Hello Energetic Adverturers....

This topic has been a long brewing topic for me as a person, therapist and of educator. Being a child of the 70's and especially the 80's, I grew up with the "War on Drugs" and "Just Say No" and was taught and told that Marijuana is a gateway drug to more addictive recreational drugs. 

I remember literally freaking out when I was first offered Marijuana, and told a close friend of mine " I can't believe they are doing that right out in the open..."

Marijuana and Massage Therapy in some circles have been holding hands for decades. Some therapists in their off hours using it to meditate, and relax.  I have never quite understood this practice as it just doesn't make sense to me.

I have had to advice many students over the years to not mix the two especially in a professional setting.

I even had former students come up to me after they graduated and confessed, "You know when you thought I was always tired in class, I had actually been smoking pot."

My personal opinion has always been what you choose to do in your personal time is your business, as long as you are not practicing under the influence and possibly endangering a client, which is not only unprofessional but also illegal.

Now of course we have the changing landscape and reputation of this medicinal plant. With more and more states legalizing medical marijuana, and even some legalizing recreational use. We are starting to see a huge cavalcade of products that contain portions of the plant.

Among those are massage creams, oils and balms for pain relief.  So now we, as an industry, and as professionals have to weigh in on the subject.

In the current August 2017 issue of Les Nouvelles Esthetiques and Spa magazine, There is a huge article called " The Rise of Hemp and Cannabis in the Spa, by Aurora Solis.  (www.LNEonline.com)

The article discusses how different hydro, massage and body treatments are incorporating parts of the hemp and marijuana plants. 

So here are some basics on the products:

The active ingrediants in these products are THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (Cannabinoids) . These are the ingrediants that give you the euphoric feeling.

Now in Florida because of current prevailing laws the CBD products are mainly dervied from the Hemp plant. This keeps their THC & CBD percentage of around .3%

In states like California where marijuana has been legalized, the CBD oil is derived from the marijuana plant and the percentage is up to 25% which is what gives the person the "high"

So now we have to really start paying close attention to how this growing, no pun intended, trend affects how we perform our profession of healing.

It is only a matter of time before CBD products derived from marijuana make their way to the massage trade shows and into our spas and lives.

Let me know your thoughts?