Ok . So if someone smokes cannabis or they ingest cannabis very rapidly gets into the bloodstream and the components that are psychoactive , get into the bloodstream and are immediately able to access neurons and other cells and start having these effects of parking at those endogenous cannabinoid receptors and impacting the signaling between neurons , which leads to the subjective effects of cannabis including THC and CBD . So let's talk about what those different subjective effects are .
Now , what we can say for sure is that uh general categories of effects such as increased focus and reduced anxiety are largely due to activation of areas like the prefrontal cortex . Now , unlike other compounds like nicotine or alcohol or neurotransmitter systems like dopamine when we talk about the cannabinoid system and I say effects biological effects , psychoactive effects . I want you to keep in mind always , please , please please keep in mind that those effects can be varied and often opposite in direction .
And that is exerted largely through effects on CB one receptors in neurons of the spinal cord . So a broad array of effects are taking place regardless of what strain you take and what , whether or not you eat the cannabis or you smoke the cannabis . And the broad array of effects can be explained by the fact that that retrograde signaling can lead to activation or suppression of activity in various neurons .
But also signaling from the hypothalamus to the gut to neurons within the stomach itself that regulate blood sugar . So there are strong effects on blood sugar of THC and CBD that generally lead to increases in appetite . So two parallel mechanisms , one within the brain , one within the body , increasing appetite .
I'm not telling you what to do or what not to do , but there are no good predictors . In fact , if you look in the literature , it is not at all clear that people who have a heightened level of anxiety when they do not smoke cannabis will experience cannabis as less paranoia inducing or more relaxing . That's simply not the case .
