JAMA Study concludes a high is more than just THC

On June 10, JAMA Psychiatry published an article entitled ‘Association of Naturalistic Administration of Cannabis Flower and Concentrates With Intoxication and Impairment.’ The information in the article was groundbreaking, and Forbes magazine’s cannabis writer used it to declare that everyone but him was buying weed wrong. Chris Roberts must not be familiar with our work.

The study was groundbreaking in many ways. Cannabis’s status as a Schedule I drug greatly reduces the ability to effectively study it. In the rare instances where researchers were allowed to administer cannabis, they were given product that was extraordinarily low in THC when compared with the market. To make this study happen, Dr. Bidwell and her team created ‘cannavans,’ two mobile laboratory vans that they drove to user’s houses so they could take blood samples and administer questionnaires without having to handle any cannabis. Study participants purchased their products at a dispensary, and then immediately be tested.

Because of the cannavan innovation, this is the first study that involves legal market products. Researchers selected 121 cannabis users. 55 of those users used flower and 66 consumed concentrates. Of those using flower, 25 were female. Flower was also representative of mid-THC (16%) and higher-THC (24%) flower. The concentrate users (66) were similarly divided, with some consuming 70% concentrate, and others with 90%. Blood tests and intoxication panels were administered directly before, directly after, and one hour after consumption.

The study found, that in spite of the fact that concentrate users had a higher amount of THC in the blood, their self-reports of the feeling of being high were similar to those who smoked lower THC flower. In addition, their measured impairment per balance and cognitive studies was also similar to those who consumed less THC. Said another way, 90% concentrate users measurably reported the same high as someone that smoked 16% THC flower.

To use a pun — shattering.

I often talk about what I learned as a cannabis user from smoking THC crystals. Essentially, what I learned, is that without anything to direct the feeling of ‘high’ it didn’t last as long or was as enjoyable as it was with some terpenes mixed in.

THC has been the standard metric for the entire cannabis industry, and this finding turns that on its end. The cannabis industry has been slow to embrace educating its consumers on topics such as terpenes and cannabinoids. As more researchers use innovations such as the cannavan and have access to study the effects of this plant, it’s inevitable that other metrics will rise to take the place of THC in helping consumers measure cannabis’ performance for them.

Sources:

Cinnamon Bidwell, PhD, Jarrod M. Ellingson, PhD, Hollis C. Karoly, PhD, et al, Journal of the American Medical Association, Psychiatry. “Association of Naturalistic Administration of Cannabis Flower and Concentrates With Intoxication and Impairment.”

Lisa Marshall, University of Colorado, “Marijuana concentrates sharply spike THC levels but don’t necessarily get users higher”

Chris Roberts, Forbes Magazine, “Science Reveals The Cannabis Industry’s Greatest Lie: You’re Buying Weed Wrong (And So Is Everyone Else)”

Originally published at https://oregoncannabisgazette.com.