Body high

"Body high" describes the somatic pole of cannabis experience — limb heaviness, muscle relaxation, warmth, analgesia, mild dissociation from proprioception — with comparatively less cognitive alteration. Mechanistically plausible substrates include CB1 activation in descending pain pathways (periaqueductal gray, rostral ventromedial medulla), spinal dorsal horn, and peripheral nociceptors, as well as CB2-mediated peripheral anti-inflammatory effects (Pertwee 2008 Handbook of Cannabis). Anecdotal association with myrcene, β-caryophyllene, and linalool-rich chemovars derives from preclinical analgesic/anxiolytic data for each terpene (Russo 2011). β-caryophyllene is a selective CB2 agonist (Gertsch et al. 2008 PNAS), providing a direct pharmacological rationale for terpene-mediated somatic effects. As with "head high," controlled blinded trials stratifying effect by chemovar are scarce; the head/body dichotomy remains clinically useful but pharmacologically under-validated. Citations: Russo EB. Br J Pharmacol. 2011;163:1344-1364; Gertsch J et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2008;105(26):9099-9104; Pertwee RG (ed). Handbook of Cannabis. Oxford University Press, 2014.