Recreational Cannabis Use and TCM By Joni Renee Zalk, MSc, LAc Many people are drawn to cannabis for its effects physically, mentally and emotionally. Medically, cannabis has some legitimate uses, however the scope of this article is limited to the recreational use of cannabis. The following is distilled from a lecture given by Marco Lam of Boulder, Colo. Cannabis has a lot of side effects and problems with overuse, though most users choose to ignore these problems due to its psychedelic effects. While I am not a fan of the recreational use of any drug, it is not helpful to attack a patient’s choice from the get-go, rather, I must create a context for patients on how cannabis impacts their health. To do that, we must go back to the principles of Chinese medicine. In Chinese medicine, there are the Three Treasures that constitute our life. These are known as Jing, Qi and Shen. The goal of practitioners of the healing arts is to harmonize the Three Treasures. They are generally translated as essence (Jing), vitality (Qi) and spirit (Shen). I agree with everything until we get to this point: Let’s take a look at how cannabis affects the elements of the body. Using cannabis takes Jing and rapidly turns it into Qi and Shen, thus you lose a lot of essence over time, since you’re body is releasing Jing faster than the body can assimilate it. This would be similar to going to college with a large trust fund only to overspend it and find yourself pennyless after a mere two years into your four-year degree. Over spending your allotted Jing makes one understand why people who consume a lot of drugs might look like they are aging faster than is normal. I respectfully disagree. Big assumption to make, since she is unable to back this up with an explanation of ‘how’. It’s easy to say that drugs deplete Jing, as it’s very convenient to do so. Because ‘drugs are soooo bad for you’. Ok so here is my theory: Cannabis strongly soothes liver Qi. Let me elaborate. The liver, in TCM Five Element theory is Wood. And consequently it is associated with personal growth and development, desires, creativity, imagination.. Hey that sounds so familiar, right? Because I am a professional and don’t smoke so I had no idea until I stumbled across wiki’s description of the effects of Cannabis: "...acute effects of cannabis ingestion, such as euphoria and anxiety. Some effects may include a general alteration of conscious perception,euphoria, feelings of well-being, relaxation or stress reduction, increased appreciation of the arts, including humor and music (especially discerning its various components/instruments), joviality,metacognition and introspection, enhanced recollection (episodic memory), increased sensuality, increased awareness of sensation, increased libido,[36] and creativity. Abstract or philosophical thinking, disruption of linear memory andparanoia or anxiety are also typical. This is what you are meant to feel like if you are that peak of health (when your Liver Qi is running unobstructed). However, when it is, Liver Qi becomes stagnated. This give rise to anger, irritation, depression and feel ‘stuck’.. All of these these which go away when under the effect of Cannabis. I hope you see what I am getting at here. I have actually tried it on a few patients that had liver qi issues. I had reports of happiness and a ‘high’ feeling when I gave them a formulation filled with liver soothing herbs and tonics. Which led me to form this theory. If you are a fellow practitioner, please feel free to let me know your thoughts. Wood Disharmony Cannabis users are many times the deepest visionaries of society. They want to be in deep alignment with their spirit and shine bright into the world. The liver is the General and Force of Direction. The impact on liver yang (how?) and where did this come from? She said it impacted on Jing. Now it impacts on liver yang too? Ok. is that in the short term, there is a creativity and expanded visionary process. Longer term, there is a weakened visionary process and inability to take action. When the liver, an emotional organ, gets upset, red eyes, irritability and depression set in. Women have a disruption in menses with worsened PMS symptoms. It is true that soothing Qi continuously can cause Heat. Qi is warm in nature after all. It is therefore very important to balance the yang out with yin. Foods that nourish liver yin will solve that issue. Tomatoes are very good for nourishing liver yin, as well as carrot. Or liver yin tonic herbs made into a tea. Goji berries + Bai shao (Peony root) are highly recommended. Tastes great too. Fire Ablaze In Chinese, the word for “heart” (hsin) is also used to denote “mind.” The Shen resides in the heart, and as one sleeps, blood goes into the heart and calms the Shen. Upon awakening, they feel refreshed. When cannabis goes into fire of the heart (how?), it might seem innocuous at first. While awake, sudden flashes of anger arise and paranoia sets in. Without a strong Shen, one seems “lost” and sleep becomes restless and disturbed with nightmares and heart palpitations. This can happen when liver is already in excess. In the generating cycle, Wood feeds Fire. When Wood is in excess, the fire from the wood can overact on Fire. To combat this, liver yang descending/liver yin herbs can be used to balance this out. In most cases, a combination of both is suitable. Earth Scorched When fire scorches the earth, the yin of earth gets depleted, and the body has similar symptoms of hypoglycaemia; blood sugar drops and the appetite is constantly hungry. If one is not in touch with what nourishes them (meaning that there is no problem if you do), then they will eat random things, and might gain weight. Women will be prone to yeast and bladder infections because of the dampness from accumulated sugars eaten. OK, so basically eat the right stuff and you’ll be fine. So snack on some nourishing fruit, nuts and you’ll be fine. Metal, Too Weak To Cut Cannabis affects the lungs, skin and immunity. Specific symptomology are: the lungs and skin get dry and there will be deep red-hot pimples on the large intestine meridians on the face (around the mouth) and chest/upper back area surrounding the lungs. There is typically a chronic cough with mucus. Long term, there might be asthma/eczema or random staph infections. Regular cannabis smokers have respiratory issues such as lung qi deficiency with a heat (sometimes producing little yellow phlegm nuggets in the mornings). Again, this can easily be balanced out by eating fruits (or drink juices) that are cool in nature, like melon, nashi, pears and apples, Avoid tropical fruit. It’ll keep your metal sharp as. Lung Qi tonics like Huang Qi (Astragalus root) and if you can afford it.. American ginseng is the shit. It tonifies Qi, it nourishes yin, it cools heat. It’s the smoker’s (and drug taker’s) herb. Best tasting in a tea with honey. If you are hardcore like me, you’d buy them in whole roots and chew it in your mouth, letting it gradually dissolve (drinking warm water in between). This latter method allows your body to directly absorb the qi of the herb. It is a little bitter though. You will also find that the herb gives you the benefit of mental alertness too. Win win! Water Depleted By tapping into the water of the kidneys, the Jing is depleted This is something that I contend with. Jing is a very precious resource, yes, but we dont’ deplete it the minute water is being depleted!!! It will be true if you don’t drink and nourish yourself soon after, but your body will tell you by signs of thirst. Water is good enough, but fruit will be best. Or herbs that nourish the lungs. She is being a little overly dramatic here, she needs to have a little smoke. There is fire from the heart meridian and vision from the liver, but not enough energy to produce a result. Long-term users might suffer from lower back achiness, which is a sign that reserves are being tapped heavily. Note. This will happen first. But there are many other things that cause back ache too. If you have a continuous dull ache, that’s another thing entirely. The continuous depletion of the Jing and kidney energy diminishes sex-drive in both men and women. In some cases of over consumption, erectile dysfunction (ED) has been noted in men as early as their twenties. I doubt that is as a result of smoking too much marijuana because people drink when they are thirsty.. Lastly, vaporizers are gaining much momentum, but are just as bad as it takes Jing and uses it the same way that regular cannabis smoke does. I still find them rather drying. (I vaped tea leaves to experiment the other day). Other Issues Cannabis has a cooling effect over time; it stimulates the liver yang in the beginning, but it depletes it in the long run, so the net effect is cooling, which the body counteracts by producing heat. Thus, women who overuse cannabis might find themselves suffering from hot flashes, similar to that of a pre-menopausal woman. A combination of birth control pills and cannabis has created one of the worst female reproductive health issues of all time with a surge of ovarian cysts, fibroids and dysmenorrhea. Additionally, as stated above, the continuous depletion of the Jing, or kidney energy, diminishes sex-drive. If you find yourself attracting a lot of patients who regularly use cannabis, whether inhaled or eaten, you might have a gift for attracting people who are seeking enlightenment and transformation. Cannabis use, especially when used recreationally, can lead directly to that feeling of going inward to seek enlightenment and opening up channels of creativity. Many are addicted to this feeling, and therefore continue to use it, despite the fact that the enlightenment that they felt was only fleetingly attainable, but not sustainable. In order to attain the enlightenment that we seek, we must integrate and assimilate the information more than once to be able to transform, not just access it once or twice artificially. When at the peak of health, many have experienced “highs” practicing yoga, tai qi and meditation, leading to longer-lasting positive insights and energy. In fact, the goal of Transcendental Meditation is enlightenment. The difference between these natural ways to seek enlightenment and recreational drug use is that the latter is the lazy way to find enlightenment because no work was involved, along with the negative side effects from the body trying to re-balance. LAZY WAY!! HA ALL YOU LAZY POT SMOKERS!! No work is involved! I am beginning to fuckin hate this bitch. I was recently told by a patient, “If I don’t smoke weed, then I can’t shut off my brain. I do calculus problems as I’m trying to sleep, and I never get any rest!” This reminds me of all the genius peers I saw from middle school to college who smoked in order to get some peace of mind. The woman above is a chemical engineering student and mother of three. She was forced to stop smoking when she got pregnant with her third child, and came to me for a cure to stop smoking for the sake of her baby. She was a patient even before getting pregnant. I would watch with interest as she would tell me a story, but as the ending got near, her temper would flare: she would raise her voice (volume, tempo and pitch), as she couldn’t control her emotions since her liver fire was out of control. Sometimes she would end shaking and crying, only to move on to another subject almost immediately. As was normal, she would have a reddish hue on her cheeks, and red-hot pimples around her mouth in the large intestine region. I knew she was a regular cannabis user even before she told me. NO. These are NOT signs of a cannabis smoker. Liver fire ablaze is a very common pattern and a lot of it is associated with stress. She is making this muthafuckin’ shit up. For herbs, I recommend formulas to calm the Shen or one to raise GABA. GABA is the neurotransmitter in the brain that inhibits panic and anxiety (and quiets the brain). I am a little disappointed that she doesn’t seem to know how to calm Shen through TCM means. No suggestion of herbs, how to balance each disharmony. Nothing of that sort. She just went straight to a supplement product for Shen calming. What about all the other problems that you mentioned? WTF. Are you even a TCM practitioner? Modern day stress has – for many people – causes a deficiency in GABA. Most people do not get better simply by taking GABA which is available over the counter at most health food stores. Formulas with Magnesium, L-Taurine, Valerian and Lithium, will calm the nervous system. As with the patient above, when I gave her a formula to naturally induce her own stores of GABA, she was helped tremendously. As her body was detoxing from cannabis, she would sporadically experience extremely calm moments similar to feeling “stoned.” I have also given these formulas to patients with diagnosed bipolar disorder during their manic phases and patients with extreme anxiety, which also causes a similar feeling that the brain is over-stimulated and cannot power off. Recovering from Each Cannabis Session For all the creative vision cannabis provides, it uses a tremendous amount of resources. We must guard the Jing like the treasure that it is. Encourage your patients to have awareness and consciousness around the usage in order to know how many resources it consumes. It seems innocuous at first, but it takes a toll, and it’s a heavy price to pay. Depending on frequency of consumption, reducing or eliminating cannabis will yield similar results to any type of detox, such as cravings and irritability. Therefore, it is best to help your patients find a ritual during the transition process. For patients that refuse to quit smoking, herbal remedies such as Sha Shen Mai Men Dong will help to protect their yin and kidney organs. Umm.. These herbs are lung yin nourishing herbs.. Not kidney. I guess she never really intended for another TCM practitioner to call her out on her bullshit. This is what pisses me off. People that fuckin study and come out not knowing their shit, but hide behind their degrees, spouting nonsense. And there are people out there publishing their shit too! Fuck me. I am apologising on my industry’s behalf. There are just too many shit people practising in my profession these days. Sigh. Ok sorry, rant over. Bedside Manner Understanding the psychological reasons why someone would want to use cannabis will go a long way in gaining compassion for the patient. There is no harm in kindly asking a patient if the price is worth paying. If the patient feels it is part of their journey, then work with the patient on how to respect the herb (rather than abuse it). Ask instead how to evolve and appreciate the herb for deeper growth. This is actually something that I believe in too, in a way. Some drugs do deplete your Jing and therefore shorten life. The goal is to create an environment of supporting the righteous qi, orzheng qi. Ask them why they are trying to self-medicate and what they are trying to escape or accomplish. The answer might be a little distorted when they’re using drugs. Our struggle as practitioners is trying to figure out how to speak to the being inside of them that wants to get better. After all, it might seem odd (or even wrong) to many people that we choose to use ancient Chinese herbal formulas or homeopathy rather than Western medicine, but it is our right to do so, even if some do not agree with it. Treatment: Liver tonics, and Qi soothing and calming formulas, with additional herbs to rest the shen and nourish the lungs and tonify qi. Lifestyle Observations: Sleep according to the organ clock, which is on or before 11pm, avoid stimulants such as coffee, chilli and sugar in moderation Acupunture/acupressure: Sanyinjiao. It is a point that is perfect for this kind of disharmony. It tonifies the Liver, Spleen and Kidneys. A point I would recommend for most people, except pregnant ladies. Here is a link on further info and how to locate, etc. Press on the point until you feel a deep sensation (you’ll know when you find it) and hold it there for a minute, taking deep breaths. Can TCM recreate this high? Yes. I created this by combining ALOT of liver and kidney yin tonics, as well as liver qi soothing herbs. So far, three patients have reported a high from it. Joni Renee Zalk, MSc, LAc, completed her Master’s degree in Chinese Medicine at Middlesex University in London. Along with a part-time practice, Joni provides business consulting for clinics and offers several seminars on natural childbirth options. You can find her at www.DivineAcupuncture.com. Page from: http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=33013&no_paginate=true&no_b=true
2 Comments
robert llewellyn
12/2/2016 08:40:37 pm
wow! great info and FACTUAL framework. loving it.
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6/13/2023 09:39:35 pm
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