Marijuana Vs Caffeine

Coffee and cannabis are both vices that we rely heavily on, using them on a daily basis to start our days and end our days. The ultimate goal when using both cannabis and weed is to feel better and make our daily lives easier, but when a substance makes you feel good it’s always a good idea to get the facts on why. Here we’ll look at what happens when you mix them together, which one is more harmful, which one is more addictive, and everything else you need to know about coffee vs weed.

How Does Caffeine Interact With The Body?

Caffeine is a commonly used natural stimulant and is most commonly found in coffee, tea, and cacao plants. Today, 80% of the earth’s population consumes caffeine on a daily basis. Caffeine mainly affects the brain by blocking adenosine, which makes you feel tired. This causes you to go to sleep during the night, and also increases blood adrenaline, brain activity of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine, promoting arousal, alertness, and focus. Because of caffeine’s interaction with the brain, it is classified as a psychoactive drug. There are various consumer products that have different levels of caffeine.

There are a variety of coffee drinks with different caffeine levels to fit everyone’s needs. Espresso, coffee, yerba mate, energy drinks, brewed tea, and soft drinks all have varying caffeine levels, while decaffeinated coffee has the least amount of caffeine. Cocoa beverages and chocolate milk have moderate levels of caffeine, while chocolates milk has the most.

How Does Cannabis Interact With the Body?

Cannabis is a group of plants that contain psychoactive properties, and when dried and harvested, it becomes one of the most commonly used recreational drugs on the planet. Cannabis is used for its relaxing and calming properties, and is also used among the medical community to help with a variety of ailments such as chronic pain, inflammation, glaucoma, nausea, appetite stimulant, and much more. Cannabis contains over 120 cannabinoids, with two of them being the most dominant – THC and CBD. THC is the psychoactive compound in cannabis, which makes you feel “high” or “stoned”, while CBD is the second most dominant cannabinoid that produces non-psychoactive effects, often used for dealing with pain, inflammation, seizures, and anxiety. Cannabis affects many areas of the brain, and acts as a complex compound that influences a long list of brain and bodily functions, including the amygdala, cerebellum, hippocampus, cerebral cortex, and the endocannabinoid system. CB1 and CB2 receptors are both affected by CBD and THC, which binds to these receptors to influence our body and mind. Cannabis comes in different strains with different terpenes and other components, making it a very complex and still unknown plant.

Which is More Harmful?

Marijuana vs Caffeine

Caffeine is a psychoactive drug that affects the brain, changing things like perception, mood, and consciousness. It directly interacts with our central nervous system, helping us feel awake and alert. When we consume caffeine, it blocks our adenosine receptors. However, this doesn’t mean that caffeine provides us with energy. It only fools our brain into thinking we are tired. This allows caffeine to increase our mental and physical state. However, when this occurs on a regular basis, a tolerance is able to develop. When our adenosine receptors become inhibited by caffeine, the brain begins to create more receptors. This increase in adenosine is then picked up by the brain, which actually makes us feel more tired than we would if we never had consumed any caffeine in the first place. This leads to the brain becoming dependent on caffeine to feel energetic and to reach functionable brain levels. When you don’t consume the regular amount of caffeine your body is used to, you begin to go through withdrawal symptoms. Symptoms can be severe, and can take weeks to overcome.

If you’re experiencing any of the following symptoms, it’s time to see a doctor. Headaches, fatigue, sleepiness/drowsiness, difficulty concentrating, lack of motivation, irritability, depression, anxiety, and flu-like symptoms can all be signs of a serious medical condition. It’s important to get evaluated and treated as soon as possible to prevent any long-term damage.

Caffeine can be addictive and dangerous, especially when consumed in high doses. It can cause irritability, muscle spasms, insomnia, and even death. Pills containing high levels of caffeine are particularly dangerous, as they can cause an overdose. Given these risks, caffeine should not be considered a healthy or safe habit.

While we examine caffeine and ask ourselves is caffeine worse than weed? Let’s look at cannabis and its primary substance known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannibinol, or as you may know it as THC. Our brains contain cannabinoid receptors and neurotransmitters, this is what THC interacts with when we consume cannabis. This makes THC a naturally occurring chemical, as it doesn’t directly alter one’s brain chemistry like other psychoactive drugs. When THC is consumed it binds with the our CB1 receptors which causes the feeling of being “high”, it also binds with our CB2 receptors which causes the physical effects brought on by THC and CBD such as muscle relaxation, paranoia, increase in episodic memory and a decrease in our short-term memory.

In comparison to THC, caffeine is not physically addictive. It has been found that addiction is classified when a drug alters your brain chemistry, but this is not the case with coffee. The brain already contains its own cannabinoids, and no addiction occurs when cannabinoids are consumed from cannabis. In fact, marijuana is less toxic than many other legal and illegal drugs, and there have never been any recorded deaths from using marijuana. Therefore, it can be said that caffeine is worse than weed in terms of its ability to harm the body and brain.

What Happens When You Mix Cannabis and Caffeine

With cannabis legalization on the rise, more and more people are discovering the many benefits of consuming cannabis. Many are interested in learning how cannabis interacts with other substances, but there is currently no clear answer on what happens when combining cannabis with caffeine. In fact, many products already combine caffeine with both THC and CBD, providing users with the information they need to make informed decisions.

When we consume caffeine and marijuana together, there are a variety of different effects that can occur. Generally speaking, caffeine is a stimulant while marijuana is either a stimulant or a depressant. In simpler terms, caffeine gives you energy and marijuana makes you feel relaxed. A study published in the Annals of Neuroscience in 2017 looked at the effects of caffeine and cannabis on six groups of rats. The results found that animals treated with caffeine and cannabis saw an increase in levels of neurotransmitters GABA, glutamate, and dopamine, and an enzyme known as G-6-PDH. This makes it more clear on why drinking a cup of coffee, or a soda and smoking a joint feels so good. When we gain an increase of dopamine which is our feel good neurotransmitter that is linked to the reward response we when are doing something pleasurable. So consuming both substances increases our dopamine making it feel extra pleasurable. However, we also need to look at the possible ramifications, which is the change to the enzyme G-6-PDH. This enzyme has a strong influence on our glucose metabolism, energy production, cell growth and the prevention of oxidative stress. When our bodies produce an overexpression of G-6-PDH which is the case when you combine the two substances, that overexpression can be associated with obesity, insulin resistance and increased blood lipids.

The combination of caffeine and THC may not be a good idea when it comes to memory function. Studies have shown that cannabis already affects memory by reducing memory and cognitive function, especially in young adults who use it. When combined with caffeine, this could increase the effects of THC on memory.

Coffee and cannabis can be enjoyed together in moderation, as the minimal facts we know suggest that they are not harmful to the body. However, further research is needed to confirm this. In the meantime, use caution to avoid overindulging, as this could be harmful to your health.