CBD and CBG: Safety and Usage Guidelines

Hi and welcome to how humans heal. I'm Dr. Donnie Wilson and I'm excited to introduce you to Justin Finneman. He is a CBD and CBG expert and president of sales for Curable Clinical. And he's joining us here today to help us understand cannabis, hemp, cbd, the health benefits, and everything related to that. Thank you so much for joining us today, Justin.

Hey, Dr. Downey. I'm excited to be here. Thank you.

Oh, it's awesome. I know you're also a father and a lover of health optimization in general and you've helped practitioners to run their clinics. So you have so much background in terms of clinical experience and also then your experience with hemp, cannabis, cbd, cbg. So we want to go into that and help people understand what that all means and should they be considering the use of CBD and or CBG for their health issues. So first, maybe just tell us a little bit more what got you to become an expert in CBD and cannabis. Was there something that inspired you?

Yeah, for sure. I didn't plan on being here. Dr. Doty. My background is in regenerative medicine. I grew up working for a Regenex based clinic. You know, they offered regenerative medicine. They offered, you know, weight loss and nutrition courses for patients. They had functional medicine, massage, physical therapy, really this whole integrated health model. And I just fell in love with it. Fell in love with trying to get to the core route of helping people and sleep better and have less inflammation and pain. And I work with different doctors all over the country. And I got a call one day from this Minnesota company and they said, we have this vision of bringing pain products into the medical community exclusively for health care providers and physicians. And my wife was like, justin, we're not selling cannabis all over the country. And I said, look, I've got really bad stenosis in my lower back. I want to try the product. And I went to the facility and Dr. Donnie, I was blown away. I come in and I meet a PhD chemist from the University of Minnesota. I learned that they literally put the seed in the ground. They till the fields, they grow, test extract, do the entire process right here in Hastings, Minnesota, and had just a ton of efficacy behind the product. And they were a true seed to you. Hemp and cannabis company. So they had a vision. They're farmers. They wanted to help other farmers grow hemp across the country. And they literally processed and grew about or process probably 80% of the state's hep in Minnesota alone. So very large organization. Yeah. Who, who is very well integrated in Minnesota. And they gave me some of this pain topical, this muscle cream, and I used it. I was blown away. And I told my wife, I said, my stenosis feels so much more manageable. And the company said, we want. If we want to push people away from opioids, and we want to be the daily solution to help manage pain for doctors. And. And I fell in love with that because I said, look, that's why I love regenerative medicine. I don't want steroid injections. I want people eating right, sleeping better. Functional medicine is optimized. We want people healthier. So I just started sending out samples to doctors across the country. And before I knew it, I had 30 accounts. And I said to my wife, I think we have something special here. So you fast forward to now. We have over 400 clinics in 35 states, and we offer an exclusive line of topicals and then some tinctures as well, some oil. And then on our retail line, we have pet products, and we have all kinds of stuff. But in the clinical space, it's topicals and tinctures.

And here's the thing is that, first of all, let's rewind a little bit. And just for anyone who is new to this, to this concept of using cbd, because, I mean, it's. It's. When we talking about cannabis species and hemp and cbd, people sort of like, oh, wait, this feels different. This feels like something that, you know, am I. Is it okay to be using this? So let's talk about the, you know, the legalities of hemp and CBD versus, for example, marijuana, which has. Is state. State regulated. Right?

There's so much to this. And it's a great point you bring up. And everything we do from curable is derived from hemp. Okay, I didn't know this. Most people don't know this. A cannabis plant species grows a hemp plant, and it grows a marijuana plant. Okay? So cannabis is not just marijuana. Hemp has a myriad of uses. Okay? Hemp is very durable. Usually the hemp plant is very high in cbd, and there's a little bit amount of THC in a hemp plant as well. But we can extract that away, the CBD away from the THC or the other cannabinoids. But in a hemp plant or in a marijuana plant, there are usually over a hundred different cannabinoids in both of those different.

Plants that we produce. But in 2018, the federal government passed a bill called the farm Bill, and they said you could produce hemp derived products federally legal as long as you keep it to 0.3% C by weight in your CBD products that you get from hemp. So that's kind of the delineation. But yes, marijuana has its own regulation. It has its own by state.

Whereas hemp is more federally regulated right now, even though there are some different rules. Sometimes it's looked at as more federally regulated overall compared to the counterpart marijuana.

Cannabinoids, as you mentioned. I mean, just think about in one leaf, there's that many different unique kinds of cannabinoids. And these cannabinoids have quite a lot of research on them in terms of health benefits. I mean, run us through, like, what are some of the health that you mentioned? Pain already. But there's even so many more ways that the cannabinoids or CBD can be helping with our health.

Yeah, for sure. So the truth is, is that all of these different cannabinoids interact with our brain and our body uniquely. And the reason for that is our body actually contains our own endocannabinoid system. So you have phytocannabinoids from a plant that naturally integrate in a positive way and interact with our own endocannabinoid system. Okay. The endocannabinoid system is tied to the immune system. It's tied to all these different things. And if you read a book by Stephen Porges called the Polyvagal Theory, he talks about how the nervous system is regulated and essentially the cannabinoids downregulate the nervous system and create homeostasis in the body and really create a calming effect overall. So that's the main benefit. It just helps even out the body and balance the body in really cool, unique ways, which it can touch the immune system, the nervous system touches all these different things, but we have cannabinoid receptors even through our gut. And that's why they find a lot of people struggling from Crohn's and irritable bowel disease actually benefit from cannabis based products is because the receptors are being stimulated in a positive way throughout our gut. So everything from pressure to pain to sleep to these gut issues, cannabis and hemp really has a profound impact in the body in a number of ways.

I love that you're bringing it back to the stress response system and the endocannabinoid system. I actually cover this in my book as well, the Master stress reset your health book there. For those of you who have the book or want to get the book, there's a section where I talk about what are all the tools and techniques we can use for stress recovery. And the endocannabinoids and cannabidiols are listed in there as one of the ways that we can do that. Exactly. For the reasons that you're just mentioning that, you know, when we're under stress, which we have plenty of, we're not lacking for stress, but we get out of balance. Our stress response system is going strong and our anti stress system is not. And the endocannabinoid system is a whole other system separate from our hormones, separate from our immune system, separate from our nervous system that has this ability to help us reset and restore. So there's a lot, as you mentioned, there's a lot of things that we can use even in nature that can stimulate the endocannabinoid system, even just being in nature, for that matter. Right. But also we figured out that these cannabinoids from something like hemp can help stimulate the endocannabinoid system and help us in many different ways. I want to especially I like that you brought up pain because I'm with you. There's so many people who are in chronic pain, whether that's migraines like I had for many years, joint pain, arthritis, maybe pain because of an injury or, or other kinds of pain and their fibromyalgia, for example, and they're like in a position of saying, what else can I do? And in the standard medical approach, the road, the path leads toward medications that have a lot of side effects and dependency and, and withdrawal symptoms. So if we could find a substance from nature that helps with pain and inflammation and doesn't have dependency or withdrawal symptoms, that to me is a much better option. So, so maybe you can also, we can talk about that a little bit because people, I worry, okay, we're talking about a cannabis type plant on cbd. But please confirm with me that it's, it doesn't create a dependency or withdrawal symptoms. It's. You use it, it helps you. If you don't use it, it doesn't help.

A wonderful, wonderful, wonderful subject. And I'm going to break this down, trying to keep a. Not too into that version of too scientific, but a way that hopefully your listeners will, will understand and recognize. So.

HC, let's start. THC creates a psychoactive response. Okay. It binds to the CB1 or CB2 receptors in the brain. It literally latches onto those receptors. Okay. We are not using high concentrated THC products. We are using CBD and CBG to do this. So CBG and CBD do not attach to the receptors in the brain the same way that THC does to active response. They can stimulate the receptors. It's like a primer. But they don't attach to the receptors. In fact, there are studies right now showing that CBD can actually somewhat reduce or minimize the psychoactive response that THC is creating in the brain. So that's why they're combining CBD with THC products to help kind of mitigate that psychoactive response and give you the benefit of both of those products that's not so strong or concentrated. So you will not get high using CBG or cbd. It doesn't create a natural high. And the scientific reason is it doesn't attach to the receptors the same way that THC does.

Just giving it a letter, right? When we say CBD versus cbg, it's just giving it a letter from the Alphabet, right?

Yes. Correct. Yep. It's just a different molecule. They're just different molecules in the plant. And my wife loves this because we have five kids. But CBG is the mother cannabinoid annoy. Okay. It gives birth to the other cannabinoids. Essentially. It helps them genetically break down. And the plant, when it's very young, it actually starts off as cbga, which is a raw, acidic form of cbg. And then it becomes all these other cannabinoids. So it gives birth to them. And I try to. Try to. I try to dumb it down like this. Vitamin D and vitamin C both have the word vitamin in there, but they do different things inside of our body. Right. Whether people consider vitamin D a hormone or not or a vitamin, that's another subject. But vitamins do different things. They have different benefits in our bodies, just like cannabinoids. Different cannabinoids both have benefits, but they have specific benefits because of the type of molecule that they are and the way they interact within our bodies.

Amazing. So, because I think a lot of people have heard about cbd, as you mentioned, to help with anxiety, with sleep, with calming the nervous system, but maybe not everybody's heard about cbg. So maybe you can tell us a little more. Like, what's the difference about the G version? What does it do that maybe people aren't getting in if they're taking a reg. A CBD product that doesn't have CBG in it? What's the difference?

Yeah. So CBG is known mostly as a mild exerciser, almost. Cognitive support and clarity and focus enhance memory in a very unique way. In fact, there's a.

Really Anyway, but there's an MD named Bonnie Goldstein and I love reading her literature. She's based out of California and she uses CBG a lot of times, I believe, to treat young teenagers and kids in small versus putting them on Adderall and other stimulants. So it has an ability to center the brain and calm the brain without making you tired like CBD will for a lot of people. So there's a lot of crossover benefits between CBG and cbd, but CBG typically stimulates the brain in a little bit more of a unique way to create a cognitive balance and support while still offering inflammatory benefits. Antiviral, antibacterial, all these other cool things that overlap between them. CBG is just better for the mind in regards to memory, focus, clarity and concentration.

Is that what you're finding that practitioners are especially using it for? Are they, you know, maybe helping with cases where people are noticing either brain fog or cognitive decline or another kind of neurological condition?

I'd say a pain are up at the top of the list. I had a naturopathic doctor call me last week, was going to do a PRP procedure. The patient was 170 or 169 over.

I don't remember. Her blood pressure was very high. Within 20 minutes of using CBG, it was down almost 30 points. So we're talking significant.

To relax and calm the body. So anxiety relief, just balancing the body pain and inflammation. But yes, that other spectrum on the cognitive angle, that's a big part of this. And even people don't realize there's an, there's an FDA approved drug called Epidiolex that is used to treat epileptic seizures in patients. So it's CBD based, not cbg. But these cannabinoids have a profound effect on our brains to really down regulate their downregulate the receptors in positive ways sometimes to help these neurodegenerative conditions. So that's a whole nother arena that you can go down with these cannabinoids.

I've done a lot of detoxes over the years and many of them made me feel a lot worse. Not only that, but I've had a lot of patients come in and tell me how after doing a detox, they have a stomachache and headache and they can't sleep and they're feeling anxious and I'm like, I can't just recommend that my patients do a program that's going to make them feel worse. So I finally decided to design my own detox program. It's a 14 day detox program that's not like other detox programs out there in several ways. One is that I'm focused on helping you to get the toxins out in a safe and effective way using nutrients, antioxidants and supporting our natural detoxification pathways in the body. Also, I'm helping you to decrease your exposure to toxins by learning the ways that you've been exposed to toxins and how to change your day to day lifestyle to decrease your toxins over time. And I'm helping you to look not just at chemical environmental toxins but also emotional and energetic toxicity. And yes, it's possible to accomplish all of this in 14 days. I have so many patients who have done the 14 day detox and report back to me how much better they feel. And I think it's also because I help you to know what to eat. You are getting adequate food that tastes good plus protein shakes that I developed that are good for your body, that your body knows how to use these nutrients and take them in and use them to help you safely detoxify without feeling worse. Also I help you to balance your blood sugar levels, get better sleep and introduce things like meditation, biofeedback and other types of stress recovery into your day to day routine. So I just am so excited about it. I want to make sure you know about this 14 day detox. I'm going to put the link, you can find it at drdani.com forward/detox program but I'll also put the link below so you can find the 14 day detox program@drdani.com I look forward to guiding you through this detox so that you can actually film better on your way to better health.

But there's both topical and oral forms which I always like to make sure people know about because the topicals are one of my favorites like for my body because I have joint hypermobility and Ehlers Danlo. So my joints are constantly moving out of place which tends to cause muscle spasms. I find it really helps to put cbd. CBG are right on your skin. It absorbs in. Right. So it has this ability to work through the skin.

Yeah. You know, and depending on how you utilize that, whether it's just a, whether it's a normal topical or transdermal patch will depend on how deep that goes into the tissue. But think of it like this. Topicals don't react obviously within the body systemically as much. So there's not the same response there as you're Using an oil or some kind of edible cannabis or hemp derived product. But topical is adding the CBD component, especially when you have a high concentration like we do. Most people don't test their hemp, they don't third party test it, they don't have a high enough potency and they don't have the proper analgesic combination as well like we do with Arnica, menthol, camphor in combination. We, we have both of those things at a very high percentage. And when you get the tissue relief and inflammation relief with the analgesic effect. That's why I think we've grown so fast with the topicals, to be honest with you, overall, compared to other things we're, you know, competing against.

Well, that's a good point. I was going to ask you, you know, because there's now so many CBD products out there and, and so people could be, you know, like at the local store buying cbd. How does someone, what should someone look for, for when they're looking for a product? How do they, you know, how can they know this is a product that they can expect results? Because I also hear from a lot of people who say I tried it, I didn't see any difference and they give up. So what would you say to that person to help, encourage them to try again and to use a product that's more likely to help?

Yeah, gosh, awesome question. I would say that they, that most people believe that 70% of the hemp products, hemp derived products that is circulating right now currently in the United States are from a co op where people have no idea where the source is from. So excuse me, so they have no idea where the source of the hemp is even from. So you need to find a company that has a third party test available that you can easily access that doesn't lead to an error page. And they can show you the accuracy and the potency of the cannabinoids. That is, that is optimal and it is what they claim it is on the bottle. So if it says 3,000 milligrams, we guarantee you that it's actually 3,000 milligrams. And then you have to find another part of that that verifies the absence of heavy metals, herbicides and pesticides and other unhealthy things that can sometimes go into these plants and how they produce them. So that's number one, the efficacy has to be there and they have to provide a test. If they don't have a third party test from somebody disinterested that's where you need to look at that company go, maybe this isn't the right, the right place for me. And that's why a curable. We feel like we're leveraged. The CDU process is there. We literally grow the plants, we till the field, we go through the entire extraction process, we internally test three times and then we third party test with an un, you know, a disinterested party that verifies all of our own results.

Wow. Amazing. And I think that that's so important for people to know because it's like if you, you know, if you're just like finding that you're not getting results from a product, it's worth finding, you know, trying a curable product. And I'll be in the notes putting a link so you, you all can find, you know, can get access to curable products to try. I'm trying to think if. So you have the topical, then you have the oral. Like you said tincture or basically it's an oil or liquid. Right. What are the other forms that you offer?

Yeah, so our clinical strength products are only available through health care providers, so you got to find them in a doctor's office. But we have a website where we have some lower strength products and the topicals in the oil or the tinctures are the most common. We do have gummies. We have some other beverages and things too that we sell in different markets. But we have everything from pet products to Epsom soap with CBD to a, to a chapstick with cbd. So we've got a lot of things. It's a, it's a blessing and a curse because it's a lot to manage. But yeah, we've got kind of a robust offering and we sell more, more dog treats, all CBD dog treats all over the country for anxiety. Pet owners claim their seizures are better with their animals. All these things. You can't even believe how many CBD dog treats we sell across the country.

I, I CBD for my cats and it's definitely been, it definitely helps them. It's been amazing. I love it. I think it's because, you know, especially if a, a cat or a dog has high anxiety or, you know, is, is struggling with other health issues, how wonderful that it's also safe for them and effective for them to use. So I love that you guys offer that as well. And I'm so glad to be able to, you know, be able to offer this as a practitioner to, to my patients because I always want to be able to when Someone says to me, yes, I'd like to try this. I want to be able to make sure that I'm recommending the highest quality product that I can be certain that there can expect a clinical benefit from it. And that's the thing, right? We always want to be able to say, hey, can we, are we using a product that we can expect a clinical difference with? And what I find sometimes as a practitioner, like with any, anything we use, whether it's nutrients, amino acids, herbs, we have to fine tune the dose to the person. So I wanted to get your input on that as well. Like that's true. Also with cbd, cbg, we need to be able to find what's the right dose for this particular person. And it can vary, right? There's quite a variance of dosing that.

Such an awesome question, and this is maybe a little bit of a weird parody here on the drama, but just like with people who consume alcohol, some people turn into chronic alcoholics because the way their brain reacts to alcohol is different than their brother, their sister, their mom, or their dad, whoever it is, right. Our brains have our own genetic makeup and our own chemistry and we respond differently to molecules differently than any other human being on the planet. Right? So the good thing about hemp or cannabis derived products is you really have to abuse them to, to, to work before they become toxic. So the amount you'd have to take to really hurt yourself for most people would be astronomical. However, we're still learning about the dose specifics and that's why we always tell people, if you take an oil or tincture, start off with a half serving and assess your tolerance. If you get a great response from 25 milligrams of CBG oil, then you don't need to take the entire 50 milligrams of CBG oil. So we are literally a curable starting to become part of some different studies in the medical field with regenerative medicine. And our long term vision is to go onto this oil side and study some of these things about dose specifics. And we just aren't there yet. But medical research is coming and we are finding more about the daily dose and application. But right now I always say start, start with less and then build into the tolerance of, of, of a higher serving moving forward.

Yeah, the way I think about it with CBD is like you don't. More is not better necessarily. You just want to find what is the dose that's effective for you. And I don't find that people develop a tolerance. People worry like, am I going to get a tolerance and I'm going to need more. You don't have to be the case, do you?

No, not at all. It does not stimulate like, like how drugs or alcohol creates a dependency in the brain and works in the brain. CBD and CBG do not interact or create those same chemical reactions. As far as dependency in the brain, it's just not a psychoactive response of any kind. Therefore it does not have the same risk of dependency. Okay. Anything that typically gives us a lighter euphoric feeling as a human being or just why so many people struggle with food, it's because they're, they're chasing a camp, a certain chemical response in their brain. And that's not the type of chemical response CBG or CBD is giving you.

Yeah. So you can, once you find, okay, this is what's helping me sleep better, feel better, and drop my inflammation, then I'm going to stay with that dose over time. And it could be a daily dose or it might be something you're taking a couple different times a day. Depending on like, even how long it lasts can vary from, you know, if you take it at 8am Some people, that's enough all day. And other people might need to repeat the dose midway through the day. Right. It's, it's. So you need to really individualize the dosing, I find, you know, and it's going to be listening to your body to give you the feedback to know what that is. But like you said, start low and this way you're likely to, as you increase little by little, you're going to find your perfect dosing. And in terms, in terms of that, along those lines also just like thinking of it in terms of.

Other interactions with anything else someone might be taking. Like, should people be worried if I'm taking this or this, that I shouldn't use cbd? Are we aware of any contraindications like that?

Yeah. So this is where I'm always careful. Right. Because at the end of the day, I'm not a medical professional. I'm, I'm somebody that considers myself educated. But a large part, because I've spent so many times around, so much time around the physicians and I studied the physicians well and I read. But one of the common things that comes up with CBD especially is if somebody's on a blood thinner, it can improve the efficiency of that blood thinner specifically. So that's one of the big contraindications. The other thing to look for is typically CBD or cbg. Most physicians tell Us they have a really positive effect on patient's blood pressure. But obviously if you're on a blood pressure medication, you start including something else. You want to be cognizant of that and make sure that you're not overdoing it with too strong of a dose to affect that medication adversely. So we've had patients tell us they've been on both and they've done fine, but at the end of the day, we know for sure. Do not use CBD.

While you're on any type of blood thinner. For sure. Especially. Especially.

Okay, gotcha. And of course, check with your practitioner, but not, I mean, I think more and more practitioners are becoming educated about CBD and hemp products, but not all are completely educated about it. So you want to be talking to a practitioner who has this information and can help you navigate adding, adding cbd, CBG to your protocol. Because then sometimes if you're feeling better, then you might not need as much of the other treatments you might be using. Right? If you feel better, then you're going to want to talk to your practitioner and say, actually I feel better, I'm less painful. Can we drop some of my other doses or same thing with your blood pressure. If your blood pressure is better, then maybe you don't need as much of your medication. But you're going to talk to your practitioner to help you with adjusting anything based on improvement in your health. Right.

I mentioned opioids before. I think people can universally agree that the overconsumption of opioids has led to a gigantic problem in our country. And that's not like that almost sounds watered down to me. What that means is a lot of people have died because of it. And the reality is that's a horrible addiction for a lot of people. And if we can mitigate, even if it was even 20% of all of the patients who have to use something to manage their daily pain with a natural hemp derived product that had really no negative consequences across the board. Why would we not do that is what you're saying. And that's, that's what people need to hear. They need to understand. We live in a great country, but our country is, you know, in a tough position medically with the information that's available to the masses and what people think is the normal way to treat people. So that's why I appreciate what you do. You're coming here from a perspective of solving.

Patients.

Pain and their, their disease at the core root of their body and actually getting there in the right way. You're not doing it in a way that is going to harm them. You want to get to the core root of health and foundation of wellness. And that's why I do what we do. I want to help more people have less effects, live better lives, live in less pain. And those are the kind of doctors and clinics we want to work with, too.

Awesome. Oh, thank you for, for seeing that and acknowledging it. And, and I'm so glad. Yeah. Also for the listeners, because those of you listening in, your, your people who, you're the people who are saying, hey, I deserve something better for my health. I, I know it's got to be possible for my body to heal using other substances, and so I can prevent or decrease the need for other interventions and. Absolutely, absolutely. I'm so glad you're here listening in and learning about this. So is there anything else you want to share, Josh? Justin, before we roll, before we go?

No, I think just, I think you touched on so many things that are important, but one of the things that you brought up regarding looking for the right product, and I think people are so used to not getting results and it has a lot to do with the quality and the sourcing and the entire process that goes on. So give it another shot. I think find a reputable brand.

And whether it's sleep, anxiety, pain, it can be a nice adjunctive way to help you get through your life with less pain and less anxiety. So I just appreciate your time and the opportunity for Caribbean to be here and we're honored to work with you and, you know, couldn't have been more proud to be on the, on the episode here.

Oh, thank you. I'm so glad to have you. And thank you so much for sharing that information. It's, I'm sure going to help so many people. Anyone who has questions, feel free to comment or reach out to either Justin or I. I'll make sure to put our contact information down below. Thanks again, everyone for joining me for How Humans Heal. Make sure you subscribe so you don't miss the next episode and I'll see you all very soon.

Thanks for listening. How Humans Heal. If you liked this episode, leave a rating and a review. And for more resources, visit drdani.com.