Ok so I recently underwent a knee replacement surgery. This was a planned surgery, so I grew some Harlequin strain for this. The harvest was great quality and organically grown.
Still, experimenting with CBD, I tried taking some orally vs making a balm.
To be honest, the balm wins hands down!
I also infused some lemon verbena and arthritis herb into the oil at the same time, which I did very slowly in a crock pot. I also infused in some fresh ginger root, which is a great circulatory herb and promotes healing.
I also added some essential oils to the balm. About 4% in fact, because they are good oils. I used eucalyptus, lavender, rosemary, sage and clary sage. This, combined with the CBD, and I added around 4grams of THC as well, since this also gives good pain relief. The final smell of this cream was just divine. (anecdote. Ketamine is still used for treating many kinds of severe neuropathic pain, but can also be applied topically, eg burns)
Now I am normally a hard person to please, but this has a great effect within 10 to 15 minutes. The only thing I needed to do was repeat the applications every couple of hours.
But knee replacement is quite a painful surgery, and while Ive still needed some opiates, this stuff is quite simply the best arthritis cream I have ever used.
I also made some for my mum, who has a bad frozen shoulder, with great results.
So for those with arthritis and joint pain, who maybe did not get good results with oral CBD might want to consider this.
BTW I did not go with the 1/3 cup of olive oil in the recipe. I had enough CBD/THC oil to make this straight up.
Im going with Blue dream for my next grow, so Ill experiment with that one as well. How to Make Homemade Cannabis Salve (CBD or THC) ~ Homestead and Chill
I make pretty much the same thing and it works great!
I also had my knee replaced recently and this really helped.
What strain did you use? did you grow or purchase the cbd?
Do you know the shelf life for something like this?
Well, it’s a 100 % oil formulation so no need for preservative, although one could use some if you wanted a shelf life of more than a year.
You could add some Vitamin E which would help it last longer, but I would say that, if your technique is good, you are using clean jars and technique, it should last a year. You could also add a preservative such as Naticide. Despite its name, its 100% plant based, but its expensive.
I use dark glass jars which I put through dishwasher first.
Then all my equipment is cleaned and wiped with hydrogen peroxide prior to use.
I bought the CBD weed online and I grew several different indica dominant strains for the thc.
I also grew some Blueberry CBD from ILGM,about 6 oz. but haven’t used it yet.
Cool. Ive got plenty of Harlequin seeds, and found it an easy plant grow as well (im a beginner). Im growing blue dream when my grow tent is ready (over next week or so).
A few of my friends are asking for the cream!
I’ll have to grow more next time! I got 2oz from my plant, but I was quite happy as it was late in the season when I put the seed in.
Late to this thread, but this might help some…
Last winter my husband got interested in growing marijuana. A young friend gave him lots of advice and about 2 ounces of mystery trim. We decarbed some of the trim and infused it into some coconut oil.
Since coconut oil is mostly solid most of the time, I used it as a salve on my arthritic feet. Instant relief! Certainly as effective as Voltaren gel.
Maybe essential oils and other herbs would enhance the effect, but trim leaves work well on their own 
I have 2 ounces of CBD hemp flower that I was going to throw/give away and came here to research making salves, so this was a 2 for one post for me. Thanks!