3 Important Differences Between CBD and THC

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3 Important Differences Between CBD and THC

Over the past few decades, the discourse around cannabis has changed dramatically. Not only is this due to increasing conversation, but research has also uncovered a class of chemical compounds in cannabis that have the potential to help with a variety of health and wellness issues. These are called cannabinoids, and they are a family of chemicals found in marijuana and hemp that can be extracted from the plant. Since they are from the same plant, they have many similarities when it comes to how they work, and the benefits they have to offer. However, there are some important differences if you want to try either of them for health reasons.

Psychoactive Elements

The most important difference between THC and CBD is that the former is psychoactive, while the latter is not. This means that when you consume THC, whether it’s smoking marijuana or eating Delta 8 THC gummies, you will get high. However, when you take CBD on its own, it has no psychoactive properties, so you won’t get high or have your mental state altered at all. There are some pros and cons to psychoactive elements, which we will discuss below.

Legal Status

The most significant drawback of THC being psychoactive is that getting you high is the primary reason why cannabis has been illegal for so long. Even though research has uncovered numerous medical benefits to cannabis and THC specifically, it has been a long and arduous process to legalize it — or at least legalize it for medical purposes for the half of the global population.

For a long time, CBD suffered by association with THC and cannabis. It was only in 2014 when the Farm Bill initially legalized hemp and CBD, and 2018 which removed more restrictions on its use and cultivation. Now, you can get CBD from any number of manufacturers, retailers, online shops, dispensaries, and so on. As long as it has virtually no THC content (less than 0.3%), it is completely legal.

Health Benefits

Generally speaking, the two cannabinoids have very similar benefits to your health and wellness. Both are able to reduce pain and inflammation, and help you sleep. They can also help treat or supplement treatment for a variety of health issues. However, because of the slight differences in their chemical makeup, there are some differences.

CBD has been found to help treat people with anxiety, seizure disorders, migraines, inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS), substance addiction, psychosis and other mental disorders. THC not only doesn’t help as much with these, but can actually make things like anxiety and psychosis worse.

THC, on the other hand, can treat things like muscle spasticity in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), glaucoma, nausea and low appetite, and other symptoms and side effects of people who have cancer and use radiation treatments. CBD may help with some of those as well, but to a lesser extent on its own.

If you are thinking of trying CBD or THC, it is important to keep the above in mind. You may have a harder time getting access to THC, if you live somewhere that has laws restricting or outright outlawing it. You may also find that you have certain health conditions that are only helped by THC, in which case you can try to seek a legal exception for medical use.