How to get the most from cannabis for chronic pain

An estimated 20.9% of adults in Canada and the United States suffer from chronic pain – and are constantly looking for a little relief. Here's how to maximize help

Over 20.9% of adults in Canada and the United States (51.6 million people) suffer from chronic pain, with 6.9% (17.1 million people) experiencing severe chronic pain. When you are suffering, it becomes the focus of your day and takes up an incredible amount of time and concentration. Medical marijuana can help – here's how to get the most from cannabis for chronic pain.

Cancer patients, people with nerve damage, back injuries and other types of chronic pain also face this problem from a pharmaceutical perspective; The problem is that if you keep increasing the dosage of narcotic painkillers, they simply become killers. However, this is not the case with cannabis.

Eat a mango

The terpenes in mangoes seem to like to play with the terpenes in cannabis, extending the effects of marijuana and keeping them elevated for longer periods of time. The mango can be eaten before or after the session to achieve the desired effect, but at a time interval.

When you take your medicine, eat something fatty

THC binds to fat cells and is fat soluble. That's why it's harder to pass a drug test if you don't have the metabolism of a hummingbird. But that's also why when you have a slice of toast with butter in your stomach, you're giving the cannabinoids more fat to stick to and distribute throughout your body.

RELATED: How fatty foods could make CBD more effective

Photo by Flickr user ebruli

Combine taking cannabis with the use of topicals

Whether ointment, cream or lotion, topical remedies provide excellent relief from superficial aches and pains, particularly muscle soreness and tension. Rub thoroughly with warm hands and feel some of the pain disappear.

Break this routine

If you're an avid smoker, you may have developed a method that works for you and maybe even swear by. Breaking this routine, using a different piece to smoke with, and even changing rooms can lead to more efficient smoking sessions.

RELATED: 5 Ways Medical Marijuana Can Help You Manage Chronic Pain

Photo by Bill Oxford/Getty Images

Remember to breathe deeply

Whenever possible, hold it for those important seconds. Inhaling it into your lungs as often as possible will definitely give you a boost, especially if you have become a bit lax in your smoking techniques.

Living with chronic pain will never be easy, but cannabis can significantly reduce the pain and even enhance the pain-relieving effects of cannabis. Enjoy your mango and let the cannabis relieve your pain naturally.