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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