Please note this book is written and published by a third party and is not official medical advice or associated with Apollo Cannabis Clinics.
Moreso than most other medications, the success of medical cannabis can differ greatly from person to person depending on strains, dosage, method of consumption, and more. While a certain strain or product may work great for one individual in managing their symptoms, it may be ineffective for another. This is because cannabinoids (such as CBD & THC) act on a system of naturally occurring receptors throughout our body called the endocannabinoid system. This is one of the main reasons why getting medical advice and guidance when considering medical cannabis can be so important in finding success when trying to manage unwanted conditions and symptoms.
Athena Lumsden realized this in 2017, when she turned to medical cannabis after every other treatment option had failed. As a widowed mother of 3 disabled children, she was at the end of her rope having been prescribed to take 50-60 pills a day and unable to function because of the side effects.
“I was desperate for relief, but not very hopeful that it would work as nothing else had worked. So trying medical cannabis was mostly just crossing an item off a list so that I could say I really had tried everything else before doing something I couldn’t take back… and why not try it?”
Upon trying medical cannabis, she found some strains helped in certain ways, but not always combatting the symptoms she wanted to be relieved, including pain.
“I was a jittery mess with almost as much pain as before, BUT I was taking about half as many pain meds, none of my emergency panic meds, AND I was leaving my house for things that weren’t about survival. These strange responses were intensely frustrating, but my results were so exciting!”
While the exact effects she was receiving weren’t exactly what those products or strains were typically supposed to help with, she was still seeing improvements in many other areas.
“I had learned enough to know that the problem here wasn’t that cannabis ‘didn’t work for me’. It was that ‘I’m an odd duck, who doesn’t get the standard responses to things’. Which meant that my new prescription wasn’t just a ‘thing I took the way I was told’, it was a puzzle that I could play with until I was happy with my results.”
Athena felt inspired and dove into research, took courses, and began experimenting in her own kitchen, focusing on the factors she could easily control and identify without any special equipment. “It was intense, but within 3 months I found a cultivar that would let me sleep – and at nine months I found the combo that lets me think clearly. Once I had unlocked the combos needed to either think or sleep on demand, I was unstoppable. Results were happening faster and faster and I was removing more and more prescription pills from my life. It took three and a half years to become pill-free, but I feel so much more happy, healthy and ‘me’ than I ever did on pills and am so grateful to be free of them.”
Infused Baked Mac & Cheese
Upon finding this incredible relief, Athena began thinking about how silly the stigma was around the plant and that she “had to do something to let people know that there really is hope and that no one utilizing this plant was a ‘bad person.
“I can’t describe how liberated I felt having unlocked my Endocannabinoid System (ECS) after a lifetime of it’s dysfunction, but the second I was free… I was also able to see the signs and symptoms of cannabinoid deficiency (which is unfortunately common) in others, the harm it was doing and that the only thing stopping the general population from supporting their systems appropriately… was stigma.”
Believing the best way to combat stigma was through education, Athena wanted to share with people reliable information in a format that was functional and not overly complex. After years of learning all about the endocannabinoid system and how different cannabinoids play a role within it, she boiled down all the information into a practical book titled “Practical Cannabis: Your Guide to Unlocking Your Personal Cannabis Code”.
The book covers a huge range of topics, including:
- How cannabis works and why, because people cannot control what they don’t understand
- How the building blocks of cannabis (cannabinoids & terpenes) work individually and together
- How to customize the cannabis experience, so that the reader gains the skills needed to support their unique ECS according to their preferred lifestyle and needs
- How we are all unique and the only thing cannabis can truly do is help support the ECS
- An abundance of information on how to make high-quality infused creations in a home kitchen at any dose size without expensive equipment (approx. 50 recipes that include gluten-free, sugar-free, coconut oil-free, and vegan options)
If you would like to learn more about your own endocannabinoid system, how to find what works for you, or try some amazing recipes, look no further than Athena’s “Practical Cannabis”.
