The media is full of information about cannabis from how to make a firecracker to information on how cannabis affects our memory. This is often over simplified and, even worse, in service of the War on Drugs or other deliberately misleading anti-cannabis propaganda. Let’s cut through some of the fog and see what’s really up when it comes to terpenes and memory.
What Are Terpenes
Terpenes are the “essential oils” of plants. They are found in every plant on the face of the Earth and they are the chemicals responsible for giving plants their aromas and flavors.
The best example of this are pinene terpenes. These terpenes are responsible for that refreshing scent of pine that you can experience in any coniferous woodland.
Terpenes have all kinds of benefits. They have been linked to better health outcomes for their anti-inflammatory properties and plenty of other health benefits. Research into terpenes is still ongoing, but they have a promising role to play in the future of medicine.
Cannabis contains over 100 different terpenes. These terpenes are responsible for the complex aromas and tastes of cannabis. This high concentration of terpenes is also why cannabis is so potent when it comes to its smell!
In nature, terpenes are used to attract pollinators. These are insects and animals that help spread the plant’s pollen around. They are also used to ward off potential predators that could harm the plant.
Terpenes in cannabis can help reduce anxiety, inflammation, and have other effects on your health. Due to cannabis being illegal at the federal level, researchers have yet to fully map out how these terpenes interact with our health. However, there are plenty of benefits associated with terpenes to suggest that they can help improve our health.
How the Media Misleads When it Comes to Cannabis and Memory
The media often depicts cannabis as being detrimental for memory. Certainly, high doses, using cannabis when an individual is too young, or smoking way too much can have a negative impact on memory, but things aren’t nearly as dramatic as the media tends to depict.
Part of improving the research on terpenes and memory involves changing how we talk about cannabis. After all, everyone knows that alcohol has an extremely negative impact on memory, but the media doesn’t ‘do the same fear mongering over booze as it does for bud.
So, here’s what science says about THC and memory.
Does THC Affect Memory?
Whether you’re enjoying weed firecracker or your favorite edibles, THC can impact your memory.
The research shows that there is a “green out” effect with THC. This is a mild interruption in the formation of short-term memories. This effect ends when the “high” wears off. There is another interesting aspect of this effect.
Users with more cannabis experience have less “green outs.” This might be an initial tolerance issue that people who are new to weed experience, but overcome once they are more familiar with cannabis.
So, the takeaway is that THC can interrupt short-term memory, but the effects aren’t as massive as the evening news would suggest.
Terpenes and Their Effect on Memory
Here’s how it works. You enjoy a nice firecracker edible and now there are terpenes, THC, and other cannabinoids in your system. In order for research to understand how these affect your memory, they need to look at these chemicals individually.
Research has yet to be able to sit down and study the over 100 terpenes in cannabis on an individual level. This means that it might be the THC, a specific terpene, or the combination of both of these factors at play here.
In fact, the combination of terpenes and cannabinoids is thought to come together to create the overall effect of a cannabis high. This is called the “entourage effect” and it can be used to explain the complicated effect that THC has on the body.
Research currently suggests that the pinene terpene we talked about earlier could be a likely culprit for short-term memory impairment, but the studies are inconclusive.
As cannabis becomes increasingly accepted and legalization spreads throughout the country, our understanding of terpenes and memory will improve. We have to continue to support cannabis legalization efforts to ensure that scientists can conduct the research we all need to understand how terpenes affect memory.
