CHOOSING YOUR CANNABIS FLOWER Written by: Lea Holz
The conversation around whole, raw cannabis flower access is growing. How do patients in Florida prepare for this new legal landscape? What does one look for when purchasing medicine in its whole plant form? How do we determine its safety and utility?
In this article, we open a dialogue to introduce the many uses and benefits of raw cannabis flower, providing a map for the new patient on what to expect, consider, and be wary of when purchasing raw cannabis flower from their local dispensary. To help pave the way, we invited Max Montrose, Founder and President of the Trichome Institute, to share his views and perspectives on what’s important when choosing your whole flower medicine. Here are the top three most important things a patient should consider.
FOLLOW YOUR SENSES
It seems rudimentary, but the old adage is true: The nose knows. According to Montrose, you have the ability to decipher for yourself if the medicine you’re ingesting is something your body will respond well to. But why is smelling cannabis so important? “For the same reason it is important to use your senses when shopping for food at the grocery store,” explains Montrose. Our bodies are constantly absorbing information from all around us. Sight, smell, taste, touch—these senses allow us to take in our surroundings, sending signals to our brain on what is and isn’t good for us.
called out to you. Anything that you are attracted to from a scent perspective is good for your body from a chemical perspective.” If you are buying meat, for example, and it smelled rotten, you likely wouldn’t buy it. Whether or not we realize it, we use our natural signals to determine what to put in our bodies, and what isn’t safe for consumption.
Shopping for cannabis flower is the same. Cannabis contains compounds known as terpenes, which are oily organic compounds contained in the resin. Aromatherapy-like in nature, terpenes are responsible for the plant’s unique smell and taste and have many therapeutic benefits and effects. “It’s just like shopping for food,” Montrose explains. When combined together in their natural state, “If there is a pyramid of apples, why did you pick they contribute to cannabis’ entourage effect. this over that? It didn’t have a bruise. Its form was In a revolutionary paper by Dr. Ethan Russo, the consistent. It was robust. In a shamanic way, it is researcher finds that cannabinoids and terpenes work together to enhance and regulate the effects 30
