We’ve heard of mango kush — but mangoes and kush? Now that’s another story altogether.
Let’s take a look at something that has been bandied about among stoners and some scientists — and on message boards across the internet — for years.
The claim
Eating mangoes before consuming cannabis will increase your high.
The reality
The claim may sound like the kind of lore that is passed around — along with weed of questionable repute — by high school stoners, but it turns out there is a scientific explanation behind it, according to some very smart people at Caliva in San Jose and Steep Hill Labs in Berkeley.
To explain how it works, let’s talk about terpenes.
Terpenes are compounds found in plants that give them their unique scents. Myrcene falls into this category of compounds.
But myrcene provides more than just a pleasant smell: Its anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties are among the qualities that make it one of the most important terpenes found in marijuana.
Myrcene also affects blood-to-brain partition, which regulates what passes into the brain from the blood, according to the Rev. Dr. Kymron deCesare, chief research officer at Steep Hill Labs. Specifically, it lowers the barrier, allowing for substances — such as THC, the key mind-altering component of cannabis — to pass into the brain more easily.
The result? A quicker, more intense high.
Of course, cannabis isn’t the only thing that packs myrcene. Myrcene is also found in lemon grass, bay leaves, hops, eucalyptus and — you guessed it — mangoes.
How’s that for a tropical punch?
