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10 Things Smoking Weed Does To Your Body

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10 Things Smoking Weed Does To Your Body

Because cannabis has so many different chemicals, it produces a wide range of effects. Here are 10 things smoking weed does to your body.

Here’s what smoking weed does to your body

Cannabis is a complex plant. It contains almost 500 natural compounds. And somewhere around 100 of them are cannabinoids. These are a particular class of chemicals that interact with your body’s endocannabinoid system. These interactions are responsible for most of the effects you feel when you smoke weed. Because cannabis has so many different chemicals, it produces a wide range of effects. Here are 10 things smoking weed does to your body.

10. Gives You Cotton Mouth

10 Things Smoking Weed Does To Your Body

Cotton mouth is one of the most noticeable effects of smoking weed. Halfway into a decent sesh, you’re probably dry as hell. And thanks primarily to the work of researchers at the University of Buenos Aires, we now know why.

The main reason weed gives you cotton mouth is because the THC affects your submandibular glands. These are located on the floor of your mouth, and they’re responsible for producing most of your saliva.

As it turns out, these glands also have CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors. When the THC hits those receptors, it binds to them. And when that happens, it temporarily shuts down the lines of communication between the glands and your nervous system.

The final result of all this interacting, binding, and communication shut off is that your body slows down its production of saliva. Hence your dried out cotton mouth.

The interesting thing about this is that it explains why you can get cotton mouth no matter how you consume weed. It’s a common misconception that the smoke is what’s drying out your mouth.

As our understanding of cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system make clear, the smoke doesn’t have a whole lot to do with it. It’s mostly chemical.

So if you thought you could avoid cotton mouth by vaping, drinking, or eating your weed, think again. As far as the research indicates, if you’re putting cannabinoids into your system, you’ll probably get cotton mouth.

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