If you’re new to medicinal marijuana and have started researching for yourself, you're going to start seeing the name of two popular compounds come up: CBD and THC.

While both cannabinoids are found in the cannabis plant and share nearly identical chemical structure, their properties are like night and day. In short, CBD is known for its numerous health benefits related to pain, sleeplessness, anxiety, inflammation and other disorders linked to immune system abnormality. On the other hand, THC is mainly known for its euphoric effect.

This is why many users prefer products that contain a higher dosage of CBD (cannabidiol) and a negligible dose of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). But should you leave THC out completely? What if we tell you that THC may boost the CBD’s health benefits?

Why it's important to know the difference:

Is CBD Or THC Better?

CBD and THC both are found abundantly in the cannabis strain. When talking about cannabis every strain is different and you may find some strains contain a higher ratio of CBD than THC (and vice versa). For example, higher CBD strains make you experience clear headedness, reduction in pain, inflammation, and anxiety ‒ without getting you the euphoric high effect.

Whereas strains higher in THC will give you more of a high punch than the benefits associated with CBD. But, what causes such a different effect on our bodies? For you to understand that; we have to dive deeper into the endocannabinoid system, aka ECS.

What Is ECS?

This system is basically a cluster of receptors that interact with our natural cannabinoids to maintain vital functions of our body. However, there are two receptors which strongly react to CBD and THC. These receptors are widely known as CB1 and CB2 receptors.

In short, CB1 receptors are abundant in regions of the brain where memory, high cognition, emotion and motor coordination processes are found ‒ whereas CB2 is found in the central nervous and immune system. 

How Are They Different?

Both CBD and THC bind to the CB2 receptor, but the interaction with CB1 receptor is entirely unique for each of these cannabinoids. Due to a different chemical structure of THC, it easily bonds itself with the CB1 receptor, which causes you to experience the psychoactive effects.

CBD, on the other hand, doesn’t bind with CB1 receptor. In fact, if you take a balanced strain of CBD and THC in 1:1 ratio, it has been proven that CBD can negate the euphoric high effect of THC and boost its health benefits to the next level. This is why you see a lot of cannabis products using aforementioned ratio of THC and CBD in their manufacturing process.

However, it is hard to find such products because of the current legality of THC, which is considered as an illegal substance due to its substance abuse. On the other hand, CBD is getting more and more praise and the United States have even made hemp based CBD legal to use.

We’re also thankful to this bill that is now legalising medicinal marijuana and it seems that THC might be available for medicinal purposes soon. And as more research is appreciating the health benefits of CBD, it is apparent that it will be legalised soon throughout the world.

Don't worry, it is a bit confusing!

Final Verdict

In a nutshell, both cannabinoids (CBD and THC) share very similar attributes, yet different properties and effects when consumed by us. We want to emphasise that both have different health benefits and neither of them is superior to one another. While THC does contain psychoactive effects, it also has numerous health benefits that can benefit certain individuals.

But the effects vary between individuals. Some might benefit from THC while others might get a bad reaction from it. Same can be said for CBD, but since it doesn’t contain euphoric effects, it has little to no “side effect” reactions contained within it. This is why many prefer CBD over THC. But again, it doesn’t justify that CBD is better than THC or vice versa.

We do recommend that you consult with a doctor if you plan to consume cannabis, any CBD products, or THC in any way or form. 

So what are your thoughts on THC and CBD? Would you be willing to try it out on your own or would you want to wait until there is more scientific support to back up CBD's health claims? 

If you have had success with using a CBD or THC product we would love to hear about it in our comments section below. We also encourage you to share our article with any loved ones who may benefit from these compounds.