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Antioxidant Benefits of Marijuana: The Fountain of Youth

Antioxidants are often touted as the elixir of life.

Intake a diet jam-packed with antioxidants on a consistent basis, and have your longevity secured. That’s what the popular opinion is. But is there any truth to it? Well, put simply, yes!

It’s an established scientific fact that antioxidants are in fact the secret to a long healthy life. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), natural antioxidant rich-sources, such as fruits and vegetables, can help prevent a host of diseases, including cardiovascular diseases and cancer. WHO also stipulates that synthetic and supplemental oxidants have little to no effect on the overall health of a person.

Cannabis being a natural and prolific source of antioxidants is a great remedy for a variety of diseases. It wards off the attacks of harmful chemicals, called free radicals, on the body, and prevents oxidative stress. Free radicals are the same suckers that contribute to aging, cancer and a slew of other diseases. We’ll talk more about them in detail.

How Antioxidants in Cannabis Combat Free Radicals

Before we delve deep into the antioxidant properties of Marijuana, let’s first get well-acquainted with its enemies ― free radicals and oxidative stress.

What are Free Radicals?

Free radicals have a great affinity for electrons. They roam the entire body to deprive proteins of their electrons. But in doing so, they cause widespread damage of DNA other cellular structures.

How Do Free Radicals Damage the Body?

Free radicals are, in actuality, unstable atoms. In a desperate plea for stability, they steal electrons from other stable atoms in the body.

According to the Free Radical Theory, which first appeared on the scene, in 1956, free radicals are responsible for disintegrating cells.

As your body ages, it becomes less and less capable of fighting these voracious eaters, which leads to increased damage to the cells, and a long list of degenerative diseases and accelerated aging as a result. Alzheimer, dementia, and even cataracts can all manifest themselves with the gradual buildup of free radicals in the body.

What is Oxidative Stress?

A manageable oxidative stress on the body isn’t bad. When under control, it works as a subservient maid and cleans damaged proteins and other debris from the body to make room for newer cells.

However, when left uncontrolled, it makes the body claustrophobic with an excess of oxygen, causing many cells to explode, or “commit suicide”.  This makes certain parts of our body dysfunctional and contributes to age-related medical conditions, similar to the ones caused by free radicals.

So how do Antioxidants protect us from Free Radicals and Oxidative Stress?

If free radicals are evil twins, antioxidants are their sober, obedient other-halves. They are quite charitable, donating electrons to cells, even to the ones that were robbed by the thieving free radicals.

Our body produces its own antioxidants, but they’re not nearly enough to fight the flood of free radicals that enter our body from pollution, pesticides in our food, smoking, radiation and many other harmful sources.

This is where Cannabis swoops in, and fills the antioxidant void in our bodies.

Cannabis as an Antioxidant Powerhouse

Blueberries, cabbage, spinach, and many other vegetables have a respectable antioxidant profile. But Cannabis stands on a league of its own, in terms of these little packets of life.

Cannabis, Owing to its wealth of antioxidants, may prove pivotal in curbing the effects or even preventing neurogenerative diseases that plague the elderly.

Antioxidants in Marijuana that protect the Nervous System

A rapid decline in neural function is not unheard of in the elderly. It causes many irrevocable neurogenerative conditions, Alzheimer and Parkinsonia, to name a few. Some studies suggest that oxidative damage caused by free radicals may be a major factor behind these deteriorating mental conditions.

Antioxidants found in cannabis have shown an impressive capacity to keep age-related toxicity at bay. Moreover, Cannabinoid CBD and THC have also proven quite effective in reducing neural inflammation and restoring brain function to its formal glory.

Reversing the Clock on Skin with Cannabis Topical Cream

Cannabis can be ingested in the form of vapors, pills, or oil. All of these methods provide antioxidant benefits to your body in their own unique way.

But, there’s one form of marijuana that is extremely great at removing wrinkles, age spots and acne from your skin. And that’s Cannabis topical cream.

Free radicals don’t discriminate between internal body cells and skin cells. They lay waste to anyone that crosses paths with them. And in today’s age, where free radicals from UV rays can easily come into contact with our skin, it’s increasingly important to use an effective anti-aging serum like a cannabis topical cream.

Oklahoma Consults: Obtain Your Medical Marijuana License today

With Oklahoma consults, you can reap all the antioxidant benefits of medical Marijuana. New legislation has permitted the use of medical marijuana in the state of Oklahoma. But you will have to get a medical Marijuana license before getting your hands on this precious plant. We can make the entire application process a breeze for you. All you have to do is get in touch with us today!

 

 

 

 

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Oklahoma Consultants: Expectations of the Medical Marijuana Program

The State of Oklahoma became the 30th state in the U.S. to legalize marijuana for medical purposes, after the people voted for the implementation of SQ 788 in June 2018.

The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana authority was formed, under the Oklahoma State Department of Health, to oversee, regulate, administer and license the medical marijuana program for the State of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma medical marijuana community is a new, but thriving one, and the OMMA exists to ensure the safe and legal dissemination and usage of marijuana by, and for, the people of Oklahoma.

The medical marijuana program started accepting applications for licenses as early as August 2018, and various businesses have begun production and selling of marijuana seedlings as of September 2018. The program is soon expected to turn into a self-sufficient, profitable industry, where the producers, operators, vendors, and dispensaries are working in unison to make the product available in the markets. The plants and seedlings are already available for sale, to be purchased either for medical use.
Continue reading “Oklahoma Consultants: Expectations of the Medical Marijuana Program”

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OMMA Publishes Medical Marijuana Growers’ Addresses without Warning, Raising Security Concerns throughout the Industry

 

The addresses of all business affiliated with medical marijuana i.e. the growth, processing and selling businesses, were published on OMMA’s official website on Oct 31st, without prior notification or warning.

The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority didn’t alert license holders before making the address list public and, a couple of days later. As a result, a property planned for marijuana plantation was robbed and vandalized.

The property was owned by a couple, who was headed out to clean it up and get it ready for plantation on the morning of Nov 3. Wishing to remain unnamed due to the threat of similar crimes in the future, the couple explained how they were on their way to install the state-required security measures when they found their farm completely wrecked. Not only had the farm been broken into, every single nook and cranny, from the cabinets to the electric junction box, was searched.

While they have filed a report with the Norman Police Department, they are now reluctant to move into the property and operate the marijuana farm. Dreading becoming a casualty again in a similar crime, the couple wants to sell the property.

OMMA communications manager Melissa Miller said that the decision to make license holders’ information public wasn’t always the authority’s plan, however, the involved parties were aware that their information could be made public at any time, and agreed to it before they received their license.

According to Miller, the license holders were alerted soon after the addresses were made public on OMMA’s social media accounts. She said that they were swamped with requests to share the grower’s addresses, and since they came under the title of the public record, she was bound to comply.

“We thought it would be easier to make the list public”, said Miller.

Miller said that the authority was working on devising a mechanism which would give room to license holders to have the option of choosing between making their address public or ceding their license and removing their address from the list. The option to transfer licenses, however, does not exist.

While they understand the security concerns, Miller says that the OMMA requires license holders to have ample security measures as a prerequisite for getting the license.

“…At the same time, we remind them they are required to have security measures by law. Security measures should be there, no matter what.”, said Miller.

Related businesses have shown concern over OMMA’s decision to publicize information about growing locations, saying that the authority might unknowingly be putting growers’ in danger.

Chip Paul, chairman of Oklahomans for Health, the organization behind getting medical marijuana legalized in Oklahoma reflects similar sentiments, saying that this step will cause security concerns for business owners, physicians, and patients.

“It doesn’t seem like the department of health is overly concerned about cannabis patients or business owners. We need better protections in place,” said Paul.

While no other Norman marijuana farm locations have reported any criminal activity, local growers and businesses remain convinced that this action is a part of an elaborate plan by external actors to jeopardize the legalization of medical marijuana in Oklahoma, so that production is hugely discouraged, if not banned altogether.

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ForwardGro’s Medical Marijuana products put on a “hold”, no explanation given as MMCC maintains an information blackout

 

State regulators in Maryland have sprung into action, taking particular marijuana growing business’s products off the shelves, leading to confusion and rising levels of frustration amongst all stakeholders – patients, dispensaries and similar business operators.

Under the label of an “administrative hold”, the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission has blocked all marijuana-based products affiliated with the medical marijuana producing business, ForwardGro, from the market.

After medical marijuana was legalized in Maryland in 2013, ForwardGro became one of the biggest names in the industry. Running a large greenhouse in Lothian, in Anne Arundel County, ForwardGro was the first organization in Maryland to get a license to legally grow and sell marijuana (for medical purposes only).

As a “precautionary measure”, the notification to put ForwardGro products on hold was sent to 69 dispensaries in Maryland, with a promise to “follow up with further instructions” in the near future. However, it has now been more than three weeks since the involved stakeholders have heard from the agency, leaving them confused about the nature of the possible dangers that they were supposedly being saved from.

In the first of its kind, this show of control by the commission might be an accurate prognosis of how it would operate in the future. Soon, if the authority continues to show its regulatory brawn through similar actions, ForwardGro might not be the only company to have its products quarantined.

These regulations were put as a result of ex ForwardGro employees coming forward with allegations of illicit use of pesticides on the marijuana crops, by the company. However, all allegations were refuted by ForwardGro as “an attack on our business”.

Amongst ForwardGro’s many investors are influential people with political clout i.e. political donors and former government officials. Gary Mangum, the chief executive of flower wholesaler Bell Nursery and at the top in the list of donors to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), it owns part of the marijuana-producing business.

According to the commission’s spokesperson Jennifer White, the commission “has reasonable suspicion of an operational failure or of conditions that create a likelihood of diversion, contamination, or a risk to the public health.”, in which case, the state allows them to give the regulatory measures. She refused to comment on the situation further. She ended the questioning with a brief statement, communicating through email, which stated that “The Commission does not comment on active investigations, and this investigation is well underway”.

While the commission’s chairman Brian Lopez continues to turn a blind eye to inquiries from the patients, pharmacies, media and everyone else involved, the Executive Director Joy Strand says that this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. According to Strand, the commission had ordered similar holds for other products before. However, she refused to give details about the proceedings of the cases and how they ended. Like White, Strand also said that the MMCC did not comment on ongoing investigations.

MMCC’s unusual silence has not only left industry stakeholders puzzled, but has also sent a wave of fear and uncertainty for what the future means for them.

“I don’t think it’s in the interest of patients or the industry not to be given specifics when a recall or a hold is issued,” said Mackie Barch, chair of Maryland Wholesale Medical Cannabis Trade Association, of which ForwardGro is a member. Barch appears perplexed by the lack of explanation and clarity being provided by the state commission. According to him, it is an uncertain time for both the patients and the businesses involved.

“From a patient perspective, it’s a little bit scary,” Barch said. “From a company perspective, if you have this happen, it’s so detrimental to your business. It kills you reputation-wise, but secondarily to that, it impacts your overall financial performance.”

According to Barch, it is not just ForwardGro who is suffering from the hold on their products. Dispensaries which stock ForwardGro products are also being affected greatly.

“People have payrolls to meet, bills to pay, and when there’s this overhang of this unknown thing from the state, it cripples your business,” he said. “I don’t think it’s fair to ForwardGro or the other companies that depend on ForwardGro’s products.”

Other businesses, some which aren’t directly linked to the company, are also coming out in solidarity with ForwardGro. Wendy Bronfein, director of marketing at Curio Wellness, finds the information vacuum being created by MMCC to be very disconcerting and counterproductive.

“Any and all players should be able to understand when the powers that be make a call on a company and product, and in this case calling a hold,” Bronfein said. “The lack of transparency is not productive.”

ForwardGro officials have refused to deny or accept the speculations that this sudden quarantine by the commission is due to the accusations of illegal pesticide use (which they previously denied as false propaganda against their business).

According to Vicki Bendure, ForwardGro’s spokesperson, all of their products have passed pesticide testing by state-approved labs.

“We are cooperating with the Commission and working to learn more about the basis of the hold and to resolve this matter,” Bendure said in an email, “ForwardGro remains committed to providing patients in Maryland with quality medical cannabis.”

This summer, three former ForwardGro employees, who claim to have taken the matter to company executives before resigning, gave sworn statements to the state legislator that ForwardGro began using pesticides when initial crops showed signs of white powdery mold and other problems. According to them, the company was “desperate and willing to try anything”.

However, as of last spring, the General Assembly passed a legislation making many pesticides legal for use by medical marijuana growers. So even if the allegations are proven to be true, ForwardGro’s actions might still fall under the legal umbrella.

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Huge step forward for Oklahoma’s Medical Marijuana community: Recommendations for Testing Standards gain lawmakers’ approval

Proposing an 11-page document, lawmakers have concordantly come to agree on a set of recommendations for medical marijuana testing standards in Oklahoma.

According to Senator Greg McCortney, R-Ada, who co-chaired the group, the proposal serves to safeguard the health and rights of patients, by making sure that the medical marijuana products being sold are safe and tested.

“We’re going to test it to make sure it doesn’t have poisons, pesticides and also test the potency of it,” Sen. McCortney said.

According to McCortney, just like with any other medicines, users need to be sure that the product provides the medicinal properties that they are seeking. The recommendations require the products to be fully labeled, clearly stating all the extracts and substances present inside the product so that the customers know the precise details of what they are buying. The products also need to be tested for THC and CBD concentration, water activity, and moisture content, heavy metals, residual pesticides etc. amongst any other external contaminations, and then tagged accordingly.

The marijuana products are set to be tested starting mid-May 2019, however, according to Senator McCortney, they might be available in the market prior to that. This means that there is a probability that the first batch of products may not be tested.

McCortney believes that since Oklahoma State is still new to legal use of marijuana, the inception of testing labs is of extreme importance. Without these labs, the marijuana that is being used could be heavily contaminated and harmful.

He said, “Before these lab tests are put in place, any marijuana you buy in the state of Oklahoma is very much ‘use at your own risk’.

The people of Oklahoma voted to legalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes in June, and marijuana production has seen a hike, with both marijuana-producing businesses and potential patients rushing to get medicinal marijuana licenses from the authorities. Chip Paul (Oklahomans For Health), the author of State Question 788 which legalized medical marijuana seemed to be satisfied with the meeting. He said that he was pleased by the progress that had been made in it.

As stated by Paul, consumer safety is the utmost priority for everyone involved in the process.

“As much as people perhaps think we want this wide open, we really don’t. We want to protect consumer safety. This is a medical marijuana program. We’re uber concerned with everyone’s safety,” Paul said. “The great thing is these guys (lawmakers) all want to do that right. We may not agree on everything as to what right is, and they may not agree to what right is, but they all want to do it right and they all want to respect our will and really how we voted on this issue.”

According to Paul, while the seeds are currently being brought in from outside (or bought from the internet), many have been sown in Oklahoma’s grounds for marijuana seedlings to grow, and soon the state will become self-sufficient in producing the required amount of marijuana plants, without needing any outside help.

Despite many people jumping up to join the thriving marijuana business, Renee Harper, owner of the CBD specialty store Green Hope Wellness, says she is still a little dubious about opening a separate medical marijuana dispensary. However, she also believes that the meeting and the recommendations are a definite step in the right direction.

“I haven’t been anxious to go forth with that because it’s been so back and forth the entire time,” Harper said. “It’s just a protection for people. If you’re going to consume something, you’d want it to be tested.”

Eventually, the ultimate decision to approve the recommendations and set things into motion rests with the Board of Health at the Oklahoma State Department. According to the department’s spokesperson, the next meeting is set to be held in December, however, the schedule can be moved up under special circumstances, in case of an unanticipated final decision to take up the recommendations.