Topical Cannabis Healing Salve
by 99%
Editor’s note: We have just run across another thread on this topic and highly recommend you check this one out too: Coconut Cannabis Salve. In the comments section, additional ingredients are discussed. We further recommend looking at this recipe for ideas. ( The Holy Anointing Oil used by Jesus is incredibly powerful, perhaps some of the ingredients actually increase absorption. )
The hemp salve is a universal healing preparation with multiple effects. It is combining the effects of an antibiotic ointment with the effects of a salve efficiently relieving arthritic and rheumatism pains. Among others, it has proven to be extremely efficient for the treatment of burns (even of 2nd degree), certain types of eczemas, psoriasis and fungus. *Just pay attention to one thing – the salve should never be used on fresh bleeding wounds!
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Recipe via NORML – Jeana Goodwin’s Cannabis Salve Recipe
Editor’s Notes
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For lip balm, take a few teaspoons of the canna-coconut oil while it’s still hot and mix with about 1/4th to 1/5th the amount of melted beeswax, adding the oil from 1 vitamin E tablet.
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If you use smoking-quality bud, one batch of the oil can make skin cream, lip balm AND chocolate medicine or other edibles. (We never waste a cannabinoid!)
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Save the strained plant matter, reheat in a pan with more coconut oil, enough to moisten and make into a very wet paste. Add 1 bar Ghiradelli 60% Cocoa per 1/8th cup plant matter. You can usually melt the chocolate by taking pan off of the heat, and pressing each piece against the bottom and sides of pan. Careful, too much heat can burn the chocolate; usually the heat from the hot oil is enough to melt the chocolate. Add shelled Hemp Seeds from the health food store, chopped Macadamia nuts or toasted almonds (masks any crunchies from the bud). Chill in greased pan.
A doctor’s note on Cannabis Salve:
Cannabinoids and possibly other healing components of the plant are absorbed directly through the skin; the anti-inflammatory properties are outstanding, reducing recovery time from injuries and promoting healing of lesions. Topical cannabis has also been used by my lupus patients and rheumatoid arthritis patients to increase the function of joints and decrease nodule formation. – Frank Lucido, MD
Some background and uses list from Hemp Info:
Cannabis can be used for the fabrication of various medicinal preparations. One of the most powerful hemp preparations is the hemp [cannabis/marijuana] salve. Its efficiency was proven already in the 50s at the Olomouc University Hospital, where Prof. Jan Kabelik carried out his famous research on the antibacterial effects of cannabis indica.
About the history of hemp salve
One of the hospital pathologists cut his finger during an autopsy, bacteria resistant to antibiotics infected the wound and it seemed that an amputation was going to be inevitable. Then someone had the idea to ask for help Prof. Kabelik, who was known for his research on the medicinal use of cannabis. [Recommended: Integral text of the Study - PDF] He applied his hemp salve and two days later the wound was already healing and the amputation was avoided.
Due to the fact that in my country is the preparation of medicines on the basis of cannabis illegal, it was not possible to make any official analyses or clinical experiments. So I had to collect the testimonies of my friends and many other persons, who over the years used this salve for the treatment of their diseases and health problems. The hemp salve is a universal healing preparation with multiple effects. It is combining the effects of an antibiotic ointment with the effects of a salve efficiently relieving arthritic and rheumatism pains. Among others, it has proven to be extremely efficient for the treatment of burns (even of 2nd degree), certain types of eczemas, psoriasis and fungus. *Just pay attention to one thing – the salve should never be used on fresh bleeding wounds!
Some healing or relieving effects of the salve
- anti-inflammatory effects
- analgesic effects
- relaxing effects on muscles and other body tissues
- muciparous decongesting effects
- regenerative effects on body tissues
Which diseases the salve heals or relieves as a complementary medicine
- all kinds of superficial wounds, cuts, acne pimples, furuncles, nail incarnations, corns, certain nail fungus
- ragged commissure of lips, fever blisters, herpes
- certain types of dermatitis (including atopical) and psoriasis
- rheumatism and arthritic pains (up to the 2nd degree of arthritis)
- torticollis, back pains, muscular pains and cramps, sprains and other contusions
- phlebitis, venous ulcerations
- hemorrhoids
- menstruation pains
- cold and sore throat, bronchitis
- asthmatic problems with breathing
- chronical inflammation of larynx (application in the form of a Priessnitz compress)
- migraine, head pains
Research on the anti-inflammatory effects of topical cannabis
“Topical Pot: Skin allergies may be the next reason to use marijuana”
Scientists have long suspected that marijuana, used for recreational purposes and to help fight chronic pain, nausea and even some mental disorders like anxiety and depression, also had anti-inflammatory effects in the body.
Now they think they know why.
In a study published in the current issue of the journal Science, researchers show exactly how they think that works, elucidating how the body’s own cannabinoids, compounds that are similar to the ones found in marijuana, reduce inflammation.
Mice had a harder time healing from wounds caused by ear tags used to identify them when researchers blocked their internal cannabinoids, said Dr. Meliha Karsak, lead author and scientist in molecular neurobiology at the University of Bonn in Germany. Cannabinoids are involved in many of the body’s daily functions, scientists believe, but they’re still trying to figure out how.
Mice also healed faster from skin allergies with topical THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana and other plants, she said.
Dr. Frank Lucido, a Berkeley physician who was not involved in the study but regularly recommends medical marijuana, said the plant’s anti-inflammatory effects didn’t surprise him. He has had patients who say their psoriasis, an immune disease that affects the skin and joints, and asthma get better when they smoke marijuana.
In the 1980s, scientists discovered receptors in the body that respond to active compounds in cannabis, Karsak said. Once activated with THC and other chemicals from marijuana, the receptors had effects downstream, for instance changing a person’s mood and perception. Since then, two main receptors have been studied: One is more prevalent in the central nervous system, the other in the periphery.
The one in the periphery seems to respond to cannabinoids in inflammation and is found in cells of the immune system, said Dr. Donald Abrams, a San Francisco General Hospital physician who has studied the effects of marijuana use in HIV patients.
“Most people have believed for some time that the cannabinoid system is involved in modulating the immune system,” he said.
Further reading
Cannabis based salve experiments
Medicated Cannabis Salve (and other Cannabis recipes)
Making your own skin balms, salves and ointments
I have been using this salve for 2 years. it works great for burns and we add it to hemp butter (purschased at the BODY SHOP)
We use it on mom face with had skin cancer from too many years in the sun with no protection . This salve makes your skin so soft and more elastic it is a great product
i am wondering if making a strong THC infused salve, oil or cream to use for massage on patients for chronic pain would also leave the patient feeling stoned?
Hi there,
The Cannabinoids, including THC (which makes you high), are absorbed through the skin, though to a far less degree than with eating or smoking.
If you are using on isolated parts of the body, like shoulders, places that ache, as opposed to a full body massage with the ointment, your patient should not feel anything. [One caution though, using around the eyes will make the eyes look very stoned, red, glassy, and vision is blurry for about an hour.] The pain relief is astonishing.
Hope this helps!
where can i purchase this ointment in LA
I would try any dispensary. They often have coconut oil infused with cannabis that would work perfectly.
Made this today for my husband with MS with HORRIBLE neuropathy. It worked amazingly well, and he had INSTANT pain relief. I loved the fool-proof instructions. Thanks for publishing this!!
Nothing could delight us more – nothing worse than pain and nothing better than instant pain relief, no?
We had the same experience. It’s hard to believe how fast and how well this works until you try it for yourself!
I mixed mine with Hemp seed oil and later it became coagulated (little round bumps). Anyone experience this and is there any way to prevent this from happening and still get the benefits of the Hemp seed oil?
I wonder if adding Hemp seed oil is redundant in this recipe?
I have heard that hemp seed oil does not mix well with cannabis extract.
It seems to be quite a different oil to olive oil, etc. It is also unsuitable for heating.
Topical cannabis and cannabis skincare products really do work without leaving someone with the inebriating feeling of smoked or ingested cannabis. Cannabis works as an anti-inflammatory (for sore muscles and joint pain) also as an anti-bacterial treatment. Try a little cannabis oil mixed with jojoba or apricot kernel in the hair to treat dandruff and dry itchy scalp. The possibilities are really endless…
Hi, so i was curious to the measurements in grams I would need of cannabis if I were using smoking quality bud for this recipe.
When using cannabis salve for arthritis, would the thc be aborbed and detected in a urine analysis?
My kneejerk answer is an emphatic YES – the fact that you can feel “high” just by using cannabis oil topically tells me the cannabinoids like THC do get into the system, and could be detected. Finding a source to support this, however, is not so easy. I am hearing good things about herbal remedies to clean out the system in the case of a urine test. These can be found at health food stores. I will look around for some data on your question and get back to you when (if) there is any to be found
The answer is yes. I, unfortunately, may have found this out the hard way. I have chronic pain, and was using medical marijuana, but really unable to function on it. Therefore, I was referred to a chronic pain dr. They perform random urine screens, and I tested positive. I have not ingested cannabis orally in months, but I have continued to use this THC spray followed by lotion because it helps a great deal with the bone pain, and DOES NOT effect my mental status.
Of course, the dr said there is no way this would make my test positive, so I look like a complete idiot. I wish I had a way to prove it!
Has anybody else had experience with testing positive when using topicals?
How offten were you using the cannabis topical? I used a topical twice this last weekend and have a UA for probation today and I am worried it will test positive…I do not smoke or ingest THC but the topical helps me in so many ways…you can email me at aikengarrett@yahoo.com for your replay if you can. It would be greatly appriciated.
The topical that I used was developed with enough THC to be beneficial topically but developed also not to have any psychological effect regardless of how often that you used it. As far a showing up on a test I couldn’t say for sure. Best way to find out would be to ask the most knowledgable person at the dispensary that you bought it from and see what they advise. If you made the salve yourself that could be a question mark. I would think that the salve will penetrate and some percentage of the canabis will enter the bloodstream. I would ask someone that has a considerable amount of experience with using it or knows many clients that use topicals.
I was wondering since you can use the salve for anti inflammatory purposes would it do anything to help with bug bites?
It would be WONDERFUL for bug bites. It would immediately take away the pain or itching, then the redness and swelling. As for general inflammation, that is one of it’s primary effects. I’ve heard wonderful things about it’s use for arthritis & sprains.
DOC GREEN’S THERAPEUTIC HEALING CREAM is an effective and delightful topical lotion with potent infusion of cannabis medicine. It works on a variety of aches, muscle injury, spasms, and cramps, and is available at dispensaries throughout California. Doc Green’s Therapeutic Healing Cream is a potent shea butter based marijuana lotion that is not greasy, and absorbs quickly and deeply into the skin. If you are a patient in California you can put DOC GREENS to the test and give us feedback on how it works for your condition. Also, check out some testimonials we have received at http://www.docgreens.org/testimonials Doc Green’s can be contacted at docgreen@docgreens.org, or calling 510-936-2420.
@MrBaby
We have conducted urine tests on people using copious amounts of our products (and no other cannabis) and have had only negative test results. It would appear that topical use results in a different metabolic pathway and therefore different breakdown compounds than the usual drug tests. I believe a blood test would test positive, but the standard cheap urine test kits do not appear to. Don’t take my word for it, more testing is required, just wanting to pass on what I know.
Hey guys,
I just want to say i have made a recipe similar to this with a few additions, my reason for making this was for my Grandmother. I am an avid smoker and tried to convince my grandma of the wonderful and healing effects of cannabis. She was always one to say “dope is dope is dope is dope! I dont want any of that shit, the smell gives me a headache!”
I tried for years to get her to eat it, as I am a gifted cook and have TONS of cannibus recipes. Nothing worked until she had to stop taking Celebrex due to the bleeding ulcers it was causing, the downside to this was her arthritis was so bad, she could bearly hold a glass to get a drink of water… My grandma is 65 years old and uses her “Green Dragon Balm” everyday, havent had any Celebrex for five months and she doesnt miss it at all, her only regret was she didnt try it sooner!
I am a BIG advocate for medical marijuana, and plan on making this for friends and family, it is safe NATURAL and i dont know about you, but i would rather test positive for pot used medically, than a bleeding ulcer or any other horrid side effect from “medicine” that claims to help.
Do yourself a favor, go au naturale’ and save yourself from the millions of side effects and irreversable damage to your liver and kidneys from so called “medicine”!
Thanks for listening
Kitty
Ps. I used 14 oz coconut oil to 15 grams of “green” hope this helps!
What are the risks of your recipie to a pregnant woman? Tylenol doest help with my bad carple tunnel and I cant take anything else. Please help!
Pregers in Pain
I suffer from bad carple tunnel syndrome and want to use the cream but I may be pregnant and am worried to use is. Any thoughts?
Pregers in pain
My completely unprofessional thoughts: using enough salve to stop the wrist pain will not cause any problems. When it’s localized use, you use so little that i cannot imagine it showing up on a drug test. It certainly won’t hurt the baby. Not according to the research i have seen. The salve is a very powerful analgesic.
I wish you a wonderful pregnancy with as little pain as possible ~
where can I purchase cannabis oil as shown by Rick Simpson
I don’t know. But there is a lot of information about how to make the oil available on the internet.
I have been entertaining making a cannabis oil based salve like the one described in this article for a long standing skin issue that I have had for about twenty years. It was diagnosed as an epidermal hyperplasia. I’ve used several natural oinlments in recent years that were mixed by my holistic docter; some were beneficial but did not cure the lesion. The salve described in this article seems compelling but looks as if it may be more geared towards helping arthritis and joint pain. Although it does say that it made benefit psorisis, which involves an overgrow of cells. I would like to get some information as to whether this salve could potentially heal my condition or if there is another salve, or perhaps just the cannabis oil, sold at a dispensary in California (Simi Valley or Los Angeles area) that may heal this kind of skin problem. I have heard that the oil itself can heal a skin cancer in certail you tube videos. Any information would be appreciated.
View our latest post from yesterday (“Cannabis,without a doubt, cures cancer”)… Although it is geared towards heaing cancer, there are a series of pictures of a man’s skin lesion (due to cancer) just disappearing – the healing is miraculous – and he used “hash oil”. They mention several names that it goes by. You can get it at your local dispensary. Take pictures of the healing – it would be neat to document!
I believe I seen this you tube video made by david triplett. So you recommend using the hash oil itself vice the salve. I was researching dispensaries and the oil is very expensive ($30-50 per gram). I will be using it on a localized area, but if I have to use it long term, do you know of anyway to avoid the great costs?
Supposedly you see results in 3-4 weeks. I bet you wouldn’t go through a jar in that time. I have a buddy trying this on a spot on his nose, after one night he saw changes… and the next night, even more – just like in the video. My opinion is, $30 is nothing especially if compared to conventional medicine (that usually doesn’t work).
You can always start with storebought, and take your time researching how to do it yourself if you end up needing more.
One thing for localized use – to hold the oil in place ( tends to drip as ot gets warm) you could melt a tiny amount of beeswax with the oil. Maybe ask at the dispensary of they’ve got some with beeswax, or if they have suggestions. Otherwise, just melt it down over extremely low heat (teflon is fine) ans know that the beeswax goes a really long way. Do a small batch at first to get the idea.
The hash oil and the salve is pretty much the same thing – the idea is to get the cannabinoids infused into an oil. Adding beeswax to the oil makes salve.
If the dispensary doesn’t have beeswax, is there somewhere else to purchase beeswax? Will using burt’s beeswax at the local health food store work also?
You can gets beeswax at a health food store. I know whole Foods has it. But Burt’s Bees has other stuff in it, I wouldn’t go for that.
I got the beeswax at a health food store. Also, located a cannabis salve at a dispensary in Oakland which I’m using now. It contains cannabis, a couple other herbs, olive oil and beeswax. I added a gram of hash oil to the salve to give it some more cannabis content. I’m a couple days into using it; initially, it definitely reduces infammation in the area, maybe better than any other salve or natural product that I’ve used.
Can’t say i’m surprised! Keep us posted, this is great news!
I have had atopic dermatitis (eczema) my whole life. Told that it would get better as I aged, I’m now 23 and it’s the worst it has ever been. I have been battling a flare up for almost 8 weeks that has covered the majority of my body in itchy, red, dry skin. Including persistent weeping on my face and neck. I’ve been fighting it off with a plant-based, gluten/dairy free diet and rigorous all-natural skincare routine. Natural healing is very slow. My body is used to steroid creams and this eczema just won’t go away on its own. It’s been so persistent and intense that I started getting depressed about it and there were days when I wouldn’t get out of bed, just slept, so I wouldn’t have to deal with all the dead skin, itchiness, oozing, and pain.
I made this salve four days ago and the first time I put it on I actually cried a little because it was so relieving. It feels SO different from anything I’ve ever used before. It’s cooling and calming. In four days it has:
–significantly reduced redness
–improved weeping areas (they are nearly gone)
–reduced skin dryness
I made half of this recipe and added a few drops of tea tree oil because I was concerned about skin infection. All the areas I was concerned about have cleared. When it runs out I’m going to make a new batch without, because it might be a bit drying.
I have no questions, I just wanted to share my use of this salve with others and express my sincere gratitude to you for sharing this recipe. I will be passing it along to others whenever and wherever I can.
Plus, I made the chocolates described at the bottom with the leftover bud and they were a big hit with friends
Thank you thank you thank you!! Keep putting this information out there.
Just one tiny note on the tea tree oil: I recently used a lip balm with tea tree oil. It ended up causing a major breakout in tiny blisters, when I finally figured out it was caused by the tea tree oil, I quit and it cleared up in less than 2 days.
Glad you are skipping it next time around. Your story made me cry a little! I am so happy for you! Thanks for sharing.
Just want to let you know that I use the salve on my 7 yr old daughter bcuz her eczema is aweful you do have to rub it in quite a bit to get into the derma. But after 1 day the redness was reduced…then after a wk there were no signs of eczema and no scars or discoleration like u get with rx. I also use it for my neck since I am a spinal cord injury pt. and have 3 pinched nerves and 3 flattened places on my spinal cord…when I use this and drink the tincture I dont need my morphine or norcos…no more internal organ damage….i hope you can benefit from this wonderful plant. blessings
I’ve been a massage therapist for 20 years. I’m now hot on track to creating a line of topicals for my clients, family, and friends. I live in AZ and we’re just in the first steps of legalizing medical use here. It’s my intention to become a certified “caregiver” in the near future. I’ve created a salve for my own personal experiments, and wow! I’m very excited about the possibilities. About 6 months ago, I started having clients ask me about it. Not too surprising, most were and are folks 75 yrs and older… They’re tired of perscription drugs! As posted earlier here, the side effects are making more problems than the initial concern! I’ll stay in touch and share results as they present themselves. I think most of us want as much info as we can get.
One result I’m witness to. Female client. 76 yrs. Arthritis for 40 plus years. Pain so bad she started use of oxy-codone, oxy-cotton, another pain med, anti-depression med, and injections regularly to deal with her pain…. I started making edibles for her, and an infused oil/honey…. Within 3 months, THREE, she’s off all the above medications. This speaks volumns.
nrg
Hi-
I was just wondering how deep it really penetrates? I have deep muscle damage in my back, and my husband has a torn ACL in his knee. We are getting really tired of trying to fight the pain by using things such as ibuprofen or vicodin, and wonder if this salve might help with deep pains.
Thanks in advance for any answers!
It works perfectly for that kind of pain, from personal experience. I don’t know how it could penetrate so deeply, but it does stop deep muscle pain. Maybe it numbs the small, more peripheral nerve endings? Not sure, but I highly recommend giving it a try (if there are no legal constraints).
The ointment that I have isn’t necessarily made for deep penetration into the muscles. There are options at some dispensaries that will carry the cannabis into deeper tissues (muscles and ligaments). The dispensary that I got the cannabis salve also carries a cannabis balm (like tiger balm) that will carry the cannabis into muscles. Also, you can add DMSO gel and mix it with a cannabis salve. The DMSO will act as a carrier and allow the salve to penetrate. You can purchase DMSO at a local health food store (Whole Foods); it’s natural and comes in liquid and gel form. DMSO is a powerful penetrator, so you may want to get a recommendation from the store as to how much to use.
Hello! Thank you for this recipe. I used this, only adding a little peppermint oil. It adds another nice scent to the coconut (so that it really does not smell of cannabis at all, or at least not strongly), and it gives a nice tingling sensation when first put on which is also helpful to know where you need to rub more in. Within minutes, pain relief was felt and tight muscles loosened, and has continued for hours. I can’t say anything as to whether it makes you feel high or not, though, as I was also making brownies and licked the batter, so I’m a little high from that anyway. However, never have I felt such instantaneous relief from my muscle pain. I’m a long-time advocate and user of medical marijuana, but have never tried a topical salve. I certainly will be doing so in the future! I used mostly trimmings but also some smokable bud, in the same proportion as I’ve always used for cannabutter. I’m very happy with the result, and will be making a second batch for gifts. I don’t want to give away all that I have on hand!
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This sounds exactly what I´ve been looking for. I suffer from Sebborhoeic dermatitis. Have noticed how smoking weed keeps me from blushing and remove all the pain.
Do anyone have experice with the effects of this salve on seb derm?
A question on step 4: Is the ratio between canna-coconut oil and beeswas 5:1 or do I add all of the canna-coco to 1 ounce beeswax?
Also, is it preferable to use high quality buds or leaves?
Thanks a lot for this!
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I got some beeswax from a health food store (Lassens/thousand oaks, ca) in my area. It was pure beeswax and a large brick of it, way more than you’ll need. Burts has additives in it.