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Root Ball Medicine for Pain, Inflammation and More?

Douglas.Curtis

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
I recently listened to an excellent podcast on the subject of using cannabis roots medicinally. I'm really impressed with Shango and how well he runs his podcast "Shaping Fire." I've enjoyed quite a few episodes as I've run through them the last month or so.
Shaping Fire Ep. 26 - Cannabis Root Ball Medicine with guest Natasha Ryz, PhD

Natasha Ryz co-wrote a paper on the history of root-ball medicine and possible uses. I have yet to read it, but it's definitely on my list for the near future. The information from the podcast alone has me taking a good long second look at roots.
Introduction

The cannabis plant is known for its multiple uses: the leaves, flowers, seeds, stalks, and resin glands have all been exploited for food, fuel, fiber, medicine, and other uses. One of the first mentions of the medical use of cannabis root was by the Roman historian, Pliny the Elder, who wrote in his Natural Histories that “a decoction of the root in water relaxes contractions of the joints and cures gout and similar maladies.”1 By the latter part of 17th century, various physicians and herbalists recommended cannabis root to treat fever,2,3 inflammation,4–9 gout, arthritis, and joint pain,1,5,6,8,10–12 as well as skin burns5,8,10 and hard tumors.6–8 There are also accounts of cannabis root being used to treat postpartum hemorrhage,13 difficult child labor,14 sexually transmitted disease,15 and gastrointestinal activity16,17 and infection.3,8 Despite a long history of therapeutic use (Table 1), the roots of cannabis plants have been largely ignored in modern medical research and practice.
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Quick takeaways:


  • Cannabis is great at phytoremediation, make sure your root zone is free of toxins, heavy metals, excess elements, etc. Hydro may be the easiest way to produce clean roots.
  • Roots are tough to chop up. lol (yeah, they are!)
  • Most information known is on topical applications for pain and inflammation.
  • Topicals of only root preparations do not trigger drug test failures.
  • Various extraction and preparation methods work.
  • Some information is available on edible/ingestion uses.
  • Mentions of the use for gout, fever, inflammation, arthritis, joint pain, skin burns and what were referred to as "hard tumors" (possibly cancer tumors?)
  • Additional references have been made to treating postpartum hemorrhage, difficult child labor, STDs, gastrointestinal activity and infection

I'm definitely interested in reducing inflammation and pain, especially targeting locally with a topical. :) I've experienced gout years ago, but have had no issues since discovering it's completely food related.

I'll be doing an olive-oil/water extraction this week and posting the results. :) Got roots??
 
MrBungle

MrBungle

Well-known member
I have actually cold extracted cleaned, and dried roots in the past, it takes a long time ( like 8 weeks) There is a faster way but it requires heat and more attention.......

The first time I tried to make it I left some roots exposed in air on the top of the mason jar, and it went rancid.

Second time I chopped up the roots a bit more, and filled the jar all the way with oil to prevent oxidation, and it was successful... (I used grapeseed oil)

We made a lavender balm with it, and there were reports coming back with some promising results, from people who tried it, but I kind of just stopped doing it after some time (was a lot of work).. I think I still have some of the cold extracted oil somewhere in my closet..
 
Douglas.Curtis

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
MrBungle

MrBungle

Well-known member
I bookmarked the site I used to make it, but it was no longer available... so I looked around.. and I think my terminology was wrong.. its not called cold extracted oil, it is an oil infusion... The directions for solar infused oils in this site are closest to the directions I followed for my root oil
 
Douglas.Curtis

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
MrBungle said:
I bookmarked the site I used to make it, but it was no longer available... so I looked around.. and I think my terminology was wrong.. its not called cold extracted oil, it is an oil infusion... The directions for solar infused oils in this site are closest to the directions I followed for my root oil
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Awesome, thanks! :)

I just washed a 3gallon bucket of soil/roots. What a pain. :( I'm definitely using clean hydro roots when I can. Easy rinse and on to processing. heheheh Crock pot is already cooking, so it looks like I'm sort of using the quick method mentioned. :) Planning on hot water washing a few times, then freezing to get the last of the water out.

I'm low on CBD these days, so pain relief will be very welcome. lol
 
Douglas.Curtis

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
Rinsing Dirt Roots the Easy? Way
This is the method I used to clean soil roots. It may be a little quicker and easier than other methods I've heard people using. I've been transplanting soil to hydro and hydro to soil for over a decade, so this isn't really anything new for me. :)

Buckets
Use two buckets of the appropriate size for your root ball. I used 5 gallon buckets for a root ball from a 3 gallon pot. It was a bit of a tight squeeze, but everything worked out in the end.

Initial Breaking of the Root Ball
(This part is new to me, usually I gently tickle all the soil off the roots for transplanting. lol)

  • Fill the first bucket with tepid water and your root ball
  • Let the root ball soak until moist
  • Cut or tear out chunks of the root ball and pinch them underwater, to break up the soil in them
  • Swish the chunk of roots around to get most of the loose soil to rinse out
  • Squeeze the soil/water out of the chunk and toss it in the other bucket
  • Repeat this until the root ball is gone
Understanding The Physics Saves Time
You now have a bucket of soil/roots on the bottom and soil/roots floating at the top. Roots sink and float up slower than soil particles, use this to your advantage. When you agitate the top mix of soil and roots, the soil will float up first and the roots will form a loose mat underneat this layer. The same happens with the bottom, with the soil dropping fast and the roots making a loose mat on top.


  • Stir the floating mass of soil bits and roots so it mixes with the water in the middle of the bucket
  • Let it sit for a few seconds
  • Put your hand through the floating layer and gently scrape the root buildup from the bottom of the floating soil mat
  • Squeeze the soil/water out of the mass and toss it in the other bucket
  • Repeat until you're only grabbing floating soil
  • Stir up the bottom layer of soil/roots and let it sit for a minute
  • Gently scrape the loose mat of roots off of the bottom soil layer
  • Squeeze the soil/water out of it and toss it in the other bucket
  • Repeat until only soil is left

I repeated these steps through 6 total rinses. I then tore the roots up by hand, picking out the larger bits of leftover soil, and put them in a crock pot.

I added about 3/4ths of a cup of olive oil and topped it up with water. I put it on high for an hour, and it's been on low overnight about 18hrs now. I just checked the temp and it's 210F... Ouch!?!? I don't remember anything about heat limits or minimums, so I hope I didn't cook anything.

When it cools down to working temp I'll be using a garlic press to squeeze the roots out (Tedious, I know, but I don't have a potato ricer). I'm also planning on cooking them again for a few hours with another 3/4ths cup of olive oil. See if the second extraction works as well, better, weaker, not at all?

:tiphat:
 
ReikoX

ReikoX

Knight of the BlackSvn
Nice write up. I've been using cannabis roots in my topicals for a while now. People seem to love it!
 
aridbud

aridbud

automeister
ICMag Donor
Veteran
Yeah, it's tedious alright. Ugh! Helps wrapping in cheese cloth when simmering in oil/water. I think you lose it's therapeutic magic if cooked at too high a heat.

We just use old stock or males for our balm, adding arnica and calendula both anti-inflammatory to our salve/balm.

Cannabis root do seem to include some possible health benefits, the alkaloids in its contents may be toxic when used in excess. If you are planning on using this root, it is worth consulting an expert or doctor before taking regular or large doses.....or cut it with oil, other ingredients.

Dried powdered roots can be used as topical, as well.

Arnica, to me, is far more beneficial....just in the use we've had in roots.
 
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ReikoX

ReikoX

Knight of the BlackSvn
Douglas.Curtis said:
Thank you :)

How do you process them, may I ask? What benefits do they speak of the most? :D
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I rinse the roots, dry them on newspaper, chop them up. I put them in a crock pot and add coconut oil until covered. Cook on low 12-24 hours. I then strain and use this as a base for my topicals. I add some activated THC, essential oils, aloe gel, and natural bee's wax.

The most common benefit is pain relief in the feet after a long day.
 
aridbud

aridbud

automeister
ICMag Donor
Veteran
ReikoX said:
I rinse the roots, dry them on newspaper, chop them up. I put them in a crock pot and add coconut oil until covered. Cook on low 12-24 hours. I then strain and use this as a base for my topicals. I add some activated THC, essential oils, aloe gel, and natural bee's wax.

The most common benefit is pain relief in the feet after a long day.
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Excellent!
 
Douglas.Curtis

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
Awesome, thanks!

That was my only current root ball for a few weeks. lol I sure hope I didn't burn the good stuff out. So no water, just oil, thanks ReikoX. This should save me quite a bit of 'washing' time with water rinses. lol

I'm only going for topicals at this point, so if anyone has more info on ingestion methods I'm all ears. :)
 
Douglas.Curtis

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
I guess I didn't burn all the medicine out, it actually works. I used it for two days on my hip and lower spine and my pain went down. It wasn't immediate, but it was noticeable a few hours later and the next day.

My first thought is it's like some of the other medicinal properties of cannabis. It works better when you use them every day. :)

Since I started with only about 3/4ths of a cup of oil, I diluted some with additional olive oil. Helped my feet too, so I'm going to go make more now. :) I've kept the pressed roots in the freezer and am doing a second, oil-only extraction today using a pressure cooker for about 20 minutes at 15psi. (At some point this will have to be done with measured portions. lol)
 
ReikoX

ReikoX

Knight of the BlackSvn
So glad you got relief. Did you add any canabinoids or was it only the roots? Any additional essential oils?
 
Douglas.Curtis

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
ReikoX said:
So glad you got relief. Did you add any canabinoids or was it only the roots? Any additional essential oils?
Click to expand...
Just roots, and yes I added some lemon oil and frankincense to speed absorption. I applied some of the new mix a few hours ago and it's working well. :)

Without cannabinoids, it's non-regulated. This is very good right now. :D
 
Douglas.Curtis

Douglas.Curtis

Autistic Diplomat in Training
Ok, so I finally got around to pressure cooking some roots.

I washed and then mostly dried them, then they went in the freezer for over a week. Pulled them out yesterday, chopped up a handful with scissors and put them in a jar with oil. I did not pack the roots in and used enough oil to cover them a few mm's deep.

Ok, so... WOW! No, seriously, this is rather amazing. :) It has completely removed most of my pain, leaving only a the deep pain in my hip. Verrry nice. :) I applied it last night around 8pm, and the pain is still much reduced. Very nice indeed.

About 45 minutes at 15psi, then slowly turning the heat down over 15 minutes before turning off completely.
The lid vacuum sealed and the jar sat on the counter until it cooled down.
I used a garlic press to get the oil from the root insides for the initial test.
Today I used a wheat grass, hand-crank juicer to press the rest of the roots.

Any suggestions on a simple, low waste method to filter out the root bits? I was thinking cheesecloth, but it would absorb too much oil?
 
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