![]() ![]() THC's impacts are varied: it can reduce anxiety, but in some cases it can instead increase it. What exactly does this high feel like? It can involve relaxation, euphoria and changes in appetite, but also sometimes confusion and an altered perception of space and time. When the THC from cannabis makes its way into the bloodstream, it eventually binds to the CB1 receptors, resulting in a high. ![]() Anandamide - whose name comes from the Sanskrit word Änanda, which translates to "joy" or "bliss" - is an endocannabinoid ("endo" meaning "inside") involved in, among other things, the regulation of mood, pleasure and appetite. But this one was produced in the brain, not the plant. Then in 1992, Mechoulam's lab discovered a new cannabinoid. They reasoned that these CB1 receptors must have evolved to be activated by something our bodies produced, and that THC hijacks the receptors when we use cannabis. In 1988, scientists learned that THC triggers specific receptors in the brain. Still making important discoveries, Mechoulam, 92, is known as "the father of cannabis." He took the giant step of defining the chemical properties and structure of THC, setting the stage for the research that is having an enormous social, medical and economic impact today. Nobody knew the structure of THC until the 1960s when a young Israeli scientist, Raphael Mechoulam, wondered how exactly it got us high. CBC Docs Newsletter Docs to watch this week: the dangers of air pollution, everything we thought we knew about T. ![]()
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