Why does Cannabis make our eyes red?

Interestingly enough the reason our eyes become red after smoking Cannabis is also the main reason why Cannabis is becoming renowned for its treatment of glaucoma. Basically Cannabis reduces blood pressure, which in turn causes blood vessels and capillaries to dilate. The ocular capillaries dilate which increases the flow of blood to the eyes and this is what naturally reduces intraocular pressure. A lot of people will argue that this is not a good idea and red eyes surely must be a sign of a problem.  Some people will tell you that Cannabis sets your brain on fire and this is why your eyes go red.  Alcohol does the exact same thing because alcohol is also a vaso dilator. The red eye effect of Cannabis is short lived just like the psychedelic effects.

The reality is that the stronger the THC strain the redder your eyes will be but as said before this is also short lived. But some experts will tell you that actually the weaker the THC strain the more red the eyes…so yes everyone is different, every eye is different and again every Cannabis plant is different. So for example a person can smoke a low THC strain one day and have little to no eye redness, while the very next day their eyes may be blood shot after eating a high THC strain edible product. This also explains why red eyes can still occur even in the absence of smoke proving that it is not the smoke which makes our eyes red but the actual Cannabinoids. Personally ii would take red eyes over blindness any day.

Why does Cannabis make us sleep so well?

We know that Cannabis is the best medicine for uninterrupted sleep cycles which is essential to overall health and well -being. Insomnia is usually the biggest problem for any sick person. Not only ill people struggle to sleep there are many healthy people who will also benefit from a good night of sleep. But it is not only the CBN which sends us off to dreamland. Because the chemicals found in the Cannabis plant controls our hormone system our human companion plant can offer us a good night’s sleep because it stimulates the Pineal gland to produce Melatonin and Serotonin which are the two hormones which controls our sleep-wake patterns. So here again you can see how Cannabis controls the Endocrine system and how our bodies absorb hormones.

Most sleeping tablets give the patient a simple hypnotic effect but Cannabis offers a proper nights rest with overall symptom reduction which allows better sleep patterns to be developed. Most of the sedative or hypnotic drugs which are available have awful side effects and none really seem to create a sleep architecture which is even remotely identical to natural sleep architecture. One of the worst side effects of opioid drugs is sleep disruption which in turn intensifies the pain condition. One would think that clever people who become scientists would have considered these side effects but all we achieve through prescribing these man made drugs is an increase in the dose of pain killers required to manage the patient’s pain and an increase in the side effects. This is a major problem which needs to be addressed by gaining a better understanding of the mechanisms of sleep action as well as the mechanisms of drug action. This involves developing a deep knowledge of receptor expression and of how molecules bind to the various receptors. 

The importance of sleep as a medicinal remedy can never be overlooked and we hope that in the future this ongoing clinical problem of sleep disorders may continue to stimulate advances in understanding neurochemical regulation of sleep.

Cannabinoids are able to interact and bind with multiple targets meaning a variety of different receptors and not only the Cannabinoid receptors. It is the combination of all the Cannabinoids and the terpenes especially Myrcene (the mango terpene) which enables Cannabis to be offer us pain relief, anti-anxiety and sedative effects. Cannabis brings sleep on rapidly with less periods of wakefulness and minimal next day effects and almost no abuse potential. No other sedative drug can offer all of this.