Medical marijuana can provide a lot of help to people with a wide range of health conditions, but it can also be confusing when you first visit a dispensary. You'll be looking at some terminology that is new to you. While the workers there will be glad to assist and can answer any questions that you have, there's nothing wrong with prepping in advance, either. If you're not sure about THC and CBD, here's what you should know.
What Is THC?
THC is an abbreviation for the term tetrahydrocannabinol, a type of cannabinoid found in marijuana products exclusively. It's also one of the beneficial chemicals in marijuana. THC has been shown to dramatically help with short- and long-term pain, nausea, lack of appetite, and depression. However, there are some shortcomings to THC.
The leading shortcoming of THC is that it gets you high. For many people, this isn't a problem. When you use THC at home, you have nothing to worry about. You may feel a little light-headed and silly for a while, but people typically have pleasant experiences on THC and simply feel happier than usual.
However, THC should never be used when driving or operating heavy machinery, or in combination with heavy narcotics. So if you have responsibilities you have to meet or are already taking other medications, you might want to stay away from THC.
What Is CBD?
CBD is another cannabinoid called cannabidiol. CBD shares many of the benefits that THC does: it's useful in controlling nausea, reducing seizures, lowering depression and anxiety, and controlling inflammation throughout the body. However, CBD has one main benefit over THC: it won't make you feel high.
Due to the chemical composition of CBD, it has no impact on one's mental state and can be used under just about any circumstances without concern of mixing with other drugs or making you too goofy to drive or operate heavy machinery.
How to Get One and Not the Other
These days, medical marijuana dispensaries understand the need for these two products. As a result, most products sold in medical marijuana dispensaries provide an estimate of how much THC and CBD they contain. So whether you're looking for one or both, you can likely find a product that will suit your needs. If you're not sure about quantities or have other questions, don't hesitate to ask the staff of a local medical cannabis dispensary.