Q: Why does cannabis make me hungry? A: It is well known that consuming cannabis with THC can stimulate one’s appetite, a phenomenon often called the “munchies” in colloquial terms. The underlying physiology may be explained in a study published in Nature Neuroscience, researchers found that the CB1 receptors in the olfactory area of the brain (where smell is…
Synthetic cannabinoids are potent psychoactive intoxicating compounds that are made completely in laboratories. They are not derived from the natural cannabis plant. Many were originally developed more than 30 years ago by either pharmaceutical companies or researchers at universities, as tools to better understand the science behind the effects of cannabis in the body and…
Q: How does cannabis work to treat pain? A: This is a good question because chronic pain tops the list of reasons that people seek out medical cannabis for relief. According to a recent study, 62% of people using medical cannabis do so for pain relief. Additionally, a CDC report indicated it is estimated that 1 in 5 US adults…
Q: Why does cannabis make me nauseous? A: If consuming cannabis makes you feel like vomiting, you may have something called Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome. Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) is a condition caused by chronic daily cannabis use, and is characterized by symptoms of cyclical nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain with cramping. Oddly, the symptoms are relieved by…
Q: Is cannabis a gateway drug? A: The short answer, for me, is that I do not believe that there is a preponderance of evidence that supports this notion that use of marijuana or cannabis, leads to use of other “hard drugs” such as heroin or cocaine. But for my long-winded answer, let’s first look at the…
THC and CBD are very chemically similar organic compounds found in the cannabis plant. Their chemical structure is C21 H30 O2. They mainly differ in one chemical bond[1] causing an open ring in CBD and closed ring in THC. They both have aromatic benzene rings and hydrocarbon tails with only a couple hydroxyl groups that…
As an emergency physician in inner cities such as Detroit and Baltimore for the last 25 years, I am, unfortunately, very familiar with caring for patients with addiction. Over the years, I have seen the nomenclature change from drug abuse to substance abuse, to now substance use disorder. I became interested and started my cannabis…
The factors led to cannabis being regulated differently and prohibited in the early decades of the 20th century were fueled by politics, greed and racism. Not science. Cannabis has been used as a food, a fiber, and a medicine for thousands of years in many different countries and cultures. In the US it has…
THC is one of the main cannabinoids found naturally in the cannabis plant; its chemical structure was discovered in the 1960s in Israel[i]. However, since 1970, cannabis has been listed by the federal government as illegal and a schedule 1 drug, with no medicinal value and high abuse potential[ii]. Contrary to that, we do know…
The liver is our major detoxifying organ. It plays an important protective role in drug metabolism in oral preparations that go through first-pass metabolism[1]. A group of enzymes in the liver is part of the cytochrome P450 system. It allows us to metabolize drugs we ingest orally. Often the liver metabolizes drugs into inactive compounds…