2.2 Cannabinoids and the High
The marijuana high is a complex experience. It involves a wide range of psychical, physical, and emotional responses. The high is a subjective experience based in the individual - one's personality, mood, disposition, and experience with the drug. Given the person, the intensity of the high depends primarily on the amount of THC present in the marijuana. Delta-9 THC is the main ingredient of marijuana and must be present in sufficient quantities for a good marijuana high. People who smoke grass that has very little cannabinoids other then delta-9 THC usually report that the high is very intense. Most people will get high from a joint having delta-9 THC of .5 percent concentration to material. Grass having a THC concentration of three percent would be considered excellent quality by anyone's standards. In this book, for brevity, we use potency to mean the sum effects of the cannabinoids and the overall high induced.
Marijuana (plant material) is sometimes rated more potent that the content of delta-9 THC alone would suggest. It also elicits qualitatively different highs. The reasons for this have not been sorted out. Few clinical studies with known combinations of several cannabinoids have been undertaken with human subjects. This field is still in its infancy. So far, different highs and possibly higher potency seem to be due to the interaction of delta-9 THC and other cannabinoids (THCV,CBD,CBN, and possibly CBC). Except for THCV, in the pure form, these other cannabinoids do not have much psychoactivity.
Another possibility for higher potency is that homologues of delta-9 THC with longer side chains at C-3 (and higher activity) might be found in certain marijuana varieties. Compounds with longer side chains have been mode in laboratories and their activity is sometimes much higher, with estimates over 500 times that of natural delta-9 THC (55,113,191). Compounds besides THCV with shorter chains (methyl (139) and butyl (11
) in this position have been found in small amounts in some marijuana samples, indicating that variations do exist. However, this is not a very likely explanation. More likely, THCV is more prevalent in marijuana than supposed and probably had additive or synergistic effects with delta-9 THC.
The possibility that there are non-cannabinoids that are psychoactive or interacting with the cannabinoids has not been investigated in detail. Non-cannabinoids with biological activity have been isolated from the plants, but only in very small quantities (181). None are known to be psychotomimetic. However, they may contribute to the overall experience in non-mental ways, such as the stimulation of the appetite.
Different blends of cannabinoids account for high of different qualities. The intensity of the high depends primarily on the amount of delta-9 THC present and on the method of ingestion. A complex drug such as marijuana affects the mind and body in many ways. Sorting out what accounts for what response can become quite complex. The methodology to isolate and test the different cannabinoids now exists. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is funding research on the pharmacology of marijuana. However, such research is paltry, considering that over 30 million people in the United States use the crude drug. Much more research is needed before definite understanding of the cannabinoids and the high is attained.
When the legal restriction are removed, marijuana will probably be sold by particular blends of cannabinoids and standard amounts of delta-9 THC. Synthetic marijuana will probably be made with homologues of delta-9 THC that have much higher activity than the natural form. For now, without access to a lab, you must be satisfied with your own smoking evaluation (for research purposes only), ultimately the most important criterion any way.