Hello, friends of The Stoney Moose!
Today we are here to talk about CANNABINOIDS! We will talk about the differences between THC and CBD and introduce you to a few cannabinoids you may not have heard of before. Let’s get started!
THC (AKA tetrahydrocannabinol) – THC is definitely the most well-known cannabinoid and certainly the most popular. Mostly due to how it is the most psychoactive cannabinoid, which is to say everyone loves it because it gets you hiiiiigh. But many people are not aware of the various medicinal benefits of THC. It is anti-inflammatory, sleep aid, appetite stimulant, analgesic (pain killer), fights nausea, anti-convulsant (relieves spasms, such as seizures and cramps), muscle relaxant, and protects the nervous system. Many people focus on THC as something fun for a good time and although that is true it can have immensely helpful medicinal benefits for lots of different conditions.
CBD (aka cannabidiol) – CBD is also fantastic for many, many conditions but it has what some consider to be a benefit: it is non-psychoactive. It also has a myriad of additional medicinal benefits that THC lacks, including helping regulate blood sugar, improving circulation, it is anti-anxiety, it is anti-psychotic, and it helps stimulate bone growth. CBD is great for treating many conditions while retaining a clear head. It can also help counteract the anxiety associated with being too high from consuming too much THC. For this reason, I like to keep something with high CBD, usually an edible or a vape, handy in case I need to bring myself down if I get too high. Although getting high is super fun, the medicinal benefits of CBD should not be discounted and I highly encourage folks to give it a try.
CBN (aka cannabinol) – CBN is what THC turns into when it ages and/or oxidizes. Although it has been rumored to be super sedative recent research has found that it is actually not as sedative as previously thought and it is likely either the combination of the CBN and THC or the terpenes that are present that make older cannabis more sedative. Isolating and extracting the CBN from cannabis has shown a myriad of other health benefits but being ultra-sedative is unfortunately not one of them. New studies have shown that CBN may be a powerful antibacterial and may help combat bacterial infections that are antibiotic resistant. Other studies have shown CBN’s benefits as a neuroprotectant (protects the neurons from injury or degeneration), an appetite stimulant, an anti-inflammatory, and that it may help relieve ocular pressure in glaucoma patients.
CBG (aka cannabigerol) – CBG is the building block for both THC and CBD. As the enzymes are exposed to light and nutrients in the growth cycle the CBG will turn into CBD and THC. Certain strains can be bred or their growth cycles abbreviated to make for strains that are higher in CBG. As is common with other cannabinoids, there is a great deal of medicinal benefit contained in CBG. Like CBN, it may be anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, antibacterial, an appetite stimulant, and may relieve intraocular pressure to treat conditions like glaucoma. It is also showing strong promise as a fighter against certain types of cancer. It may also inhibit muscle contractions.
A note on legalization: The information we have on cannabinoids is just the tip of the cannabis iceberg! As we grow closer to legalizing cannabis we are learning more and more about the medicinal benefits of what this magical plant may hold. Vote on legalizing cannabis and vote for candidates who support legalization. The information we learn from finally being able to properly study cannabis may save all of our lives some day.
A note on the “Entourage Effect”: Prominent cannabis scientist Dr. Ethan Russo has a theory called the “entourage effect”, which posits that the various cannabinoids and terpenes in cannabis work better together than they do separately. Which is to say, you get more medicinal benefit from all of the cannabinoids in the plant boosting each other’s healing properties than by isolating one cannabinoid or terpene. Considering the most effective cannabis product created, Rick Simpson Oil (also known as RSO or WPE, which stands for whole plant extract), is made with the whole plant and not just isolated part this may indeed be true.
Thanks again for reading and look forward to next week when we talk TERPENES!
