Whatsҳ the So-Called Entourage Effect of CBD and THC?

Those living in the US might have noticed that cannabis acceptance has been catching on fast. Recreational marijuana is legal in 18 states, and CBD is legal nationwide. Part of the reason for the growing acceptance and legalization of cannabis is peopleҳ increasing understanding of the substance. In truth, there hasnҴ been much research into marijuana or its effects due to the strange legal limbo that currently makes up US marijuana policy. While legalization is gaining traction on a state-by-state level, the federal government stillconsiders marijuana illegal (1). Itҳ also listed as a schedule 1 drug, which describes a highly addictive substance with no medical applications. This makes it difficult to study cannabis, so not only do people know little about it, but theyҲe learning very slowly. One of the most groundbreaking things discovered about cannabis is the existence of cannabinoids, the most famous of which are CBD and THC. The following article will go into more detail about the various cannabinoids and how they interact.༯span A Brief History Both CBD and marijuana come from the Cannabis Sativa plant, which most likely evolved somewhere in or aroundthe steppes of Asia (2), in what is now Mongolia, and Russia.༯span Marijuana first appeared sometime around 10,000 BCE, which, coincidentally, was also when early humans first began practicing agriculture. The first evidence of humans using marijuana dates to around 3000 BCE. Evidence shows up again a few centuries later, this time in Mesopotamia and other parts of the Middle East. Thus began mankindҳ long history with the cannabis plant. The plant spread and people in the world over used it for thousands of years. The Americas, in particular, have a very interestinghistory with cannabis (3). Cannabis, Europe, and Colonialism Marijuana was a late arrival to Europe, showing up in Central and Western Europe not long after the fall of the Roman Empire. However, marijuana influenced European cultures somewhat differently than other cultures. Marijuanaҳ primary use was for medicine in its earliest days. Its mind-altering qualities only showed up in about 500 BCE༯span The Europeans grew it for its fibers, which they used to make ropes and various fabrics. Since the Europeans had so little use for cannabis as an intoxicant, the intoxicating compounds within the plant werenҴ present in significant amounts. It wasnҴ until the Age of Exploration when Europeans rediscovered the intoxicating effects of cannabis. They then gave it to slaves to keep them from rebelling. This practice carried marijuana to the Caribbean and it ended up in Mexico at some point. In what would become the United States, farmers were harvesting hemp, a form of cannabis used to make various goods, before the Revolution. This carried on until the 1790s when the invention ofthe cotton gin (4) made cotton a more profitable and efficient crop than hemp. While some did use recreational cannabis in the 1800s, it took until the early 1900s for Americans to see cannabis as a means of recreation on a large scale. The Mexican Revolution, Race Relations, and Harry Anslinger Americaҳ story with marijuana starts south of the border, in the first decades of the 20th century. 1910 saw the beginning of a long, bloody conflict where the Mexican people began rising against dictator Porfirio Diaz. As with most wars, the conflict in Mexico created a large number of refugees, who crossed into the US to escape the war. With them came a new substance, known as marijuana, and it caught on like wildfire. The sudden influx of Mexican immigrants led to fear and racial tensions among white Americans, and several states began to outlaw marijuana. However, it was still legal at the federal level. Enter Harry Anslinger, a࠭an who possessed many of the qualities of successful people back in the day. He was intelligent, determined, and racist. He also happened to be in charge of the Federal Narcotics Bureau after 1930. Seeing this new substance catching on like wildfire, especially among immigrant and African-American communities made him mad. Unfortunately, it also gave him the perfect scapegoat. By targeting marijuana, Anslinger could punish these communities. He popularized the word ѭarijuanaҠto make the substance feel foreign. Anslinger launcheda smear campaign (5), claiming that marijuana created Ѳeefer madnessҬ making otherwise good people violent. It also supposedly caused sexual promiscuity and encouraged race-mixing. 7 years after taking office, Anslinger convinced the government to sign the Marijuana Tax Act into law, effectively outlawing the substance. In the 1950s, he played a major role in getting the Boggҳ Act passed, which put minimum sentencing laws into practice. The Potency of Marijuana Over Time Throughout marijuanaҳ history as an intoxicant, one thing has remained almost constant. Ever since human beings discovered the psychoactive properties of marijuana, theyҶe been breeding plants withever-increasing levels of THC (6). These levels have skyrocketed in the past decade or so. The plant that started with about 3/10ths of a percent THC content 5,000 years ago now shows up to 30% THC levels in domesticated plants.༯span The cannabis Anslinger was so concerned about pales in comparison to the stuff people use today.༯span The Science Behind Cannabinoids Even in Anslingerҳ time, few specialists believed in Ѳeefer madness.ҠBefore the Mexican Revolution, cannabis was a common ingredient in various medicines and some people near the East Coast used it for recreation. The concept of violent reactions had never come up during that time. By the time Anslingerҳ Ѳeefer madnessҠcampaign came along, most doctors felt they could confidently counter his claims and say that there was no link between marijuana and violence. Anslinger ignored them and took the word of the few doctors who agreed with him. Three years after the Marijuana Tax Act passed, the world took a leap forward in marijuana research. Robert S. Cahn, a scientist from the UK, found a new type of chemical compound known asa cannabinoid (7). That same year, an American scientist discovered cannabidiol, also known as CBD. The fascinating thing is that these compounds are unique to cannabis and related plants. To this day, doctors have found over 100 different cannabinoids, each of which comes in different amounts and functions in slightly different ways. The Endocannabinoid System The 1990s saw the discovery of the endocannabinoid system, a system present in all animals that responds to various cannabinoids. Our body also naturally produces some cannabinoids, known as endocannabinoids. These endocannabinoids help our brains communicate certain messages with other parts of our bodies. Like many other aspects of cannabis and human health, we still donҴ know much about the endocannabinoid system. What we do know aboutthe endocannabinoid system (8) is that it seems to play a role in various symptoms and illnesses, which explains why cannabis shows some potential for treating these issues. The existence of the endocannabinoid system raises some very interesting questions regarding cannabis and human evolution. How long have we been using cannabis? Did we evolve to react to it? Hopefully, the future will bring answers to some of these questions. Endocannabinoid Receptors The communication between cannabinoids and our bodies occurs through the use of cannabinoid receptors. There are two types of cannabinoid receptors, known as CB1 and CB2. These types of receptors differ in where and how they function. The CB1 receptors act in the nervous system and affect most parts of our body, including the brain, the nerves, glands, tissues, and organs. CB1 receptors are crucial in treating pain and working with THC to create a high. It also plays a role in regulating most of our bodyҳ basic functions, such as eating, sleeping, digesting, and reproductive functions. With so much of the body regulated by CB1 receptors, whatҳ left for CB2 receptors to do? CB2 receptors regulate the functions of the immune system. This means that many of the medicinal properties of cannabis involve CB2 receptors. Scientists are studying the CB2 receptors and the cannabinoids that activate them to make more efficient medications. The two types of receptors are similar enough and intricate enough that itҳ difficult to study them separately, which only adds to the existing difficulties of studying cannabis and the endocannabinoid system. THC, CBD, and the Entourage Effect The entourage effect is a term that describes the interactions between CBD and THC, as well as other cannabinoids. It was first proposed in 1998 byRaphael Mechoulam (9), an Israeli chemist working at a college in Jerusalem. Like many chemicals, cannabinoids tend to interact with each other and with various types of medicines. Some of the most interesting examples of the entourage effect occur when CBD and THC interact. THC describes a cluster of closely-related compounds but often stands for Delta 9 Tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. Though THC allows the user to get high, it can also cause some unfortunate side effects such as anxiety. However, taking THC and CBD together often lessens the severity of these symptoms. Some suspect that this occurs because CBD takes up some space in the same receptors as THC. This means that less space is available in these receptors for THC, and therefore its effects are not felt as heavily. Regardless of what the scientific reason for these interactions is, weҶe known about it for some time. People have used THC for a few decades to treat symptoms caused by chemotherapy. However, it was quickly found that it caused heightened fear and anxiety. Studies have tested a mixture of CBD and THC at treating pain in cancer patients...