Exploring Raw Cannabis as a Superfood and ingredient in powerful topical medicines. Today we dive into how to integrate cannabis into our garden and engage with its many gifts without getting high.
I would be concerned about bio accumulation of heavy metals and other bad stuff when using cannabis as food. This property can be used to clean up dirty land, but you’d want to dispose of the cannabis offsite.
Thanks for pointing out the capacity of the cannabis plant to hyperaccumulate heavy metals from contaminated soils (and synthetic fertilizer as well as conventional livestock manure based "organic" fertilizer). It is however worth pointing out, that if one is creating/enriching their own soil via composting and not applying synthetic fertilizer, manures from conventional livestock operations (typically high in heavy metals) and not using fungicides or pesticides, there is no reason to be concerned about heavy metals in home grown cannabis for eating.
It is also worth highlighting the capacity for enhanced Phytostabilization/Phytoimmobilization, (a method for containing heavy metals in soil) which is available to those using compost as a soil amendment.
I have a friend with access to Mass Spec equipment so I am blessed to be able to test my crops (including cannabis) for phytonutrient, cannabinoid as well as heavy metal content. Thankfully, the background levels of heavy metals in soil here which are accumulated into some plant tissues (including cannabis) do not aggregate into dangerous levels in my plants. The annual compost application likely helps with this a lot.
So, if one grows the plants in homemade soil, enriched with compost and avoids synthetic sprays/fertilizers, nothing to worry about for eating homegrown cannabis.
Very interesting and informative. I will add some things from the list at the bottom of the page. Now I know why I've been drawn to mango so much in the last three years. I have also always also been drawn to pine, cloves, lavender, bergamot, geranium, lilac, etc. anything very aromatic.
We drink a variety of black and herbal teas, use herbs and spices for flavoring and use essential oils topically. I feel the need to add more dark greens and weeds, though. Growing mostly dense lettuces in garden this year with interspersed flowers. Roots in fall. Learning to forage local wild plants is a growing interest. Dandelion tea is a favorite that I think is helpful, especially the one with a dark roast. We drink herbal and earl grey and cinnamon black teas, especially chai. I find chai tea to be particularly beneficial lately. I also love capers for quercetin. It's a potent little seed with high a quercetin content !
I just want to look at posts like yours these days. Makes me feel hopeful and proactive. Oftentimes, I find that I am not getting the researched detail I'm looking for without pulling from so many different sources. Thank you for sharing the deep dives !
:) Thanks I appreciate the comment. I think there are still a fair amount of people that see the topic of Cannabis as taboo as I am not seeing much engagement.
That sauerkraut sounds awesome. Sometimes I just ferment big chunks of turmeric rhizome with hot peppers, black pepper corns and ginger in a salt brine and keep it on hand for those rough days at work when I need a potent anti-inflammatory. If I am feeling sore in the morning after an intense day of work I just eat one piece of that fermented turmeric rhizome like half the size of my pinky finger, a few pepper corns and a spoon full of coconut oil and half an hour later I feel good to go and ready to do big things.
I would be concerned about bio accumulation of heavy metals and other bad stuff when using cannabis as food. This property can be used to clean up dirty land, but you’d want to dispose of the cannabis offsite.
Thanks for pointing out the capacity of the cannabis plant to hyperaccumulate heavy metals from contaminated soils (and synthetic fertilizer as well as conventional livestock manure based "organic" fertilizer). It is however worth pointing out, that if one is creating/enriching their own soil via composting and not applying synthetic fertilizer, manures from conventional livestock operations (typically high in heavy metals) and not using fungicides or pesticides, there is no reason to be concerned about heavy metals in home grown cannabis for eating.
It is also worth highlighting the capacity for enhanced Phytostabilization/Phytoimmobilization, (a method for containing heavy metals in soil) which is available to those using compost as a soil amendment.
For more info, read: https://open.substack.com/pub/gavinmounsey/p/phytoremediation?r=q2yay&selection=4866e1fd-1051-40e5-a95f-058e3582e736&utm_campaign=post-share-selection&utm_medium=web
I have a friend with access to Mass Spec equipment so I am blessed to be able to test my crops (including cannabis) for phytonutrient, cannabinoid as well as heavy metal content. Thankfully, the background levels of heavy metals in soil here which are accumulated into some plant tissues (including cannabis) do not aggregate into dangerous levels in my plants. The annual compost application likely helps with this a lot.
So, if one grows the plants in homemade soil, enriched with compost and avoids synthetic sprays/fertilizers, nothing to worry about for eating homegrown cannabis.
Thanks for the comment.
Great to know, thanks.
Very interesting and informative. I will add some things from the list at the bottom of the page. Now I know why I've been drawn to mango so much in the last three years. I have also always also been drawn to pine, cloves, lavender, bergamot, geranium, lilac, etc. anything very aromatic.
We drink a variety of black and herbal teas, use herbs and spices for flavoring and use essential oils topically. I feel the need to add more dark greens and weeds, though. Growing mostly dense lettuces in garden this year with interspersed flowers. Roots in fall. Learning to forage local wild plants is a growing interest. Dandelion tea is a favorite that I think is helpful, especially the one with a dark roast. We drink herbal and earl grey and cinnamon black teas, especially chai. I find chai tea to be particularly beneficial lately. I also love capers for quercetin. It's a potent little seed with high a quercetin content !
I just want to look at posts like yours these days. Makes me feel hopeful and proactive. Oftentimes, I find that I am not getting the researched detail I'm looking for without pulling from so many different sources. Thank you for sharing the deep dives !
I want to lurk in your kitchen and garden, Gavin!
:) Thanks I appreciate the comment. I think there are still a fair amount of people that see the topic of Cannabis as taboo as I am not seeing much engagement.
That sauerkraut sounds awesome. Sometimes I just ferment big chunks of turmeric rhizome with hot peppers, black pepper corns and ginger in a salt brine and keep it on hand for those rough days at work when I need a potent anti-inflammatory. If I am feeling sore in the morning after an intense day of work I just eat one piece of that fermented turmeric rhizome like half the size of my pinky finger, a few pepper corns and a spoon full of coconut oil and half an hour later I feel good to go and ready to do big things.
Here is a link to a post where I include one recipe variation I do for fermenting turmeric which I like to add into Moroccan recipes https://gavinmounsey.substack.com/p/the-health-benefits-of-fermented
Your most welcome, I am glad you appreciate the content and look forward to hearing what you think of my future articles.