By Troy Ivan
ibc@ichibancrafter.com
Using cannabis to treat medical conditions is gaining popularity and acceptance daily. While smoking, vaping, edibles, and topical applications are very familiar, suppositories are still in the shadows and a relatively unknown alternative. After learning about the success many claim to have with suppositories, I brought this helpful information to the masses. I quickly learned, and was shocked to find, that the effectiveness of cannabis oil (CO) suppositories was a topic of heated debate! Suddenly, my idea of a quick and easy informational post ballooned into an amateur research exercise and science project to identify points in the discussion I could confirm, dispel facts that didn’t check out, and develop a better understanding of the topic in general. In this post, I endeavor to explain many things about CO suppositories: what the debate over effectiveness is about, possible benefits, physiology involved, personal testing experience, what my experience proved to me, and what a blood test showed about absorption.
WHAT’S THE DEBATE ALL ABOUT?
Medication administered rectally with suppositories is used in general medicine to provide a rapid, efficient uptake and absorption into the circulatory system. CO suppository advocates propose that the same applies to the efficiency of THC uptake, and it can reach up to 70% with suppositories, while oral ingestion and smoking top out at around 20%. The other side of the argument contends that the high uptake efficiency attributed to suppository medication only occurs when the delivery medium is water soluble or is aided by an additive to increase absorption. Accordingly, oil-based material alone can’t be absorbed through the thick mucus and wall of the lower rectum. Therefore, the naysayers say homemade CO and coconut oil suppositories can’t be absorbed in any meaningful concentrations or at all. Whether or not oil-based compounds like CO alone can be efficiently absorbed through the lower rectum is the crux of the debate.
WHAT WOULD BE THE BENEFITS OF CO SUPPORITORIES?
There are two key attractive benefits of suppository use. One benefit is the high efficiency and bioavailability of rectally administered meds. If the absorption efficiency can reach 50%-70%, the cost-effectiveness per CO volume is desirable and would provide substantially more medicine for the same money. Moreover, the ability to deliver a higher dosage of CO to the blood and areas requiring treatment would be significantly enhanced.
Second, and more complex, is the benefit of avoiding most, or all, psychoactive effects of THC. The psychoactive effects from smoking or orally ingesting CO can be so devastating for some users that they’d rather forgo using cannabis despite any potential it may have in their treatment. If large amounts of THC could be absorbed without psychoactive effects, many people who currently can’t medicate with CO could then enjoy its healing powers.
The proponents and doubters in this debate interpret the lack of psychoactive effects of THC very differently. Proponents say if a suppository is administered correctly in the lower section of the rectum, the THC is absorbed in a way that avoids psychoactive effects. The other side of the debate points to the lack of psychoactive effects as proof that CO is not being absorbed and distributed through the circulatory system. I needed a lot more information because I had zero knowledge concerning the physiology of the rectum or how it functions within the circulatory system, so I started searching for answers and asking lots of questions.
RECTAL PHYSIOLOGY, BLOOD FLOW, AND DRAINAGE WITH RESPECT TO SUPPOSITORY ABSORBTION, METABOLISM AND THC INDUCED PSYCHOACTIVITY?
The physiology, drainage, and blood flow away from the rectum differs between the upper and lower sections. Understanding the differences between the upper 1/3rd and lower 2/3rds of the rectum clarifies why a CO suppository in the lower rectum could circumvent the onset of psychoactive effects brought on by THC absorption.
The upper 1/3rd of the rectum is part of the hepatic portal system where nutrients are absorbed, and drainage occurs through the portal vein. The blood is transported to the liver and metabolized by the liver, then onto the heart for general distribution to the body. When delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) passes through the liver, some is metabolized into the more potent and psychoactive 11-hydroxy-THC. Oral consumption of CO follows this same flow through the liver, called first-pass metabolism. Higher pressure in the upper region of the rectum more readily facilitates oil-based medicine absorption. It can be tested by putting some CO way up there and letting the psychoactive circus begin.
The lower 2/3rds function much differently. This section drains to the internal iliac vein, which bypasses the liver and is delivered to the heart’s right atrium to join the systemic circulation and off to the body. Advocates of the CO suppositories say that by missing the liver this way, the lack of THC metabolites significantly limits or eliminates the psychoactive effects of THC. Contrarily, the naysayers argue that the pressure in this area is too low, the mucus wall too dense for oil-based medication to be absorbed, and therefore, the lack of psychoactive effect is due to the medicine not being absorbed in any meaningful amount.
BOTH SIDES MAKING SENSE?
I was conflicted because I wanted suppositories to be the missing link to healthy consumption of CO. However, both sides of the argument were making sense, and I needed to find more reliable information to base a conclusion and then share it with those who may be as confused as me. In searching for information and guidance, I found plenty of anecdotal third-party stories, testimonials, and a few often-referenced studies that were either flawed or introduced elements that made them incompatible with analysis of the use of suppositories made with only CO and coconut oil. I was so deep in hearsay and tainted information the only way to form an opinion about this subject was to test it on myself.
WHAT I WANTED TO LEARN BY TESTING
First, I wanted to determine what kind of physical or psychoactive effects I would experience using CO suppositories. Second, I wanted to find a definitive way to establish if THC was absorbed into the bloodstream, and if it was absorbed, what was the concentration and constituent makeup?
PLAN FOR TESTING
The goal for pre-test preparation was to cleanse my blood of any residual THC. THC for a single use is estimated to stay in the blood for 12-24 hours, while those who use cannabis regularly can expect TCH to remain in the blood for nearly a week. To ensure there would be no trace of THC in my blood before the experiment, I abstained from cannabis for 2-weeks. Clean blood was crucial for the accuracy of the cannabinoids blood screen (test code 8421) to evaluate THC absorption and shed light on any other helpful information that might indicate CO efficiency. Abstaining ahead of the testing would also increase sensitivity to any physical or psychoactive effects from the suppository testing.
The execution stage of the experiment would include taking one 2 ml 20 mg THC suppository the evening before the blood test to evaluate any physical and psychoactive effects. At 8 a.m. the following day, I planned to take a second 2 ml 20 mg suppository to reevaluate and compare the effects to the night before. Finally, I would conclude the experiment with a blood test 4 hours later to catch any current THC absorbed near its peak and any residual THC metabolites from the night before.
MAKING SUPPOSITORIES
Before starting to test myself, I had to learn to make suppositories. In preparation, I ordered 2 ml disposable suppository molds from Amazon. Once the molds arrived, I made 0.8 g of CO using the Source (making FECO with the Source by ExtractCraft), combined it with 50 g of coconut oil (the type that returns to solid form at room temperature), filled 28 disposable suppository molds, then put the molds in the freezer to solidify and store. Assuming the CO I made was approximately 70% THC, the suppositories were 20 mg each. For clarity, as in the linked FECO-making instructions, I used decarboxylated material to increase the bioavailability of THC. I was happy that making the suppositories myself was pleasantly simple and rewarding.
(Side note: suppository molds are awesome for storage! You can make a bunch of frozen, pre-measured doses for oral consumption or cooking. The frozen coconut oil and CO in that shape are easy to handle and use.)
EXECUTION OF THE TESTING
With cleansed, THC-free blood, it was time for truth, an unbridled search for scientific knowledge, and putting something where nothing has ever been put before. At 6 p.m. I put on the recommended latex glove, inserted the suppository just inside the sphincter, no more than 1 ½ inches inside, making sure it stayed in the lower area of the rectum, laid on the bed for a few minutes hoping I did it correctly and very thankful the kids didn’t come barging in at the most inopportune time. The process was straightforward and much less stressful than I anticipated. After a few minutes, I stood up, half expecting something to come shooting out, but much to my relief, everything seemed very normal.
After 10 minutes, the effects showed the first signs of effectiveness with an almost imperceptible body-calming sensation. By the 30-minute mark, a full body calming was in full effect. It wasn’t a strong, stony body high, but more like the comforting feeling of being tension-free and wrapped in a warm blanket. I also recognized a sensation in my mouth and jaw that I often identify with cannabis consumption. There was an interesting, very slight feeling creeping up the back of my neck that felt like the CO was flirting with imposing a head-high, but it held short and left me clear-headed the entire time. My body was high, my psyche was soothed, and my ability to reason was untouched. Finally, when I turned in for the evening, I was well-relaxed and had a solid, serene night’s sleep. I woke up easily the next morning and felt great with no hangover effects often associated with edibles. After getting around and completing my morning duties, it was time for the 8 a.m. dose. I followed the same procedure as the previous night and was once again surprised by how easy the process was. The effects of the morning dose were an exact repeat of the night before. It made for a pleasant, relaxed, clear-headed, and pain-free morning. Around noon (4 hours later), my blood was drawn for the cannabinoids blood screening. A little later, in the early afternoon, I became tired, and at 2 p.m. I took one of the best naps of my life. I woke up from the nap feeling great, clear-headed, and with all discernable sensations of the CO gone. From my body’s feedback, there was no doubt in my mind that CO had been absorbed and had worked its magic on me. With the blood test finished, the experiment was complete, and the only thing left to do was to wait 7-10 days for the results.
BLOOD TEST
I was very excited anticipating the blood test results because regardless of what the results indicated, it would be very interesting. If the test showed significant uptake and absorption of THC, it meant many people could feel confident that CO suppositories did, in fact, effectively deliver the medicine. On the other hand, if the results indicated negligible or no absorption, we would have a mystery on our hands to explain what was responsible for the physical effects experienced during testing?
Seven days after having my blood drawn for the test, I received the results:
DELTA 9 THC………………………NONE DETECTED < 1.0 MCG/L
11 HYDROXY DELTA 9 THC……NONE DETECTED < 1.0 MCG/L
11 NOR 9 CARBOXY THC………6.38 MCG/L
CONCLUSIONS
First, I could identify definite physical effects of the CO suppositories but no psychoactive effects at all. The physical effects I identified left little doubt that absorption of the CO took place. How much absorption took place was hard to judge because I’ve never experienced a body high without a head high. My experience with the disjointed body-high supports the idea that when administered in the lower area of the rectum, any THC absorbed bypasses the first-pass metabolism, misses the liver, and therefore has little to no psychoactive effect. My unscientific support of this idea comes from the imbalance of what my body and head experienced. Thus, I reasoned if the distribution of THC was in balance, like with smoked or orally ingested CO, I believe I would’ve had a strong head-high to match what was going on with my body.
Second, I needed to establish if THC was absorbed into the bloodstream and, if it was, the concentration and constituent makeup. Unfortunately, the blood test results contradicted my unscientific conclusions based on physical experience alone. The blood test showed that 4 hours after using the 20 mg CO suppository made with coconut oil, there was no detectable THC or its first metabolite, 11-hydroxy-THC. There was a low level of 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC, the second metabolite, which could be minor evidence of absorption or simply residual THC remaining from more than 2-weeks before the testing. Because delta-9 THC and 11-hydroxy-delta-9 were not detected, the origin of the low-level presence of 11-nor-9 carboxy THC can be debated and is worthy of some follow-up research. Next time, a blood test should be added to the experiment before using any CO to establish a reliable benchmark against the post-consumption results to be compared for absolute certainty of the metabolite origin.
Unfortunately, my conclusion is almost as confusing as my understanding of the topic when I began this project. I think it’s clear that it would be advantageous to use CO suppositories for people with medical conditions requiring treatment in the pelvic area, where the suppository can deliver the CO directly into contact with the needed treatment area. For those treating pain, stress, depression, and general well-being and who would like to forego the head-high associated with THC, I highly recommend trying CO suppositories and judging the effectiveness for yourself. It gets more complicated because of the seriousness of severe illnesses like cancer, where high THC penetration levels are required, but the blood test results say that isn’t happening. I still think it’s worth using and probably best used in combination with edible forms of CO, which may increase THC absorption without increased psychoactive effects. It’s obvious that something is happening, but unfortunately, at this point, it’s impossible to say what that is and to what degree it is beneficial.
If you found this post interesting, please visit my main page www.extractcrafter.com to read and share some more of my work.
STAY SAFE, HEALTHY, FREE AND LIFTED
NOTES: I highly encourage everyone to give suppositories a try and let me know about your experiences. Everything in this blog is simply my opinion and based on my personal experimentation and not as a medical professional. Any recommendations I make should not be taken as medical advice and before following any recommendations in this blog you must consult with your doctor. Don’t consume anything you are not familiar with and hasn’t been cleared with your doctor. It’s imperative that you know and abide by the laws governing your area concerning cannabis and any processing of cannabis.
CHECKOUT THE ICHIBAN’S EXTRACTION LOUNGE GROUP ON FACEBOOK
I was taking medical cannabis orally/sublingual for several months and was hospitalized with cyclical vomiting and severe nausea.
They discovered I got an ulcer from this method. Then I switched to suppositories with molds. Next, I tried tinctures diluted with MCT oil by mouth after consulting with an MD. I got cyclical vomiting and was hospitalized . Then I tried the tinctures with olive oil and had two more episodes with cyclical vomiting. I am currently using suppositories with my tinctures out in gel caps. I have severe insomnia affected by weather changes . This method has worked the best helping my sleep. It’s not perfect but most nights I fall asleep quicker and fall back asleep when I wake up. When taking it orally , it could take me 3-5 hours to fall asleep. I also am using medical cannabis for metastatic breast cancer with bone, lung and liver Mets . I am thriving almost 4 years now.
It’s nice to hear that you have finally found a viable solution for taking high concentrations of THC. Have you found that taking also high concentrations of CBD helps offset the psychoactive effects of THC?
I am trying to buy THC and CBD to fight cancers of kidney and bladder and would appreciate getting some guidance as to the concentrations of THC and CBD one must absorb each day, as I hear that as much as 1 gram of THC is needed…
Thanks in advance…
Hi Frank
I’m doing the same routine for lung cancer. 60g in 90 days is what I believe to be the ‘magic’ number. I’m making my first batch of suppostitories tonight!
Good luck with whatever you do!
I strongly recommend you use cocoa butter rather than coconut oil as the base material for rectal administration. It is easy to handle, melts just below body temperature, stores well in fridge or freezer and has demonstrated significant benefits for patients here in British Columbia, Canada.
What are the significant benefits and how were they measured?
Have personally observed benefits across numerous conditions and symptoms with rectal administration. Conditions as diverse as pain, insomnia, epilepsy and arthritis. However, significant success with various cancers including prostate, colon, bladder, lung and brain. The metrics were patients that had staged cancer and in some cases given weeks or months to live and they are still with us and are thriving.
David, Please elaborate. What is benefit of Cocoa Butter over coconut oil? What significant benefits are you seeing in patients?
David how do u make up a batch exactly quantity of oil to coconut ratio can u advise? I have been using syringe method but I want to make up batches it will be more convenient. Thanks
There is so much debate. Just to confirm you have had success with suppository for cancer say in the brain? Many people claim it won’t do any good that way and must be taken orally.
Great article. Perhaps worrisome, though. I’m thinking you may have overestimated the amount of THC as I’ve been regularly testing oils and most are in the mid-40s to low-50s% delta 9. If true would this mean a ‘threshold’ reading by blood test was not reached?
I’m inserting 400 mg delta 9 plus 150 mg CBD isolate in cocoa butter twice daily for the big c with a PET scan scheduled at the end of the month… I suppose this will be the more significant test. But now I’m thinking of testing my blood (though most tests seem to be for urine) as you are completely correct in raising the questions put forth in the article. Thank you.
peter how do you make your suppositories I have some thc oil and am just starting out my husband has colon cancer and we are trying to avoid surgery .Is there anyone out there that has seen positive results I am desperate for news
Good day. For me, I have been taking suppositories since late December. I had a PET Scan last week and expect the results on 5 March. I mix hot cocoa butter with a weighed amount of oil, after thorough mixing, I use a syringe to fill suppository shells, then allow to cool in the fridge.
Hope you’re doing well. Your message was more than 5 months ago. If you have tried oil for colorectal cancer then if you did it correctly you know if it has helped you or not.
Take cocoa butter, heat it above 38 degrees Celsius, add oil, a weighed amount, mix thoroughly, pour into moulds and allow to cool.
I will post after 5 Mar ‘19 a summary of my PET scan results. SolidOilSupplements Suppositories since late Dec ‘18 for Squamous Cell Colorectal Cancer, last shown in the paraaortic lymph nodes. Good luck
After consuming half the protocol of oil by suppositories my oncologist has withdrawn the offer of chemotherapy. The trajectory of my cancer has slowly dramatically. It’s not over for me, I will continue the protocol, but I received positive news. Good luck to you.
I want to share my experience with cannabis suppositories. I have fibromyalgia. I need lots of cannabis to keep it under control. Lots. Before I was diagnosed, I suffered from depression, heat and cold sensitivity, anxiety, pain, muscle spasms, inflammation, stiffness, TMJ, restless legs, insomnia and severely reduced range of motion. I am a retired nursing professor and now an organic farmer. I worked very hard to find strains that would help my depression and anxiety, which takes a lot of time, effort and money to go through so many strains and have to throw so many away when they don’t work. I found a few strains that helped, strains that were balanced between THC and CBD. I don’t especially like being high because it gets in the way of what I need to do every day. At night I vape a very strong indica like MK Ultra, Bubba Kush, Death Bubba, or Afghani. These strains work very well to get me to sleep and keep me there.
For daytime, I settled on Durban Poison, but vaping left me couch locked for hours even though it works for depression and anxiety. I tried eating the buds and that was pretty good, less high, but after a year of doing that, my bowels went into overdrive and I was having to visit the bathroom 6-8 times a day. I couldn’t be very far away from a bathroom for any length of time. This was unacceptable, so I tried making my own infusions with coconut oil and rubbing it on my skin. Sucess! Works for my symptoms and my bowels went back to normal in one day. Still gets me high, though. Then I had what I now know is a flare-up of my fibromyalgia and everything went to hell. I didn’t know what was going on but I couldn’t move I was in so much pain. When I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I knew I had to get more cannabis into myself somehow. There’s no test. There’s no cure. There are meds, but they don’t work. I tripled my dose of topical coconut oil infusion and found Harlequin did the best for my symptoms, followed by Cannatonic. Not perfect, but pretty good. The problem was that I had to use so much that I was a walking slime ball, covered with grease and high as hell. Also, as any soapmaker will tell you, coconut oil is very drying to the skin. So I was a grease ball with dry and itchy skin. Yuck.
I was at my wit’s end until I thought of suppositories. I have used them at times in the past to deal with hemorrhoids after the birth of my daughter, so I have no problem with this method. This is not a big deal, people. I looked everywhere for recipes and found the best one on wakeandbake.co (look for her blog post called “Backdoor Medicine”) and I tried it. Each batch I made stronger than the last to build up my confidence. I am now putting 15 grams of Harlequin or Cannatonic into one cup of oil – half coconut oil and half cocoa butter and infusing it in a modified Levo II. Strain and pour into molds and refrigerate. Then I’m simply bending way over in the bathroom with a latex finger cot on my index finger and up she goes. Stand up, pull up your pants and get back to work. NO HIGH! Complete relief of my symptoms! Three times a day. Yes, I still need the indica for sleep, but that’s fine, I can make it through until the morning that way.
This method is a life saver. I can soak up so much cannabis this way and not feel high at all. I have my life back. I have no idea what metabolites are being absorbed this way, but it works for me and until we have more and better research on these topics, we’re on our own.
This experiment and the ensuing discussion are very interesting to me. Thank you to those who have posted their experiences and trials. Best of luck to all of you. I have fibromyalgia and need a lot of cannabis to manage my symptoms. But I don’t like the head high that comes with it. And I’m terrified of developing the cyclical vomiting thing because I vomit very easily (when pregnant with my daughter I threw up so often my dog started following me around). As a preface to this I will tell you that I am a retired nursing professor in British Columbia.
I tried topicals but I wasn’t absorbing enough to make a difference. When I doubled the dose of cannabis in the topicals I ran out of non-oily skin to put it on. I was a walking slime ball all day long. I was wishing for transdermal patches, but none of them have enough medicine in them to do me any good. Plus they are always the wrong strain. So I tried making my own. Here’s how: Look through your phone book and find a pharmacy that states they are a “compounding pharmacy.” That means they “compound” medicine for individual patients. In order to do that, the pharmacist buys “transdermal compound” as a base for adding any kind of medicine the patient needs to be rubbed into skin, such as medication for arthritis. It’s a white cream like hand lotion. They buy it by the case. I tried to buy some online and they wouldn’t sell it to me because I’m not a pharmacy. Maybe some suppliers will do so, but I couldn’t find any. I did, however, find a very nice pharmacist who sold me one small plastic jar of it. No ingredients on the label. Smells nice. I know that transdermal compound carries the medicine into your skin, below the epidermis and dermis to the veins (not the arteries because they lie too deep under the surface to be reached by the cream). I have no idea how this works on the chemical level. I know that surface veins carry un-oxygenated blood from your cells back to the heart (not the liver) via the inferior vena cava to be refilled with oxygen and nutrients and pumped back out to the cells again. I tried mixing a bit of my super-strong oil with a tiny bit of the transdermal compound and put it on the inside of my wrist where you can see the veins near the surface. Rub it in until it disappears. Bingo! Works like a dream, but still a head high. I’m not sure why that is because the blood is not going through the liver first. Maybe second time around, I don’t know.
Then I read about suppositories. I read everything I could about them. Now, I’ve given many many suppositories to patients. Some for pain, some for nausea, some for heart meds. I know they work. So I’m not adverse to the idea, but had never done so for myself. I know that the bottom third of the rectum has its venous drainage into the inferior vena cava and goes back directly to the heart. The top two thirds of the rectum has venous drainage into the liver, not the heart, so anything put up that high goes through first pass metabolism just like anything you eat. So I made some suppositories with cocoa butter and tried them. I put a lot of cannabis in these and put them in about an inch. I felt absolutely no head high. I felt warmth starting in my lower abdomen and radiating all the way out to the extremities. The good news is that my fibro symptoms were almost gone and I was not impaired. The bad news is that I had some leakage sometimes (very embarrassing) and eventually started getting irritation of the rectal tissues. I had to stop.
Now I’m back to topicals with transdermal compound. People say you don’t get a head high with topicals. I call bullshit on that one. I once had some RSO (Pink Kush) and put a dose the size of grain of rice on my wrist and added some transdermal compound and rubbed it in. Turned my skin yellow, but I kept rubbing it until it was all absorbed and the colour was gone. Two hours later I was so high I couldn’t move or sleep. I just lay on the couch and watched myself move my fingers around in the air in front of my face. This from a daily user! Another hour and the effect was gone, but my fibro symptoms were relieved for four more hours.
I use Harlequin for daytime. It’s the only one that works for my fibro symptoms. I use a lot of it. I still eat some, I still use topicals. I still vape a strong indica for bedtime (Hash Plant). It took two months for the irritation in my rectum to subside, but if there is another way to make suppositories that will not irritate or leak, I’d try it.
Three days ago I got my Source Turbo. I’ve done five runs with it. This thing is amazing! As Ichiban Crafter says, it’s a game changer. Truly. I can make it thin, I can make it thick. I can make it strong, I can make it weak. It’s not oily when thinned with alcohol, so I can rub it on my skin easily with transdermal compound. I still have more ideas to try with this little appliance, but I’m sold. I had a Magical Butter Machine – didn’t like it. I had a Levo II infuser – didn’t like it. Now I have sold both of them and I have the Source Turbo. I like it. Keep trying things, people. Don’t give up, just try something else. Since prohibition there has been no money for research in this area (that’s changing up here in Canada), but basically we’re on our own. This is citizen-science! Join the fun! Experiment on yourself! Post your results and let everyone know the latest. That way we all benefit. This has been an expensive undertaking for me, but I say it was worth it. Stay lifted. Puff Puff Pass.
I have recurrent pain from a coccyx injury I got from a poorly executed slide into home plate during a pickup softball game about 10 years ago. The pain was excruciating and nothing touched it. The pain management doctor suggested a steroid injection going through the coccyx/sacrum joint from the back, up between the rectum and spine – I just could not see that working, but I could see many ways it could make things worse. So I made some coconut oil suppositories from liquid coconut oil and RSO, hoping to get to the offended nerve through absorption through the rectal wall. Worked great – not high, and not in in pain!
That’s great info, thank you very much for sharing. Any idea how many mg THC put dose?
Question: Rick Simpson did not use coconut oil. He extracted the THC using a solvent like ISO. If you are using RSO in a suppository without oil, wouldn’t the absorption rate go up significantly instead of using coconut oil?
Rick Simpson did a great job promoting, spreading the word, and popularizing oil making, but the one thing we know for sure is he didn’t have all the answers so I don’t think that is a great measure of what to do or not do. What we do know is saturated fats increase the absorption and bioavailability when cannabis oil is consumed orally. The uptake and absorption in suppository form may or may not be different, however, as mentioned in the article it is the mucus membrane and oil components (both the cannabis and the coconut oil) don’t work well together. I don’t think it would inhibit absorption but we don’t really know at this point.
From what I have observed over a few years the use of cocoa butter, rather than coconut oil, is a preferable carrier medium in suppositories.
we used cacao butter infused with RSO to use as a suppository for my wife’s cancer… to hope to increase uptake… but never knew if it worked or not… she passed 2 years ago… the debate is one I read countless times, but the RSO both orally and in suppository form did assist her with appetite, anti-nausea and pain… and overall calming too… I also used an Ultrasonic machine to increase the solution mixing of the 2 components, which was amazing in it’s ability to mix… Very best wishes to you all
Coconut oil has the distinction of being the only oil that can be absorbed without bile…it’s a great carrier oil.
This is important to me because I no longer have a gall bladder, and absorb fats poorly.
Ichiban, Thank you so much for this write-up. I’ve recommended your blog many times on GWE forum for folks who want to make concentrates.
This was a truly enlightening post, and I’m fascinated enough to try it. Gotta get all my stuff together, but I will post my results.
One question: I read somewhere that freezing CO degrades it; is this untrue in your experience? It’s one reason I like to make tincture, because my understanding is that tincture can stay in the freezer indefinitely and be full strength.
Freezing doesn’t really ‘degrade’ it, though its not really necessary. If in an air tight container you can put in a cool dark place in tincture form indefinitely.
I too was lead to believe that the rectum isn’t intended to absorb oil.
I went from taking 800 mg as a suppository to taking it as an oral dose. I was stoned to the bejesus belt, but managed.
It was the only treatment I’d been doing for my cancer.
When I switched to the oral dose, my CEA (tumor marker) spiked! I held the corse for three months, taking it orally.
Finally, I returned to suppository dosing the same amount with mct coconut oil, and my cea came back down. I know for a fact it works for me, I don’t know why.
It could be a physiological thing. I have six inches of colon left (no bag). It’s possible it’s traveling.
Just thought I’d share.
Yes, that is very valuable feedback and thank you.
>>>I was stoned to the bejesus belt
LOL, I’m going to use that one.
Tamera, thanks, great info in your posts!
It might be too late by the time I get a response, but I have to try.
First, fantastic article and comments.
A week and a half ago the veterinary hospital told us our border collie had 2 weeks to live because of the bile duct cancer was all thru her liver. I’ve been giving her thc, cbd, and cbg extracts orally since the diagnosis. We tried chemotherapy pills but they made her too sick and we had to stop.
Did a suppository tonight on her, but it could be too late and if she has another day like today we might have to put her down soon.
My question is if I’m trying to treat bile duct cancer, would suppositories help? Wouldn’t it have to be taken orally so the thc gets into the liver?
That’s the million dollar question and kind of the point of the article. It appears to be doing something, but what and how is yet to be known. THC can become toxic to dogs quite quickly so be careful there. If it were me I would bet on oral delivery before chancing the unknown side of suppositories. I wish I had the answer to make it all work for you but unfortunately I’m looking for those same answers as well. I’m very sorry I’m not more help and my prayers are with you and you pup.
Thanks for your thoughts. I was afraid of how she would respond last night with the rectal injection, so I did not give her an oral does at night like usual. Instead of sleeping the whole night in maybe 2 or 3 positions, she was up and moving around much more than normal.
Today I gave her the rectal does at 11AM. I’ll see how she does, but time the second rectal dose so I can give her the larger oral dose late night.
When things settle down, I’ll do my own oral versus rectal tests and let you know. The hard part will be the washout before the tests.
Rectal use of cannabis is very similar to the Turmeric/Curcumin debate in the medical community. We have been told that because both don’t show up in the blood, that neither works. Now remember folks, they want you to use pharmaceuticals not natural products!
Rectal cannabis use works, I can feel it mentally and physically. The Turmeric/Curcumin turns my brain on. I don’t care what the pharma pushers say!
Good luck to all!
THC is not toxic to dogs, they simply have more receptors. I’ve treated multiple dogs with RSO for a number of conditions and they’ve all done very well. If you give too much, they vomit. That’s it. I did see some ataxia with one of my OS boys, but that might have been from other meds he was on. It’s quite remarkable the number of conditions it treats.
my dad has just been confirmed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. He is on morphine already. I have delta 9 thc 64.8% in a tube and have been told he would need a tube of this week. I was also told to get 1ml suppositories.
Firstly would he be taking just one 1ml suppository a day? I believe i then mix the tube of thc in with coca butter but am not sure of ratios as the tube doesn’t have ml measurements on it so i don’t how many mls is in there and don’t want to give him too much. I was told the whole tube would equate to 3 grain sizes of rice a day so i am guessing it just one suppository a day then. Any answers would be most welcome as i am at a loss on what to do here and want to get it right. He is extremely ill. We never knew he even had cancer let alone stage 4 until 3 weeks ago. Thank you all.
I’m sorry to hear about your father. Are you planning on only giving suppositories? While we know oral ingestion gets THC into the system, suppository absorption is still questionable and quite unknown. If you have a small increments scale (not a typical kitchen scale) that measures down to .01 grams you can use that to measure and somewhat closely estimate 1ml = 1 g, it’s not exact but close. Then each gram is 648 mg of THC. You can use that measurement to decide on the dosage you want to administer
I would love to see blood test results for all cannabinoids that should be present in the particular strain of marijuana after four hours. Could it be possible that THC is not what caused the body sensations, rather other cannabinoid(s) that were along for the butt ride, so to speak? I have tried a CBN tincture specifically made for sleep and body pain. It has very similar-sounding effects on me. I do not particularly care to be ‘high’. I strongly prefer pain relief and healing.
Anything is possible but I highly doubt it. The cannabis strain used was high THC strain and would be the main suspect. Any other minor cannabinoid would have been in too small of concentration for this strong of effect…..I think. Instead, it has been theorized it’s traveling through the lymph system, but that again is pure speculation. Someone will figure it out someday and it’s going to be very interesting.
I think you can make an effective nasal spray to target Blastoma cancer ?
You would have to make a nanoemulsion for it to absorb the soft wet tissue.
I was dosing mine 1part oil to 5parts coco butter. Basically as strong as I could get without compromising the end product. It has to be firm enough to travel . The end product was around 250mg. I felt a warm hug so I knew it was working.
Absolutely no head involvement. A 1:8 ratio will make a much more solid projectile. Play around and see what works. I don’t think you have to worry as much about dosing with suppositories due to the lack of a head high .