Could THC or CBD Help Your Hangover?
Hangovers have no cure. Only rest and time will make them disappear. However, you can reduce the effects. A Bloody Mary or Hair of the Dog mitigate the impact of an alcohol binge by prolonging the high, so you come down slower. But you really fool yourself, thinking more alcohol will cure your alcohol problem. However, more people believe THC or CBD may be the answer. Could THC or CBD help your hangover?
A hangover explained
According to the National Institutes of Health, “A hangover refers to a set of symptoms that occur as a consequence of drinking too much. Typical symptoms include fatigue, weakness, thirst, headache, muscle aches, nausea, stomach pain, vertigo, sensitivity to light and sound, anxiety, irritability, sweating, and increased blood pressure. A hangover can vary from person to person.”
A person’s weight, fat index, height, age, and gender factor in the hangover’s impact. Other factors include:
The nature and quality of the alcoholic spirits, beer, or wine.
The liver metabolizes alcohol which inflames the liver, digestive tract, and pancreas.
The inflammation disturbs restful sleep, leading to fatigue and headaches.
The metabolism and inflammation complicate the issue and deployment of hormones, triggering increased urination and subsequent dehydration.
The mixture of alcohol with cigarette smoking, cocktail spices, or added sugars contributes to nausea and cramps.
Every drinker recommends a cure for hangovers. Caffeine, cold showers, and a morning-after drink will not work. You might take a couple of Aspirin or Ibuprofen before bed, consume large volumes of water, or sleep in. People have tried Zinc, Vitamin-B12, and Vitamin-C. Others opt for hydrating with sports drinks or other electrolyte-loaded beverages. However, only time and rest will let the alcohol toxins dissipate.
Will THC help your hangover?
Yes – and no! Cannabis THC affects your alcohol-produced hangover. It will not cure it, but it can distract you from the hangover symptoms. More importantly, THC may reduce specific problems.
A potent THC strain of cannabis will influence your nervous system. Binding to nerve cells, it can agitate the delivery of messages to the brain, exciting the imagination and cerebral activities enough to help you ignore, escape, or manage the hangover’s pain.
THC may also calm the nervous system, restoring balance as it binds with neurotransmitters. As it does, the THC cannabinoid has proven properties for reducing nausea and vomiting. In calming the neuro system, it also relieves the anxiety and depression attached to alcohol consumption.
You might choose cannabis strains with low to moderate THC, like Harlequin, ACDC, or Cannatonic.
Will CBD help your hangover?
CBD will have more positive effects on your alcohol hangover symptoms. CBD does not attach to neurotransmitters. However, it acts as a buffer defending the nervous system from assault and damage.
For instance, it affects the cerebral centers that trigger nausea and vomiting. CBD also masters the hormone system, launching and reducing the reabsorption of acetaldehyde, a major cause of alcohol hangovers.
As a control, CBD will also reduce the body’s reabsorption of anandamide, known as “the bliss molecule.” By sustaining a level of bliss and comfort, CBD minimizes the anxiety attached to a hangover. It follows, then, that CBD reduces the frequency, duration, and strength of headaches and migraines.
CBD restores the blood pressure that alcohol has lowered, reducing the blood sugar that alcohol has released. Because CBD comes in many forms, you should consider using CBD lozenges or oil under the tongue.
Some problems remain.
Cannabis THC and CBD trigger their own set of side effects. The cannabis side effects come from similar brain and body responses to the cannabis contents.
Cannabis will produce a dry mouth and bloodshot eyes, which are signs of an alcohol hangover.
But you must understand that alcohol consumption affects different people differently for many reasons. So, any given person will respond separately to cannabis or alcohol. This is also true of cannabis intake.
Still, you can assume that consumption of alcohol with cannabis will only exacerbate the hangover. Likewise, it would help to recognize that cannabis is not the therapy of choice for an alcohol hangover. Cannabis might soften or lessen one side effect or other in some users, but it may only increase a side effect in another.
Rest and hydration remain the only suitable remedy for an alcohol-induced hangover. THC and CBD offer some minor relief for some users, but cannabis provides nothing more than over-the-counter painkillers. And it risks negatively affecting blood pressure and gastric linings.
