Cannabis: Do the side effects outweigh it?

How CBD and THC affect the body and psyche

Created: 2022-11-07 16:07

By: Juliane Gutmann

Cannabis can have positive effects on the body - or have fatal consequences for the consumer.

Medicinal cannabis to possible psychosis: an overview.

• What is cannabis?

• How does cannabis work?

• Differences between "normal cannabis" and CBD: legal regulations at a glance

• What are cannabis side effects?

  Effects of CBD and THC at a glance

• How does CBD work in the body?

• Cannabis for pain: When to use medicinal cannabis

• Proven: Medicinal cannabis has an effect on these diseases and symptoms

• Cannabis on prescription: In these cases, the health insurance pays

• Possible negative consequences of cannabis use

• With long-term cannabis consumption: Mental illnesses possible

Grass, weed or marijuana: Everyone knows cannabis - if only from hearsay.

Basically, the term cannabis stands for the hemp plant, the components of which can have an intoxicating effect - if the female plant is consumed.

In Germany, according to the German Narcotics Act, cannabis is one of the illegal addictive substances that may only be used in the form of medical cannabis.

In many other countries, the plant has been decriminalized and can be grown and consumed in certain quantities.

A number of possible effects speak against uncontrolled cannabis consumption.

But at the same time there are some arguments in favor of legalization.

The following facts about cannabis will help you with your assessment.

What is cannabis?

The Indian hemp plant is called cannabis.

It contains the psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which contributes significantly to the intoxicating effect of cannabis.

are often used in connection with the cannabis plant

.

The former, also known as weed, is the dried petals, stems and leaves of cannabis.

As the charity 

informs, hashish is the dried resin from the glandular hairs of the female plant.

Typically, cannabis is mixed with tobacco and then smoked.

Cannabis can also be added to brownies or cakes and then baked.

Here, however, the effect usually sets in with a time delay, whereas smoking causes an immediate feeling of intoxication.

Cannabis use survey

You can find even more exciting health topics in our free newsletter, which you can subscribe to right here.

How does cannabis work?

The effects of cannabis are due to cannabinoids, which are found exclusively in hemp and affect many functions in the body.

As the

informs, active ingredients from the cannabis plant can dock to cannabinoid receptors in the human nervous system and thus trigger intoxicating or pain-relieving effects.

According to

, cannabinoids include:

also read

Oatmeal in the Öko-Test: These products fail because of critical ingredients

Indigestion: You should avoid these 11 flatulent foods

• Delta-9-Tetrahydrogencannabinol THC

• Cannabidiol (CBD)

• Cannabinol (CBN)

• Cannabichromene (CBC)

Differences between "normal cannabis" and CBD: an overview of legal regulations

CBD stands for cannabidiol, one of the main cannabinoids in the cannabis plant.

As a pure substance, CBD is currently not subject to the Narcotics Act, as the

informs.

However, not every form of CBD cannabis is legal.

In Germany, no CBD products may be sold or consumed that contain too much of the intoxicating cannabinoid THC.

As the trade journal

informs today, the cultivation of hemp in the EU only remains unpunished if the plant contains less than 0.2 percent THC.

However, according to the consumer advice center, there is no uniform limit value for food throughout Europe.

However,

policies that

for manufacturers and food monitoring.

The limits of THC

• Five micrograms of THC per kilogram for non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages

• 5,000 micrograms per kilogram for edible oils

• 150 micrograms per kilogram for all other foods

In concrete terms, this means that if the THC content in cannabis products is not known, you should keep your hands off it.

If, for example, dealers sell cannabis in flower form, exceeded THC limits can become a problem, informs

as a youth program of Bavarian Radio.

Sustainably reduce stress – with proven relaxation techniques

View photo gallery

What are the side effects of cannabis?

Effects of CBD and THC at a glance

The cannabinoids contained in cannabis have different effects in the body.

They have an effect on the brain, the nervous system, but also on the heart and circulatory system.

What also significantly influences the effect of cannabis products in addition to the composition of the ingredients: the substances do not have the same effect on everyone.

For example, THC can relieve anxiety on the one hand, but in some cases it can also trigger it, as the

informs.

The dose plays an important role for the strength of the effect and side effects, continues

.

THC and CBD as the main components of cannabis have different effects.

shows in an overview how THC can have a positive effect on the body

:

THC: Possible beneficial effects

• THC can increase creativity.

• The substance has a calming but also slightly euphoric effect on the psyche.

• Anxiety can decrease.

• A more intense perception of sensory impressions is also possible after consumption.

• THC consumption can increase well-being.

• An improvement in coordination is possible - but also a deterioration.

• THC has an analgesic effect and relaxes the muscles.

• May reduce nausea and vomiting.

• Consuming THC usually increases appetite.

Possible side effects of cannabis due to the THC it contains

• deterioration in coordination

• anxiety increase

• Hallucinations after high doses

• Difficulty thinking, disturbance in attention

• nausea

• palpitations

• Drop in blood pressure, possibly with dizziness

• drop in intraocular pressure

How does CBD work in the body?

CBD is the second most common cannabinoid in cannabis after THC, but it is not intoxicating.

It is considered harmless because it cannot have a negative impact on the psyche like THC.

As reported by

, the

wrote in a 2018 statement that cannabidiol does not show any effects in humans that indicate potential for abuse or addiction.

For someone who is looking for a drug high, CBD is hardly suitable.

However, there are few studies

on the supposedly

What is proven, however, is that CBD helps with epilepsy.

informs that there is a drug containing CBD on the German market that is approved for certain forms of epilepsy

.

CBD could also have healing effects with regard to mental illnesses.

The

cites a study by the University of Cologne, which examined 40 patients with schizophrenia to see how treatment with CBD affects them.

Compared to a standard drug, CBD worked just as well, with significantly fewer side effects.

The conclusion of the study leader according to

: While the intoxicating cannabinoid THC can trigger psychosis when it docks with the appropriate receptors in the brain, CBD even seems to counteract this.

Even if the scientific basis for the following

is largely lacking, some advocates of the active ingredient swear by positive effects:

• sleep problems

• metabolic or skin diseases

• Overweight because CBD is said to curb appetite

• acne

• restlessness

• Pains

• fears

Cannabis blossoms for medical treatment: Since 2017, physicians in Germany have been able to prescribe cannabis medicinal products in individual cases.

(Iconic image) © Boris Roessler/dpa

Cannabis for pain: When to use medicinal cannabis

The pharmacological benefit of the hemp plant has now been scientifically proven for several diseases and symptoms.

For this reason, patients with serious illnesses have been entitled to cannabis as medicine under certain conditions since March 2017, as decided by the National Association of

.

Since then, both the active ingredient THC and painkillers based on cannabis have been approved for medical purposes.

But even if there are already some medicines with cannabinoids from the hemp plant on the market, medicinal cannabis is only intended for use in exceptional cases when other therapies do not work.

There is a strict prescription requirement.

Proven: Medicinal cannabis has an effect on these diseases and symptoms

A benefit of medical cannabis has been proven for the following diseases and symptoms, as the

, the

Ministry of Health and the

inform:

• Loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting in people with cancer treated with chemotherapy

• Spasticity due to multiple sclerosis (MS)

• Pain associated with chronic diseases

• anxiety disorders

• sleep disorders

• Tourette syndrome

• ADHD (there is hardly any scientific evidence here, as the

  TK

  informs)

Medicinal cannabis for depression?

report on "Cannabis as medicine"

published in 2019, medical cannabis is not effective for the following diseases:

• depressions

• psychoses

• dementia

• glaucoma

• intestinal diseases

Cannabis on prescription: In these cases, the health insurance pays

Physicians, every family doctor and specialist may prescribe dried cannabis blossoms and extracts as well as medicinal cannabis such as drugs with the active ingredients dronabinol and nabilone

.

According to the Federal Ministry of Health, cannabis medicinal products are paid for by the health insurance company if the following requirements are met:

• It is a serious illness.

• There is no alternative to treatment with medical cannabis, or the alternative cannot be used in individual cases based on the doctor's justified assessment.

• There is a prospect of a positive influence on the course of the disease or on the patient's condition.

Possible negative consequences of cannabis use

The

informs that the addictive potential of cannabis has been underestimated so far .

Physically, the dependency is only noticeable through slight withdrawal symptoms, such as restlessness.

Studies would show, however, that up to ten percent of cannabis users meet the criteria for addiction if the psychological symptoms are also taken into account, according to the BMBF.

According to Techniker Krankenkasse, a cannabis addiction can manifest itself as follows:

• You are unable to reduce or stop your cannabis use altogether.

• They often feel restless, anxious, aggressive or depressed.

• Your ability to perform at school or at work decreases.

• They often miss unexcused.

• Cannabis addiction often goes hand in hand with giving up hobbies.

• Social withdrawal can also be a sign.

• Problems with the partner, in the family or in the circle of friends are piling up.

• You hide your consumption.

With long-term cannabis consumption: Mental illnesses possible

Mental illnesses can also occur as a result of cannabis, such as psychoses.

As

quotes a British study, those who used cannabis daily were three times more likely to develop psychosis than others.

Conversely, almost 30 percent of those surveyed with psychosis stated that they use cannabis every day, according to the

report.

The

also provides information about diagnoses of paranoid schizophrenia that can be traced back to long-term cannabis use.

As the

quotes the child and adolescent psychiatrist Rainer Thomasius, he assumes that cases of paranoid schizophrenia - a mental illness from the group of psychoses - in which those affected become violent are rare.

However, there would always be homicides in court in which the underlying mental illness of the perpetrators can be traced back to cannabis abuse.