I’m giving in. Well in a way. Not really. My doctor has been talking to me for years about CBD for my pain and anxiety. Mostly my pain. He’s a big advocate for CBD and now so is my new pain doctor and my physiotherapist at the pain clinic. Here in Canada cannabis is legal and has been for about 2 years. Not just for medical use but for recreational use as well. In Nova Scotia our liquor corporation NSLC (Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation) is the only ones that can sell it for recreational use. Others can apply to grow it and make products for medical use, but it’s still really controlled. As it should be.
Photo by Pot Head Coffee on Unsplash
So I’ve decided to order some CBD from NSLC. I’m still learning about it and find it confusing, especially dosing, laws etc., but at the moment from the research I’ve done I’ve decided to give it a try. I have no idea If I’m right about this but I am starting with no THC just CBD. I also decided with my husbands help to start with edibles, specifically chocolate as I am less confused by dosing and can figure it out better than CBD oil and a dropper. Another main consideration was that the CBD oil options that NSLC has all have some degree of THC in them and in NS there is a ZERO tollerance for driving with even the minutest amount of THC in your system, even if you take it for medical use and have a prescription.
The chocolate I ordered from NSLC has no THC in it, just CBD. So I figure thats an easier and safer option for me to start out with. There is a local shop (well somewhat local) that has a permit for medical cannabis so if this helps then one of my doctors can give me a medical card (prescription) to get it from him and my understanding is he knows his stuff and is great with helping you find the right options for your medical issues so I’ll get a referral to him rather than NSLC’s stuff which is more for recreation than medical as far as I understand.
It’s all kind of fascinating and confusing but I am really optimistic that it might help with my pain and/or anxiety or any other issues I have (POTS, insomnia, etc.). I’ll post more about it and what happens as I go.
It’s good if this could help you, but really if your doctors recommend it, they should help you with dosing, as they would with other medications. Why don’t they, if it’s legal in Canada?
What happens if you would travel to a country where it isn’t legal?
The only thing the doctor told me is to start low at 2.5mg per dose. I am sure he can help to a point and so can my pain doctor with the dosing. The way they usually do it here the doctors just typically do the prescription and then the dispensaries do the rest. But I am not starting out with a prescription so I have to do all the research on my own. Because of the rural area, I am in, and because of Covid I can’t get to NSLC that has Cannabis here. So I have to order it online and have it delivered. So I can’t really talk to them. I am only going to get the prescription or card if I find it helps and decide I want to continue with it.
I hope CBD works for you. I’ve been using CBD and it seems to help with anxiety as well as my sleep disorder. I only do edibles though. I’m in the same boat with you when it comes to trying to get dosage right with an eyedropper – I’d rather have it all measured out for me ahead of time. I have seen some CBD oil that are in capsule form, I don’t know if you can get those. My body weight is so low the recommended dosage is well below the capsule form, so I’ve never tried them.