California State Medical Marijuana Patient Identification

You have an option as to how you want to take medical marijuana. You can inhale marijuana either through smoking it or through a vaporizer. Of course the healthier option is the vaporizer as there is no irritating smoke.

11-hydroxy THC is thought to be four to five times more potent than regular THC. This is why edibles are known to be more potent when compared to inhaled cannabis. Edibles are also thought to be strong sedatives and many patients use them for treatment of insomnia.

The gift of chocolate is a courtship ritual that dates back a couple centuries in the western world. Sweet and sensual, it's an epicurean delight that appears on nearly every holiday but has become most synonymous with Valentines Day. The image of someone picking up a heart shaped box of chocolates at the last minute has become iconic, and many have claimed that consuming vast amounts of chocolate can induce a psychological state very similar to love. It turns out that there is truth to that claim, as chocolate is not only a reputed aphrodisiac, it also acts upon parts of the human brain associated with pleasure and euphoria.

The sensuality of certain foods is well established, and food and romantic love are both basic human needs that invoke a similar vocabulary: need, appetite, hunger, etc. Hollywood films are replete with erotically charged scenes of lovers enjoying chocolate. There are many who suggest that the aphrodisiac effects of chocolate are in fact simply the effects of enjoying such a pleasurable food. Indeed, enjoying chocolate stimulates the appetite for pleasure in general and may well be a form of edible foreplay.

However, there are compounds in chocolate that act directly on different receptors in the brain that help a person experience pleasure and a general feeling of well being. The ancient Mayans consumed large quantities of chocolate in the form of the heady, spicy drink xocoatl in order to fight fatigue, probably because of the theobromine present in chocolate. The sugars and milk fats in chocolate act upon the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus operates a large variety of metabolic processes, including hunger and thirst. In this case, the sugars and milk fats provoke the hypothalamus to cause us to feel pleasurable sensations and give our serotonin levels a boost. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and well being. The phenyl-ethylamine in chocolate stimulates the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure that motivates us to repeat pleasurable activities. Furthermore, chocolate also contains compounds called N-acylethanolamines that can act upon cannabinoid receptors, the same receptors that accept the THC from marijuana, potentially increasing sensitivity and imparting a sensation of euphoria.

Italian researcher Dr. Andrea Salonia found in a recent study that women who regularly consume chocolate have a significantly more active sex life than those who do not, which Salonia found to be an “intriguing correlation.” Although the jury is still out on whether chocolate can be considered a true aphrodisiac, it is clearly a stimulant on a variety of levels. It looks like there's more than just sentimentality that is in play when romantic couples exchange chocolates on Valentines Day.