The Main Difference between Medical Marijuana and Recreational Marijuana

The rise in popularity of medical marijuana has not gone unnoticed. With the legalization of recreational marijuana in different States, most users are confused as they cannot tell between the two.

Therefore, this article is about medical marijuana vs. recreation, and it will cover all aspects starting from the component differences, its effects, extraction, and production process to purchases.

What are the Active Components of a Cannabis Plant?

A lot of research on Cannabis compounds has been conducted in the recent past, paving the way to the wave of marijuana legalization in many countries including USA and Canada.

Cannabis is made up of many compounds, but the major ones are Cannabidiol (CBD) and Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Medical marijuana vs. recreational marijuana

Components

Medical marijuana is enriched with CBD and other beneficial compounds. The CBD component is non-psychoactive (does not induce highness), unlike its THC counterpart.

CBD lacks a methyl group, replaced by a hydrogen bond, in its chemical structure which is responsible for psychoactive effects. This is the main reason for the contrasting differences between these two compounds.

On the other hand, recreational marijuana is laden with tetrahydrocannabinol which is a psychoactive agent. This compound is responsible for the high feeling among marijuana users.

Another interesting difference is that medical cannabis is usually derived from Cannabis indica plant variety while recreational marijuana is extracted from Cannabis sativa.

(read the full article via MedicalMarijuanaBlog)