Friday 8 July 2016

Does Using Marijuana Prohibit you from Donating Blood

One of the biggest things that occur when using cannabis, is that it can affect certain things. One of those things is blood donation. When you donate blood, you may wonder if you can donate it.  While we don’t really know if the blood is different, currently, you’re allowed to donate blood so long as you’re not high when donating.

Cannabis when Donating Blood 

Right now, the US needs platelets or blood once every couple of seconds, and 117 million need blood all over the world every single year.  Donating blood is integral to saving lives, which is why if you smoke marijuana, you can still donate blood. 



Currently, the red cross will not test blood donations for any presence involving THC. Right now, they also do not believe cannabis consumption will cause an issue with blood donation, so long as you’re able to comprehend and don’t have a memory that's impaired. Even those who use a lot of THC and concentrates can still dive out blood, so long as they’re not actually high during the process. This also applies to people who use synthetic weed.

There is also no data that says how long a person needs to wait between donations. This is because cannabis is fast, and it usually peaks around 15 minutes after consumption for most people. After a few hours, the compound will leave the bloodstream, which is why they never stop you from donating blood even if you do use a toke. 

What about plasma 

Another thing that people wonder is blood plasma, which makes up over half of the volume of blood, and is vital for blood volume, blood pressure, and the pH of blood. 

One thing that can happen is that if you don’t have the plasma proteins, then you’ll have issues with immunity. This is valuable to various health treatments, especially trauma, cancer, and if you have disorders involving the liver or clotting, and the donations are super important. 

They need around 10,000 plasma units on the daily, and transfusions tend to be lifesaving. Those who use both CBD and cannabis are allowed to donate the plasma that’s there, and it offers the same freedom that blood normally does, and the only rule is you should not show up high.



What disqualifies you then? 

What disqualifies you from this?  Well, you should minimally be about 110 pounds, and if you’re an adult, you must weigh over 130 pounds, or sometimes more. The donors also must not have viruses that are spread via the blood, so as long as you don’t have HIV or AIDS, you’re good to go.

Some cancers and sometimes a history of those may also stop you from donating blood. You also cannot donate blood if you’ve had a transfusion within a few months. You also cannot donate blood if you’re nursing or are currently pregnant. Finally, you also must not have iron that’s low, ill, or are on antibiotics. 



There might be other qualifications that may need to also be in place. The best way to figure it out is to go in, talk to the people there and figure it out. But the good thing about this, is that while cannabis is something that may disqualify you from other things, donating blood is certainly not one of them. So go ahead, if you've been interested in donating blood but like to use the herb, go on ahead. They may ask you, but if you’re honest, and so long as you’re not high, you’ll be good to go, and be able to donate blood.


Wednesday 6 July 2016

Can you Dip Weed

Dipping is something you do with tobacco, but does it work for weed? Yep, it does. This is actually something that people are using as a different way to utilize these chews. They’re usually made with plant fibers though such as coco coir and the like. While there are commercial products, don’t chew flour that’s not decarbed, since it’s not going to taste that good. 

Dipping Weed 

This is something that’s become more and more prevalent, as commercial types of cannabis is something that’s becoming popular, but dipping is not the most common way to use it. Some people like to dip weed though because it’s great for reducing the cravings for tobacco. 



This works the same way that chewing tobacco does, where it sits between where the cheek and the gums are. Depending on your needs, you can hold it and chew it for up to an hour most of the time. However, if you’re just going to randomly grab a bud and chew on it, it’s not going to actually work. There are a few reasons for this, which include: 

  • Those dips that are available usually have coco coir or another substrate, and they isolate the THC and CBD. They don't have just plant material in this. 

  • It also is going to be decarbed commercially.  If you want to feel the effects with dipped weed, you must heat it up, in order to change the acids to the compounds that you normally have.

  • It’s also not that effective. You’re not getting a ton of CBD and THC. This usually has a lot of THC to make it effective, so it’s going to cost a bit more than say if you vaped or smoked the flower 

Raw cannabis isn’t effective when you dip it, but more than that, it also contains some bacteria such as E.coli, which can kill you.  During the heating process,. This is killed, but if you ingest this as a raw flower, it’s going to be a bit harmful for you. This is something that's a major safety concern for those that like to use products that aren't supposed to be dipped.



Some of the companies that are building this utilize manufacturing to create complex forms of extractions in order to get the desired results from this. 

Can you get high 

It depends on the type of dip that you’re deciding to use.

There is a CBD dip, but that won't get you high.

Usually, the THC ones are basically going to get you high because that’s the purpose of them.

THC dips are like edibles, as this will basically do into your saliva, hit the bloodstream and liver and then create the other compounds. It might create a much bigger, more delayed type of reaction compared to those that like to vape or smoke weed. 

How to use this 

This is something that’s usually found in some pouches, where you let it sit in your mouth, and the cannabinoids slowly get  released. There are others that are actually chewed like chewing forms of tobacco. It’s not recommended that you make your own ever due to the harm from this.This is a great alternative for those who want a smokeless type of cannabis product, and some like the way that it sits. For those who are trying to quit tobacco, they’ve found relief, as it’s a good alternative.



It’s not the ideal way to consume cannabis and shouldn’t be used unless you decide to use it, but definitely look at the possibilities of using this as well.