Do I have to get High?

With the recent legalization of cannabis, more and more people are becoming interested in its benefits. Even people raised on Reefer Madness-type propaganda are recognizing that it can be beneficial in health care. However, the fear of the high persists and the question that I am most often asked is “Will I get high from CBD oil?”

You do not need to get high to benefit from CBD.

Cannabis is a complicated drug when compared alcohol, caffeine, and even modern opiates. Those other substances are single molecules. Even Tylenol 3’s contain just 3 active ingredients, while cannabis contains over 500 active compounds. Each of these compounds have different effects on the brain and body, and those properties change when combined. Furthermore, our bodies actually process cannabis differently depending on whether we eat, smoke, or apply the cannabis topically.

The magic of all of this that users can essentially pick and choose the effects they want by selecting strains with the right combination of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other compounds. In this case, there are a few ways to minimize the high while maximizing the benefits:

1. Look for low THC: THC creates the high, so a strain that is lower in THC will produce less of the high.
2. Look for high CBD: CBD suppresses the high, so a strain with higher CBD is less likely to make you high.
3. Apply topically: CBD crosses the skin much more easily than THC, so switching to topical over other options will help to keep you sober.
4. Avoid alcohol with topicals: alcohol is a vehicle that can carry THC through the skin very quickly. If you are drinking or spill alcohol on the application site, you are more likely to get high.
5. Eat something spicy: similar to CBD, the terpenes in black pepper, cloves, and cinnamon can quickly reduce the high.