Hey Nico,Just started my cultivation journey because of medical reasons. I have tried various modalities for relieving pain. Cannabis is one that I find promising. I have a medical marijuana card, but I am still searching for strains with more CBD than THC. Do you know of a strain that could give me the highest content of CBD? Can I order seeds and have them shipped? I am in CA, but I am unsure of the laws regarding shipping seeds. – Rico T. via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.^[1]

Dear Nico,I have followed you on YouTube for years, thanks for the great info! Could you recommend a strain of cannabis to help fight my cancer? My granddaughter suffers from uncontrollable epilepsy as well, and as we live in the UK, I can’t get a hold of the Charlotte’s Web strain. Is there a strain we could both try? If you ever come to the UK, my family would like to offer you our hospitality for your stay.Kind regards,Geoff P. (from Wales) via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.^[2]

Greetings Rico, Geoff and all our friends out there wondering about using cannabis and/or high-CBD strains to treat cancer, epilepsy and other debilitating illnesses. Let’s see if we can’t shed some more light on the subject for everyone!

To start, CDB-rich strains of cannabis are technically those strains that contain over 4 percent CBD (cannabidiol^[3]), which is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in marijuana. CBD^[4] is responsible for many of the medicinal and therapeutic properties of cannabis, including, but not limited to, anti-nausea, anti-anxiety, anti-inflammatory, appetite stimulation, anti-convulsion, muscle relaxation, pain relief and sleep aid. CBD has also been linked to anti-cancer properties such as helping to reduce and possibly aid in preventing tumors. (However, it should be closely noted that CBD will not cure cancer, and it’s anti-cancer properties have not been evaluated by the FDA.)

Today, there are several CBD-rich strains of cannabis available for patients. However, although many names exist, most of these strains are really the same three or four varieties^[5], just renamed for marketing purposes. For example, the fabled Charlotte’s Web strain is simply a Cannatonic strain that was renamed in honor of a little girl who used it for epilepsy and received extraordinary relief. Other CBD strains, other than Cannatonic (which has achieved the highest recorded levels of up to 20 percent CBD in lab testing), include AC/DC, Harlequin and R4.

The Cannatonic (X pheno) holds the record at 21 percent CBD.

Through selective breeding practices, these CBD strains now generally range from 8 to 15 percent CBD. Preliminary research has also shown that these strains are more effective when used in conjunction with THC at a ratio of 1:1. Further, it should be noted that CBD strains are not (yet) ailment specific, meaning that any CBD strain can be used to treat any related symptoms.

In terms of acquiring CBD strains—unless you live in a medical state^[6] in the U.S. or a country where medical cannabis programs are allowed, these strains are tougher to come by than ordinary marijuana. Because CBD can be extracted from hemp as well, and is usually not classified as a narcotic under most country’s substance schedules since it is not psychoactive, it is possible in some parts of the world to order CBD products through the mail. However, these products are unregulated and sometimes the extraction process (especially where industrial hemp is concerned) leaves unhealthy, residual contaminants in the products. This is why some patients chose to grow their own CBD cannabis.

Harlequin is another popular high-CBD strain.

Ordering cannabis seeds^[7] through the mail also poses some legal questions, depending on where you reside. Authorities are not very good at understanding the nuances between CBD and THC strains and will likely construe any cannabis seeds they find as illegal. The good news is that this usually just results in a lose of your money as most law enforcement agencies choose not to waste their time, money and resources pursing these matters and just confiscate and destroy cannabis seeds they find in the mail. The more savvy seed companies do well, though, at shipping these seeds discretely. The best advice I can give if you chose to order CBD through the mail is to seek out companies that produce edible CBD products, such as capsules, tinctures or oils. These can be shipped more discretely and will likely use concentrated forms of CBD that will be more effective than smoking flowers.

This CBD tincture from Harborside dispensary is great for non-smokers.

I hope this information helps and please remember to lobby your local legislators whenever possible as all cannabis—not just CBD strains—are medicinal and can help people allover the world!

Thanks for reading everyone and remember: Grow… And help the world grow, too!

Follow Nico on Social Media: @Nico_Escondido^[8] (Twitter) & @Nico_High_Times^[9] (InstaGram)

Got questions? Email ‘em over to Nico at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and be sure to put “Nico’s Nuggets” in the subject line! (Tip: Before sending a question, try the new Search feature on the HIGH TIMES website. Simply click the “magnifier” icon at the top right and type “Nico + your subject topic” to see if your question has already been answered!)^[10]

References

1. ^{^} This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (hightimes.com)
2. ^{^} This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (hightimes.com)
3. ^{^} cannabidiol (hightimes.com)
4. ^{^} CBD (hightimes.com)
5. ^{^} the same three or four varieties (hightimes.com)
6. ^{^} medical state (hightimes.com)
7. ^{^} Ordering cannabis seeds (hightimes.com)
8. ^{^} @Nico_Escondido (twitter.com)
9. ^{^} @Nico_High_Times (www.instagram.com)
10. ^{^} This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (hightimes.com)