Patients new to medical cannabis often begin a journey to discover which strains best meet their needs. Some individuals find that Sativa or hybrid strains effectively address specific symptoms, while others prioritize potency for pain relief.
The cannabis industry has cataloged nearly eight hundred (800) strains of cannabis, including medical marijuana or recreational use hybrids. Each strain boasts unique phenotypes, chemotypes, terpenes, and varying levels of major and minor cannabinoids. Beyond the medicinal properties of cannabis products, some cannabis strains also offer a diverse range of flavors, from sweet and fruity to earthy and diesel-like.
Identifying the suitable strains for symptom management can be time-consuming. How can you recall the name of a strain that provided significant relief? A simple list of favorites may fall short for patients with complex health conditions, as many use two or three different strains for various purposes.
Tetragram goes beyond merely tracking your cannabis purchases; it serves as your personal wellness journal to record and evaluate your personal cannabis experience. Consider it the ultimate cannabis sommelier on your smartphone, helping you track potency, specific strains, and your experiences with each one.
What Does The Tetragram App Provide For Patients?
Tetragram is an innovative journaling app designed by medical marijuana patients to elevate their treatment experience. This cutting-edge tool empowers you to meticulously collect aggregate data and document your cannabis use, helping you uncover the most effective strains for your specific needs.
Within the app, you’ll find intuitive features for logging your consumption, setting personal wellness goals, and monitoring your progress. Explore a vast database of cannabis strains, each accompanied by a detailed rating system for experience, flavor, and appearance.
Patients can capture crucial details such as the various strains they’re using, where they obtained them, and their impact on their symptoms to build a personalized wellness profile. When consumers use medical cannabis, they also want to find the correct dosage or potency for symptom relief.
Your privacy is a top priority with Tetragram, which adheres to HIPAA compliance standards to safeguard your personal information. Tetragram provides dispensaries, healthcare providers, and other key players with access to de-identified, aggregated data that enables a more consultative approach to recommending products.
Why Should You Keep Notes On Your Cannabis Use?
In today’s world of legalized medical cannabis, patients have an unprecedented array of options. While recreational users often seek high potency and strong psychoactive effects, medical cannabis patients have more intricate needs and expectations.
Keeping a cannabis journal offers numerous benefits, such as:
- Maintaining an updated list of strains that work well for you.
- Creating an accurate record of strains and potencies that were ineffective.
- Tracking how much cannabis you consumed and its effects.
When you attend follow-up appointments for your medical cannabis card, sharing your journal with your healthcare provider can be incredibly helpful. Instead of relying on memory, you’ll have precise data at your fingertips.
Sharing this information with your provider can help you get tailored advice on using medical cannabis safely and effectively. You can also show dispensary staff the strains that provided the best results, enabling them to make accurate recommendations and suggest new strains to try.
For patients managing chronic or incurable conditions, the insights from a cannabis journal are invaluable. They can help you address tolerance issues and determine the right time for tolerance breaks, ensuring that cannabis remains effective for your needs.
Information You Can Add To Your Cannabis Journal
Using the Tetragram App, medical cannabis patients can easily make real-time notes on their experiences. When researching strains at your local dispensary, you can quickly log the details into the app.
Beyond the basic information about each strain, some of the most valuable insights come from documenting how each type of cannabis makes you feel.
Here are some key details you can record in your Tetragram App cannabis journal:
- Strain name and potency (THC %)
- Intake method (edible, vaporized, smokable, tablet, tincture, etc.)
- Quantity consumed
- Time of day cannabis was consumed
- Terpenes
- Minor cannabinoid content
- Cannabidiol (CBD) content
- Symptom(s) you aimed to address with the medical cannabis
- Your evaluation of how the strain made you feel
- Identification of any adverse effects (nausea, hyperactivity, paranoia or increased anxiety, excessive sedation, or feelings of low mood)
The Tetragram App empowers patients to use their observations and data to understand which products are most effective and how their bodies react to different strains and potencies. This information can help users select the strains and products that provide the most relief. The app’s easy-to-use digital journal offers a valuable tool for managing and optimizing your medical cannabis journey.
Reviewing Tetragram Data With Your Cannabis Healthcare Provider
Maintaining a journal of your medical cannabis use, including strains, potencies, and other relevant details, is essential for cannabis users. Firstly, tracking the quantity of cannabis consumed helps ensure safe use and prevents the development of dependence. By keeping detailed records, you can monitor your intake and recognize any tendencies toward overuse, allowing for timely adjustments.
Secondly, sharing your cannabis journal with your healthcare provider enables them to assess how effective cannabis is in managing your symptoms. This detailed information allows your doctor to make more informed decisions about your treatment plan, ensuring that your use of cannabis is truly beneficial in alleviating pain or other debilitating symptoms.
Thirdly, documenting the potency of the cannabis you use allows your doctor to provide more precise recommendations regarding the appropriate potencies for your specific symptom management goals. Knowing how different potencies affect your symptoms helps your doctor tailor their advice to your individual needs, optimizing your treatment.
A comprehensive cannabis journal helps identify any adverse effects or strain-specific reactions, promoting a safer treatment approach. Some strains may be good at moderating symptoms of anxiety but not chronic pain, for example.
By keeping a detailed cannabis journal and sharing it with your healthcare provider, you can enhance the safety and effectiveness of your treatment, ultimately leading to better health outcomes.
Tetragram Partner In iCount Veterans Cannabis Survey
Introducing the Tetragram App and the iCount Veterans Cannabis Research Study—a pioneering collaboration exploring cannabis use among American veterans. Through the Tetragram app, veterans meticulously logged their cannabis consumption, documenting strains and potencies and assessing their impact on symptom relief.
This study of the veteran community provides invaluable insights into how our veterans utilize cannabis, particularly its potential benefits in managing conditions such as pain and PTSD and its role in symptom management.
Key insights from the study include:
- 75% of veteran participants identified depression and mood disorders as significant health concerns.
- 74% reported regular struggles with symptoms of anxiety.
- 63% experienced symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Chronic pain management emerged as the primary concern for 48% of participants.
- 37% of veterans reported chronic insomnia.
Moreover, the study highlighted that 25.4% of veterans found cannabis particularly effective for chronic pain management, while 20% noted its beneficial impact on symptoms of depression and low mood. These findings underscore the potential therapeutic value of medical marijuana use for veterans, offering valuable perspectives that could influence future healthcare strategies and policies tailored to their specific needs.
Other data from the study indicated that many veterans are looking for alternatives to conventional pharmaceuticals and prescription medications. For treating long-term or chronic health conditions, patients are aware that some prescription drugs have significant risks of adverse health effects.
Can Retired Veterans Be Prescribed Cannabis Through Veteran’s Affairs?
Medical professionals providing healthcare services through Veteran’s Affairs (VA) are not permitted to recommend or certify patients for medical cannabis. However, the VA has stated that veterans residing in states where medical cannabis has been legalized would not be penalized for having a medical card. Retired veterans can safely use cannabis and CBD-infused items for symptoms without fear of losing their healthcare benefits from the VA.
How To Download The Tetragram App
To experience the Tetragram app firsthand, simply download it for free from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store. For more details, visit the Tetragram website.
Aaron Bloom serves as the CEO, overseeing the mission and growth of DocMJ and Medwell Health and Wellness Centers. Aaron’s passion for improving patients’ lives comes from his background in health care. For more than 20 years, Aaron owned, operated, and represented traditional healthcare organizations. This experience created a passion for finding improved ways to relieve suffering. His goal as CEO is to work daily to relieve all patients who seek better health and wellness through the medicinal benefits of medical cannabis and evidence-based alternative medicines.