The juice of raw cannabis provides unique healing benefits. Plant chemicals known as cannabinoid acids such as CBD-acids, and THC-acids break down quickly after harvest, so these compounds are not available in traditional preparations such as cooked ‘medibles’, smoking, or vaporizing.



The healing benefits of cannabinoid-acids are only present for a short period of time before the chemicals break down, so juicing needs to be done quickly after harvest. Fan leaves should make up the majority of the juice, and adding a small amount of cannabis flowers can be beneficial. Cannabis roots can also be added to the mixture as cannabis roots contain CBD, even in non-CBD producing plants!

Cannabinoid acids have amazing properties including anti-inflammatory properties, nerve protecting properties, and pain relieving properties. In raw preparations, the THC has not been heat-activated so there is not the intense sedation that is found in conventional edibles such as pot brownies. This allows for patients to take much higher doses of cannabinoids without the overly sedating effects that would otherwise be a concern. Raw cannabis shows promise for patients with neurological diseases such as MS, as well as for chronic pain suffers, cancer patients, and patients with autoimmune disease such as Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, Lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis.

My patients are having fabulous success with raw juiced cannabis. The juice can be frozen to save preparation time. The freezing is typically done in ice cube trays, though it can also be blended with other juices such as apple juice and made into popsicles. Though it’s not yet being done, there is also potential to get the healing benefits of cannabinoid-acids from fresh freeze-dried preparations in capsule form. Topical application of a raw cannabis poultice is also very effective for pain from neuropathy, as well as musculoskeletal pain including arthritis pain.

Plants with high CBD content are best for juicing as they contain more CBD-acids than non-CBD producing strains.

Because of Washington state’s medical cannabis law, patients are allowed to grow up to 15 cannabis plants for their medical use. This means that patients in Seattle and throughout the state can have affordable, safe, and effective medicine for their own personal use without relying on more costly drugs with higher toxicity and side-effect profiles.