Purpose of THC

[RogueDog]

Does anyone know the purpose of THC? I, personally, do not think it is the "gift from God" that so many people claim it is. I tend to think it is more in the line of a self-defense mechanism that the plant developed through evolution, just like the opium sap that comes from the Opium Poppy, or a seed dissipation system, such as when insects and certain animals come to munch on the plant's leaves or flowers, they tend to get confused, fall unconsious or fall asleep. They might even overdose and die. This is just my theory on the subject. Perhaps the actions of humans who used the plants over thousands of years have had an effect on the natural selection outcome of the plant's survival and precociousness to predominate over other plants.
Although in the case of cannibinol, an overdose would be pretty unlikely, but the effect of the "munchies' would cause the animals to eat more & spread the seeds over a larger area within their feces. Also a possible purpose. Any theories out there?

RogueDog Reviewed by RogueDog on 09-29-2009. Purpose of THC Does anyone know the purpose of THC? I, personally, do not think it is the "gift from God" that so many people claim it is. I tend to think it is more in the line of a self-defense mechanism that the plant developed through evolution, just like the opium sap that comes from the Opium Poppy, or a seed dissipation system, such as when insects and certain animals come to munch on the plant's leaves or flowers, they tend to get confused, fall unconsious or fall asleep. They might even overdose and Rating: 5

[jimmy8778]

well, here is my take. it served a purpose many many years ago, its a strong industrial fibre and they knew of its use. so they took that. they also noticed a strange thing, its excreted a chemical that people finally found and used for their own purposes, and liking it so much propagated the plant as a crop. throughout the years of evolution we have changed our perspective of what the plant can do for us, it has evolved with us, as have other plants, corn in particular, look at the history of corn and you will understand the recent history of MJ. as for the original reason behind the thc production. i seriously doubt that it was a major factor, the original hemp plants were too low in content to be of use like that, they just produced it, and people took advantage of it to make the potent strains we know thousands of years ago. but it probably had something to do with a mutation, and its just a mutation that people in particular wanted to exploit so we did, but many plants create many chemicals that have no use whatsoever and we ignore them. im sure oak trees create chemicals that we could extract, but what would they be good for??? we just found one and played with it long enough to create effects that were more desireable for us. im sure we could do the same with oak trees and find ones that make more acorns, which are edible seeds, we just typically dont eat them is all. corn used to look more like a cross between barley and the seed pods of grass, and we early in our history did our genetic breeding to create a plant with a thick stem that grows easily and creates a highly nutritious full ear of corn. so it was just by luck that we found the weed plant, its by our desires that it does what we on this site get our effect from. if we had never interfered who knows, the gene for producing the thc might have eventually disappeared completely. there are plants that produce poison in their seed pods, what would the point of that be if the point was to spread the seed, its all intertwined with human nature, and evolution. we have been affecting evolution since we found out how to change crops to do what we want them to do by finding the correct traits we are looking for. essentially, we have been playing god for millennia.

[Markass]

Does anyone know the purpose of THC? I, personally, do not think it is the "gift from God" that so many people claim it is. I tend to think it is more in the line of a self-defense mechanism that the plant developed through evolution, just like the opium sap that comes from the Opium Poppy, or a seed dissipation system, such as when insects and certain animals come to munch on the plant's leaves or flowers, they tend to get confused, fall unconsious or fall asleep. They might even overdose and die. This is just my theory on the subject. Perhaps the actions of humans who used the plants over thousands of years have had an effect on the natural selection outcome of the plant's survival and precociousness to predominate over other plants.
Although in the case of cannibinol, an overdose would be pretty unlikely, but the effect of the "munchies' would cause the animals to eat more & spread the seeds over a larger area within their feces. Also a possible purpose. Any theories out there?

THC isn't even on the plant until it starts to flower anyhow...it's critical for the plant to survive veg growth so that it can flower..I'd call that theory dead, but that's just me.

THC isn't the only compound in cannabis to begin with, nor the only intoxicating one. There's 65 others.

The variations in amount of those 66 total active cannabinoids is what allows for marijuana to treat a rather extensive variety of ailments and conditions. I believe cannabis sativa was most certainly created for medical use, and cannabis hemp was created for fiber, and it's other many uses of which I do not know all of them, but there's a lot.

The sheer fact that there's only about two to three weeks in the plants life that it will actually contain psychoactive chemicals, I don't believe it's a "defense or survival" mechanism.

also, you misspelled cannabidiol..

[the image reaper]

a Botanist told me, it is the plant's self-defense mechanism, to repel insects, I don't know how true that is :smokin: (if I was a bug, it would probably attract me )

[Weezard]

Howzit, Markass?

You wrote;

"THC isn't even on the plant until it starts to flower anyhow"...

"The sheer fact that there's only about two to three weeks in the plants life that it will actually contain psychoactive chemicals"

I disagree. Based on fact and experience.
This surprised me because your advice is usually sound.:wtf:

Aloha Weezard

[bhouncy]

Seen a program that mentions that there is a sea creature (not sure what) or sea vegetation that has cannabinoids (sp) receptors. We are all connected and cannabis is no different.

Off topic there was another show I seen where this woman took THC alone and exhibited psychosis and looked in a bad way. But when she took the whole range of cannabinoids she was giggling away.

[delusionsofNORMALity]

i'm sure that there was an original reason for the production of the various chemicals in cannabis, whether as an attractant or a repellent, that helped assure the plant's survival, but its use by humans over the centuries for its psychoactive properties has undoubtedly bred a plant, whether intentionally or accidentally, with far higher concentrations of those substances. i've always just considered it a happy coincidence that those chemicals, when mixed with our own brain's chemistry, induce a pleasant and harmless effect. believing that that effect is the plant's sole purpose for producing those chemicals would tend to imply an importance to humanity that i'm not sure we deserve. just be thankful it doesn't make you vomit.

[Purple Banana]

THC falls into a larger class of chemicals called cannabinoids. These chemicals, present both in cannabis as well as naturally produced in the human body, have no CLEAR and concise purpose that we really know of, but we're learning new information every year about THC and other cannabinoids. Those who claim THC is a defense mechanism against animals are correct; research also shows the secretion of THC from a plant also has prominent UV-B protection attributes, which helps protect the plant from damaging UV rays.

Research indicates the purpose for the receptors in the human brain are much more prominent than we once thought.

For example, the cannabinoid receptors in the human brain- C1 and C2 respectively- each have different functions. C1 primarily is responsible for reactions within the central nervous system (CNS), while C2 seems to have more of an effect on the immune system.

The theory regards the receptor sites in the body- if the body has receptor sites for cannabinoids, then they must be produced naturally by the body. These naturally produced substances are called endocannabinoids. We have a very similar system on an opiate-based level with endoprhins, human-made opiates which are responsible for inducing pleasure, pain relief, etc.

Much in the way that smoking pot gives one the munchies, this is one of the primary functions of the endocannabinoids and their receptors- hunger control. Certain types of endocannabinoids released induce in humans a state of hunger, telling our body to crave food in order to eat. Endocannabinoids are released through mom's breastmilk primarily to encourage the infant to feed- this is why cannabis use during pregnancy poses little threat to the infant and mother, and also one of the main reasons why cannabis is such an effective nausea control mechanism.

Other functions of the cannabinoid receptors include (but are not limited to): relaxation, pain relief, altering time and space, and increased pleasure in sensory organs (i.e. better tasting, better smelling, better feeling, etc). This is why being stoned feels like a heightened sensory experience... Because it is!

[Markass]

Howzit, Markass?

You wrote;

"THC isn't even on the plant until it starts to flower anyhow"...

"The sheer fact that there's only about two to three weeks in the plants life that it will actually contain psychoactive chemicals"

I disagree. Based on fact and experience.
This surprised me because your advice is usually sound.:wtf:

Aloha Weezard

not very easy to get stoned off of immature marijuana is basically what that's referring to..you're not going to get anything but a headache if you smoke it before there's even calyxes on it..and nothing but a headchange if it's early even if there's trichomes..very little if any is what I shall rephrase it to

[Islandborn]

I have no clue what the purpose is, but thank you to whatever deity,god, nature, earth, alien, or Tom Cruise who gave it to us. I love it.:jointsmile: