If people in your social circle regularly smoke joints, you may have noticed that some prefer to smoke hash instead of marijuana. These people will tell you “marijuana makes me paranoid, but hash doesn’t have this effect. So I only smoke hash joints now.” It’s strange that there’s such a big difference between hash and marijuana when you think about it, because both come from one at the same plant. How can the perceived effects be so different?
The difference in effects can be attributed to the fact that hash often comes from foreign countries (Morocco, Afghanistan) and cannabis in coffeeshops is of Dutch origin. But, the Dutch have gone a bit too far with their cultivation of the cannabis plant. When they discovered some time ago that the THC level is what makes you feel stoned, it became a challenge to select and grow primarily for higher THC content plants.
However, most people don’t know that cannabis contains at least 60 cannabinoids, which includes THC. All of these cannabinoids have a different effect. But Dutch cannabis (Nederwiet) has been so extensively cultivated for THC that other cannabinoids are barely present, if at all. For example, Dutch marijuana contains very little CBD, which stands for cannabidiol. It’s really unfortunate we’re missing this cannabinoid.
Research shows that the structure of CBD is very similar to anti-psychotics [1][2][3][4]. This is rather remarkable as THC seems to have an opposite effect. For some people it seems to trigger a psychosis. CBD doesn’t prevent you from feeling stoned, but combined with THC it changes how you become stoned. You’re more clear-headed, less drowsy and less likely to spiral into anxiety, so you can still function like a normal person instead of becoming completely couch-locked from a single joint.
The Dutch Trimbos institute confirms that a lack of CBD and high THC content in Nederwiet means that a psychosis is more likely to be triggered. So if you too feel a bit paranoid from marijuana, but not from smoking hash, now you know why. Foreign hash simply contains a lot more CBD and a better balance means you’re not completely hammered. If you’d like to read more, check out the latest chapter in the Azarius encyclopaedia: CBD and CBD oil.
If you enjoy unwinding at the end of the day with an extra strong Nederwiet, don’t feel bad. Some people are so strong of mind, they can withstand a healthy dose of paranoia :)
Sources
1. Scuderi C, Filippis DD, Iuvone T, Blasio A, Steardo A, Esposito G (May 2009). Cannabidiol in medicine: a review of its therapeutic potential in CNS disorders. Phytother Res (Review) 23 (5): 597–602.
2. Campos AC, Moreira FA, Gomes FV, Del Bel EA, Guimarães FS (December 2012). Multiple mechanisms involved in the large-spectrum therapeutic potential of cannabidiol in psychiatric disorders. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. (Review) 367 (1607): 3364–78.
3. Zuardi AW, Crippa JA, Hallak JE, Moreira FA, Guimarães FS (April 2006). Cannabidiol, a Cannabis sativa constituent, as an antipsychotic drug. Braz. J. Med. Biol. Res. (Review) 39 (4): 421–9.
4. Long, L. E.; Malone, D. T.; Taylor, D. A. (2005). Cannabidiol Reverses MK-801-Induced Disruption of Prepulse Inhibition in Mice. Neuropsychopharmacology 31 (4): 795–803.
5. Trimbos.nl - Rol CBD in hasj en wiet onderzocht (Dutch).
Written by: Sofie
