Maximum Yield Cannabis USA February/March 2018 | Page 63

the possibility of its
existence; there has just
not been enough trials to put
those claims through the wringer
of hard science. The entourage effect
has never been through any properly
conducted double-blind experiments to
determine its legitimacy or existence. At least,
it hasn’t in the US. As cannabis is still federally
a Schedule 1 narcotic, it is extremely difficult, if
not impossible, to obtain funding for the legitimate
and impartial research on cannabis. As such, many of the
individuals and groups conducting such research are in the
private sector. This does not make their claims invalid, but it does
suggest the possibility for bias and partiality.
WHY YOU MIGHT BELIEVE IT TO BE TRUE
What can be proven, though there may be some disagreement in the scientific
community as to what extent, is that THC alone cannot perform or accomplish
the benefits that marijuana provides. Case in point: Marinol. Marinol is a
synthetically produced THC that has been approved by the FDA since the 1980s
and prescribed for patients of serious diseases like AIDS and cancer to restore
appetite. Still, this product produces more negative effects on its users than
actual cannabis. When CBD is added to the THC, however, the user’s side effects
are mitigated and the benefits are enhanced.
If claims of the entourage effect were simply coming from one cannabis user or
one company, you would be right to be suspicious of their veracity. However, it
seems that the entire industry is convinced this effect exists. Bona fide scientists
and researchers employed by companies to study the entourage effect have found
there may well be such a thing. Private interests constantly experiment with
different formulations and combinations of cannabis’s components and market
their results (psychosomatic or not). Consumers suggest they believe there is such
a thing by voting with their dollars. In 2016, North Americans spent $6.7 billion in
legally operated marijuana dispensaries. By 2021, this figure is estimated to jump
to more than $20 billion.
Many Eastern and holistic practices recognize that some components exist to
enhance or activate other ones, and that they may do nothing on their own.
This is essentially the same principle of the so-called entourage effect. As legal
restrictions of cannabis continue to relax in the coming years, researchers not
funded by any cannabis company may well be able to verify and back up the
claims other have been claiming for well over a decade: there is indeed such a
thing as the entourage effect.
myhydrolife.com
grow. heal. learn. enjoy.
63