Patient guides

Published guides

• Flower potency: why the THC number is shaky, and what to read instead: a batch of flower has a range, not a number, by documented plant biology. Why the percent on the jar is the least reliable thing printed there, the moisture and sampling wrinkles, and what actually predicts the experience: the ratio, the terpenes, the freshness, and your own journal.

• The entourage effect: promising idea, growing evidence, and what patients notice: what the science does and does not show about cannabis compounds working as a group. The documented interactions, why the evidence is still catching up, and why neither "proven" nor "myth" survives an honest read of the literature.

• Field notes: five years of cannabis for chronic pain: our staff reviewer's informal account of using cannabis for spinal stenosis: the budtender question that goes wrong, why medical and recreational are the same medicine through different doors, dosing in milligrams across changing lots, the products that work without the high, and what a provider consult actually delivers. One reviewer's experience, labeled as such throughout; more staff voices will be added to the same page.

• The cannabis aroma map: a tasting guide for your nose: a 112-term aroma vocabulary arranged as a tasting map, built the way wine and whisky trained their tasters. Why the nose beats the label number, the words for when something is wrong and how to use them at the counter, and a standing invitation to argue with the map by email. A tasting guide, not science.

• The aroma molecules atlas (external: our work, on our demonstration site): an interactive, cited map of the molecules behind cannabis aroma. The ten major terpenes as live 3D structures you can rotate, and the trace flavorants that make one strain smell like gas and another like passionfruit, every identifier checkable against PubChem.

What this section will cover

Guides will address questions patients ask in practice: dose units, onset and duration, route of administration, timing, keeping a useful journal, preparing questions for a clinician, and understanding when an adult-use product may meet the same practical need as a medical-market product.

Recreational cannabis remains relevant to medical patients. Many people do not need high-dose products that require a medical card, and a suitable combination of ordinary adult-use products may sometimes fit their goals.

Planned coverage

The paragraph above describes planned editorial coverage. It is not a claim that a particular product or combination will provide relief.

Information, not individualized medical advice

Dosing, timing, and interaction material is informational. It will not be restated as a personal recommendation, and it will not tell a reader to start, stop, or replace treatment. Empirical claims will link to their original source, with official and primary sources preferred.

For current Colorado registry information, use the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Medical Marijuana Registry.

Labels stay visible

Every guide will distinguish From the published record, Desk-reviewed source, Industry tradition, Widely shared experience, and One reviewer's experience. A summary should preserve the label and carry the source link attached to an empirical statement.

Coming soon

Further guides and community conversations are in preparation. Online and in-person meetings will be announced on this site when dates and locations are confirmed.