MEDICAL MARIJUANA is a Whole New World

By Anya Sebastian

Marijuana for medical use is a topic surrounded by confusion and misinformation. Years of legal wrangling, together with a cultural disapproval of recreational cannabis, have blurred the lines between truth and myth, so that the many benefits of medical grade cannabis are still largely unknown to most people.

Research has, in fact, been ongoing for quite some time, producing results that are both exciting and life-changing. The recent legalization of marijuana in New Mexico for recreational use has brought cannabis back into the mainstream, but without much by way of public education. That is something that Love for Life Dispensary is doing its best to change. “Most people associate cannabis with recreational use,” says owner, Gyana Basse, but medical marijuana is a whole new world,”

Parts of the plant, known as terpenes, can be put together in different ways to produce different results, creating products that address specific issues, like pain, insomnia, anxiety, adult ADD, post-traumatic stress disorder…and many more. “ Since everyone is different, we always start out with a consultation, to determine how best to serve the person’s needs,” explains Gyana, “and we then work with the client until they get the results they are looking for.”

Included in the store’s wide selection of offerings are unique lines of recreational and medical marijuana products created by Multitude Manufacturing, a company that has worked with plants and their terpenes for over 35 years. That experience has proved invaluable for this new enterprise. The marijuana flower is complex, and producing a high-grade medical line requires a focused attention to detail, together with an awareness of the subtleties and different effects of the terpenes in each plant.

“We only offer flower that has been trimmed by hand,” says Gyana, “ because that preserves the trichomes, which are very delicate. They ultimately determine the taste and smell of the flower, as well as the effect it has on the body and mind. It’s unfortunately quite common these days for buds to be trimmed by machine, in which case most of the trichomes are lost.”

It is also not uncommon for terpenes themselves to be chemically reproduced, mainly for use in cheap vape pens. They may also contain additives, like corn, or even toxic substances like propylene glycol. Everything that Love for Life sells is clean, top-of-the-line and third party tested for purity, with no additives of any kind.

The dispensary has also put together ‘medical menus,’ listing different varieties of products. Designed specifically to address certain issues, such as relieving stress; increasing focus; inducing calm and addressing insomnia, they are available in the form of 25 mg. gummies, and 1,000mg. tinctures. That is much higher than the limit for recreational use, which is 100 mg. for an entire container. Anyone wanting to purchase medical grade marijuana has to qualify for a special card, to prove their eligibility.

The tinctures contain both THC and CBD, and anyone not wanting, or needing THC, can check out the products in the adjoining store, Hemp Apotheke, which specializes in CBD products with the same high standards of purity.

Everyone in both departments is knowledgeable, well-trained and eager to help. So if you have a concern you would like to resolve, or just want to relax and get high, head over to Love for Life Dispensary, to check out the options that are now available. It really is a whole new world.