For most cannabis consumers, THC produces a palette of pleasing sensations that include euphoria, sensory stimulation, positive mood alterations and even feelings of improved cognition. Generally, these experiences aren’t overwhelming. But sometimes they can be, tipping into anxiety and paranoia.

CBD doesn’t produce any mental and emotional effects of its own. But it absolutely influences how THC creates those effects. For recreational users, CBD can act as a counterweight to balance and level out a strong reaction to THC.

Of course, the opposite is also true. For people who crave the sensations of THC and want nothing to stand in their way, eliminating CBD can effectively make a product more potent. That’s the point behind THC concentrates.

Recreational users who prefer a more body-focused high can benefit from cannabis products containing CBD. Cannabidiol has a calming effect on the body. It reduces inflammation and helps treat pain by blocking pain receptors.

These mellowed, relaxed bodily sensations can help round out a cerebral high for a more whole-body experience. The physical effects and therapeutic benefits of CBD can even highlight and emphasize the pleasurable effects THC has on your body in the first place.

To conclude this guide to the major differences between CBD and THC, we should address the elephant in the room. That little “vs” standing between THC vs CBD.

That “vs,” or versus, implies conflict, a winner-take-all battle between the two most prominent cannabinoids. While CBD and THC compliment some of each other’s effects, that’s not the result of two warring chemicals—it is the result of their working together.

In the same way that CBD can balance a strong THC high and alleviate some of the perceived negative effects of THC, some of the effects of CBD are more potent if the cannabinoid is consumed with THC.

This cooperative relationship between cannabinoids is called the “entourage effect” or “ensemble effect.” It’s based on the principle that the cannabinoids in cannabis reach their full potential when they operate in concert.

For medical cannabis users, the differences between THC and CBD are very important. Both cannabinoids offer therapeutic and medicinal benefits. But CBD offers them without psychoactive side effects. For that reason, CBD is ideal for patients who do not desire the effects of THC or who cannot as safely consume THC, like children.

Indeed, CBD is so well-researched for medical applications because of the fact that it doesn’t produce the effects of a high. In many places, that’s enough to make CBD products legal, as long as they don’t contain THC above a certain threshold.

THC, like CBD, also has anti-inflammatory properties. This makes it great for treating pain, one of the most commonly recommended uses for THC. But because THC receptors are concentrated in the brain, many of the health benefits of the cannabinoid stem from the chemicals it releases there.

Often, medical cannabis users consume THC in order to produce the same effects sought after by recreational consumers. But in the medical context, those effects can actually help treat many of the complicating symptoms associated with severe diseases.

For example, THC can reduce the nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy treatments. It can stimulate appetite in people losing weight due to illness or treatments for the illness.

And importantly, THC can help treat mental and cognitive problems associated with illness. Often, severe and chronic diseases cause anxiety and depression, which THC’s euphoric effects can help remedy. Indeed, a recent study on THC and Alzheimer’s patients found that the cannabinoid can reduce agitation and other mood disorders in people with dementia.

The differences between CBD and THC are real, and they make all the difference in your cannabis experience. So whether you like to think about it as CBD vs THC, or THC vs CBD, now that you know a little bit about what makes them unique, you can make more mindful, intentional choices about the cannabis products you use, while feeling confident that those products will produce the effects you want.