Surely you have heard about nicotine patches and gums as healthier alternatives for those who want to quit smoking tobacco but couldn’t do it cold turkey or just couldn’t do it without experiencing withdrawal.
The nicotine that smokers get from tobacco or cigarettes is bad for the health and has been scientifically proven to cause cancer and other life-threatening diseases. So nicotine patches and gums are designed as some sort of therapy to help wean smokers from cigarettes.
When it comes to smoking pot, manufacturers are also thinking about applying the same concept to help stoners quit the habit. They are thinking about making tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) patches and gums.
THC is the main psychoactive component in cannabis and is responsible for giving users the high. It is the chemical ingredient associated with the recreational use of the drug and its addictive effect.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is the cannabinoid more associated with the medicinal benefits of cannabis, mainly because it does not create a high and does not have mind-altering effects. However, THC also has therapeutic value. It’s just that not many people readily accept this fact or are aware of it.
It is a lesser-known fact that when CBD and THC combine and work together, along with the other components in cannabis, they function more effectively in relieving pain and treating certain ailments and symptoms.
One way to change the mindset about THC is to allow more research on its medicinal value. Perhaps then, more THC-centered products can be developed, including THC patches and gums.
The United States Food and Drug Administration recently allowed research on the effects of THC in various modes. As a matter of fact, the FDA has already approved oral forms of THC for the treatment of AID-related weight-loss issues as well as chemotherapy-induced nausea and pain. Researchers are now looking into other oral delivery methods through the lozenge, pill, and gum, as well as through injectable and through patches. These studies are focused on the application of these methods in the treatment of brain-related ailments like migraines and psychological disorders like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Attention Deficit Disorder.
Cannabis already comes in different forms, including oils, capsules, dried buds for smoking, e-liquid for vaping, and topicals. So you may be asking: why the need to look at other methods?
While smoking is the most popular form and method of consumption since users could control the level of high they get, there is the issue of the harm it can do to your lungs. The other methods, meanwhile, are not as favored. Take for example the pill, which takes too long to be absorbed by the body and take effect.
These are issues that gums and patches can easily solve. Users, for one, could stop the use of a gum or a patch once they accomplish the kind of relief they need or the level of high they feel. Gums and patches are not as slow as pills or capsules when it comes to absorption rate and onset of effects. And because there is no smoke involved, lung problems are out of the question.