It’s common knowledge at this point that marijuana, after decades of barriers in the way of research, needs to be studied more in order to really understand its efficacy.
One of the areas where it’s still the most nebulous is the psychoactive effect of THC. What we have in place of scientific rigor is a plethora of anecdotes. And each anecdote deals with THC differently.
If we had real research that could identify how THC deals with the brain, we would be able to create personalized palettes catered to each person.
For instance, a new study published in ScienceDirect tried to show how adding THC doesn’t necessarily follow a direct line of getting more high.
Here’s an excerpt from an article published by the study’s authors:
“We looked at the effects of inhaling a “Standard THC Unit” (5mg of THC), which is the proposed cannabis version of alcohol “units” or “standard drinks”. On a 100-point scale, after subtracting the effects of the placebo, a Standard THC Unit raised “high” by 34 points, “anxiety” by 14, “tired” by 26 and “calm” by five. It lowered “content” by 71 points and “alert” by 40.
Doubling the dose from 5mg to 10mg raised the intensity of the high only from 34 to 39 points – an increase of just 15%. This is common in pharmacology – the study of how drugs work – where bigger doses often bring smaller and smaller extra effects once a certain level is reached. (There was no change in anxiety, tiredness or alertness compared with the 5mg dose.)”
This was a meta-analysis, meaning they used the results of numerous other studies to get their summations. They stress that a large and controlled study looking into this exact issue would be the next step to really understand THC and it’s extremely personalized effects on brains.
Added THC potency can mean many things beyond a greater high, so it’s important that each person finds their own path through the murky power of marijuana. Enter at your own risk.
