Did researchers stumble onto a way to calm your hot mouth with marijuana????

If you are are seeing more food loaded with heat, you are not wrong. The hot spicy food trend is not just a fad it’s a global culinary movement. There was a collective gasp when the Sriracha supply dropped and suddenly everyone jumped in the game. Campbells began adding ghost peppers and groceries aisles have become full of options.  But what if you over do it?  Bread, citrus, alcohol, yogurt and milk all can help relieve the pain. But can marijuana help you overdid the hot sauce?

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Well, it is a bit of a complicated answer – the answer is a qualified yes. Most people indulge in a spicy things at the last moment.  You stop by Houston Hot Chicken and you get the extreme heat.  Some places ask you to sign a waiver, in part to make sure you still pay for your food and don’t demand a refund if you can’t it eat.  But using marijuana, planning ahead could be key.

It seems research in San Diego may have stumbled on another way to cool the mouth accidentally.

Researchers from UCSD’s Center for Medical Cannabis Research were testing marijuana’s potential to ease neuropathic pain. To simulate the pain associated with chemotherapy or HIV/AIDS, researchers injected participants with capsaicin, the active component putting the heat in peppers. In addition to the sensation of heat, capsaicin produces pain and, for this reason, is an important tool in the study of pain.

The trial was a success, cannabis produced a significant, if modest, improvement in pain.  The subjects reported a decrease in pain at the medium dose, and there was also a significant correlation between plasma levels of  THC, the active ingredient in cannabis, and decreased pain.

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The first problem is dosage. Cannabis has a narrow window for pain relief. Too little has no effect, but too much makes the pain even worse. The optimum amount roughly 4% THC.

The second problem is reaction time. The analgesic effect it immediate; it takes about 45 minutes. For anyone with a mouthful of habanero burning like an out of control fire, 45 minutes seems a bit long for relief.  You would have to preplan and microdose.  Or maybe put some cannabis oil in your mouth before you indulge in the spice.

Eating hot sauce can stimulate “high. When you eat something spicy and the capsaicinoids (from capsaicins) hit the tongue, a message — similar to that of being near a hot fire — is sent to the brain, essentially tricking it into thinking the mouth is being burned and needs assistance quickly (It’s the same thing which happens when you touch your eye or other sensitive areas after handling a hot pepper). The brain responds by releasing endorphins. Which gives you a short high.

More research will need to be done focused on this area before there is an immediate practical solution.