Since cannabis came into the mainstream, scientists and enthusiasts have been keen to unlock the answers to it’s many effects on us. The plant has gained a reputation for being a relaxant, emphasized by stoner portrayals in Hollywood movies. Whilst there are some cannabis strains out there that could have sedentary effects, not all cannabis strains affect us in the same way. Whilst there are cannabis strains that relax us, there are others that can make us feel energetic and active. 

On 1 November 2018, the UK opened up the cannabis market by legalizing medical cannabis. These prescriptions give UK patients the opportunity to choose a strain that they think will offer therapeutic benefits. A high proportion of these prescriptions have been offered to people that are looking to benefit from the relaxing effects of cannabis. For people in search of these effects, it’s very important to select strains cautiously. It could be problematic for someone that experiences anxiety to consume a cannabis strain notorious for it’s very energetic effects. 

In this article we’re going to look into how cannabis can make you feel, What causes these feelings, some relaxing strains and even the Entourage Effect. 

How Does Cannabis Make You Feel?

While the movies do over emphasize some aspects of cannabis, some of the mainstream portrayals are real. Cannabis users often feel euphoric, uplifted, creative, relaxed, energized, hungry and sensitive to environmental change. Some of the unpleasant feelings from cannabis are anxiety, high blood pressure, paranoia and confusion. 

While all these effects can be felt by a cannabis consumer, it would be difficult to find a group of people that all felt the same effects from the same bit of herb. Cannabis doesn’t seem to affect all people equally, despite having a broad range of effects and good bioavailability during inhalation. It is important to get to the bottom of what causes the effects of cannabis in order to begin considering a strain. 

What Causes The Effects Of Cannabis?

In order to get a good understanding of what influences the effects that your cannabis strains might have on you, we’re going to walk through some important cannabis compounds as well as external factors that might have an effect on your high. 

Terpenes

Cannabis terpenes are plant hydrocarbons that essentially give the plant its smell and flavour. Terpenes have been much researched for their therapeutic effects, as they are found in many fruits and vegetables. Terpenes offer a lot more to the cannabis consumer than just taste and flavour. They can have a big influence on how a particular strain makes someone feel. 

Some terpenes are known for their relaxing effects:

• Terpinolene - This is a very uncommon terpene, known for having sedating effects and present in non cannabis foods such as apples and lilacs. 
• Myrcene - This is one of the most common terpenes, found in most cannabis strains. While myrcene has been used in sleep therapies for centuries, there have not been enough clinical trials to provide medical backing to this claim. Myrcene can even have the effect of increasing the potency of THC. 
• Caryophyllene - This terpene is another frequently abundant terpene in cannabis. It is known for its relaxing effects and ability to reduce anxiety in patients. Caryophyllene is frequently found in cannabis topical as well as the flower. 

By finding a good balance of terpenes that are known to aid in relaxation, the cannabis high can be better tailored for someone who is looking for those effects. Terpenes are just one part in deciding if a strain is correct for you. 

Cannabinoid Profile

Other than terpene analysis, the cannabinoid profile of a strain is one of the best ways to determine how a cannabis strain will affect you. This is something we understand better than most since our expertise is cultivating expotic cannabinoids. Each cannabinoid will make us feel somewhat different. THC stimulates our CBD1 receptors and causes a head high, while CBD stimulates our CB2 receptors and in large doses can make our bodies feel weightless. We even have CBG strains that have completely unique effects in themselves. 

There’s still variance over how a particular cannabinoid might affect different people, especially with the psychoactive ones like THC. It is advised to test these cannabinoids in small quantities to begin with. Once you know which cannabinoids work best and what quantities, it will be much easier to predict if strains at your dispensary will have the desired effects. 

Dose

Dosing requires some level of understanding of the cannabis you’re consuming and your body’s metabolism. If dosing edibles, this can be tricky because edibles have to be processed by the body’s First Pass Metabolism, a stage at which cannabinoids can be processed with low or high efficiency. This means that a certain volume of an edible could get someone to different stages of high depending on how their First Pass Metabolism is performing. 

Dosing the amount of cannabis you inhale can be a better way to maintain some regular effect, especially with use of a vaporiser. If searching for relaxing effects, sometimes too small a quantity won’t scratch the surface, while too much can induce paranoia and make it hard to relax. 

Set & Setting

Our environment has an immense impact on how we feel, especially in combination with psychoactive substances. If you feel very anxious and nervous before consuming cannabis, there is a possibility that the high will magnify those feelings and do the opposite of relax. Similarly, consuming cannabis after experiencing happiness and dopamine will likely yield a pleasant and relaxing high. 

Before taking a dose of cannabis, make sure you assess how you feel, and if you need to amend your mood/environment before consuming. For a lot of people that struggle to get their head space right to ensure a pleasant experience, consuming cannabis before sleeping can be a great option. 

Entourage Effect

Before suggesting strains that we would recommend for their relaxing traits, it’s important to understand what the Entourage Effect is. The Entourage Effect explains the situation in which the effects of cannabis are magnified by the harmonious presence of terpenes and cannabinoids. It was first postulated by Mechoulam and Ben-Shabat, who are looked at as the grandfathers of cannabinoids. 

The Entourage Effect sets apart the effects that cannabinoids can have on their own versus cannabinoids with other naturally occurring plant compounds. For this reason, we tend to sway more towards whole plant cannabis products, or ones that can demonstrate a low level of isolation of compounds. THC isolated and consumed would have a different effect to an equal quantity of THC in flower form - as the entourage effect would be experienced with the flower and potentially show stronger effects. 

In order to take advantage of the Entourage Effect so that the relaxing traits of cannabis can be magnified, you must check the lab analysis of your cannabis products to make sure there is an abundance of plant compounds. If consuming cannabis concentrates, the Entourage Effect is equally as relevant. 

Relaxing CBD Strains:

Relaxing CBD Concentrates

Relaxing THC Strains