Catnip: Its green leafy and gets your cat higher than the top shelf of the bookcase he or she wont stop climbing. And as you watch your floof beast rolling herself in impossible upside-down poses on the couch or as he collapses into a lethargic mess with catnip all over his face and fur you might find yourself thinking Looks like the first time I got stoned. If cannabis and catnip werent so similar there wouldnt exist online stores full of catnip joints artisan catnip strains or cannabis-inspired catnip packaging. But how similar are the two in reality and whats actually going on in your cats little brain upon inhaling their version of the giggle bush? Difference: Cannabis and catnip are not related. (reddit.com) Not closely anyway. Cannabis comes from the Cannabaceae family (which includes hemp hops nettle trees and hackberry to name a few). Catnip more formally Nepeta cataria is a member of the mint family (or Lamiaceae) along with many popular herbs like basil rosemary oregano sage thyme and lavender. Similarity: Both plants use chemical compounds for protection. (cheezburger.com) This similarity can almost be boiled down to both cannabis and catnip are plants because all plants use chemical constituents both psychoactive or non-psychoactive to protect themselves. Plants dont have immune systems legs or teeth/claws (except maybe the Venus fly trap) like animals do so they use a cocktail of natural compounds to deter predators and pests attract pollinators and resist pathogens. Cannabis produces THC and other cannabinoids for a variety of protective purposes. Catnip produces the pheromone-like terpenoid nepetalactone which is known to repel cockroaches and mosquitoes but why would it attract cats? Author Michael Pollan in The Pot Book shares the story of a cat who would constantly forget where to find the catnip bush in his garden. It occurred to me that this might be a kind of evolutionary strategy on the part of the plant: instead of killing the pest it would just really confuse it he speculates. Killing pests can be counterproductive because they breed or select for resistance very quicklyIf the plant merely confuses the pests or disables their memory it can defend itself against them overindulging. Difference: Catnip and cannabis are absorbed differently. (hilariousgifs.com) THC gets us high by activating receptors in the brain binding to whats called the endocannabinoid system. Cats also have an endocannabinoid system so they too can feel the psychoactive effects of cannabis but contrary to human experience cannabis is not pleasurable to cats so let them stick to the nip and do not feed them cannabis. Catnips nepetalactone is absorbed through tissues in the cats nasal cavity and creates a domino effect in the brain affecting areas from the amygdala to the hypothalamus to the pituitary gland. It can make cats feel aggressive playful lethargic or sexually aroused (sorry if catnip is weird now). Vaporizing or brewing catnip into tea is said to have subtly relaxing effects for humans but the reason catnip intoxicates cats uniquely is because it mimics a pheromone cats are keen to pick up. Hence some of the awkward aforementioned side effects. Similarity: Cannabis and catnip both affect their consumer uniquely. (imgur.com) As I try to write this my two cats are having polar opposite reactions to catnip. The overweight Siamese male is shoveling catnip into his nostrils with his tongue rolling in it until every inch of his loaf-like bodyis covered in dried leaves. The houses alpha-female a tiny 9-pound Persian takes a few sniffs watches the boy with plotting eyes and then tackles him biting the back of his neck in a show of unchallenged dominance. Just as cats respond differently to catnip (in fact up to one-third dont respond to catnip at all due to genetics) humans respond differently to cannabis. A strain that makes one person feel relaxed and anxiety-free can make another feel restless on-edge and paranoid. It all comes down to a variety of biological factors unique to each individual. These are just some fundamental similarities and differences youll find between mans and cats favorite herbs. The plant kingdom is full of other fascinating examples but catnip is arguably the most entertaining as it reduces the most dignified and serious creature to a ridiculous floor-bent state that many of us can relate to after a good-sized dab or an overweight blunt. Bailey Rahn Bailey is an editor at Leafly specializing in strains and health. The post Is a Catnip High Like a Cannabis High? appeared first on Leafly. by Bailey Rahn at Leafly