Strainology
Welcome to Herbage 101. The Experts at Wholesale Hemp Suppliers are giving you a real education today, and today’s topic is Cannabis. There’s a lot that they don’t teach you in school about cannabis but our most beloved plant has a ton of scientific features and processes that we won’t be able to put it all down on paper, but we can get into the basics and build from there.
Let’s brush up on what we already know: cannabis is a plant, it makes people happy, it’s used for medicinal purposes all over the world, we can smoke it or we can eat it. Apart from the socially accepted aspects, let’s get down to some real scientific facts about cannabis.
The REAL High School Facts About cannabis
Did you know that the human body has its own central delivery system that helps to maintain the balance within your body? Scientists have explored the four major ways of delivering medicine into the central nervous system and cannabis is processed in three out of the four delivery methods. You can swallow cannabis (ingest), through inhalation (smoking), or you can absorb it through your skin. The reality is that cannabis does provide medicinal functions throughout the human body. But the way it works through our central delivery system is the interesting part. What’s actually in cannabis starts with the basics of CBD - within the system of CBD, there is an endocannabinoid system that is responsible for homeostasis (a state of chemical conditions that are maintained by living systems - basically it keeps everything balanced and in control. So what does cannabis do to you? Because of the natural nature of homeostasis found in cannabis, that means that this plant can also provide regulation (or balance if you will), to your sleep, receptors of pain, memory, appetite, mood, and so much more on the human body. The way cannabis works is by releasing NATURAL endocannabinoids into your system to provide you balance, or in scientific terms, if your homeostasis is out of alignment.
Here’s how your brain is functioning while cannabis is being introduced into the body’s delivery network - Brain cells, called neurons, communicate with each other by sending messages of the chemical kind. These neurotransmitters will cross a gap between the nearest neuron attaching themselves to their designated receptor. Your brain is essentially firing off chemical messages to the rest of your body. This is called the Presynaptic phase where the neuron is firing off these chemical signatures. Next comes the Postsynaptic phase, where the neuron receiving the message is activated and receives that chemical signature. This is the part where your brain starts flowing and you start getting the cannabis experience.
Cannabinoids are natural chemicals (Anandamide and 2-AG), and they bind to cannabinoid receptors in the brain and body. Receptors are activated by a network of neurotransmitters that relay this chemical information into the body. Essentially, the euphoric feeling starts in your brain, and is delivered to the rest of your system.
Take a look at the diagram provided above. You can see the list of neurotransmitters where cannabis has different effects on the brain for the types of chemical messages they are sending. Each section of the brain has a specific function that regulates an aspect of your body, from fear, anxiety, to anti nausea and creative thinking. There are over 700 different strains found in cannabis and each strain attaches itself to specific neurotransmitters which is why we have different experiences when we indulge in Indica, Sativa, or Hybrid strains.
Largest Organ In Your Body
Can you tell me which one it is? I bet you’re probably thinking somewhere else than the truth. It’s your skin actually. The human skin, or epidermis as it’s scientifically called is the largest organ in your body. Your skin maintains the outside world elements from going inside your body, but it also acts more than just a barrier. Underneath seven layers of skin, you have your circulatory system which delivers the body’s own cannabinoid type system. But one thing that everyone forgets, and they don’t teach it too often in high school, is that your skin can also soak up substances that penetrate skin. Cannabis happens to be one such plant that carries skin absorbing chemicals.
Let’s try this experiment; We’ll start with a bathtub and inside the bathtub you’ll find water infused with cannabis oil. Go in and relax, see how the water is. When cannabis oil comes into contact with your skin, the oil derived from cannabis is absorbed through your skin cells using a method called diffusion (intermingling is a better word for it really). What your skin is doing is absorbing the oils so now CBD (and/or THC) is flowing to your system. The chemicals in cannabis have to pass through the hair follicles, through the seven layers of the epidermis (skin), muscle tissue, nerves, and glands. Absorption is an interesting method, it’s a slower method in terms of delivery, but it is still an effective method if you don’t want to inhale (smoke) cannabis.
Depending on your dosage, you’ll find that your body has gone into a state of relaxation, euphoria, taken away some of the pain you’ve been feeling, and has given you the balance in your life mentally. Granted, this is one experiment I would’ve loved to have done in high school, and a subject I would’ve loved to have known more about as well. For those of you looking for extra boost to your bath, bath buds come in different dosages, and can have other cannabis companion plants such as lavender, and chamomile to heighten the experience.
Can You Smoke Lavender?
Fair question! Most of us don’t know if you can or can’t smoke lavender herbs. Would you try smoking chamomile tea? Most of us would say no, but that’s because we didn’t learn anything about herbs in high school. Remember that inhalation is still the fastest way to get cannabis into your system. Digestion is slower, but the effects are longer. Inhaling cannabis has to process through your lungs, then into your bloodstream, finally it then connects with your brain sending off neurosignals like we discussed earlier. Ingesting cannabis is slower, and it passes through your stomach first, followed by your liver which processes the chemical and breaks it down to proceed into your bloodstream, which then goes into your brain to fire off those neurosignals. Ingestion does deliver a longer lasting high.
Let’s look at what really happens here - ADME, Administration/absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. ADME is the clinical process for your body depending on the delivery system of medicine, in this case, cannabis. If we change the delivery method to ingestion from inhaling (or absorbtion), the effect of cannabis is dramatically altered. The distribution method is still the same between inhalation and ingestion where the chemicals make their way to the bloodstream. Where the process differs is through the metabolism phase and excretion. Some leftover residue from cannabis can be found up to 24 hours in your system so you may not feel it now, but you will feel it later, and that’s primarily because everyone has a different metabolism which processes anything we eat differently. Some users have faster metabolisms depending on lifestyle, and genetics, so everyone processes foods and cannabis differently.
Here are some of the best herbs to mix your cannabis with if you’re looking to go the delivery route of inhalation. Remember, these are all natural herbs found in the world, so take chamomile for example, we know it helps us go to sleep, helps fend off a cold, but it’s also known to relieve stress, anxiety and inflammation. But don’t just open a tea bag and smoke it or eat it, please don’t. What you’re looking for is dried chamomile buds to mix your cannabis or gummies with. Just like lavender dried buds, both herbs provide a nice flavor (and scent). Lavender provides the flavor, and chamomile promotes a more restful sleep, and also enhances the calming and soothing effects of CBD.
Hello My Name Is Dr. Green Thumb.
Botany is a subject not commonly taught in high school. But if you’re someone who has a green thumb and enjoys gardening, or is an experienced cannabis grower, then this section is for you. If you’re looking for companion crops with cannabis, you’ll find that plants such as Cerastium, Sunflower, Alfalfa (not the kid from the Little Rascals), and Marigold make for a great harvest with cannabis.
Need a natural way to prevent pests from sneaking onto your cannabis crops and taking over, while also masking a bit of the “cannabis smell”? Sow some Peppermint seeds into your cannabis garden. The pungent aroma of peppermint helps deter ants, fleas, aphids, and even mice from making their way into your crops. These types of pests carry a thousand times more smell receptors than humans, so what smells like a skunk for us, smells like food for them. For pests, the reason they are drawn to nasty smells is because of the way their brains process these neurosignals of smell. Remember that cannabis has that skunky smell, and these pests follow their noses. Block their nose receptors, then you deter them from ever setting foot in the garden. February through June will be your best months to grow Peppermint.
Need to harvest more cannabis oil? Chamomile, when mixed into your garden will not only deter mosquitos and fliers, but when mixed with your herb pots, this will boost the essential oil production of your herbs. Chamomile produces a natural oil from its leaves that is carried through the wind onto their neighboring plant. When this oil comes into contact with cannabis, it attaches itself to the cannabis plant, stimulating it organically on a cellular level so that the cannabis plant will yield a thicker, richer, and higher volume oil. Good thing about this plant as well is that it’s easy to grow and manage. Sidenote: Chamomile grows best starting from April and onwards.
Let’s get scientific for a second. Cannabis produces different types of properties that have many classifications. Something they don’t teach you in school is that in cannabis there are phenotypes, genotypes, and chemotypes.
The growth type of the plant is classified as the genotype. Layman's term: genotype indicates the different possibilities of growth, such as if the plant should be grown indoor, or outdoor, what kind of soil is needed, methods to growing, as well as the timeframe for when the flower is fully in bloom. With over 700 strains of cannabis in the world, there are over 700 different types of genomes and each one with their own growth possibilities.
That also means that there are over 700 phenotypes and chemotypes with cannabis. Phenotypes are defined as the genetic composition of the plant, or better yet, the genetics of the plant. Chemotypes are in relation to the quantities of chemical components in their essential oils - think potency and levels. There’s a ton of scientific stuff that could’ve been tough to us in high school but we never heard it.
Break for Recess
Unfortunately all we ever got were warnings about the effects of smoking on the teenage brain, rather than any of the positives or real scientific values. The experts at Wholesale Hemp Suppliers were able to shed light on a few new things about cannabis in one article, but we’re not stopping there. We are going to break out a series of educational articles so that we can further understand cannabis in a scientific format that is not taught in schools. The better education one is about cannabis, the more one understands the positives and benefits from this amazing plant.
It’s a shame that the older generation has a negative view of cannabis, but with all the advancements in our industry and its scientific properties, more and more of the older generation have been more vocal about legitimizing it in more states than none now that they understand what this plant is all about. And this is all just the tip of the iceberg. There is still more and more being discovered by scientists today.
The experts at Wholesale Hemp Suppliers are available for questions on cannabis, growing, cultivating, the science of cannabis and industry expertise. Please feel free to reach out to the experts at info@wholesalehempsuppliers.com