How does THC affect the brain?
It is well known that
cannabis use creates a "high" for the user. There is much anecdotal
evidence of the effects: users report feelings of euphoria, increased empathy,
altered physical sensations, increased creativity, insight, metacognition, and
many other deviations from sober brain function. At high doses, some users even
report almost psychedelic experiences.
As more people around the
world continue to legalize and accept cannabis, more and more information is
becoming available about how cannabis actually works. You may already know that
THC (abbreviated from & 9-tetrahydrocannabinol) is the main psychoactive
component of cannabis. This is certainly true, but there are many other
compounds in cannabis that produce their own effects or modify the effects of
other compounds.
THC is the most famous
chemical of the class known as cannabinoids. Cannabis contains more than 113
different cannabinoids, and although none of them have as significant an effect
as THC, many of these compounds can also exert a variety of effects. But how
does THC interact with our brain?
Before the 1980s, scientists
thought that cannabinoids had an effect by interacting with cell membranes.
There are two main types of cannabinoid receptors, known as CB1 and CB2. CB1
receptors can be found in the brain, nervous system, lungs, liver, and kidneys.
CB2 receptors are found in the spleen, immune system, and gastrointestinal
system.
The body produces two natural
chemicals called 2-AG and anandamide, both of which act on CB receptors. This
explains why our bodies can interact with THC and cannabinoids in the first
place: THC is very similar to hanandamide, so it (and the other cannabinoids)
can bind to CB receptors. It is the differences between THC and the body's
natural cannabinoids (endocannabinoids) that create the aforementioned effects.
However, THC is not the only
important element found in cannabis. CBD, or cannabidiol, is the second most
prevalent cannabinoid found in the marijuana plant. CBD does not have any
psychotropic effects of CBD, but it does affect the effects of the plant. This
is the compound responsible for the cannabis user's tendency to relax, reduce
anxiety and promote sleep. This is also the most useful compound for medical
marijuana use, as CBD has been shown to help with epilepsy, seizures, pain,
inflammation, post-traumatic stress disorder, Crohn's disease, and many more . Satta king
Due to the continued
legitimacy of cannabis, more and more strains of cannabis are becoming
available as growers gain access to larger, more efficient, and more precise
methods of growing, nurturing, and reproducing plants. It is currently possible
(in most areas where cannabis is legal) to purchase high THC strains, high CBD
strains, or a combination of the two. However, there is some evidence that CBD
helps counteract some of the less pleasurable effects of THC, such as temporary
short-term memory loss, so these are worth remembering.
Finally, there is one more
set of compounds that affect how high you will feel when you eat cannabis.
These are terpenes, compounds that provide a base for essential oils that can
be derived from various plants. It is the compounds that give different plants
different tastes and smells. They are present in all kinds of plants, and
cannabis plants produce more than 100 different terpenes. These compounds
interact with THC and CBD in different ways: some terpenes potentiate the
effects of the two dominant compounds, while others tend to react to some
degree, reducing the overall effect. In one way or another, the complex
relationship between all these compounds is called the conflict effect.
It is the terpenes that give
the different types of cannabis a different smell, as well as the small
variations in the effect. Leafly has helpful charts that contain information on
some of the most popular terpenes, including their effects and smells. With a
combination of research and some personal experience, you can learn to identify
the differences between strains and simply predict their likely effects, based
on their scent.
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