How you choose to take cannabis for treating a health condition is is really up to you: your personal preferences and what your doctor’s advice might advise for the best form of a cannabis extract with an eye to dosage and purity. Cannabinoids, being the active chemicals in medical marijuana, are similar to chemicals the body makes to regulate appetite, memory, movement and pain.  You can think of them as chemical keys that ‘fit certain locks’ in cell receptors in your brain and body that can tone down or turn up certain functions. If your body is not producing the chemicals that normally do this for you, or enough of them, then cannabinoids can be useful. Research in the field of medicine and health is still ongoing as cannabis emerges from the shadow paranoia  of a category 1 classification such that medical researchers are prepared to take a close look at what the components of cannabis can do for health, without the risk of stigma in promoting the healing properties of an amazing plant that has been heavily  demonized from the time Richard Nixon started the “war on drugs”.  Research so far has shown that cannabinoids from cannabis can potentially reduce anxiety (popular with veterans dealing with PTSD), reduce inflammations, relieve pain, control nausea and vomiting brought on by chemotherapy, relax tight muscles in people suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS), and stimulate appetite and help improve weight gain for people who have lost weight due to diseases such as cancer, aid and anorexia. Research has further shown a possible potential to help slow the growth of cancerous tumors and it has been found to help control epileptic brain seizures in children using a special drug therapy made from CBD that is now FDA approved (Epidiolex). Dry Herb: Using a cannabis derived product for a medical condition can involve using the ground herb. You can use it by smoking it (the old fashioned ‘joint’)or vaping it (vaporizing the active components in a special device that does not burn the material but turns the oils into a vapor that can be inhaled without combustion products from burning). You can also eat the herb (ingestion). Most people have heard about baking ‘hash brownies’ as a way of eating cannabis.  The most effective, immediate and healthiest way by inhalation is vaping the herb with the right vaping device for the dried plant, and knowing which strain you might need that best suits why you need to be using cannabis for a health problem, like PTSD. Oil: You can also use cannabis in the form of an oil and many different oil extracts are now available that offer different properties, such as CBD, CBG, Delta 8 THC, Delta 10 THC, etc. You can get full spectrum forms of extract (contains all the unfiltered components including terpenes) or you can get the refined extract forms that have everything removed, except the targets extract, and are ‘pure’.  Oils can be vaped (like the dry herb plant form) in the right vaporizer device. Probably the most popular method is to put the oil under the tongue as drops (sublingual). Sublingual drops are possibly the most precise method for a medical condition usage as dosing will be very precise if the product you are using is lab verified with the strength and purity it says on the label and the dosage you are using is properly set by your doctor or health professional.  Oils can also be added to foods and drinks, such as smoothies.  Concentrates: For those dealing with some chronic medical issues, concentrates in the form of waxes, shatter (hardened concentrate that looks like toffee) or thickens oils.  These forms are usually taken with a  special vaporizer such as one for the wax form, which is called dabbing.  Topicals: Topical treatment of pain and can be effectively treated with creams, lotions, sprays and rubbing oils applied directly onto the skin in the area needing treatment, and there are now many cannabis products for topical use that are popular for treating muscle injuries and sprains in sports, but also branching into beauty therapies and relaxation, such as the use of CBD in bath bombs. Edibles: An interesting form of treatment can be the use of edibles, either as a gelatin capsule or a gummy style sweet. Gummies have become increasingly popular as an easy way to take CBD and the legal delta THC forms to help treat anxiety, to relax and calm, or to help energize and focus creative work. Gummies are now popular as an easy to take health aid with a purpose for mild conditions, rather than for more chronic conditions that may possibly need other more concentrated forms of cannabis products, with a more immediate effect. The onset of an effect is much slower with ingested forms through the gut. Finally, if you are using a cannabis product for a health reason, or thinking of doing this, check with your doctor or trusted health advisor about the appropriate form and dosage.  We advise also doing your own research, so you are well informed when you go to talk to your doctor, or professional health advisor, You may need to look carefully for a well informed, cannabis friendly doctor that is well briefed on the treatment benefits and latest study findings for cannabis products in the field medicine and health.