How does cannabis get you high?
How is it that a plant that first emerged on what's now the Tibetan Plateau can change humans' perception of reality? The secret lies in a class of compounds called cannabinoids. While cannabis plants are known to produce at least 140 types of cannabinoids, there's one that's largely responsible for many of the effects of feeling high. It's called tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC.
THC "goes into your lungs and gets absorbed... into the blood" when a person smokes or inhales cannabis, according to Daniele Piomelli, a professor of anatomy and neurobiology, biological chemistry, and pharmacology at the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine.
Edibles take a little longer to pass through the liver, where enzymes convert THC to a different chemical that takes a little longer to affect people's experience of reality.
The THC compound on the cannabis can get you high