If you are a regular cannabis user, developing cannabis tolerance is one of the worst things to happen to you. When you develop tolerance to a drug, you will have to take it in higher amounts to feel the same effect that you got previously by using a lesser amount. Developing tolerance and a rise in the tolerance level will increase the costs associated with your cannabis routine.
People use different methods to bring down their cannabis tolerance levels. Some choose cannabis edibles over smokable cannabis because the tolerances to eating and inhaling cannabis are different. Some even quit cannabis use abruptly.
CBD is a cannabinoid that is present in a sizeable amount in cannabis plants. Hemp plants are rich in CBD while marijuana has THC as its dominant cannabinoid. CBD may help reduce cannabis tolerance without you having to take up some extreme measures to bring down your tolerance levels.
How Do You Develop THC Tolerance?
THC is a psychoactive cannabinoid that is capable of giving a high to the users. When the compound is constantly pumped into our system, it becomes saturated in our endocannabinoid system and results in THC tolerance. All the psychoactive effects of THC are attributed to its interaction with the CB1 receptors of the endocannabinoid system. With excessive THC in our system, the CB1 receptors become desensitized and will be expressed less.
There is one more way in which THC tolerance happens. It is called internalization. In this process, the CB1 receptors are pulled into the interior of cells from their surface. Although to a lesser degree, desensitized receptors can be activated by THC but internalized receptors turn completely unresponsive.
The desensitization and the resulting changes are part of the mechanism of ECS to prevent exposure to THC and cannabinoids similar to it.
Cannabis may not be necessarily effective for all but if you are a regular user and suddenly experience lesser effects, the most probable reason could be the tolerance your body has developed to cannabis. Some clinical trials have suggested that some parts of the body are more prone to tolerance.
Our body may also develop tolerance to CBD but that isn’t studied much when compared to THC tolerance. CBD tolerance and THC tolerance may not have the same pattern or intensity.
What Are The Methods To Manage THC Tolerance?
Withdrawal symptoms are common in long-term cannabis users when they haven’t used cannabis for a week or two. They start worrying about how they are going to get their next hit and then become anxious. If you can relate to this, it is high time you make some much-needed changes to your cannabis habits so that you can enjoy the cannabis experience without it becoming a necessity.
Cannabinoid cycling is an efficient method that can prevent developing tolerance or bringing down your tolerance levels. In this method, users take CBD-rich cannabis and THC-rich cannabis alternatively so that the risk of desensitization is significantly reduced. Although CBD and THC are obtained from the same source, cannabis plants, they have entirely different ways of interacting with the endocannabinoid system and their effects also differ accordingly.
For instance, THC tends to mimic anandamide by binding to the CB1 receptors of the endocannabinoid system. The interaction will cause significant changes in the mood and if your experience is positive, then you enter a euphoric state.
Meanwhile, CBD acts as a modulator to CB1 and CB2 receptors of the endocannabinoid system and binds directly to neither of these receptors. CBS is a negative allosteric modulator to the CB1 receptor, indicating that it will tweak the connection between THC and the CB1 receptor. This brings down the psychoactivity of THC.
How To Make Maximum Benefits Out Of Cannabinoid Cycling?
As not much research has been conducted into determining the right way to cycle cannabinoids, experimentation is the only solution. If you are worried if cannabinoid cycling would lead to any side effects, know that it will not cause any side effects.
Mood swings and anxiety are common in some people when they stop taking THC and using CBD products can help handle these symptoms effectively.
How Does CBD Influence The Endocannabinoid System?
CBD and THC influence the endocannabinoid system in entirely different ways. On taking THC, the ECS is instructed to halt the production of endocannabinoids. Meanwhile, CBD generates the opposite effect. When there is an imbalance in endocannabinoids, CBD stimulates their production.
CBD is regarded as an endocannabinoid modulator that could be useful in handling various conditions caused by ECS malfunction. CBD promotes homeostasis and overconsumption of THC is one of many factors that could disturb the balance of the endocannabinoids in our system. CBD helps regulate the ECS whereas the cannabinoid receptors are desensitized by excessive THC intake.
When you are planning to buy CBD to practice cannabinoid cycling, make sure you pick the highest quality products.