Cannabis & Canada Today Canadian Cannabis & Marijuana News and Articles THCP and CBDP demonstrate how much more we have to learn from studying marijuana.
The plant Cannabis sativa produces more than 400 chemicals, but only one, THC, gets you high. Or so it seems. A group of Italian researchers announced on December 30th the discovery of two new cannabinoids, chemicals produced by weed like THC and CBD.
The first, tetrahydrocannabiphorol (THCP), is allegedly 30 times more potent than THC, they claim. Whether that means it gets you 30 times as stoned—or if it’s even psychoactive at all—is still unknown. But in mice, it appeared THCP was more active than THC at lower doses. The scientists also found cannabidiphorol (CBDP), a cousin to CBD, the popular wellness additive.
The discovery of THCP, published in Scientific Reports, could explain some of the variability in getting high—why smoking different marijuana blends can give notably different feelings. It could also explain some of the medicinal aspects of THC, which is used to treat nausea and appetite loss in cancer and HIV patients, among other things.
Cannabis flowers are like little factories that produce hundreds of chemicals, around 60 of which are cannabinoids. These drugs mimic chemicals the body naturally produces to balance inflammation. Few cannabinoids are well studied, but have many promising medical applications.
By Troy Farah VICE
Read More Here: www.vice.com/en_us/article/akwd85/scientists-discover-two-new-cannabinoids
