CAN CBD MAKE YOU HIGH?

CAN CBD MAKE YOU HIGH?

Over the years ii have noticed that some patients treated with high CBD Cannabis Medicine have revealed to me that the medicine makes them feel high.

This caused me to investigate further the relationship between THC and CBD and how these two main Cannabinoids work in our bodies.

We know that there is no such thing as a ‘THC free’  or ‘CBD only’ medicine and as ii have written before even the creators of the Charlotte’s Web strain eventually had to admit that there was a percentage of THC present in the medicine.

What is the difference Between CBD and THC?

THC is the main psychoactive and the main pharmacological component of Cannabis and THC is only found in the Cannabis plant. THC is therefore the main agonist of the THC Receptors because it is the only Cannabinoid which actually binds with these receptors.

CBD is the main antagonist of the THC Receptors and this is how it is able to help people with things like anxiety, depression, pain, epilepsy, insomnia and so on.

While CBD may not be able to bind with the THC Receptors it most certainly can bind to the Serotonin receptors and this is exactly how CBD produces its anti-anxiety effects.

CBD can also bind to Vanilloid receptors and this is how it manifests it’s pain killing, anti-inflammatory and temperature control effects.

Together these two represent the plant version (Phyto Cannabinoids) of our own naturally produced Endocannabinoids Anandamide and 2-AG within our bodies.

They are similar on a molecular level and are often confused by scientists and patients alike, but the main difference is the way in which they interact at the THC Receptors.

So THC is the only Cannabinoid which actually binds with the CB1 & 2 receptors.  The others do interact but only THC has binding affinity.  This is why we have always called this system of receptors ‘The THC Receptors’ and a lot of scientists are starting to realise this.

CBD therefore does not bind with the receptors but what happens is that it has the ability to actually change the shape of the THC Receptors and this is how it minimises the psychedelic effects of THC. It changes the shape of the receptors so that only a limited amount of THC may pass.

This is why when working with natural whole herbal Cannabis THC only acts as a partial agonist of the CB1 and 2 receptors but synthetic THC acts as a FULL agonist hence the hectic side effects.

THC is ‘active’… meaning ‘psychedelically active’ and active because it binds to the THC Receptors CB1 & 2.

CBD is ‘inactive’ meaning it does not possess psychedelic properties and it does not bind to these receptors.

THC is found abundantly in the female Cannabis with the highest concentration in the flowers. CBD is found abundantly in the Hemp plant which contains less than 0.3% of THC. This is the legal marker for determining whether a plant is Hemp or not.

The way ii see things THC is responsible for the receptors and CBD is responsible for regulating the Endocannabinoids and there is evidence to prove that CBD can control when Endocannabinoids are broken down as well as increasing Endocannabinoid levels inside the body.

Where do THC and CBD come from?

Both share the same precursor or chemical parent being CBGA.

Because THC and CBD are so similar and so easy to synthesise, scientists first thought that CBD was the original precursor to THC. Even though scientists have been actively studying Cannabinoids for over 50 years this subject is still poorly understood.

Cannabinoid production starts when an enzyme causes geranyl pyrophosphate and olivetolic acid to combine and form CBGA. From here CBGA is converted to either CBG, THCA, CBDA or CBCA.

The different faces of THC

US Patent number US 20040143126 A1 gives some dramatic science lab scenes of how since 1966 mostly likely since the 40’s scientists have been successfully converting CBD extracted from Hemp plant material to THC.

Please take a look at the patent and also Gaoni and Mechoulam (1966, Tetrahedron 22: 1481-1488) where you will learn the teachings of their methods. There is an earlier paper from 1964 which also goes into great detail of the methods of converting CBD to THC in labs. Please be very careful with your experiments ii have heard such hectic stories of these dangerous chemical reactions in people’s pursuit of stronger THC.

“Clearly, as the cannabinoids are of potential medicinal value, improved methods of converting CBD to Δ⁹-THC or Δ⁸-THC are needed.” ~ Gaoni and Mechoulam 1964

So for me personally knowledge of this nature which has been around for 5 decades or longer just highlights the science of greed. One can easily see how in the future scientists and pharmaceutical companies would no longer be interested in working with the plant if they can simply create THC in the lab.

They are also able to create all the analogues of THC and you can take a look at Delta-1 to Delta-13-THC and discover all the different types of THC.

One can also see clearly why CBD is legal and not THC since they already know the chemistry of converting and have known this information for over 50 years and have not only been keeping the plant illegal but have also been hiding this vital information from the public. You can see how it is in the interest of babylon to keep THC illegal or highly regulated but definitely out of the reach of the people.

If you take a look at these methods you will notice that they involve a lot of acid and we now know that under acidic conditions CBD chemically cyclizes to THC.

What about stomach acid and CBD?

The only conclusion ii have ever been able to reason about patients ‘getting high’ from CBD medicines is that somewhere in the body there is a biosynthesis of CBD to THC and since discovering the above patent ii am now convinced that this happens in the stomach especially since Hydrochloric acid is so much stronger than the Sulphuric acid use d in labs.

After all in order to carry out these experiments the scientists would have had to have a basic idea of this metabolism which they no doubt would have identified while working with all those monkeys Professor Mechoulam manage to organize from his friend who worked at the zoo.

 As far as ii am concerned CBD and other Cannabinoids would eventually have to convert to THC in the body in order to induce binding affinity with the THC Receptors.

It is my theory that CBD is converted to Delta-5 THC in the gastric system where over 80% of our THC Receptors are located both CB 1 and 2.

Battle of the pharmaceutical companies…

The way things are heading right now with serious competition in the Cannabis industry already we can see this vibe of one company needing to convince the public that synthetic cannabinoids are better and safer than natural plant derived Cannabinoids. This is just one edge of the competitive angle and another is this very issue we are discussing here of CBD being converted to THC inside the body.

This can have serious implications for patients and people who consume CBD edibles especially those who have to take random drug tests at work.  A lot of doctors no longer feel comfortable prescribing CBD because it can lead to THC.

This little war between the drug companies is what actually led to the development of the transdermal CBD patch as it claims to not bypass the gastric system. So it seems topical applications are still safe…for now…

You can take a look at the papers ii have mentioned in my sources and then you can make your own mind up but as ii say for many years now ii have been investigating this issue and ii propose the theory that CBD does in fact convert to the component of Delta-5 THC which has hardly any psychedelic effects but in certain people there are reports of reaching a certain state of high. 

If Delta 5 THC was as psychoactive as Delta-9 THC this would be picked up through increased serum levels the THC breakdown metabolites found in urine. To me it makes perfect sense that Delta-5 THC is inactive and that only a small percentage of people actually experience any kind of ‘CBD high’. This is also why you will not find a THC result in a blood test after CBD administration. CBD naturally eases the psychedelic effects of THC so it would not make sense in the body for CBD to be converted to psychedelic Delta 9 or 8 THC although ii can think of a lot of people who would benefit if this were the case. 

The only way to convert CBD to psychedelic THC is synthetically using dangerous chemicals in a lab and ii cannot say how this THC affects the receptors but ii believe it is super potent.

“It appears that delta-5 and delta-7 THC have very little activity” ~ Professor Raphael Machoulam

So just because we cannot locate the breakdown metabolites in a urine test most certainly does not mean that bioconversion of CBD to THC in the gastric acid is not taking place because there is sufficient evidence to support this theory. The other thing is that a lot of these metabolites themselves have potent psychoactive effects. And to be completely honest the evidence is in the feeling and who are we to judge the feeling because those who feel it know it.

If you study the different analogues of THC you will realise that all of them are less than 50% in potency to Delta-9 THC the main psychoactive variable. Delta-8 THC is 50% less potent than Delta-9 THC and so it goes down in potency.

The pharmaceutical companies who feel threatened by this discovery issue statements like these:

 “We have enough data to be reassured that the acidic gastric environment during normal gastrointestinal transit DOES NOT “expose patients treated with oral CBD to levels of THC and other psychoactive cannabinoids that exceed the threshold for a physiological response”

You can see how nicely they choose their words and the public must be aware of the financial interest of each company in the published results of any study.

There are even a few human studies indicating that less than 1% of the total CBD ingested is excreted as THC in urine so even though it is happening in very small amounts this natural biosynthesis of CBD to THC is most definitely happening even though it is of little medical or practical significance right now.

No matter which way you look at it there is sufficient evidence to prove that there is a miniscule THC ‘exposure’ after CBD ingestion and either way the truth is that something really important has been discovered about oral CBD medicine.

Based on scientific papers ii have researched there is no doubt that the route of administration indeed affects the pharmacokinetics of CBD and this is exactly why high intra and inter subject variability is so common in humans and animals.

So can CBD make you feel high?

Over the years ii have tested a lot of different strains of Cannabis some claim to be high in THCA, CBN and then CBD so yes ii have smoked hemp and in all these experiences and ii am still learning…it seems certain that through Cannabis we can achieve ‘different highs’ or rather different levels of consciousness.

For example CBN is a serious couch caller and gives you a sedated effect which is brilliant for chronic pain and PTSD and depression.

CBD buds are like a strong herbal relaxant, kind of like a super potent version of chamomile, lavender and rosemary together, so the ‘high’ is completely different to a THC ‘high’.

CBD is all about relieving anxiety and stress so it very quickly halts the body’s response to excitability.

High CBD strains do not give you that agitated paranoia sometimes experienced with high THC strains. Nor do they produce the heavy sedating effects of CBN. It’s quite interesting that CBD also converts to CBN in gastric acid and this leads to misunderstandings as to whether the effects of conversion after CBD ingestion are in fact THC effects.

From what my patients tell me it feels like CBD’ fills’ their body and mind with clarity, focus and a sense of calm. A lot of people prefer to consume CBD during work hours to cope with stress and irritability. So yes there are people who enjoy recreational CBD for mental and physical relaxation and as an upbeat mood enhancer with no change in cognitive functions, similar to the effects of Sceletium.

A lot of people will have a lot to say about any ‘CBD high’ and ii have had this conversation many times about whether people are feeling high or simply feeling better and at the end of the day most people will agree that they are feeling better.

Cannabis eases any form of suffering and CBD is the known ingredient which eliminates anxiety, stress, depression, pain, inflammation, convulsions and so much more without the extreme psychedelic effects of Delta-8 or 9 THC.

So if you are having a stressful day ii highly recommend CBD medicine to help you take the edge off.

SOURCES:

Journal of Forensic Toxicology. 

Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research Journal

Professor Raphael Mechoulam Hebrew University

Epilepsy and Behavior Journal

Dr. Jake Felice, CannabisMatrix.com

Project CBD

Xhosastyles.blogspot.com

High Times

Medical Jane

Grotenhermen et. al. (2017) in a response to Merrick’s publication.

Watanabe et. al. (2007)

Merrick et. Al

Bonn-Miller et. al. 2017)

Martín-Santos et. al. (2012)

Gaoni and Mechoulam (1968)

István Ujváry and Lumir Hanuš (2016)

 ‘Identification of Psychoactive Degradants of Cannabidiol in Simulated Gastric and Physiological Fluid,’ ~ John Merrick

Dr Ethan Russo

Dr Ester Fride

Drawception.com

Journal of Toxicology