More info on raw juicing

Juicing Raw Cannabis: Part I
Posted on 06/23/2011 in Medical Marijuana

Health conscious Americans have long since known the health benefits of juicing raw vegetables. And now, physicians and patients across the country are beginning to apply the same principles to medical marijuana by juicing raw cannabis leaves.

Juicing fruits and vegetables is a great way to infuse concentrated vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients into your diet. Fresh juice is key to delivering these nutrients because vitamins decompose quickly. For example, fresh, non-pasteurized juice that is stored for more than 12 hours will begin to oxidize and lose its nutritional value. Since the nutrients are in liquid form, the juice requires hardly any digestion, allowing its nutritional goodness to be rapidly absorbed into your system. Apply these same concepts to medical marijuana, and juicing could be the quickest, most efficient way to harness the medicinal plant’s benefits. This is especially true when you consider that cannabis loses important enzymes when it’s heated, just like raw food.

Not only does juicing cannabis leaves have significant health benefits, it is widely appealing to patients because it does come with the typical high associated with smoking. That’s because the leaves are high in CBD (Cannabidiol), a non-psychoactive component of marijuana that has been shown in studies to moderate the euphoric effects of THC – the most psychotropic of the marijuana plant’s 80 known cannabinoids. THC must be heated in order to be activated, which is another contributing factor to cannabis juice’s non-psychoactive effects.

By juicing the leaves of the cannabis plant, patients are able to drink CBD in its pure, natural form, which has been proven to treat countless medical conditions. CBD has anti-inflammatory, anti-biotic, anti-depressant, anti-psychotic, anti-oxidant, sedative, and immunomodulatory properties, and has been shown to relieve convulsions, inflammation, anxiety, and nausea. It’s perhaps the most medicinal of all of the marijuana plant’s components, and it’s even been shown to inhibit cancer cell growth.

Dr. William Courtney of Mendocino, CA, a “pot doc” who was profiled in the Washington Post last year because of his work with cannabis juice, recommends that patients juice 15-20 leaves per day. Cannabis leaves have the highest CBD levels, and are therefore best for juicing, when the plants are between 70-85 days old. Unfortunately, for patients who aren’t allowed to grow their own medicine, accessing so many leaves could be unrealistic for a full 30 days of juicing. But perhaps the state run dispensaries in AZ and NJ will catch on and create this healing juice? Only time will tell.
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Juicing Raw Cannabis Part II: How to Juice Raw Cannabis
Posted on 06/26/2011 in Medical Marijuana
Continued from Juicing Cannabis Part I…
There is not much research yet into the benefits of juicing raw cannabis. However, much anecdotal evidence has been circling the Web and well-known publications. High Times Magazine reported on a woman who used juiced cannabis to treat her lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, endometriosis, interstitial cystitis, hypoglycemia, anemia, chronic sinusitis, chronic bacterial infections, and other serious ailments, claiming that drinking raw cannabis juice saved her life. And the Washington Post reported that a sufferer of Crohn's disease credits raw cannabis juice with helping reverse the painful intestinal disorder.

As most people know, marijuana’s medical quality has been recognized by a wide range of medical and public health organizations, including the American Academy of HIV Medicine, American College of Physicians, American Nurses Association, American Public Health Association, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and many others. Yet opponents of medical marijuana have long since argued that cannabis is not a medicine, simply because they say medicine should not be smoked. However, juiced raw cannabis may be the antidote to their arguments.

HOW TO JUICE RAW CANNABIS
Supplies needed:
- Juicer
- 15-20 cannabis leaves
- Optional: 2-4 inches of cannabis buds
- Fresh carrots

Directions: First, juice the cannabis leaves through the juicer. Second, juice the buds through the juicer (optional). Finally, juice carrots through the juicer until you have one-part cannabis juice and 10-parts carrot juice. Doing so will counteract the bitterness of the raw cannabis. Divide into three portions and drink throughout the day. Juice will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.