THC & CBD

The royal couple of Cannabinoids

We now know that our natural Endocannabinoid system does not simply exist because there is a plant in the wild called Cannabis. We know that we have a chemical in our brain which we were all born with which mimics the activities of THC which is only found in the Cannabis plant and we also have the receptors for this molecule. We also have a second Endocannabinoid known as 2-AG and this chemical takes on the activities of the Cannabinoid known as CBD although this molecule is also found in other plants besides Cannabis.

Personally ii believe that THC and CBD are the divine royal couple of Cannabinoids within Cannabis medicine and are required to work together for conclusive healing and it is these two which continue to amaze the medical world with their magnificent team work inside our bodies working with the THC receptors.

So THC is the Queen and CBD is the King and without doubt THC is the most popular of all the Cannabinoids and is also the most psychoactive component of the Cannabis plant. In the same way as a chessboard queen is the most powerful piece in the game so too THC is the most powerful chemical component of the Cannabis plant.

What is so special about THC?

THC is the most spoken about chemical component of any plant on Earth and this secret key to mental, physical, spiritual, communal, and economical health is only to be found in the Cannabis plant. It is very true that many of the other Cannabinoids such as CBC for example are to be found in many different plants such as Black pepper, Echinacea, chocolate and even black truffles personally ii believe all plants have Cannabinoids and terpenes which interact with not only our THC Receptors but all of our receptors….but THC is only found in the Cannabis plant. Even CBD is found in flax linen seeds. So THC is the chief pharmacological component of the plant and without THC many of the other over 140 already identified Cannabinoids would not function or even occur in ratio to the presence of THC in the whole herbal plant.

There are many Cannabis Medicine research papers which incorrectly state that CBD and other Cannabinoids bind to our Cannabinoid Receptors...th is is incorrect and ii really need people to understand that only THC actually binds to the Cannabinoid receptors and this is why the Ancient Rastafari teachers used to refer to the EC system as the "THC receptors". Professor Mechoulam is certainly the leading authority in the field of Cannabis Medicine and he says "THC and ONLY THC binds to the Cannabinoid Receptors CB1 and 2".

So for example when he first started testing CBD (which was in fact identified before THC) on lab rats he administered the CBD via the Serotonin receptor because CBD had binding affinity with other receptors but not with the two CB receptors which have been cloned to date. This is why we call them the THC receptors.

How does CBD manage to counter act the effects of THC?

Through the wonder of nature the Cannabinoid CBD is able to calm the psychedelic effects of THC. Since no other Cannabinoid can actually bind to the Receptors how is it possible for CBD to have such a profound effect on THC? Well…through the genius capacity of Creation it does this by actually changing the shape of the THC Receptors which in turn affects the potency and reduces the effects of THC as it binds with the Receptor.  So if you can imagine the surface of the receptor is more or less the same shape as a blood cell like a donut. CBD can alter the shape of the receptor to resemble say a sickle or half- moon shape.  Basically by reducing the surface area of the receptor this reduces the THC uptake and in turn minimizes the psychedelic effects of the THC.

Another truth is that “CBD Only” medicines do not work as effectively as when isolated from THC.

When working with whole herbal plant extract you will never ever in nature come upon a Cannabis plant that will test positive for CBD only and zero THC…it simply is not possible by design of Creation…even Hemp can have as little as 0.05% THC but never zero. It is also very true that since the early 1940’s medical research scientists have been successfully extracting CBD from Hemp plants and converting it to THC in their laboratories which is a burning concern for me concerning the future natural fate of the Cannabis plant in society.

Anyone or any company who tells you that they are selling a “CBD only” whole herbal natural product is not being truthful whether they are informed or not. Even the people who cultivated the ‘Charlotte’s Web’ strain eventually had to admit that there was THC present and that it was not a CBD only strain. It is obvious that claims like this came about out of a desperate need to overcome these wicked Cannabis laws which leave people desperate to do anything to save their loved ones. In nature we are dealing with whole herbal full plant extract and not ‘products’ designed by humans to be sold for profit to sick people.

Already there are thousands of reports from sick people stating that the whole herbal plant is far more effective than any synthetic Cannabis products and this is because of THC…natural whole herbal plant THC extract. THC is the key to unlocking the door to the reality of wholesome pure health for everyone.

CBD the king of Cannabinoids

A lot of people are surprised to learn that CBD was actually discovered about 20 years before THC. In the 1940’s scientists were struggling with the chemical structure of CBD which was not fully revealed until around 1963. CBD and THC are actually quite similar on a molecular level and often confused by scientists. CBD is a major constituent of medical Cannabis and in general does not possess psychoactive properties. We now know that the presence of CBD reduces some of the psychoactive effects of THC.

CBD has always and continues to show potential to relieve convulsion, inflammation, cough, congestion, nausea and most importantly the ability to reduce and in many reported cases of different types of cancers, to actually eliminate cancer cell growth. CBD has also been shown to have anti- anxiety and anti-psychotic properties and is proving to bring great relief to people suffering with schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, MS, Parkinson’s and frequent anxiety attacks and seizures. Other healing abilities of CBD which have been researched include neuro protection, regulation of blood pressure and pain killing properties amongst others.  We now also know that Cannabis can control genes and CBD has an effect on the genes which affect cholesterol metabolism and also has an appetite suppressing effect. CBD also promotes uninterrupted sleep patterns which is essential to overall health and well -being. Insomnia is usually a big problem for people suffering from all kinds of conditions across the board.

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. CBD on the other hand has been identified in other plants. THC is therefore the main agonist of the THC receptors because it is the only Cannabinoid which actually binds with these receptors. THC also has the ability to alter the physiochemical nature of the lipid bilayer of cells and interacts with the integral membrane protein receptors through alteration of the boundary lipid.  So here again you can see how Cannabis is able to literally shape shift any cell in our bodies to perform healing. The main target of THC is the brain which ii remind you is 60% fat and Cannabis is a fat soluble substance.

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.

THC can also bind to all of our other receptors and in fact in the pharmacological world some Cannabinoids like THC and CBD are referred to as “promiscuous” because they both have so many different targets to conquer. CBD can also bind to our vanilloid receptors and this is one of the ways how it manifests its pain killing, anti-inflammatory and temperature control effects. The vanilloid receptor is basically the chemical gateway to the pain pathway.

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 two receptors. THC is found abundantly in the female Cannabis with the highest concentration in the flowers. CBD is found abundantly in the Hemp plant, Cannabis ruderalis and other low THC strains, some species which may contain as little as 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?

THC and CBD are so similar and so easy to synthesise, because both share the same precursor or chemical parent being CBGA. Scientists first thought that CBD was the original precursor to THC and even though some 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 into CBG, THCA, CBDA or CBCA.

Can CBD make you feel high?

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

We know that no two Cannabis plants are alike and no two humans are alike and certainly no two ‘highs’ are alike. 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, pain 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 some 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 a certain 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. Truly Cannabis makes any disease or pain more bearable while offering healing and curing at the same time.

CBD is capable of converting to one of the less psychedelic analogues of THC in the gastric stomach and 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 actually just feeling better. Cannabis eases any form of suffering and makes any disease or pain more bearable, 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 rich medicine to help you take the edge off.

There is not much you can do to increase CBD levels other than to choose strains with a known high CBD content.  In general indica’s do have higher CBD content than sativa’s but this is not always the rule. CBD is naturally found in higher amounts in low THC varieties such as Cannabis ruderalis and some hemp species.

The leaves of the female plants are high in CBD and ii often refer to the leaves as “CBD medicine” and the flowers as “THC medicine”. Because the leaves are lower in THC they are naturally higher in CBD and this is why leaf products make excellent muscle relaxants, anti-inflammatories and pain killers because of the higher percentage CBD in the leaves. Leaves which are in vegetative stage will also naturally have higher CBD levels than leaves harvested in the flowering stage. This is simply because there is an overall higher THC percentage at harvest time than during the vegetative stage of growth and this is especially true for plants grown in natural sunshine.

So in other words, people looking for a high CBD medicine would need to source a ‘lower THC quality’ herb to prepare a high CBD medication. This is why industrial hemp is high in CBD because it is naturally low in THC so working with the leaves of the plant will also produce good quality CBD medicine.

At the end of the day ii really believe it all boils down to genetics but ii have met a lot of growers who have shown me that by letting their plants grow a little longer more CBD is produced. Some of these growers have shown me Cannabinoid content laboratory tests to back their claims. Another important thing to remember is that the leaves of the plant contains more CBD than the flowers. It really is a shame that probably thousands of tons of leaves and stems are thrown away every year because people do not realise the science of what is happening inside this extraordinary plant and what beautiful medicine they could have made.