There are lots of things we don’t know about how cannabis legalization is going to look in Canada in 2018. Among them: how policing agencies in New Brunswick are expected to make sure users are securing their stashes in locked boxes, how drivers are going to be reliably tested for THC, and whether having a cottage means you get to double down on the four-plants-per-household rule. Bienenstock, a journalist and author based in Los Angeles, has written about cannabis professionally for over a decade. (Submitted by David Bienenstock) But some Canadians are also scratching their heads over a more basic question: What are we supposed to call it? Cannabis. Pot. Weed. Marijuana. Or one of dozens more colourful, also-popular variants, including, but not limited to, ganja, dope, cheeba, 420, and the sticky icky. You can buy marijuana Windsor in our store.
THC, also called tetrahydrocannabinol, is the compound in cannabis that is psychoactive and gives you the feeling of being high. However, THC’s chemical make-up, C₂₁H₃₀O₂, is very similar to its counterpart, CBD, which actually combats the effects of THC.
Still, THC mimics the natural chemical anandamide (which is produced in the brain) in structure, altering the function in communication. So, instead of normal brain communication via neurons, the THC compound attaches to the neurons and changes the process.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), THC affects things like thinking, memory, pleasure, movements, concentration, coordination, and sensory and time perception. For these reasons, doing things like operating heavy machinery or driving while under the influence of the drug may be dangerous.