Cannabis juice: what are the benefits?

Juicing has been popular for many years among the health-stressed or those looking to lose weight. When it comes to cannabis, the typical consumption methods destroy most of the plant's nutrients, including cannabinoids. Making cannabis juice can be a healthier alternative, without the psychoactive effects sought by some, and crippling for others.

Professional cannabis growers typically discard the plant's leaves when harvesting. Setting them aside and juicing them is a good way to minimize waste and benefit from the plant's vitamins, minerals and cannabinoids, particularly CBDA and CBG in the leaves, and THCA in the flowers.

The high concentration of cannabinoid acids in cannabis juice, coupled with the perfect balance of fatty acids, could improve cellular functions and reduce damage caused by free radicals, considered one of the causes of cellular aging. Additional benefits of cannabis juice include reduced inflammation. Several cannabinoids also have anti-tumor properties that are effective even with raw cannabis.

Dr. Courtney: champion of cannabis juice

Dr. William Courtney is an American physician and member of numerous associations for the use of cannabinoids in medicine. His preferred field of research is the daily consumption of cannabis, with the intake of 250 to 500mg of phytocannabinoids in acid form, and therefore non-psychoactive, which the doctor considers to be essential nutrients. He also works for the Association Luxembourgeoise des Méthodes Préventives, who use his recipes to make cannabis juice.

According to Dr. William Courtney, «you're missing out on 99% of the benefits cannabis has by cooking or smoking it». In its raw form, the Cannabis plant contains THCA (the acidic form of tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBDA (the acid form of cannabidiol), two cannabinoids known for their therapeutic benefits. Each must be heated to produce THC and CBD, in a process called decarboxylation. Only when THCA is decarboxylated, transforming it into THC, do the psychoactive effects associated with joint consumption kick in. On the other hand, the body is able to tolerate greater quantities of cannabinoids when cannabis is consumed raw. Inhaled, the body can only absorb 10mg of THC at a time.

«If you don't heat the marijuana, you can go up to 5 or 600mg of cannabis and use the plant as a dietary supplement by raising the levels of antioxidants and neuroprotectants that come into play with the CBDA and the THCA. It is this sharp increase between a 10mg dose of psychoactive THC and the 500mg to 1g of non-psychoactive THCA, CBDA and CBGA that makes the difference between traditional medical cannabis treatments and the use of cannabis as a dietary supplement».

To find out more about Dr. Courtney, take a look at this mini-documentary on the «powers of raw cannabis». It features Kristen Peskuski, the first patient to be cured with cannabis juice by Dr. Courtney. She suffered from autoimmune disease, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and endometriosis.

How to make cannabis juice?

Making cannabis juice requires «fresh, raw» cannabis, just harvested and grown without pesticides or microbiological contaminants. People living in countries or states where medical cannabis is legal can perhaps approach professional growers. Hemp can also be used, although there is no guarantee that it will have the same effects (absence of THC, low or undetermined levels of CBD, etc.).

Here are some recommendations for making cannabis juice:

• as with all juices, the fresher the plant, the better
• dried cannabis ready for smoking is not intended for juicing
• Dr. William Courtney recommends that patients use 15 leaves and 2 large buds of raw cannabis per day.
• flowers should be harvested when the trichomes are clear (rather than amber)
• use a blender or centrifuge
• raw cannabis is bitter. It is therefore recommended to mix it with other juices to cut the bitterness.
• a popular choice is carrots, with a 1:10 ratio of cannabis juice to carrots
• 1 third per meal. Juice keeps for 3 days in the fridge