Cannabis medicine. How and why it works
The medicinal use of cannabis is gaining more and more recognition as time goes on, but in addition to discovering more therapeutic benefits and even more potential applications for this remarkable medicine we are also gaining greater understanding of how and why cannabis is able to provide so many wide ranging and often profound medicinal benefits.
THCA the acidic precursor to THC
THCA is the acidic precursor to THC, the most well known cannabinoid in the cannabis plant. The cannabis plant does not actually produce THC directly. Cannabis first produces CBGA which is converted by specific enzymes in the plant to THCA
THC (Delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol)
THC is the most well known cannabinoid present in cannabis. It is the main psychoactive compound, responsible for the high experienced by recreational users. It is also the most established medicinal compound in the cannabis plant.
CBGA the origin of all cannabinoids
CBGA is the first cannabinoid to be produced by the cannabis plant and is the root cannabinoid that leads to all others. Enzymes in the plant will convert CBGA to other cannabinoid acids like THCA, CBDA and CBCA. The enzymes in the plant dictate which cannabinoid acid CBGA will be converted to.
CBDA, the acidic precursor to CBD
CBDA is the acidic precursor to CBD (just as THCA is the acidic precursor to THC). Like with THC, CBD is not actually produced directly by the plant but instead cannabis plants produce CBDA, which is converted from CBGA by
CBD cannabidiol
CBD is gaining a lot of attention of late for its numerous medicinal properties and while not as potent as THC in some areas it does appear to be more effective in other areas. Even after decarboxylation CBD has no recognised psychoactive effects, making it more desirable