Cape Cod, have you ever wondered why your cannabis smells so good?
It’s the Terpenes! Terpenes are the primary constituents of essential oils and are responsible for the aroma and flavor profile of cannabis. They work alongside cannabinoids to create the entourage effect and make the consumers ‘high’ a more enjoyable experience. All plants have unique combinations of terpenes that give them their distinctive fragrance, taste and appearance; including cannabis. Some strains of cannabis make you smile and relax, whereas some make you crinkle your nose. The great thing about terpenes is that everyone experiences them differently, making each person’s experience unique.
Why are cannabis terpenes important?
Terpenes provide therapeutic properties as well as medicinal properties that are similar to essential oils that we use everyday. Similar to how our bodies accept the medicinal properties of teas; such as rooibos and green tea, cannabis terpenes provide effects such as anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and calming characteristics. Everyone is born with an endocannabinoid system, and not only do cannabinoids adhere to this system, cannabis terpenes do as well. For example, Linalool is the dominant terpene in Lavender, Linalool can have a calming effect for some people hence why you see it in most sleep aids, pillow sprays and lotions.
The terpene that we’re going to highlight today is called D-Limonene. This terpene is known to have a citrusy, lemony smell. D-Limonene is found in citrus rinds, juniper berries and believe it or not, peppermint. This terpene has been studied over the last decade or so and has been found to have medicinal properties that treat anxiety, depression, inflammation and pain. Recently we came across an article about a Federally-funded study on D-Limonene and its benefits for patients with severe anxiety, including providing some relief from cannabis-induced anxiety. The trick with cannabis is to find the proper dosage. Once that is narrowed down it should be smooth sailing from there on out. This of course takes a lot of trial and error, but thankfully the vast array of cannabis products that are available to consumers grows more and more each day. Finding products that have a higher concentration of D-Limonene can get you to where you want to be in your cannabis journey without causing unnecessary anxiety.
In the article, it highlights the benefits of D-Limonene in aiding patients to have a more calming experience when it comes to consuming cannabis. Published in the latest issue of the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, the new paper says that subjects who vaporized the terpene D-limonene along with a dose of THC experienced less anxiety and paranoia compared to those who consumed THC alone. Excerpts from the study are below, but you can also read more at “A Citrusy-Smelling Terpene In Marijuana Can Reduce Anxiety And Paranoia Caused By THC, Federally Funded Study Finds“
“Ratings of anxiety-like subjective effects qualitatively decreased as D-limonene dose increased,” the report says, “and concurrent administration of 30 mg THC+15 mg D-limonene significantly reduced ratings of ‘anxious/nervous’ and ‘paranoid’ compared with 30 mg THC alone.”
This is a monumental discovery in the cannabis world! As a budtender, one of the main issues people have with not being able to comfortably consume cannabis is because of the anxiety-inducing effects that it can have for some people. Knowing that this test was done in a controlled environment and was Federally-funded shows that this industry is making its mark on the world as a beneficial alternative to modern medicine.
“To arrive at the conclusions, researchers had participants inhale vaporized D-limonene alone, THC alone, THC and D-limonene together or placebo (distilled water). They then recorded subjects’ vital signs, cognitive performance and subjective drug effects and mood. Measurements were taken immediately following exposure as well as periodically afterward over a course of six hours.”
To conclude, if you are worried about anxiety and paranoia, I hope that you took some valuable things from this mini-info session and hopefully you as the consumer can find products that work for you.
At Seaside Cannabis Co., we focus on Cannabis education as well as Terpene education, and are more than willing to chat with you and find a product that is the right fit for you. Make sure to join us every Sunday from 9am to 12pm for our Coffee & Cannachat, where we answer all of your cannabis questions and remember no question is a stupid question!
Thanks for reading!
Abby Sanders, Budtender
