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Medicinal Value of Cannabis Terpenes

Terpenes are part of a plants defense system, deterring pests, predators and disease, while attracting the correct pollinators to ensure it’s reproduction and survival. When consumed by humans they also become part of our own body’s defense system, and can help fill in the blanks when we need it. Terpenes have been scientifically proven to boost the immune system, kill cancer cells, reduce inflammation, protect the central nervous system and more generally give aid to our body to perform it’s normal functions. Even if you’re healthy, they’re big helpers. If you have a health problem, they’re even bigger helpers.

Terpenes in Cannabis

Here is a short list of some common terpenes and terpene-alcohols found in cannabis and just a few of their therapeutic properties, many of which are also properties of THC, CBD and other cannabinoids. They all work TOGETHER!

alpha Pinene

antibiotic
antiseptic
bactericidal
expectorant

beta-Caryophyllene

anti-inflammatory
gastric protective
(this one also binds to the CB2 receptors throughout our body, and is BIG for auto-immune disorders especial ones involving the digestive system).

Borneol

anti stress
sedative

Limonene

antibacterial
antibiotic
anti fungal
anti carcinogenic
sedative

Linalool

bactericidal
anti anxiety
sedative

Myrcene

antidepressant
antiseptic
analgesic
antioxidant
anti inflammatory
anti carcinogenic

This is the proverbial tip of the iceberg folks, and I’ve really simplified this section. The science here isn’t simple, but it’s true, and we can look forward to more news about cannabis terpenes as well as other parts of cannabis that are therapeutic as more of this science, in relationship to cannabis, is made more public. Thank God there’s an internet and this information can get to us quickly.

In the cannabis culture it is already known that terpenes account for the fragrance of the cannabis plant, as well as it’s taste. The more experience a person has with these plants, the easier it is to discern a certain terpene’s aroma and taste, so that eventually you will see a pattern of works best for you. I’ve found that different needs and different times of the day call for different cannabis remedies and I am learning the ropes by trial and error. It’s fun, interesting and no harm can come to me while trying different types of cannabis medicine.

So what do we know? Terpenes are responsible for the cannabis smell and taste. Terpenes in cannabis are also medicinal. Terpenes work with each other and other plant constituents to provide more medicinal values. Are terpenes the only part of the cannabis plant that have medicinal value? No. Enter, the cannabinoids. But do they all work together? You bet they do.

I don’t believe God promised to give us “all the plants and seeds we would need” was ever meaning to be for chemical and drug companies to try to copy and synthesize them all. That doesn’t make sense when they work better in their whole form.

Big pharmaceutical corporations have the tendency to identify, isolate, and then chemically recreate a single active constituent of a plant, (often the one in highest concentrate as a whole, because they believe it to be the silver bullet), as was done with THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol) starting in the 1970s. (The resulting drugs, like Sativex and Marinol, are not safe alternatives to the whole plant medicines.)

An important reason single constituents are isolated and synthesized is to control every molecule in the product to be sure every research and production batch is exactly the same. But this is not only a far cry from the potential of the whole plant medicine, it almost always has nasty side effects.The FDA has no reported deaths from use of cannabis, but there are deaths on record from use of synthetic THC drugs. Interesting, right? Whole plant cannabis as medicine totally avoids the problems associated with synthetics.

Sarijuana

5 Comments

  1. I had just started wondering about terpenes. And, wondered what value they had medically. Thank you, so much, for all of this research. You are making my life so much less complicated!! 🙂
    Hug,
    Karen from CA.

  2. Thank you for the link to you site. I did not realize
    There was a term for what I call the bouquet of a bud.
    In your words, God did not mean for man to tear apart his creation and synthesize into this and that. In the words from the bible, he meant it to be food, food for mind , body and soul. Thank you again. Peace

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