Cannabis is no longer just about getting high. Recreational cannabis use is still the most popular use for cannabis, but the many medicinal effects are starting to outweigh the recreational uses. More and more people are using cannabis for different medical conditions, both mentally and physically.
THC and CBD in your body
THC and CBD are two of the many cannabinoids present in the cannabis plant. The cannabis plant is made up of all different compounds, including cannabinoids and terpenes. Most people know about THC and some people know about CBD, but there are actually over 100 different cannabinoids. These cannabinoids, terpenes, and other compounds work together to provide the different recreational and medicinal effects that many of us know and love.
THC is a psychoactive compound and the cannabinoid responsible for getting you high. This high is a result of THC affecting your endocannabinoid system, more specifically your CB1 receptor.
Now that you know THC is responsible for making you high, you might not be interested in it for medicinal purposes – but that’s one of biggest myths of cannabis today. THC is not only good at getting you high; it also has a wide array of medical benefits. There is still a lot of research being conducted into all the different areas where THC can help, but currently, both mental and physical conditions are being successfully treated using THC.
CBD, on the other hand, is the non-psychoactive one of the two. CBD was discovered as far back as the 1940s, but only now are people starting to realize the great medical potential that this compound has. The fact that it doesn’t get you high, makes it very appealing for patients who aren’t interested in the psychoactive effects of THC. THC and CBD do not have the exact same effects on the endocannabinoid system, but they both work together very well – each benefiting the body in their own way. We’re now going to look at the different physical and mental benefits of THC and CBD, thanks to their effects on the
How do THC and CBD affect your health
THC and CBD only affect your health because they affect your endocannabinoid system. The endocannabinoid system is a system of receptors in our bodies that react to cannabinoids. There’s a lot of debate as to why these receptors are present in our body, but the fact that they are there makes it possible for THC and CBD to be effective medicines.
The two main cannabinoid receptors are CB1 and CB2. These two receptors together cover almost every function in the body and are located throughout our neurological, central nervous, and immune systems. The result is that THC and CBD can effectively be used to treat a host of mental and physical conditions – including those that usually required chronic medicine.
The endocannabinoid receptors react with the different systems in our body to affect how they operate. There’s still a lot of research being conducted on the exact effects on our body, for example, for many years it was ‘known’ that THC effects your CB1 and CB2 receptors, but that CBD only effects your CB2 receptors. However, this has since been debunked. CBD does in fact also affect our CB1 receptors, just in a different way than THC. CBD actually effects the way our CB1 receptors react to the THC, limiting the psychoactive effects. This is one way in which our knowledge of THC and CBD has changed, opening up a whole new door of medical possibilities.
Now that you know how THC and CBD effect your health, you can start to look at the different physical and mental conditions that can be treated using these amazing compounds.
Physical benefits of THC and CBD
- THC and CBD for Pain
Pain is one of the leading medicinal uses of THC and CBD. These compounds work great at alleviating pain because they work both at reducing inflammation and limiting the neurological transmission of pain. By reacting with the endocannabinoid system, the experience of pain can be directly experienced.
Many people throughout the world are suffering from pain and chronic pain. This effects day-to-day living immensely and can uproot entire family systems. Modern pain medication is ineffective and does not provide much long-term relief. By using THC and CBD, pain relief can be effective and can provide the relief necessary for people to continue with their day-to-day lives.
When it comes to pain, the central nervous system (CNS) plays a key role in the experience. The endocannabinoid receptors present throughout this system react when exposed to THC and CBD, which in turn affects the pain signal traveling throughout the CNS. This was confirmed by an FDA-approved trial as far back as 2013, which showed various improvements when patients experiencing pain received TH and CBD.
If you suffer from pain and want to experience a non-psychoactive way of relieving it, you can try one of the various CBD products they have on the market. There are so many different ways to consume CBD, including a wide range of CBD edibles like the Twisted Extracts CBD Pineapple Jelly Bomb which contains 80 mg of naturally-derived CBD. If you don’t mind THC, then THC Gummies are a great way to relieve the pain and enjoy the high. Enjoy a single gummy for 20mg of THC, or up to 10 gummies per pack for a total dose of 200 mg.
- THC and CBD for Inflammation
Inflammation goes hand-in-hand with pain for most parts. One of the great benefits of THC and CBD is that they work well as an anti-pain and anti-inflammatory drug. The effects on the endocannabinoid receptors effectively reduce inflammation with assists in reducing overall pain in the injured area.
Studies have found that when THC and CBD are combined they have the strongest anti-pain and anti-inflammatory properties, further supporting the entourage effect. The entourage effect states that the medicinal properties of THC and CBD are enhanced when combined with the different cannabinoids and terpenes present in the cannabis plant.
- THC and CBD for Cancer
One of the main medicinal uses of THC and CBD is for cancer treatment. THC and CBD are great compounds to be using when suffering from cancer. They might not cure your cancer, but they do have a wide array of positive effects on the body.
Firstly, THC and CBD have shown to limit the growth of cancer cells by effectively boosting the bodies defenses against them – due to their reaction with our central nervous and immune systems. Not only this, but THC and CBD have been shown to have anti-cancer properties, actually suggesting that these compounds can effectively ben used to kill cancerous cells in the body.
The three main ways in which THC and CBD affect cancer cells in your body are apoptosis, blocking blood vessel growth, and stopping the cells from metastasizing. Apoptosis is where the cells are told to destroy themselves – it’s like mind control, but where the cells are told to self-destruct. Secondly, by stopping blood vessel growth, cancerous cells are starved of resources, making it nearly impossible to spread. Finally, by stopping the cells from metastasizing, the cancer cells ability to spread to other areas of the body is greatly reduced. The results of these studies are still inconclusive and THC and CBD cannot be considered a miracle drop that will somehow cure you of cancer, but that being said there are many medicinal benefits of THC and CBD not only for the side effects of cancer but for the side-effects from the treatment of cancer.
One of the biggest problems with cancer is various side-effects. Nausea, diarrhea, lack of appetite, headaches, exposure to sickness, you name it and cancer (or the treatment thereof) puts you at risk of it. THC and CBD can help with most of, if not all, of the side effects from cancer and any treatment that you may receive.
You also don’t have to worry about THC and CBD reacting negatively with your chemotherapy or radiation treatment and they are actually a great way to reduce the negative effects on your body from these harsh treatments. Chemo and radiation can leave your body in a very fragile place where you experience different negative medical conditions. These conditions can be successfully reduced using THC and CBD, so if you want to reduce nausea and get your appetite back after a long cancer-treatment session, try some THC or CBD biscuits and you’ll be feeling better in no time.
Most people treating cancer with THC and CBD use a variety of tinctures and oils. The price of the products varies based on the quality and compounds present. You can find tinctures that contain an equal ratio of 1:1 THC and CBD, like MOTA Tincture that goes up to 1000mg per vial; or ones that put more emphasis on CBD, like Miss Envy 3:1 Tincture
- THC and CBD for Nausea and Vomiting
THC has been effectively used as an anti-nausea medication since the 1980s. There’s actually an FDA-approved drug that contains THC. But before you say that’s impossible, the THC that they use is isolated and synthetic, so it’s been made suitable for medicinal use.
Every year millions of people suffer from nausea, especially women during their menstrual cycles and cancer patients being treated using chemo or radiation. It can be difficult to effectively treat nausea, but THC and CBD are one of the best medicines on the market. If you don’t turn to Marinol, the synthetic THC drug approved by the FDA, you can look at a variety of edibles or even actual cannabis flower to help treat your nausea. You can even find cannabis-infused tea, which combines the soothing benefits of tea with the medicinal benefits of THC and CBD. Temple Tea Egyptian Chamomile contains 120 mg of THC and 20 mg of CBD over the 12 services. This is a mild product that is great for those suffering from nausea or insomnia thanks to the presence of chamomile.
- THC and CBD Insomnia
Need a good night’s rest? Why not end your evening with a Twisted Extracts Cara-Melts. These sweets use indica to provide an edible that is suitable for those suffering from insomnia. Indica and sativa each have their own medical strong points and indica is a champion at helping you sleep. Be careful about using these products during the day, because you might find yourself falling asleep during work. Both THC and CBD will help with your insomnia and some products are also paired with melatonin to further improve your sleep.
Mental Benefits of THC and CBD
- Anti-psychosis
Not only does THC and CBD benefit you on a physical level, but the mental benefits of THC and CBD are on the rise. One surprising area is in anti-psychosis treatment. More and more studies are revealing the beneficial effects of THC and CBD on patients suffering from psychosis. THC, the psychoactive cannabinoid, has been effective in minute doses, but CBD is by far the more effective of the two.
CBD has anti-psychoactive properties. As mentioned earlier, CBD reacts with the CB1 receptors in the brain, but they react with them differently than with THC. Where THC causes a psychoactive reactive, CBD actually limits psychoactive reactions in the brain. CBD has been shown to reduce all psychoactive activity, not only that caused by THC. This means that psychotic diseases like bipolar disorder and schizophrenia can be treated using CBD.
- Anxiety and Depression
Anxiety and depression are currently treated with different drugs that have a large list of side-effects. These drugs can cause more damage than good, but they go a long way in treating the dangers of anxiety and depression. Luckily, THC and CBD are here to help. The effects on neurotransmitters have been shown to reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression. THC and CBD are also both effective at treating PTSD, with patients seeing more control and being less prone to violent outbursts. These compounds go a long way in providing medicine that can effectively treat these conditions without providing excessive side-effects.
