Fact or Fiction? : Medical Marijuana will NOT get you High.

The answer is that it is true medical marijuana won’t get you high. Unless, of course, your goal is to get high. In that case, medical marijuana will most definitely get you high.

There are medically beneficial components of the cannabis plant that have no psychoactive effect. That means those constituents of the plant don’t get you high. The most well known of these components is cannabidiol, also known as CBD. Dr. Sanjay Gupta introduced CBD into the mainstream consciousness in 2013 with his CNN Documentary “Weed,” which was followed by “Weed 2” and Weed 3” as the public wanted to know more. Gupta put the spotlight on CBD by following medical marijuana patients who saw tremendous benefit from the plant. Most notably, the documentary followed a 6-year-old girl named Charlotte who had gone from hundreds of seizures per week to just 2-3 per month using non-psychoactive CBD oil. (<3% THC, also known as delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive component of cannabis.) Charlotte, a twin, was losing ground developmentally as she watched her sister hit all the normal milestones. Diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy at around 3 months old, by the age of three Charlotte was seizing so frequently that her body and mind literally had no time to develop normally. Wheelchair bound at age six and with a DNR (do not resuscitate) order in place, her family turned to cannabis when surgery to remove a part of Charlotte's brain was the best medical option available. (First, do no harm. Right?) According to her uncle in the latest report I could find, Charlotte at age 10 is now walking and riding a bicycle, but still cannot speak.

CBD oil is now available nationwide, some of it made from hemp oil and some from the plants known as marijuana. (I’m not going to get into the differences here except to say that both hemp and marijuana can be beneficial, but not equally so.) Quality varies widely, as does local and state interpretations of the legality of the oil. Sold openly online and in stores in most states, Indiana law enforcement has recently been raiding shops and confiscating the non-psychoactive CBD oil off the shelves. It’s a legislative mess that only Congress can untangle, which will only happen when public pressure is such that legislators feel safe to take that step. Remember, no matter what else legislators care about, getting re-elected is and always will be their number one priority.

But, back to medical marijuana. CBD, in addition to being an anticonvulsant, is known to have anti-inflammatory, anti-depressant, antipsychotic, antioxidant, neuro-protective and cancer-killing properties as well as other positive effects. However, CBD is not the whole story.  So far, scientists have discovered at least 565 constituents, including 120 phytocannabinoids, in the cannabis sativa plant alone. Researchers in the early 1990s discovered that our bodies have cannabinoid receptors for THC, and from there the science has expanded rapidly. Our bodies actually produce cannabinoids that help regulate our bodies. You can learn more about the endocannabinoid system here. THC, as known as delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, is the component of the cannabis plant that creates the “high” feelings of well-being and euphoria, but is also responsible in some cases for feelings of anxiety and paranoia. (The higher the percentage of CBD in cannabis, the less likely a person is to experience these negative effects.)

Like CBD, THC has some important medical benefits. THC can help with relaxation and sleep and can stimulate appetite and decrease nausea. It is also useful as a pain-reliever and muscle relaxant. Scientists are also showing that THC and other cannabinoids, such as CBD, work synergistically in a variety of ways, including killing cancer cells. This “entourage effect” means that, in many cases, using the whole plant as medicine may be more effective than using just one component, such as CBC or THC alone. (You may also be interested in learning about turpenes, another important constituent of the cannabis plant. Click here for more info.)

Whether or not medical cannabis will get you high is also dependent on the method of use. Eating raw cannabis is one way to enjoy some of the benefits of cannabis without getting high. While it’s possible to eat enough of the raw plant to get high, it would be an extremely expensive way to go about getting high since it takes a fairly large amount to feel the effects. Eating cannabis also results in a calm, mellow buzz. That's cool if that's what you're after, and you can afford it. This is why cannabis plants are less dangerous to your toddler than most houseplants, but it also does not provide all the benefits of cannabis. THC is either not present or minimal in fresh, raw cannabis, but instead starts out as THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid), another beneficial component of the plant. As the plant dries and ages, and when exposed to sufficient heat, THCA chemically converts to THC. That chemical reaction is, quite simply, the reason smoking is the preferred method of people who want to get high. Cannabis edibles available in medical and recreational cannabis dispensaries, often in the form of candies or brownies, will get you high because the cannabis has been heated to convert the THCA to THC. If you were to make your own cannabis edibles that don’t get you high, you would simply avoid processes that heat the cannabis. (Click here to learn more.)

Other methods of use besides eating or smoking the plant include using cannabis products topically with transdermal patches or lotions and creams, in tinctures used sublingually (under the tongue), in suppositories and vaporizing, which is similar but has less inherent danger than smoking. The best method to use cannabis is the one that works best for the patient according to their own needs and preferences.

One thing I will emphasize here and will write more on later is that smoking cannabis alone will not cure cancer or any other disease, as far as we know. This is because the compounds that are most beneficial in fighting disease are either not bioavailable or not present in sufficient quantities in smoked cannabis. Smoking cannabis, however, is a great option for fast pain relief, depression, muscle spasms and a variety of other conditions. Most medical cannabis users take cannabis in two or more forms.

Another very important thing you need to know about medical cannabis is that there are literally hundreds of strains of cannabis variety, and more are created every year. Medical cannabis is generally a Sativa, an Indica or a hybrid of the two. Sativas are known for their euphoric and energizing effects and Indicas are best known for relaxation and pain relief. A good way to remember the difference between sativa and indica is to remember that an indica can put you “in da couch” all afternoon. Hybrids are cultivated according to the desired effects of each strain that is being paired. Cannabis plants can vary widely from strain to strain and even plant to plant, so choosing the right medicine is far more complicated than simply choosing a strain you like. To complicate the issue even further, the cannabis strain that gets me pumped up to clean house may leave you too anxious to manage much of anything; every body is different. Having said that, the chemical actions of cannabis in the body, not how you feel about what you’re experiencing, should be very stable from one person to the next, as we are all similar as humans. So, if a particular component of cannabis is effective in killing a specific type of cancer cell in my body, it should also be effective for yours even if I feel differently than you do when we consume the same cannabis plant. The cannabis plant is just now being studied extensively and we are sure to learn more about the strains and their uses in the coming years.

Finally, another question you might have is this: Is there a difference between medical and recreational cannabis? The simple answer is no, but the reality is a bit more nuanced. All marijuana can be medicine, but not all of it is good medicine. Just like any medicine, you’re going to get the most benefit from the highest quality product. That means not only finding the strains that best fit your needs, it means finding cannabis that is produced without harmful fertilizers or pesticides. Commercially grown cannabis that is sold in recreational and medical dispensaries may or may not have been grown with pesticides and fertilizers, and the only way to know is to ask. With edibles, that information along with the THC and CBD content is often listed on the product label. My advice is to purchase your cannabis from a dispensary that has a long and trusted reputation if possible, or grow your own. I realize that some people don’t have much choice in the matter. I can only tell you that you have to weigh the risks and benefits and come to your own decision. For myself, if I were to be diagnosed with a debilitating disease that cannabis is known to be effective in treating, I would use the best quality cannabis I could get ahold of regardless of the source. That’s just me. Some people warn about buying black market marijuana because it could be laced with other drugs. I personally doubt that is much of an issue because dealers have little incentive to add anything that costs extra to their product. To me, the larger problem would be that you have might not have any way of knowing whether the strain is an indica, a sativa or a hybrid, nor the percentage of CBD or THC in the product. Only a lab can answer that for you.

What I’ve written here covers some basics about medical cannabis; obviously there is much more to learn if you choose to use cannabis medicinally. I’ll be writing more on all aspects of cannabis —from medical use to political aspects — in upcoming blog posts. Please follow this page and share if you’re interested in learning more. If you have a topic you would like to see me discuss, please say so in the comments below. 

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