THE WORLD OF CANNABINOIDS AND TERPENES Written by Dr. Pepper Hernandez ND, Ph.D., CTC, CNHP, NHC
Board Certified and Award-Winning Holistic Health Practitioner
What are Cannabinoids and what do they do? Cannabis has a wide range of effects, which are attributed to its cannabinoids. What are cannabinoids, and what do they do, you ask? They are so vital that cannabis would be just another plant growing in the wild if they were not present. In other words, they make cannabis, cannabis. Cannabinoids are a class of compounds produced by the cannabis plant. There are over 480 compounds produced by the plant, with dozens of them being cannabinoids. They are the active elements that determine how it will affect different people, especially when using it to treat a medical condition. Cannabinoids have a wide range of effects on the brain and body, ranging from euphoria, creativity to increased relaxation. They can achieve this because they have a great interaction with the human endocannabinoid system by binding to the CB1 & CB2 receptors in the brain and gut. Consider the endocannabinoid system to be a network of electrical outlets in the brain and central nervous system. The receptors activate when various chemicals plug into these outlets, known as cannabinoid receptors. Movement, mood, memory, pain sensation, and appetite are all controlled by these receptors. The effects produced are determined by the type of cannabis that is used. Each cannabis cultivar contains a long variety of cannabinoids that can cause pain relief, increased heart rate, and drowsiness, among other positive experiences. The health advantages of cannabis are due to these effects. The type and concentration of cannabinoids in cannabis determine how it makes you feel. The majority of the current study is focused on the cannabinoid's major actors. THC, CBD, CBG, CBC, CBN, and THCV constitute the major ones currently. Except for THC and CBD, the majority of cannabinoids are classified as minor, meaning they have concentrations of less than 1%. Minor cannabinoids such as THCA and CBDA, which are chemical precursors to THC and CBD, have only recently been the focus of substantial research.
thechronicmagazine.com
MARCH 2022
36
