If you have ever used cannabis or know a close family member or friend who has, then you are probably wondering how this plant causes various effects associated with it, including hunger, happiness, and relaxation. In fact, it is important to know how cannabis works in your body. Why is it important? The understanding will help you to optimize your experience while consuming your weed.
In this article, we will educate you on how cannabis works in your body to produce the effects associated with it. However, we must admit that scientists do not understand everything about weed and how it works in the body. However, here we explore what is known about the inner workings of the body once you inhale or consume marijuana.
Each time you smoke a weed cigarette or consume it in any form, such as through edibles, chemical compounds found in weed get into your body. The most common and important chemical compounds for producing the looked-for effects are CBD and THC. However, over 100 chemical compounds are found in the weed plant.
Once these compounds get into your body, they make their way to the brain and other parts of the body through the bloodstream. However, the method you use to get marijuana into your body will affect how it is absorbed into your blood. When you smoke weed, your lungs will absorb the chemical compounds, also known as cannabinoids, pretty fast via gas exchange. Consequently, rapid transfer of the cannabinoids to your blood occurs. On the other hand, when you consume cannabis-infused edibles, your stomach and small intestines break down the cannabis-infused food and gradually transfer the cannabinoids to the bloodstream over a long time.
As soon as these chemical compounds get into your bloodstream, they are dispersed to specific receptors. All mammals have these receptors located all over the body and form what is called the endocannabinoid system. The cannabinoids from the weed you consume activate the receptors in the endocannabinoid system, producing the effects associated with cannabis.
What is the endocannabinoid system?
The endocannabinoid system is made up of a network of cannabinoid receptors. These receptors receive related chemical compounds known as cannabinoids, which is the principle of the endocannabinoid system.
The location of all these receptors is not fully understood. However, their general distribution is known.
For example, THC is associated with the receptors located in cells of the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system. This is why you experience the feelings of mental euphoria and a "body high."
On the other hand, CBD is an antagonist to the receptors in the cannabinoid systems and other receptors located in the body’s immune cells throughout the body. This explains the reason CBD is used to reduce body and joint inflammation. It attains this by partially blocking the inflammatory or immune response in these areas. CBD also has some synergistic association with some serotonin receptors, explaining its anxiety-soothing effects.
What are the health benefits of weed?
Depending on the weed strain you consume, there are several potential health benefits of cannabis. The benefits you derive are dependent on the cannabinoid composition of your strain because CBD and THC offer varying benefits. The potential health benefits of CBD are anxiety relief, insomnia relief, nerve and muscle spasm treatment, pain management, and seizure reduction. On the other hand, the potential health benefits of THC are nausea reduction, appetite stimulation, mood enhancement, chronic pain relief, and PSTD symptom enhancement.
Final thought
While cannabis can offer significant benefits to your body, it can also cause some side effects, such as hallucinations, impaired judgment, and dependence. However, these side effects may be due to overdosing. Therefore, you should consume your marijuana sparingly to curb unintended effects.
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