Does Medical Cannabis Oil Get You High?

If you have been following the meteoric rise of CBD in popular culture, you may be wondering about the differences between medical and recreational marijuana. Even more concerning for most people is; does medical cannabis oil get you high? To answer these questions and put your mind at ease, it is important to understand how medical marijuana differs from recreational marijuana. Let’s take a look at each type before looking at their differences. 

What is Medical Marijuana? 

When people talk about medical marijuana, they mean the use of the unprocessed cannabis plant for the treatments of various ailments. The marijuana plant is comprised of more than 100 different chemicals called cannabinoids. Each of these cannabinoids affects the body in different ways, but you may be familiar with two of these compounds; 

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)- This is the compound in marijuana that has psychoactive properties. This is the compound that causes the high.

Cannabidiol (CBD)- This compound doesn’t have psychoactive effects. 

Medical marijuana often has a higher content of CBD than THC. Therefore, when you use medical marijuana you will not feel the euphoria associated with recreational marijuana use. 

What is Recreational Marijuana? 

In sharp contrast, recreational marijuana is used without medical justification. It therefore contains higher levels of THC because the main purpose of using recreational marijuana is to get high. 

The Main Differences Between Medical and Recreational Marijuana 

There are numerous differences between medical and recreational marijuana. The following are the most important; 

• Medical marijuana will usually have higher concentrations of CBD than recreational weed. When you take medical marijuana, you will not experience any of the psychoactive effects associated with THC. But you will not see any visible physical difference in the flowers and concentrates of each type even though medical marijuana’s edible potency is higher. 
• Recreational marijuana contains much higher levels of THC than medical marijuana. This is because it is intended to produce the “high” that only THC can produce and any medical benefits may be secondary. 
• Depending on your location, you may need a prescription or recommendation to purchase medical marijuana. You may also need to have a qualifying condition and doctor’s recommendation that is renewable on a regular basis. Recreational marijuana on the other hand can be purchased by anyone. 
• You can walk into any recreational marijuana dispensary and purchase recreational marijuana. You don’t need a recommendation or a prescription. But marijuana needs to be legal in your state and you need to be over the required minimum age. You will not have to produce any medical cards to purchase recreational marijuana.
• The minimum required age to purchase medical marijuana is 18. But under certain circumstances, a person under the age of 18 can apply for a medical marijuana card. This varies from state to state and you may want to do your research to find out more information. 
• The minimum required age to purchase recreational marijuana is 21. You must provide valid proof of age before you can purchase recreational marijuana in states where marijuana is legal. If marijuana is legal in your state, you can also posses and even grow wed if you are 21 years or older. 
• You can only buy medical marijuana from a regulated dispensary
• You can buy recreational marijuana from a dispensary if it is legal in your state or off the street. 

Does Medical Cannabis Oil Get You High?

THC and CBD are both found in the cannabis plant. Both compounds can be isolated from the other more than 100 compounds found in Cannabis and each other. CBD is then infused into tinctures, edible, oils and other products that don’t contain THC. 

But it is easy to think that CBD oil can get you high since both CBD and THC come from the same plant. CBD alone has no psychoactive effects and it is also possible to extract CBD from Hemp, a plant without psychoactive properties. Many states only approve hemp-derived CBD which is available legally. By law CBD oil and other products are required to have no more than 0.3 percent THC. These levels are not enough to produce the high you would get from recreational marijuana that often has very high levels of THC. 

It is however worth pointing out that high doses of CBD can cause an “uplifting” feeling, although this is not the same as the “high” from THC. Other side effects like nausea and dizziness have also been known to occur when high doses of CBD are taken.