Rick Simpson Oil and Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

I recently had the unfortunate need involving a family member to do some digging into Rick Simpson Oil for treating a Stage IV cancer as opposed to just treating side effects related to cancer or chemotherapies. Over 10 years ago, Rick Simpson rediscovered a proper way of using oils produced from cannabis strains for the treatment of thousands of health conditions including cancer, diabetes, arthritis, pain and more. He has established a website to share information on creating this oil on his site. The documentary “Run From the Cure” focuses on his methods for and successes around using cannabis to cure cancers.

Although a lot of general information is available, I was a bit surprised to see that localized information is still limited and there was a gap between marijuana dispensary products and how they relate to the Rick Simpson Cancer protocol.

I had a list of the many questions that I knew were not easily answerable. Those questions, plus an overwhelming sense of desperation forced me to look to both online research and dispensary visits and consultations to find the answers. I’m sharing what I learned here to hopefully help others who may have that same sense of desperation to bridge the gap on their own next steps.

How is Rick Simpson Oil different than the other concentrates on the market?

I was told essentially certain concentrates are probably very similar in their THC and CBD contents and it's a matter of different extraction processes as well as consumption methods and quantities that can impact the medicinal value compared to Rick Simpson Protocol. For example, most stand alone concentrates on the market still require heating and vaporizing to activate the cannabinoids while the RSO protocol calls for ingestion. The body processes ingesting cannabis differently than inhaling cannabis. However, there are some medible products on the market made from concentrates so I was curious if those were options compare to RSO. That question is answered later. First a bit about the RSO protocol. Rick Simpson's site notes the importance of heating at the right temperatures in the extraction process to ensure the THCa is fully converted to THC in the end product. So that means usually if a concentrate still requires heating through vaporizers or smoking, the THCa probably has not been fully converted alsready. Rick Simpson Oil is made through taking larger amounts of cannabis and extracting the cannabinoids via a heating process with pure naptha solvent or pure ether or similar solvents. The full detailed directions can be found on Rick Simpson’s Site and are outlined so people can make the product at home in a less dangerous setting than using other methods of extraction like butane. An ounce of marijuana is estimated to make about 3 to 4 grams of oil.

Is Rick Simpson Oil made from a high CBD strain or any strain?

The cannabis recommended by Rick Simpson is a high grade Indica which often has a higher CBD percentage than Sativas, BUT high grade Indicas are not CBD strains like Charlotte’s Web, Cannatonic, etc. It is both the THC and the CBD that appear to be used in the protocol and both cannabinoids are the ones shown to have anti-cancerous effects according to Rick Simpson and other studies. Although I could not find online information on what ratio or percentage of the cannabinoids Rick Simpson oils test for, the assumption is that their ratios are similar to the good Indica concentrates with 2% to 20% CBD and THC over 50%..

How much Rick Simpson Oil is to be consumed per day?

The protocol calls for 1 GRAM to 1.5 GRAMS per day. That’s a lot! And that answers my question about concentrate-based edibles or tinctures and why they may not be comparable in medicinal contents to Rick Simpson Oil. For example, I picked up some 1:1 ratio concentrate based candies and to get to 1 GRAM, someone would have to eat 21 of them in a day. That is a lot and long drawn out process as well as more expensive. Given that 1 GRAM is a lot the recommendation is to build up a tolerance and take the dosage before bed to avoid psychoactive side effects Another issues is that depending on state limits making one’s own oil may not provide for enough for a 30 day dosage. For example, in Arizona, the limit is basically 5 ounces a month, which could be 15 to 20 Grams of oil. That is only 50 to 70% of the dosage needed. On the other hand, purchasing already made Rick Simpson Oil from dispensaries allows patients to stay within their limit easily.

Does Rick Simpson Oil still work if the patient is also undergoing chemotherapy treatments?

Not really. In speaking with dispensaries, the RSO protocol is not as effective because the chemotherapy is lowering the body’s immune system, while the medical cannabis is being used to improve the body’s immune system and get cells, including cancer cells to act properly. Attempting both at the same time my be wasteful and I was told patients who do the chemotherapies often use that time to build up their tolerance to cannabis and use it to help with the side effects. Then after the chemotherapy they increase their dosage to the 1 Gram per day amount.

Have medical marijuana dispensaries seen patients personally actually get better by using Rick Simpson Oil?

Yes. Dispensary workers shared stories of people with Liver Cancers, inoperable brain cancers, and other cancers who used the Rick Simpson Protocol and got better. I also read stories about patients who could no longer do the conventional therapies and turned to RSO who got better. However, this information I thought, was not widely documented. Even though the Cure Your Own Cancer Site offered some good testimonials. I had a desire more to hear stories from local patients, I think because it made it feel more real for me.

Now I was also warned at dispensaries that they also saw patients who didn’t get better and that they do not always know all the details on what patients are doing or not doing to get healthy either through conventional medicine, how they are using the cannabis, or other lifestyle changes like diet.

For me, this lack of really well documented patient testimonials inspired me to make sure that our AllBud site includes patient testimonials soon.

Does it matter how Rick Simpson Oil is consumed?

Yes, the recommendation is to ingest the oil usually through a capsule because it is processed through the appropriate organs to get the most out of the medical cannabis. Vaporizing it can also be beneficial and potentially more so for those with lung related cancers, but ingesting is still the primary recommendation.

Where can I get Rick Simpson Oil?

I was surprised to find that Rick Simpson Oil was hard to find in medical marijuana dispensaries in Arizona. There were plenty of other concentrated oils or waxes on the markets, but they still called for vaporizing. And even through there are concentrate capsules on the market, they are far from the 1 GRAM amounts. I did find some dispensaries in my area carrying product labeled as RSO, but it lacked test results and was labeled as topical only which confused me. I was a bit unclear if these were marketing angles or the actual proper dosages of THC and CBD made in accordance with RSO protocol. After a bit more digging, I learned that the restriction to topical use was just a matter of MMJ licensing restricting only edible producers to market products for ingestion. I was also told that the lab test results for the RSO on the Arizona market should be out next week (update to come). However, through online research I found that Arizona was one of many medical marijuana states that seemed to lack having RSO carries as product on the market. So what are the other options? If patients want it exactly how Rick Simpson used it, then they either make it at home or connect with a caregiver or another patient (if their state allows for that) to produce the oil after they have purchased large quantities of the cannabis. Depending on the state’s regulations, some dispensaries can create custom solutions for patients or work as an intermediary between patient-to-patient transactions and help patients get in touch with the right people.

I highly recommend anyone who is looking for similar information to visit his or her local dispensary or dispensaries and get a personal consultation as well as discuss matters with their doctors and other patients directly to determine the approach and methods best for them when looking to include high doses of marijuana into their health regimen.

I hope soon that I’ll be able to share a personal testimonial and success story with my loved one and their recovery from cancer with cannabis. Finally, an extra thanks to the Desert Bloom team and Kyle at The Green Halo for hearing and helping me out.