How Terpenes Affect Your High - by Emily Earlenbaugh, PhD. [@emilyearlenbaugh]
When people talk about the differences between strains, there is a lot of talk about levels or ratios of cannabinoids like THC and CBD. Some people think high THC strains are the most powerful and judge everything based on the percentage of THC. Some say that high CBD strains are the most medicinal, and care only about increasing that. Others say finding a balanced ratio between the two is best, or look to other cannabinoids for their desired effects. Still looking at these ratios only tells you so much. After all, strains with very different effects can have the same ratios of THC to CBD. Consider how some high THC strains can be very sedative, while others are incredibly energetic. This is because cannabis has much more to it than just THC and CBD - including over 85 identified cannabinoids and over 140 identified terpenes.
Terpenes are the components responsible for the huge variety of smells and flavors present in the cannabis plant, but they have also been shown to be therapeutically helpful. These compounds interact in a lot of interesting ways to create the unique effects you can find with each genetic variety of cannabis. Interestingly, many of the terpenes commonly found in cannabis are also found in many of our favorite plants, like fruits, herbs and spices.
Here are a few main terpenes you might want to get to know- and what effects they might have on your high, and you:
Beta Caryophyllene
Adds to the pain relieving, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of cannabis. It is also found in plants like Black Pepper.
Linalool
Responsible for the scent in lavender. It is also a potent pain reliever and helps with depression anxiety and insomnia.
Alpha Pinene
Anti-inflammatory agent and can help improve focus and memory. This is also found in Pine Needles.
Limonene
Helps with appetite stimulation, inflammation, depression and anxiety. Found naturally in lemons.
Humulene
Suppresses appetite, reduces pain, and acts as an antioxidant, and is found in Hops as well as cannabis.
Myrcene
Reduces pain and helps with depression anxiety and insomnia. Also found in mangos.
These are just a few of some of the most prominent terpenes and their effects. But it is important to understand that these chemicals interact with each other in a large variety of ways, so it can be difficult to say what is causing what effect in a particular strain. When explaining how these compounds combine, researchers point to something called the ‘entourage effect’. The entourage effect is what happens when many different cannabinoids and terpenes are combined together. While each compound has its own effects when used individually, together they can create synergistic effects not possible in isolation. An effect may arise from a particular combination of compounds, rather than just a high level of one.
For example when myrcene is mixed with THC in high enough quantities (above 0.5%), it causes the THC to become sedative rather than energetic. The combination of THC and Myrcene creates a much more sedative high than you would expect from trying either in isolation.
However, if THCV is present, however, this doesn’t happen and even with high myrcene, the THC will have an energetic effect again. With so many chemical components there are seemingly unending potential combinations to consider. Each strain (sometimes each individual instantiation of a strain) has it’s own chemical profile (or chemotype). You can have cannabis tested to find out about its chemical composition and some dispensaries or growers have their cannabis analyzed for chemical composition already and can tell you how much of each measured chemical is in the strain. Still, this is by no means a complete analysis. It doesn’t always tell you everything about how the cannabis will affect you, even when you understand the research behind each chemical.
Still, learning about the chemical constituents that correlate with your desired effects can get you pointed in the right direction. If you are looking for appetite suppressants, strains high in THCV are a good place to start. If you have epilepsy, you might look for high CBD strains as research has shown them to be helpful for seizures. If you notice that you do well with a strain that has, say high levels of myrcene, you might want to try other strains that are high in myrcene as well. By gaining a basic understanding of the different chemical constituents of cannabis you can start to tailor your cannabis use to your particular needs.
🔥🔥 Emily is a freelance @KushSmokers author and we hope everyone enjoys her Steem articles. She is new to the Steem community and was introduced to it through the #KushSmokers onboarding program, so please take a second, follow Emily, as she will be posting on her own account as well as under the @KushSmokers handle, alongside many other new high quality authors such as Emily in the near future!🔥🔥
Read Her Introduction Post Here:
https://steemit.com/kushsmokers/@kushsmokers/welcome-our-first-freelance-kushsmokers-author-why-i-left-academia-to-teach-people-about-cannabis-by-emily-earlenbaugh-phd-my
And her latest post here:
https://steemit.com/cannabis/@kushsmokers/ten-top-cannabis-strains-to-try-in-2017-by-dr-emily-kushsmokers-featured-author-of-the-week
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