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Recreational Medical Delivery Dispensary

INSA Education

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You’re going to love this lesson

Cannabis is complex, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. Getting the experience you want begins with knowing how cannabis works— and it’s not just strains and formats, either.

The low down on the high

So How Does Cannabis Work?

Cannabis contains a variety of powerful compounds, which interact with your endocannabinoid system (ECS) to produce a broad range of effects, everything from increasing appetite (munchies, anyone?) to decreasing pain. The two most important are terpenes and cannabinoids, which work together (in what’s called the entourage effect) to affect the ECS.

Hard to pronounce, but easy to understand

Cannabinoids

Cannabinoids are compounds that interact with the ECS. You’ve heard of two of the most common—THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol)—but there are more than a hundred known today, each of which lends its own effects.

The real magic makers

What Are Terpenes?

Terpenes are aromatic oils that give cannabis its taste and smell, as well as contributing to its therapeutic and medicinal effect. You’ll recognize many of them not by their name, but by the other places you’ve found them—in the items you use every day. You can explore some of the most common below.

Not as hard as it sounds

Strains

Put plainly, a cannabis “strain” or “cultivar” is a variety with its own unique characteristics—often due to the unique mix of cannabinoids and terpenes they contain. Some produce balanced effects, while others lean in one direction.

VOCABULARY

Let’s start with the basics, here’s how to talk the toke:

BONG

A pipe for smoking cannabis (usually made of glass) that uses water to cool and diffuse smoke as it’s inhaled

 

BUD

Put plainly, it’s the “bud” of the marijuana plant, containing the highest concentration of active cannabinoids

 

RETAIL ASSOCIATE

The person working at your local dispensary, revered for their knowledge of cannabis (yeah, we said it)


CONCENTRATES

Cannabis concentrates are the product of distilling down the most desirable parts of the plant—removing the impurities leaving behind the cannabinoids and terpenes

 

DANK

A word that’s often used to describe cannabis that’s sticky, stanky, and with a high quality

 

EDIBLES

Edibles are food products infused with cannabis oil or butter, they can range from gummies, and chocolates to drinks, and capsules

 

HYBRID

A cross between two or more strains of cannabis, often producing its own effects

 

PHENOTYPE

Growers talk about a plant’s phenotype, its physical characteristics (like height, color, configuration of leaves, etc.)

 

PRE-ROLL

A marijuana cigarette that can be purchased pre-rolled from a dispensary; you might also call it a joint

 

TRICHOME

The glands on cannabis that give it its fuzzy look, and where many of a plant’s cannabinoids are produced

 

TINCTURES

Cannabis tinctures are alcohol-based cannabis extracts that can be administered orally, sublingually, or mixed in foods or beverages

 

TOPICALS

Topicals are cannabis-infused lotions and balms, they are a great way to get the pain-relieving benefits of cannabis without getting high

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