The Science of Getting High

What is it about the magical cannabis plant that gets you high? The answer is not just a matter of curiosity. Understanding how you get high will give you a unique insight to how your brain works.

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In this article, we’ll start with the basics, answering questions like: does THC get you high? How long does weed get you high for?

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If you stick around, we’ll delve a bit deeper, to answer more nuanced questions. What exactly is THC doing to your brain? And is THC the only compound in cannabis that gets you high? Knowing the answer to these questions is the key to optimizing your experience on – and off – cannabis.

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Does THC Get You High?

Yes, it does. Even if you know nothing about the biochemistry of a cannabis high, you probably know enough to look for THC on the label. More THC = more high.

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THC stands for delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the most abundant cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant. THC is found naturally in cannabis in its carboxylic acid form, called THCA (A for Acid). THCA is not bioactive. However, when heated (as with smoking or vaping), it is decarboxylated to produce THC, which is psychotropic.

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How Long Does a Cannabis High Last?

When inhaled, THC enters the lungs where it has easy access into the bloodstream. When it crosses the blood brain barrier, it has access to the neural circuitry of the brain. So if you smoke or vape cannabis, you will probably feel the effects pretty quickly – within seconds. Concentrations will peak within about 30-60 minutes, and may last for 3-4 hours.

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THC can also be consumed through edibles, but the high takes a bit longer to set in. That’s because it can no longer directly enter your bloodstream through the lungs. When you ingest THC as an edible, it goes through your digestive system and gets metabolized into new psychotropic compounds, especially 11-hydroxy-THC.

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How Does THC Get You High?

THC comes into your brain and hijacks the existing neural circuitry. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on context – and that’s precisely why it can be so interesting to begin to understand what is going on in there.

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In order to fully appreciate how THC hijacks your brain, we have to first understand the way the brain is operating under sober conditions. Remember, your body wasn’t designed to receive signals from plant cannabinoids like THC (called phytocannabinoids), per se. Although THC interacts with specific receptors in your body, those receptors are actually there to receive signals from endogenously-produced cannabinoids, or endocannabinoids. 

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Endocannabinoids really have very little to do with phytocannabinoids. They are completely different molecules, which are naturally produced by your body. Endocannabinoids play a big role in controlling communication between neurons, or nerve cells.

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Neurons communicate with each other using chemicals called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters include chemicals you’ve probably heard of, like dopamine, serotonin, and acetylcholine.

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The first neuron, aka the presynaptic neuron, has a storage pile of neurotransmitters, which it sends across a synaptic cleft to a second neuron, the postsynaptic neuron. When the chemical message arrives at the postsynaptic neuron, it will either excite that neuron to do something, or tell it to quiet down.

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Endocannabinoids work in the same way – but with a small caveat. They send signals in the opposite direction, which is called retrograde signaling. So, an endocannabinoid is released from the postsynaptic neuron, and transverses the synaptic cleft back to the presynaptic neuron. Once it gets there, it binds to a receptor called CB1, and changes the probability that this neuron will release a neurotransmitter. Endocannabinoids act in this way to regulate the communication between neurons.

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Let’s zoom in on that CB1 receptor, because this is the key to answering the question of how does weed get you high. CB1 receptors are mainly located in the nervous system, and especially the brain. CB2 receptors, on the other hand, are located predominantly in immune cells where they play other important roles – but are less involved in the actual high that you experience from cannabis.

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If all that was tricky to follow, don’t worry. The main thing you need to understand is that the endocannabinoid system is a finely tuned system that can affect things like mood and hunger. It’s a system with a lot of nuance – which means it can work in a lot of different ways, and its effects are not exactly straight-forward.

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THC, on the other hand, is NOT very nuanced. Here are two key things to know about THC as it pertains to your cannabis high:

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1.       THC produces its effects by binding to the CB1 receptor.

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2.       THC binds to the CB1 receptor with such high affinity that it totally out-competes your body’s own endogenous receptors. THC completely overrides the body’s finely tuned endocannabinoid system.

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Remember when we said that THC hijacking your brain can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on context? Here’s where point #2 becomes relevant.

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Why might you wish to completely knock out your body’s carefully tuned endocannabinoid system? (Other than for fun, that is.) Research is still investigating how THC can be used to help with anxiety, stress, pain, and anorexia. All of these represent areas where it could be useful to override the existing neural circuitry.

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It’s important to recognize that, although your THC high might be temporary, the effects on your endocannabinoid system can be long-term. Once again, this is highly contextual. Cannabis can help people suffering from mood disorders, but can also increase anxiety and depression in the long-term by down-regulating the endocannabinoid system. As with all drugs, cannabis represents a combination of risks and rewards.

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Is THC the Only Compound in Cannabis That Gets You High?

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Yes…and no. Although there are estimated to be over 100 cannabinoids that naturally occur in the cannabis plant, some of those are non-psychotropic, like CBD (cannabidiol) and CBN (cannabinol). Others are simply not present in large enough quantities to contribute to your high, even if they are psychotropic.

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But technically speaking, there are other compounds that can get you high. Some are found naturally in cannabis, but in extremely low quantities – like THCb or THCv. To obtain an effective dosage, manufacturers isolate and concentrate these compounds from hemp.

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Others are compounds that are synthesized to have similar structures – and therefore behave similarly – to THC. These are called synthetic cannabinoids.

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And there is a third class that falls somewhere in between naturally derived and synthetic cannabinoids, which are called semi-synthetic cannabinoids. These are compounds that can be derivatized from non-psychotropic compounds in hemp (like CBD) to make novel psychotropic compounds. For example, delta-8-THC and HHC fall into this category.

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Does Delta-8 Get You High?

Delta-8-THC is an example of a semi-synthetic cannabinoid. Although it is found in extremely low quantities in cannabis, to make appreciable quantities it needs to be derivatized from the starting material CBD. Since CBD derives from hemp, this puts delta-8-THC in a legal gray area – so it is unregulated.

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Recall that THC gets you high because it binds strongly to the CB1 receptor – so powerfully that it renders the body’s endocannabinoid system pretty much useless.

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Delta-8-THC, because it is chemically almost identical to regular THC, does exactly the same thing. However, some reports of delta-8-THC suggest that it may be associated with fewer negative side effects. For example, people who experience anxiety or paranoia with regular (delta-9) THC may be less likely to have the same negative experience with delta-8-THC. This could be because it has a slightly lower affinity for the CB1 receptor compared to THC.

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The Take-Away

If you only got one thing out of this article, hopefully you understand that THC (and related compounds) get you high by overriding the normal neural circuitry in your brain. Here’s your break-down:

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·       THC binds to a receptor called CB1.

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·       It binds with way more strength compared to the body’s natural chemicals.

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·       In doing so, it completely defunctionalizes the normal system that controls mood, stress, hunger, and pain.

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·       This can be a good or a bad thing depending on how it is used!

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As always, if you need some guidance on which cannabis product is best for you, feel free to contact us for a free consultation.