is recommended like Ever Clear to help pull the THC from the plant material. This high alcohol content provides an amazing solvent, but it has its drawbacks as well. This is not for the weak at heart, to say the least as Ever Clear is the strongest legal drink available. Some people don’t want to consume alcohol at all due to past addiction issues and this is why the next option can be better.

Tinctures are Amazing at Medicating!

Glycerin based tinctures or cannabis concentrated oil extractions is your best choice for those not wanting an alcohol-based delivery system. No alcohol to worry about, no burning sensation under your tongue, and no stomach discomfort for those who suffer from gastrointestinal issues. Most cannabis oil tincture producers will use MCT oil as the base. This is due to the fact that the saturated fats contained help maximize THC and CBD extraction from the plant and also absorption when you consume it. Most of the Canadian LP’s use this oil for their products. It also works amazing when wanting to infuse it in healthy smoothies or elixirs. I just put up a recent article on an immune elixir recipe where it was infused with cannabis oil tincture. Check it out in the edibles section and let me know what you think.

Canna Olive Oil and Vinegar Infusions

Another method for healthy cannabis consumption is to make a cannabis-infused extra virgin olive oil. Yes, you can do that and once you try it you will be amazed. One machine that makes it so easy to do is the Levo II herbal infuser. In fact, you can make your own canna olive oil and even infuse it with hot peppers and garlic to make an amazing drizzle to put on your salads or other meat dishes. Once you try this you won’t want to go back to plain olive oil ever again. You can do the same for vinegar as well. I am a big fan of raw apple cider vinegar for its numerous health benefits. I recommend my clients to take it daily to help manage blood sugar issues and even help with digestive disorders. When I taught them that they could make CBD infused apple cider vinegar they couldn’t believe it. Again there are so many ways to use this it’s never-ending. These are two ways to really enjoy the terpene content and rich flavors that the many different strains of cannabis have to offer.

Wonderful World of Edibles

When it comes to edibles everyone thinks of chocolate chip cookies and brownies. Let’s not forget the wonderful THC gummies either. Yes, I have had clients make Keto based THC infused cookies and they were great tasting and medicated the patient just the same as if it was loaded with sugar. You could do the same with gummies as well if you really wanted to avoid processed sugar and preservatives. Making your Cannabutter with Grass-Fed butter is another way to make your recipes even more healthy. Using Virgin Unrefined Coconut oil for your edible recipes will provide a good fat base as well while taking advantage of all its health properties. If your base fat is of high quality then you on track. Then you can use things like almond flour instead of processed white flour to make it more healthy. You can also use natural sweeteners like Luo Han Guo (Monk Fruit) or Stevia instead of loading it down with white sugar. I know some of you may be looking at me with a weird look on your face but for someone that may want to consume cannabis edibles daily, eating boatloads of sugar and white flour to help wash it down won’t be the best for your health or waistline.

Weed Brownies are The Trademark Edible!

Cannabis Juicing for Health

Now, this isn’t a method that is hugely popular with the mainstream stoner culture but it is taking hold in the vegan and medical cannabis community for good reason. This consists of juicing raw cannabis leaves and buds. I know the majority of you may be cringing at the thought of running that beautiful green nug through a juicer and I can understand why. Juicing cannabis has numerous health benefits for those especially dealing with inflammatory-related diseases and conditions. Taking it in the raw form allows the body to utilize higher doses of THC and CBD than if it was smoked or vaped. It can even help prevent many of the conditions that using medical cannabis is used for. In fact, I am going to be providing some very nice cannabis juice recipes in an upcoming column for my 420 Herbal Alchemy column. Stay tuned as you will be sure to love it!

Raw Cannabis Juice is the Future of Medicine!

Conclusion

Now when it comes to consuming cannabis in a healthy manner, give these options a try. More and more people are becoming concerned with their health and are forcing some legal companies to work on producing products that fit these consumer needs. With legalization in Canada, we have seen an influx of people getting involved in the medical cannabis scene who would have prior just relied on pharma opiates and other dangerous drugs to help numerous medical conditions. Cannabis is one of the healthiest plants in creation and provides healing to so many conditions. So the last thing you want to do is consume it in an unhealthy manner, thereby ruining much of the goodness within it. So until next time stay lifted and stay safe!