5 Reasons I Care about Cannabis Terpenes

Not everyone that buys cannabis is interested in terpenes. As I research individual terpenes for a series of articles about them, it’s made me consider all of the reasons that I care about terpenes, and why I want more people to know about them. I think everyone would care more about them, if they knew these 5 reasons why I care about them!

Humans are wired to respond to terpenes.

Humans detect the terpene responsible for petrichor (the smell of the soil after rain), geosmin, better than sharks detect blood. While that terpene has more to do with the human need to detect water than the terpenes found in cannabis, it’s certainly evidence of how important terpenes are to the human experience.

For more evidence of how we are wired to respond to terpenes, examine the japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing.

Forest bathing is a practice of mindfulness that is intended to ground all your senses in the experience of walking in the woods. To practice it, it’s a simple as — walk into the woods. What’s interesting, from a cannabis perspective, about forest bathing is that many of the terpenes responsible are also terpenes prevalent in cannabis such as myrcene, pinene, and limonene. One study outlines a psychological benefit to the practice and concluded that demonstrated significant positive effects on mental health, especially in those with depressive tendencies.

Another study examined the positive effects of forest bathing on the immune system — concluding that “the above findings suggest that forest bathing trips may have a preventive effect on cancer generation and development.” Yet another found that forest bathing lowered blood pressure.

All of this points to the fact that terpenes matter because our bodies respond to them.

Terpenes are part of the medication.

As cited above, it’s obvious that terpenes have effects that are beneficial! That really means that since I use cannabis for PTSD, migraine, and other issues, it’s important that I acknowledge that terpenes are an important part of the medicinal aspects of the plant. While studies are still being run on the entourage effect, terpenes have demonstrated their role as medicine. More and more, science is turning to folk medicine and almost three-fourths of the plant-based drugs were created based on the knowledge of folk medicine. In other words, terpenes have always been a powerful medicine, and cannabis packs a lot of them!

Terpenes can enhance the high

I do a lot to explore my relationship with cannabis, and part of that is understanding how cannabis effects me. I’ve smoked pure THC, I’ve explored several different instances of a particular strain, I’ve vaped all the flower one farm grew — I’ve intentionally looked for experiences that would inform my knowledge of the plant. And terpenes really, really enhance my high.

If I need to get a lot of creative work done, I look to high terpinolene strains. If I want to address some deep muscle pain or my ever-present spine pain, I look to myrcene. It was honestly smoking pure THC that taught me what the other cannabinoids do — which is they give a direction and longevity those sensations.

Terpenes Taste Good

I dry herb vape, and that means I can taste a lot of different flavors in cannabis that aren’t always detectable in smoke. Being able to taste how limonene and ocimene mix to make a bright grape flavor, or really being able to detect how complex terpinolene makes cannabis taste great. Dry herb vaping really centralizes the flavor of cannabis. You know how in King of the Hill Hank Hill says “Taste the meat, not the heat?” to sell propane? That’s how I’d sell dry herb vaping. It’s a showcase of all the terpenes in the plant, and terpenes taste AMAZING. After all, they’re already widely used in flavoring!

I have learned a lot about cannabis through researching terpenes.

Reading, researching, and writing about terpenes has brought a lot to my understanding and enjoyment of cannabis. Seeking a deeper understanding of them has lead me to more effective approaches in understanding the benefits that I get from cannabis, and how to use it to effectively manage medical symptoms (and to get totally blazed when I want to).

Bonus Reason:

Growers who are invested in terpenes are also invested in the craft of growing — which means — better cannabis! I’ve had the honor of interviewing some of the best cannabis growers out there, and the ones that really love this plant all talk about terpenes, are able to name their favorite terpene, and invest resources, time, and energy in creating a cannabis that will have as many terpenes as possible.

Sources:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41684-018-0161-1

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5580555/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2793341/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entourage_effect

Originally published at https://oregoncannabisgazette.com on July 16, 2021.