Sean Hodge is getting used to the slower pace of Humboldt County, his new home since September. He moved here to start his business, Weedy Oil, which makes organic CBD-rich salves, lip balms, and soaps—products he was inspired to create after experiencing first-hand the healing effects of cannabis.
Hodge credits high-CBD (cannabidiol) and CBN (cannabinol) strains, and his own forays into homemade salves and topicals, with helping him heal after a near-fatal car accident.
Hodge was living in Huntington Beach with his wife and three daughters when, on November 21, 2014, his car was hit head-on by a pickup truck. The truck that hit him was barely damaged; the 17-year-old driving the truck, and the passenger, walked away unhurt.
“It was a life-changing experience,” Hodge said of the accident, which destroyed his car, severed a tendon in his right arm, injured his feet, hips and shoulders, and left him with a severe concussion. He was extracted from the wreck by the Jaws of Life, and for months could not remember anything in a three-day span surrounding the event.
His injuries, his ex-wife Catherine Hodge said, “changed everything for him.”
He was prescribed opiates for the pain. He decided to try medical cannabis, in addition to the prescribed medications, for his pain and post-traumatic stress, and found they had a positive effect. He eventually transitioned to using only cannabis for pain relief—and even used edibles to manage his withdrawal symptoms from the opiates.
He was skeptical at first, not really believing cannabis would help. He said its effectiveness surprised him. Hodge began making his own balms and salves, and took online classes to learn more.
“He’s been able to get off all of the harsh psychoactive drugs that traditional medicine offers,” Catherine Hodge said. The opiates caused “profound change in his personality, for the worse,” she added, but now that he is off of them and using cannabis products, “he’s doing significantly better.”
“Five months ago, I could barely walk,” Hodges said. “Now, I’m running up to three to five miles a day.” Hodge also does yoga 3-4 days a week. He uses his salve before working out, and says that it has helped reduce scarring on his arm, where his tendon was severed. Although he still has mild and subtle aftereffects from his concussion, he said he is learning to be more aware.
“When they talk about (the effects of) concussions, now I know what they mean,” he said. “I had severe PTSD, which the marijuana helped with as well.”
A growing body of research is demonstrating the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties of cannabis, and high-CBD strains in particular. Research has shown cannabinoids to improve recovery time after brain injury, including stress-related trauma such as PTSD.
Hodge grows CBD-rich strain Trident, and others, and uses organic carrier oils and essential oils in his lab-tested salves and balms. “I’m a firm believer in this stuff. It’s amazing,” he said.
For more information about Weedy Oil, email weedyoil420@gmail.com
For more information on the emerging science of cannabiniol and healing, visit www.projectcbd.org
For the latest in scientific research, visit International Cannabinoid Research Society at icrs.co
Written by M. Hansen
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