Medical marijuana makes some folks happy — like, really happy.
Sometimes, that’s exactly what some patients want to get out of their medicine. But, other patients might get so much of this effect that they experience cognitive impairment. Or, maybe they don’t want to feel the “high” associated with marijuana.
If that sounds like you, you can use marijuana medicine without dealing with excess giddiness. Let’s talk about why marijuana makes you feel goofy and how you can manage it.
Besides giddiness, cannabis medicine can cause side effects like any kind of medication. But, since marijuana isn’t a manufactured pharmaceutical, we can view it as an adaptable treatment instead of something with black-and-white benefits and problems.
You see, what causes discomfort for one patient can help another. Patients with depression and other mood issues may want the giddiness from marijuana to help relieve their symptoms. So, think about what cannabis can do for you instead of what it does in general.
To understand how cannabis affects your mood, we need to know about the chemistry behind marijuana. Marijuana is made up of tons of compounds known as cannabinoids. We mostly discuss cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) when we talk about cannabinoids because they’re the two most prevalent compounds in the marijuana plant.
When we consume marijuana, our endocannabinoid system takes the cannabinoids in and spreads the effect to the rest of the body. Our bodies already make compounds like cannabinoids, so the receptors in the endocannabinoid system have an easy time interacting with the ones from marijuana.
Our brains have cannabinoid receptors in them that cause the cognitive effects of weed when they take in marijuana. When THC attaches to the receptors in your brain, it acts like the natural cannabinoids you produce and creates a feeling of euphoria. However, it also impairs your cognitive function.
So, the amount of THC in your medicine and how you react to THC impact how much giddiness you feel. You can simply feel a little uplifted, or you can experience full intoxication.
What you should do about marijuana intoxication depends on your lifestyle, personal preferences and what you need from your medication. Regardless of your situation, you have options to manage your side effects.
If you don’t mind the intoxication and giddiness caused by weed use, you may not have to do anything about it. As long as the intoxication doesn’t interfere with your work or school, you can use weed medicine however you’d like.
However, if you find you feel giddy when you go to work or school, you should adjust what time you take your medication so you feel giddy after your obligations are over. To give your work and school your best effort, avoiding cognitive impairment is key. Plus, it’s still illegal to be under the influence of marijuana in public or while driving.
If you don’t want to feel high at all, you’ll need to change the kind of medication you take. Fortunately, you don’t have to feel intoxicated to take advantage of medical marijuana’s benefits — simply choose a strain with little to no THC content so you can get better without worrying about excess giddiness.
For most patients, the healing properties of weed are worth dealing with its side effects. However, some folks don’t react well to marijuana, so make sure to work closely with your doctor and dispensary if you’re a first-time user. Trying different cannabis medications under the supervision of medical professionals can help you find the right strain and ingestion method for your lifestyle.