{"componentChunkName":"component---common-build-tags-template-js","path":"/tag/happiness/","result":{"data":{"allArticle":{"edges":[{"node":{"id":"Article_3757-markdown","title":"Why Does Weed Get You \"High\" and Make You Feel Good?","slug":"why-does-weed-get-you-high-and-make-you-feel-good","content":"Sometimes feeling good is as simple as smoking some weed or eating your favorite edible. When you feel the euphoria from getting high, you may ponder deep existential questions or laugh louder than usual during your favorite Netflix show. THC may energize you, depending on the strain, and you end up cleaning your house until it shines like a new penny. Or, maybe it makes you more creative, and you spend hours painting your next masterpiece. The bottom line is, you feel good.\n\nYou might wonder how weed works its magic allowing you to feel peaceful, sublime, and even happy. The thing is, we've wondered the same thing. Below we unravel the weed mystery and give you a scientific download.\n\n### From Mouth to Mind: The Fast Track to Feeling Good\n\nWe used to believe that the feel-good high associated with marijuana was caused by a flood of dopamine released by the ingestion of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Researchers and scientists are now more inclined to credit the interaction with the endocannabinoid system (ECS). \n\nWe now know that THC may actually work on the same receptors as our bodies' naturally occurring, pleasure-inducing endocannabinoid, anandamide. It's this interaction that is one of the reasons we may feel happy after ingesting cannabis.\n\nBut let's take a step back. First, when it comes to weed and feeling good, not only does it depend on what you take (a strain high in THC, for example) but how. If you smoke or inhale cannabis, it goes from your lungs to the bloodstream very quickly. \n\nWithin 20 minutes, your circulatory system delivers THC molecules to every tissue in the body, including the brain, where it can alter neural chemistry. (While marijuana has many cannabinoids, THC is the one most associated with psychoactive effects).\n\nOn the other hand, edibles take a more leisurely trip through the liver, where enzymes turn THC into a different compound that takes longer to exert its mind-bending effects. Edibles may take longer to work, but their effects may also last longer than smoking or vaping. One study reveals that oral ingestion of THC requires 30 to 90 minutes for effects to begin and reach their peak after two to three hours.\n\n![shutterstock_410648107-min.jpg](https://hellomd-cms.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/shutterstock_410648107_min_d9f1de360a.jpg)\n\nWeed can make watching your favorite Netflix show an absolute blast.\n\n### Tapping into the Endocannabinoid System\n\nWhen smoking or vaping, THC molecules pierce the blood-brain barrier and fit snugly into receptors. These typically handle compounds called endocannabinoids, which your body produces itself. These receptors are part of the ECS, whose functions include, among others, stress, food intake, metabolism, pain, and pleasure.\n\nThe ECS controls the release of every neurotransmitter in the brain — these are molecules that the brain cells, or neurons, use to communicate with one another. One neuron sends a message to the next by releasing neurotransmitters, such as [dopamine]( https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/what-is-dopamine) or serotonin, into a gap that separates one neuron from the next called the synapse.\n\nWhen THC enters the brain, the molecules spread into the synapses, where they activate CB1 receptors. It decreases the likelihood that the presynaptic neurons it affects will temporarily stop sending the usual neurotransmitters. In effect, THC comes into the ECS like a mighty wave, flooding it with feel-good signals the postsynaptic neurons didn't send — giving you a high and better outlook on life. We like that!\n\n### Not Everyone Feels Good With Weed\n\nNot everyone's experience ingesting cannabis is the same. While many people have good and pleasurable experiences, others, perhaps because of differences in their ECS, may wind up [feeling anxious, afraid, or panicked](https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/addiction/marijuana-use-and-its-effects#1). In high doses THC can make you paranoid and lose touch with reality.\n\nTHC can also cloud your perception and may give you poor judgment or lower mobility response time. The effects depend on how strong the marijuana was, how you've consumed it, and how much you've used in the past. There's a chance it can:\n\n- Heighten your senses\n- Distort your sense of time\n- Play havoc with your motor skills\n- Lower your inhibitions\n- Increase your depression\n\n### But Cannabis May Help With Depression and Anxiety\n\nThere's evidence to suggest that medical marijuana can help with many conditions, including chronic pain, depression, anxiety, and treating nausea and vomiting related to chemotherapy. Other potential benefits include help with:\n\n- Involuntary movements associated with movement disorders\n- Sleep disorders\n- HIV-related weight loss\n- Spasticity in people with multiple sclerosis\n\nSo the positive emotions and euphoria can help with feelings of anxiety and may help with depression as well, though this is not as well documented by research to date. But some evidence does show that medical marijuana can help stabilize the ECS, bringing back normal function and helping to improve depression.\n\nSome studies show that stress can suppress the brain's production of endocannabinoids, causing depressed behavior. Using cannabis can restore normal levels and functions, improving the symptoms of depression. \n\n### Get Your Medical Marijuana Card\n\nIf you live in a state where medical weed is legal, then you'll need to obtain a medical marijuana card so you can buy products from a legal dispensary.\n\nDepending on where you live, HelloMD can help you talk to a licensed practitioner and [get your medical marijuana card](https://hellomd.com/get-started) in a process that is fast, easy and cost effective.\n\nSometimes the best high you can get is improving your health with the aid of an increasingly proven medical treatment. \n\n\n","image":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/2wBDABALDA4MChAODQ4SERATGCgaGBYWGDEjJR0oOjM9PDkzODdASFxOQERXRTc4UG1RV19iZ2hnPk1xeXBkeFxlZ2P/2wBDARESEhgVGC8aGi9jQjhCY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2NjY2P/wgARCAANABQDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAGQAAAQUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECBAUG/8QAFgEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEC/9oADAMBAAIQAxAAAAEmozKzM6L/AP/EABkQAQEBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECAxIAIv/aAAgBAQABBQKx9nPUiBkDl18XrZX/xAAWEQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAhD/2gAIAQMBAT8BKDP/xAAXEQADAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAREh/9oACAECAQE/AWqaf//EABsQAAEEAwAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAhARITFR/9oACAEBAAY/AiW6BWewXVFWv//EABkQAQADAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAESExUf/aAAgBAQABPyG+DJT7LjIwALIvNKveQQYyHM//2gAMAwEAAgADAAAAEKT/AP/EABcRAAMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARITH/2gAIAQMBAT8QQLSH/8QAFxEAAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAERQf/aAAgBAgEBPxCO4JQf/8QAHBABAAIDAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAARExACFBUYHB/9oACAEBAAE/EId4c9Ipg7DjlR7VMNxzIssHHOEbMJVrxWIG1Xau1Z3PrHopSQfmf//Z","aspectRatio":1.5037593984962405,"src":"/static/723d286d0fe04b9ba474c79d24e59ede/14b42/7454eb618f50f8ea48898b9396830f05.jpg","srcSet":"/static/723d286d0fe04b9ba474c79d24e59ede/f836f/7454eb618f50f8ea48898b9396830f05.jpg 200w,\n/static/723d286d0fe04b9ba474c79d24e59ede/2244e/7454eb618f50f8ea48898b9396830f05.jpg 400w,\n/static/723d286d0fe04b9ba474c79d24e59ede/14b42/7454eb618f50f8ea48898b9396830f05.jpg 800w,\n/static/723d286d0fe04b9ba474c79d24e59ede/47498/7454eb618f50f8ea48898b9396830f05.jpg 1200w,\n/static/723d286d0fe04b9ba474c79d24e59ede/0e329/7454eb618f50f8ea48898b9396830f05.jpg 1600w,\n/static/723d286d0fe04b9ba474c79d24e59ede/545e0/7454eb618f50f8ea48898b9396830f05.jpg 7360w","srcWebp":"/static/723d286d0fe04b9ba474c79d24e59ede/58556/7454eb618f50f8ea48898b9396830f05.webp","srcSetWebp":"/static/723d286d0fe04b9ba474c79d24e59ede/61e93/7454eb618f50f8ea48898b9396830f05.webp 200w,\n/static/723d286d0fe04b9ba474c79d24e59ede/1f5c5/7454eb618f50f8ea48898b9396830f05.webp 400w,\n/static/723d286d0fe04b9ba474c79d24e59ede/58556/7454eb618f50f8ea48898b9396830f05.webp 800w,\n/static/723d286d0fe04b9ba474c79d24e59ede/99238/7454eb618f50f8ea48898b9396830f05.webp 1200w,\n/static/723d286d0fe04b9ba474c79d24e59ede/7c22d/7454eb618f50f8ea48898b9396830f05.webp 1600w,\n/static/723d286d0fe04b9ba474c79d24e59ede/2565d/7454eb618f50f8ea48898b9396830f05.webp 7360w","sizes":"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"}}}}},{"node":{"id":"Article_2360-markdown","title":"Ringing in the New Year with Marijuana","slug":"ringing-in-the-new-year-with-marijuana","content":"### New Year’s Resolutions Time Again…\r\n\r\nIf you are anything like me, you often set a list of resolutions before the New Year that you may not necessarily follow through on completely. Like many people, I often set goals to reach a certain level of fitness and attempt to cut back on sugar or some other fat-inducing food product. Year to year though, there is one resolution that follows me, and that is to be happier and more mentally present in the moment than I have been during the previous year. \r\n\r\nEveryone experiences hardship in their daily life and stress and depression can suddenly begin to weigh on you. As much work as I do to create a healthier mental state, there is always room for improvement. Learning from experience, I now go easier on myself when I make mistakes and I respect my intuition when I think I need to take a day off for my own mental and emotional health. I've also realized that part of creating my happy place comes from a healthy dose of exercise and sound nutrition. These are tools in my toolkit, but there's also one more.\r\n\r\n### My Cannabis Resolution\r\n\r\nI'm going to say it out loud and stay proud, cannabis helps me improve my own mental health and well being. For this reason, I plan to continue to incorporate cannabis into my daily routine during coming year. Cannabis is praised for its ability to relieve pain and tension, but it can also help ease stress and anxiety that is part of everyday life.\r\n\r\nCannabis’s mental health benefits do not stop with anxiety, however. Marijuana has been found to lead to an overall more positive mood. A 2012 study, which was published in the journal _European Neuropsychopharmacology_, found that when the endocannabinoid system is crucial in emotional processing. Essentially, when THC is administered they responded less to negative stimuli compared to people who received a placebo. \r\n\r\n### Improving Mood & Outlook\r\n\r\nWhen people are more responsive to negative stimuli, they are more likely to have mental illnesses like depression, which cannabis can help to combat. Stimulating the the endocannabinoid system through THC consumption can help improve the mood through leading people to have more positive associations compared to negative associations. This study not only found that cannabis can help improve a persons mood, but it also found how deeply the endocannabinoid system is tied into emotional function. \r\n\r\nRELATED: [WHY DOES CANNABIS MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD?](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/why-does-cannabis-make-you-feel-good)\r\n\r\nThe mental health benefits of cannabis do not stop with its most prevalent cannabinoid THC, but extend to the more than 80 different cannabinoids that are found in different plant strains. Non-psychoactive cannabinoids like CBD and THCA are gaining traction as elements in cannabis that can help improve your overall health. If there is one general health concept that everyone knows to be true, it is that inflammation is bad for you. Tumeric gained traction this year as a superfood that reduces inflammation, but CBD and THC-A both have similar anti-inflammatory properties. I don’t know about you, but when I don’t feel inflammation I tend to feel great!\r\n\r\n### Incorporating CBD & THCA\r\n\r\nPart of my New Year’s resolution to bettering my health involves consuming THCA and CBD that both will help improve my overall health. Reducing inflammation in my body through consuming these two cannabinoids also helps improve my mental well being and improve my happiness. CBD also helps relieve anxiety and causes calming feelings without being psychoactive. \r\n\r\nGetting the full benefits from cannabis involves embracing the whole plant, not just the components that are the most well known. Cannabis is also full of terpenes alongside its cannabinoids that help provide even more benefits. Terpenes may give cannabis different strains their signature smells, but they also provide effects like alertness, relaxation, mood elevation, and stress relief. Terpenes like limonene and linalool are particularly helpful at relieving stress and promoting relaxation. \r\n\r\n### Let’s Allow Ourselves to Feel Good!\r\n\r\nLet's be honest, cannabis just makes you feel good in general. Whether you're affected by stress or depression, cannabis can just take the edge off when you are having a hard day. Cannabis helps decrease the production of FAAH, fatty acid amide hydrolase, which breaks down anandamide in the body. Anandamide is a endocannabinoid that our body naturally produces that leads to euphoric effects. THC activates the same receptors in the body that anandamide does, naturally stimulating happy and joyous effects. \r\n\r\nCannabis is a great component to add to your New Year’s resolution on health, whatever it may be. To me, one of the most amazing benefits of cannabis is its ability to help me move away from pharmaceutical medications. Whether it be non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, anti-depressants, or opioids, cannabis is a great natural alternative to possibly addictive and harsh pharmaceuticals. Join me in making your new year one filled with health by embracing the amazing and wide-ranging benefits that cannabis can provide. \r\n\r\nHappy New Year to you from everyone at HelloMD and wishing you optimum health and wellness throughout 2017!\r\n\r\nFOLLOW US ON [FACEBOOK](https://www.facebook.com/pg/hellomdcompany/posts/) & [INSTAGRAM](https://www.instagram.com/hellomd_com/?hl=en) \r\n\r\n________________________________________________________\r\n\r\nIf you are new to cannabis and want to learn more, take a look at our [Cannabis 101](https://www.hellomd.com/health-wellness/cannabis-101-your-quick-guide-to-medical-marijuana) post. [HelloMD](https://www.hellomd.com/) can help you get your medical marijuana recommendation; it's 100% online, private and efficient.","image":{"childImageSharp":{"fluid":{"base64":"data:image/png;base64,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","aspectRatio":1.3793103448275863,"src":"/static/65e5c34f13208a22a4daca07d982d13d/ee604/ecd3be623094316084b83a9bc78ed587.png","srcSet":"/static/65e5c34f13208a22a4daca07d982d13d/69585/ecd3be623094316084b83a9bc78ed587.png 200w,\n/static/65e5c34f13208a22a4daca07d982d13d/497c6/ecd3be623094316084b83a9bc78ed587.png 400w,\n/static/65e5c34f13208a22a4daca07d982d13d/ee604/ecd3be623094316084b83a9bc78ed587.png 800w,\n/static/65e5c34f13208a22a4daca07d982d13d/eccca/ecd3be623094316084b83a9bc78ed587.png 1118w","srcWebp":"/static/65e5c34f13208a22a4daca07d982d13d/58556/ecd3be623094316084b83a9bc78ed587.webp","srcSetWebp":"/static/65e5c34f13208a22a4daca07d982d13d/61e93/ecd3be623094316084b83a9bc78ed587.webp 200w,\n/static/65e5c34f13208a22a4daca07d982d13d/1f5c5/ecd3be623094316084b83a9bc78ed587.webp 400w,\n/static/65e5c34f13208a22a4daca07d982d13d/58556/ecd3be623094316084b83a9bc78ed587.webp 800w,\n/static/65e5c34f13208a22a4daca07d982d13d/efbac/ecd3be623094316084b83a9bc78ed587.webp 1118w","sizes":"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px"}}}}}]}},"pageContext":{"limit":12,"skip":0,"numPages":1,"currentPage":1,"id":5311,"name":"Happiness","slug":"happiness","country":"US"}},"staticQueryHashes":["3949754563","4179947113","4202924991"]}