Does CANNABIS make you PARANOID?

Why cannabis can make you mellow, but also paranoid

The brain is a curious thing and we are still discovering how it fully works.
When it comes to cannabis and the brain, things get seriously interesting, because of the way chemicals in cannabis react with the brain’s endocannabinoid system.

The body naturally produces cannabinoids, which attach themselves to cannabinoid receptors, telling the body to ‘chill out’.

Cannabis also contains cannabinoids, which attach themselves to cannabinoid receptors.
However, like alcohol and where a little can make you feel mellow, take too much and the results can be very different.

This is because of what is called a bi-phase response.

This is a two-step response, where the initial response to smoking cannabis can be good, but the second phase can be a paranoia-filled ‘bad trip’.

While cannabinoid receptors welcome the arrival of cannabinoids found in THC, they can only process too much.

Overwhelm the endocannabinoid system, and it simply can’t cope.
What happens when we can’t cope?

We go on high alert, or in the case of cannabis, we become so alert, we become paranoid.
So, while smoking cannabis is illegal, all we can say from a scientific aspect, is that were you to smoke cannabis, smoke it in moderation!

Maybe you live somewhere that you can legally smoke cannabis. Let us know if you’ve ever experienced the paranoid side of cannabis or only ever found it makes you mellow in the comments section below, we’d appreciate hearing your own story.