How much do you know about what’s in the cannabis you use?
Most people know the basics. THC is a compound that raises you, CBD is known to relax you, and cannabis has potential treatment characteristics.
CPR news listeners have asked Colorado to take a deeper scientific look at the components of cannabis. It made us think about us. If you only think about THC and CBD, what can you miss?
Surprised KaneStudies the DNA and chemistry of cannabis and other plants, a plant geneticist of the University of Colorado. In one of Cu Budder’s laboratory, Kane presented a large shelf with research equipment. In that, the big and slightly withered cannabis decoration has disappeared.
“You are in the wrong time. Usually this room is packaged from the floor to the ceiling (with cannabis).”
Despite the humble size of the laboratory, there is a reason why cannabis is studied here in another picture -like greenhouse of CU. “All our cannabis must be grown in the right certification,” he explained.
Kane’s research focuses on strengthening consumers and cultivators so that they can make a smarter and more information -based decision.
“The laboratory designed a test to identify whether there is a genes to produce THC or CBD in plants,” he explained. “Just doing it helped the planter made a better choice.”
But cannabis is much more complicated than THC and CBD. Kane said, “Oh, there are certainly hundreds of different compounds in cannabis.” Most of them remain largely studied. “Thca, CBDA, CBD, THC, CBG…
This effect occurs because the human body has receptors that respond to cannabis compounds. This receptor Endo Canabinoid SystemIt can affect things such as pain recognition, alarm, mood and sleep. According to Kane, “some are less aware of pain, some lead to drowsiness, and some lead to more alarms, depending on the exact mix that you may have taken.”
This interaction is why cannabis is attracting attention in medical research. Studies have shown that cannabis can treat epilepsy, relieve pain, and slow down Parkinson’s disease.. But there is a critical nuance here. It is not a single chemical that is responsible for this effect. Instead, it is a complex way for all chemicals interact, and conceptual scientists “Aides effect.”
Kane explained this with an example of glaucoma treatment. Early researchers thought that THC alone was effective. It is a combination of compounds that truly lock the medical potential of cannabis.
But to understand how hundreds of compounds interact with the human body, time, resources, and above all, approaches. And that’s where the situation becomes difficult. Although cannabis are legitimate for recreation in Colorado, researchers are still facing the rules of instructing federal restrictions and rules, how to cultivate what kind of cannabis they can, how to grow, and who can work legally.
“We can’t study many plants that people actually use in Colorado,” Kane said. Researchers often approach cannabis varieties with very low concentration of medical compounds, so comprehensive research is difficult.
Even if research occurs, additional problems arise. The names of cannabis are not standardized. One pharmacy’s “Girl Scout Cookie” can be chemically distinguished from other pharmacy versions. Kane said that even minor differences, such as storage methods, can dramatically change the chemical composition of plants.
These limitations of research can have a real effect. 7 % Our adult We report cannabis for medical purposes to manage healthy conditions such as chronic pain, anxiety and PTSD. Without a clear understanding and consistent standards, they prescribe the cannabis correctly or predict the effect. It’s not impossible, but it’s hard.
Kane admitted that research on cannabis complexity is just beginning.
“There will be a lot of precious and interesting information from these studies in the future,” he said. “We’ve started to understand that this complexity is important, but we don’t know enough yet.”
Nevertheless, uncertainty is not discouraged for researchers like Kane. Interesting. Cannabis works very different from traditional painkillers such as opioids and offers potentially safer and subtle pain relief.
Thousands of yearsPeople mainly understood cannabis through personal experience. And personal experiences are essential until science completely solves mystery.
Kane said, “Ultimately, it can be a necessary way to understand this plant.” The future has a promise, but now cannabis remains an interesting mix of known people and unknown.
