Dmitri has a BA in English/Business Administration, MBA in Business Administration from USA , Graduate Diploma in Computer Science from Concordia University, Montreal. He has over 10 years of international experience in business consulting in the areas of strategic business planning and worked on consulting projects with start-ups and established companies from a diverse spectrum of industries including nutraceutical companies. In 2008, he founded a charitable organization, Solaris Center, to improve access for kids from low-income families to free sports programs, self-defense and anti-bullying classes, and sports summer camps.
What is a weed hangover and what effects does it have on the body?
Cannabis is a great plant that helps people to enjoy a happier and healthier lifestyle in so many different ways. Yet, depending on the method of consumption, dosage, and timing, some people may experience a number of symptoms after using cannabis, which would include lack of energy and motivation, loss of focus and concentration, brain fog, short term memory issues, and feeling of tiredness. Over 50% of consumers reported these symptoms in 2017 Health Canada study. They are more pronounced in consumers who use edibles, dab extracts, or over-consume strong strains the night before. While there is no hangover from weed in a traditional sense of the word, some people call this condition weed hangover. We will hear more and more about weed hangover as edibles and beverages are becoming legal in Canada in the next 6 months. So while benefits of cannabis outweigh these symptoms, we believe there is an opportunity to enhance the cannabis experience by alleviating these symptoms.
Most marijuana smokers experience much less symptoms than those mentioned above, and many even do not think they have any symptoms at all. As a matter of fact, these symptoms in smokers are hardly felt and consumers either do nothing or simply have a cup of coffee to quickly combat any uneasy feeling the next morning. Yet, cannabis smokers are not totally immune from cannabis after effects. And here is why.
THC gets stored in fat deposits in various organs and remains in the body for days, or even for weeks and months in frequent users, after consumption. THC interferes with the endocannabinoid system, which regulates all major functions including brain activity, metabolism and the immune system. THC attaches to cannabinoid receptors throughout the body and prevents naturally occurring endocannabinoids from properly regulating the bodily functions. This creates an imbalance in the organism and disallows the body to function at the peak performance. While consumers may not feel it at the physical level, multiple studies confirm that cannabis users may not be leading an optimized lifestyle due to constant presence of THC in the body.
I would also like to highlight that we should differentiate between weed hangover and alcohol hangover. These are completely different phenomena and affect the organism in different ways. The symptoms of the so called weed hangover are mostly mental and less painful, while alcohol hangover is mostly physical and characterized by strong headaches, dehydration, liver intoxication, and nausea. Oftentimes, while discussing weed hangover, people tend to think about alcohol symptoms and, obviously, do not think they have any hangovers at all after weed consumption. I am not surprised that in states where cannabis is legal, consumers are switching to cannabis and alcohol sales are dwindling. Cannabis is becoming a product of choice and one of the reasons is that it has no alcohol-like hangovers. Having said that, customers told us that if we were able to alleviate some of the cannabis after-effects, they will enjoy the cannabis experience more overall.
What vitamins does the body require to recover from a weed hangover?
Regardless if cannabis users experience any weed hangover feelings or they do not, while cannabis is natural product, the ever-present THC in the body causes imbalances in cognitive function, metabolism and the immune system, to name just a few. The first thing any health-conscious cannabis consumer needs to do is to bring the system back into balance and to enable the body to function at its peak. Bringing the system back into balance will allow consumers to have more energy, to stay focus and optimized, and to be more productive in everyday life.
For example, the following ingredients would be very beneficial to incorporate in the cannabis users’ diet.
B-Vitamins, such as thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, folate, and B12. These vitamins play an essential role in metabolic processes and numerous aspects of brain function. Choline, a nutrient related to B vitamins, plays a key role in brain development.
Antioxidants play a major role in the immune system and detoxification pathways. These include vitamin C and vitamin E, selenium, zinc and N-Acetyl Cysteine. Especially, antioxidants are important for cannabis smokers.
Amino-acids for energy production, such as L-carnitine, amino-acids to support cardiac muscle, such as Taurine, and amino-acids for stress reduction and improvement of attention and focus, such as L-Theanine and L-Tyrosine.
And last but not least, I would also suggest a few herbal ingredients. These would include nootropic herbs such as bacopa and ginkgo biloba to enhance cognitive performance and memory. Panax ginseng and Rhodiola to increase energy levels, and milk thistle to support liver function and metabolism.
Supplementing cannabis lifestyle on a regular basis with these natural ingredients would not only optimize cannabis consumption but also will mitigate any drawbacks that some users may experience the following day.
Give us some background on the Livli product and what it does and why was it created?
Livli Proactive care is a daily multivitamin that has been formulated with cannabis users in mind. It is different from other products on the market because it contains all regular vitamins people normally take (eg. Vitamin B), but also a number of herbs described above specifically intended for cannabis consumers. It aims to optimize the cannabis experience by enabling users to stay focused and energized, and to perform at their peak. Taken daily, the product accumulates beneficial effects to mitigate cannabis after-effects that some consumers may experience. Livli is non-GMO and contains only natural ingredients, organic herbs, and all the claims are approved by Health Canada.
Livli comes in powder vegetarian capsules, 60 capsules per pouch, which is a monthly supply. If you don’t like capsules, you can easily dilute it in water or juice and drink it.
The following consumer claims have approved by Health Canada:
- Helps to maintain cognitive function
- Supports and maintain immune system
- Helps in energy production and metabolism
- Source of antioxidants
- Helps to support liver function
- Helps to maintain bone health and heart muscle
If you noticed, our product comes in a pouch. We intentionally didn’t want to look like pills in a bottle, which immediately conjures images of illness and being hidden away in cabinets in washrooms. We wanted bright packaging that people would be happy to have out, lying around their cannabis paraphernalia, that they would be proud to talk about and integrate as part of an active lifestyle.
The idea about the product came around a year ago. We came across anecdotal reporting from a number of users that cannabis consumption may entail certain after-effects. For examples, some of my friends who do martial arts have to resorted to nootropics to remain focused and motivated in order to train the following day after cannabis consumption. Others, using cannabis on a regular basis for medical purposes, complained about feeling being constantly tired. We looked deeper into the issue and uncovered a 2017 Health Canada study that confirmed 66% of cannabis users reported various after-effects of cannabis use ranging from anxiety to memory issues.
In the fall 2018 after cannabis legalization in Canada, we surveyed over 1500 recreational consumers across different provinces and got results similar to the 2017 Health Canada study – 58% of recreation consumers agreed that cannabis consumption has some drawbacks. Interviews with focus groups in Montreal and Toronto confirmed our previous findings. Most of the reported issues concerned cognitive performance, energy, and memory. Eventually, we got enough research which gave us an impetus to proceed with the development of a product that would enable cannabis consumers to optimize cannabis lifestyle, provide a resource to mitigate any drawbacks, and enjoy it to the fullest.
What sort of medical research went into the creation of the product? Are there any side effects/possible side effects?
We assembled a team of scientists, including PhDs in Biochemistry and Naturopathic Doctors, and looked thoroughly at how cannabis is processed in the body, which organs and bodily functions are involved, and which effects take place at each touch point where cannabis is passing within the body.
That gave us a solid understanding of what the product needs to address and what pain points to tackle. Our science team identified the ingredients that would provide the sought after benefits. All our ingredients have monographs with Health Canada and we made sure that they are fully backs by science and their efficacy had been proved in various studies. A thorough literature review was conducted.
In early 2019 we also conducted patient trials with one of the largest pharmacy chain in Canada, and the results were great. Over 70% of users reported various improvements over a 4 week use, including increase in energy levels, memory, concentration, motivation, and lower stress levels. We are very happy with the trial results and feel confident the consumers will appreciate the product.
Livli Multivitamin consists of well-known natural ingredients and does not have any major side effects. Yet, consumers should consult a health care practitioner if pregnant, breast-feeding, taking any medication or other supplements, have digestive issues, or diagnosed with a medical condition.
Where is the product produced and packaged?
We are very proud that Livli Proactive Care is produced and packaged is right here in Canada: in Windsor, Ontario. The manufacturing facility is FDA approved, licensed by Health Canada, and holds cGMP certification. It is great to see that Canada is not only leading the world in the cannabis research, but also thinking beyond legalization on how to enhance the cannabis experience.
How can people buy it and are there any legal concerns? Do you ship worldwide?
Customers can buy Livli Proactive Care multivitamin on website www.livelivli.com and we just literally launched on Amazon US. We can ship worldwide as the product does not contain any controlled substance. Some countries may have specific packaging and label requirements but we have not encountered any issues yet. We are only in the last stages of distribution negotiations with several large big box retailers, health store chains, head shops as well as cannabis dispensaries.
What other products in this area are you looking at developing?
We have developed Livli Cognitive daily multi-formula targeting specifically cognitive performance as it seems to be the most frequently cited drawback. We have around 5 other products in various stages of development but we will announce them in due time.