Cannabis science without the folklore: how the plant meets the body

Cannabis science covers two big questions. What does the plant make, and what happens when those compounds meet a human body? The first is mostly chemistry. The second is pharmacology, and it's where most of the confident claims online fall apart.

Here we cover the endocannabinoid system, how inhaled and eaten cannabis differ, why the same product can feel different on different days, and what impairment research says. We read the studies before we write about them, and we tell you whether a finding came from people, animals or cells in a dish, because those carry very different weight.

We also say when the answer is that nobody knows yet. A lot of cannabis research is young, small or funded by people with a stake in the result. You deserve to know that before you trust a headline.

Our first piece touching this area, what THC tests can and can't tell us about driving impairment, is filed under Lab Testing, but the science in it applies here too.