effects of cannabis effects of cannabis the effects of cannabis are caused by chemical compounds in the cannabis plant, including 113 different cannabinoids such as tetrahydrocannabinol (thc) and 120 terpenes, which allow its drug to have various psychological and physiological effects on the human body. different plants of the genus cannabis contain different and often unpredictable concentrations of thc and other cannabinoids and hundreds of other molecules that have a pharmacological effect, so that the final net effect cannot reliably be foreseen. a dried cannabis flower acute effects while under the influence can sometimes include euphoria or anxiety. although some assert that cannabidiol (cbd), another cannabinoid found in cannabis in varying amounts, may alleviate the adverse effects of thc that some users experience, little is known about cbd effects on humans. cannabinoid receptor antagonists have previously been tested as antidotes for cannabis intoxication with success, reducing or eliminating the physiological and psychological effects of intoxication. some of these products are currently in development as cannabis antidotes. in the united states, medical cannabis research is limited by federal restrictions. smoking any substance could possibly carry similar risks as smoking tobacco due to carcinogens present in all smoke, and the ultimate conclusions on these factors are disputed. cannabis use disorder is defined as a medical diagnosis in the fifth revision of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (dsm-5). chemistry the structural formula of tetrahydrocannabinol tetrahydrocannabivarin cannabidiol cannabinol cannabivarin cannabidivarin cannabinoids and cannabinoid receptors the most prevalent psychoactive substances in cannabis are cannabinoids, particularly thc. some varieties, having undergone careful selection and growing techniques, can yield as much as 34% thc. another psychoactive cannabinoid present in cannabis sativa is tetrahydrocannabivarin (thcv), but it is only found in small amounts and is a cannabinoid antagonist. there are similar compounds in cannabis that do not exhibit psychoactive response but are obligatory for functionality: cannabidiol (cbd), an isomer of thc; cannabivarin (cbv), an analog of cannabinol (cbn) with a different side chain, cannabidivarin (cbdv), an analog of cbd with a different side chain, and cannabinolic acid. cbd is believed to regulate the metabolism of thc by inactivating cytochrome p450 enzymes that metabolize drugs; one such mechanism is via generation of carbon monoxide (a pharmacologically active neurotransmitter) by upon metabolism of cbd. thc is converted rapidly to 11-hydroxy-thc, which is also pharmacologically active, so the euphoria outlasts measurable thc levels in blood. biochemical mechanisms in the brain