Cannabis 101: Properties, Effects, Myths
We gathered the science so you don't have to.
Cannabis properties and myths
Most of us may have heard or read about cannabis and its effects. Sometimes the information we get is from word of mouth or personal experiences, which might not be supported scientifically.
The information presented on this page is based on scientific evidence and provides an overview of many properties of cannabis.
Here are some basic facts about cannabis.
Cannabis is green or brown dried plant material made by drying the flower buds, leaves, stems, and seeds from the cannabis sativa and cannabis indica plants.
• There are hundreds of chemical compounds found in cannabis.
• The main compound is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the compound that makes you feel high. How strong (or potent) the cannabis is depends on how much THC is in it.
• The other main component in cannabis is Cannabidiol (CBD). Unlike THC, CBD doesn’t make you feel high. The therapeutic properties of CBD are currently being studied because CBD is thought to have some therapeutic uses.
The most common ways to use cannabis include smoking, vaping, and eating or drinking it.
Smoking. If you smoke cannabis in a joint, bong, or pipe, you’ll start to feel the effects in seconds or minutes. The effects can last between 2 and 6 hours. Cannabis smoke, which is produced by burning the cannabis flower, has chemicals and toxins which can harm your lungs with long term use.
Vaping. Using a vaporizer or vape pen, cannabis flower or concentrates (in pods or cartridges) are transformed into a vapor, and not technically burned. Like with smoking, you might start to feel the effects within seconds or minutes, and effects can last up to 2-6 hours after vaping.
There is some early evidence that vaping might be better for you than smoking because burning cannabis (like when smoking) releases additional chemicals. However, some vape extracts (especially unregulated ones) have chemicals that aren’t well researched, so their effects on health are still unknown. Research on vaping cannabis is relatively new, so we don’t understand the long-term effects of vaping cannabis yet.
Edibles and drinkables. Many types of edibles are available including chocolates, gummies, and cannabis-infused drinks. The effects from eating or drinking cannabis take longer to occur (compared to smoking or vaping), since it needs to be processed in your digestive system before reaching your brain. You’ll feel effects within 1-2 hours, and they can last between 6 and 12 hours. Some people report more variable effects (less control over the high) from edibles than from smoking or vaping cannabis.
Other products containing THC and CBD are popping up, and include oils, capsules, creams, and bath bombs.
It depends on your body, how much experience you’ve had with cannabis, and how much you take at one time!
• You might experience emotional effects including joy, relaxation, and anxiety.
• You might experience physical effects including increased heart rate, and decreased blood pressure.
• You might experience cognitive effects including problems remembering things, problems focusing on things, and slowed reaction time.
• You might experience other psychological effects including changed perceptions (time passes by slower than usual).
Cannabis use can help relieve symptoms for these conditions:
• Chronic neuropathic or cancer pain. Neuropathic pain is caused by damage to the nervous system due to spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis, and some strokes.
• Nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy.
• Appetite stimulation for people with cancer and AIDS.
• Spasticity (chronically contracted muscles) due to Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
• Epilepsy, as CBD may reduce seizure frequency.
• Anxiety and depression, when secondary to a chronic disease. There is some evidence that cannabis can reduce anxiety and depression, but the data is not conclusive. Please note that if not administered by a doctor, cannabis may increase symptoms of depression and anxiety.
• There is limited evidence that cannabis can help other health conditions, including sleep disorders, Tourette’s syndrome, PTSD, and inflammatory skin diseases. More research is needed before cannabis can be used to treat these conditions.
Talk to your doctor before using cannabis to treat your own health conditions!
• It is very difficult to overdose on cannabis and there are no reported cases of death from a cannabis overdose.
• Based on its lethal dose measurement, you would have to smoke somewhere between 20 to 90 average joints within 15 minutes to overdose.
• If you use too much cannabis at one time you might feel anxious, paranoid, nauseous and lightheaded, an experience called greening out.
• Since the effects are delayed when you eat cannabis (your digestive system needs to process it), some people eat a lot of edibles before the effects kick in, without realizing that they are taking too much. This can lead to unintentionally using much more cannabis than planned, and increases the chances of greening out.
Frequent heavy use of cannabis is linked to a variety of health problems.
• Mental health problems associated with frequent heavy use include cannabis use disorder, anxiety disorders, psychosis, bipolar disorder, and depression, and amotivation (which is a change in personality where you feel indifferent, tired, and have a hard time completing tasks and expressing emotions).
• Physical health problems associated with frequent heavy use include lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, other lung problems, and changes in brain development.
Myth #1. Cannabis improves driving ability. In fact, cannabis impaired drivers are two times more likely to get into a non-fatal or fatal motor vehicle accident.
Myth #2. Cannabis is not addictive. In fact, almost 10% of users will become dependent on cannabis. Some people might also experience cannabis withdrawal symptoms. These symptoms include irritability, anxiety, and cravings.
Myth #3. Cannabis use improves concentration and attention. In fact, being high or stoned on cannabis reduces memory, concentration, and attention.
Myth #4. Cannabis improves symptoms of depression and anxiety. The science is unclear. There is some evidence that low doses of cannabis may improve symptoms of anxiety and depression, but there is also conflicting evidence that cannabis may worsen anxiety or depression.
Myth #5. Indica, Sativa, and Hybrid cannabis strains have unique effects. Many cannabis users strongly believe that Indica, Sativa, and Hybrid types have unique effects (e.g., Indica leading to in-da-couch). However, at this time, there is limited scientific evidence that these strains have distinct effects on users. Genetic evidence has also shown that many of the plants that fall within these 3 strains are not genetically unique from one another. This means that many strains of Indica, Sativia, and Hybrids do not differ genetically from each other and use of these products may result in similar effects.
Shown below is one example of a product label that would typically be found in legal cannabis stores across Canada.
The THC and CBD content is included on the cannabis packing, and can be written as a quantity (mg) or concentration (mg/g). For example, the package shown contains 5 gummies and each gummy has 2mg of THC and less than 0.2mg of CBD. The total package has 10mg of THC (5 gummies x 2mg THC each) and less than 1mg of CBD (5 gummies x under 0.2mg CBD).