Written by Paul James
Most THC research is concerned with the cannabinoid’s impact on the brain. However, for the last few decades, scientists have been focusing on another core component of human biology: the immune system.
There’s no stopping the legalization of cannabis. Every year, more people are using tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for the first time. And in more regular intervals.
Some are looking for recreational fun. Others seek out medical relief from pain, inflammation, and other conditions that conventional medicine has struggled to tame. But what almost none of them are thinking about (and what even their doctors may not fully understand) is what THC is doing to their immune cells every time they light up, vape, or munch on an edible.
The answer, as it turns out, is a great deal. And the picture is far more nuanced than the simple binary of “suppresses immunity” or “boosts immunity” that tends to dominate popular discourse.
So, what does THC do to the immune system? We invite you to follow along as we take a deeper dive into this topic.
The Hidden Network: Your Endocannabinoid System
We all know cannabis gets you “high.” But that high starts with the human body’s naturally functioning endocannabinoid system (ECS). It’s one of the most widespread regulatory networks in biology, being present within your brain, gut, skin, reproductive organs, and (critically) the immune system. ¹
The ECS is built around two key receptors:
- CB1 Receptors – Concentrated primarily in the central nervous system, THC directly attaches to them and causes a “high.”
- CB2 Receptors – Expressed in the peripheral immune system, residing on the surface of T cells, B cells, macrophages, and several other immune cells. These are essentially the immune system’s cannabinoid antenna. ²
To activate these receptors, the body produces its own molecules, known as endocannabinoids. These are produced on demand and have been found in a variety of immune cells. They function, in part, as the immune system’s volume knob: calibrating inflammatory responses, signaling cell migration, and helping the body avoid catastrophic overreaction (cytokine storm). ³
When THC enters the body, it mimics these endocannabinoids. It binds to both CB1 and CB2 receptors and begins pulling levers the body normally reserves for itself. The critical difference is that endocannabinoids are produced locally and rapidly broken down.
THC is an exogenous intruder with a much longer half-life, flooding receptors for hours and potentially disrupting the finely tuned homeostatic balance the ECS normally maintains. ⁴ That’s where things get interesting… and complicated.
THC’s Core Effect: A Brake on the Immune System
The clearest, most consistent finding across decades of research is this: THC is broadly immunosuppressive. ⁵
In study after study, in cell cultures and animal models, THC dials down key immune responses. For example, it suppresses the ability of T cells to proliferate in response to immune threats. It shifts the body away from a Th1 (pro-inflammatory) immune profile toward a Th2 (anti-inflammatory) one. It reduces the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines (chemical messengers that marshal immune forces) while nudging up the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines. ⁶
The mechanism runs through CB2. When THC binds this receptor, it triggers a chain reaction: cytokine production slows, immune cells become less active, and some are even nudged toward self-destruction. ⁷ Think of CB2 signaling as the body’s natural brake on inflammation. When THC activates it artificially, it may be pressing that brake harder (and longer) than the body ever intended.
THC also reaches into the genome. It doesn’t rewrite your DNA, but it does change how your genes behave (a phenomenon scientists call epigenetics). With repeated use, THC appears to quiet the genes that drive inflammation while amplifying the ones that calm it down. ⁸ The result is an immune system that, over time, has been subtly reprogrammed; reading from a different set of instructions than it was before you started.
And the effects aren’t the same across every immune cell. Take macrophages as an example. This is the immune system’s roving cleanup crew, tasked with detecting and destroying threats. In some conditions, THC actually increases their activity rather than suppressing it. ⁹
That apparent contradiction is, in many ways, the defining feature of this whole story: THC doesn’t simply turn down the immune system. It reaches in and adjusts specific dials, with results that vary depending on which cells are involved, how much THC is present, and what the body is already dealing with.
When Immunosuppression Becomes a Risk
For a healthy person, chronic immunosuppression is not a trivial concern. The immune system’s job is to find and destroy threats, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Anything that blunts that capacity, even modestly, changes the odds.
The research picture is layered. In animal models, THC has been shown to reduce the body’s ability to fight off microbial infections. ¹⁰ In humans, the story is murkier. Studies in HIV-positive patients found that cannabis use didn’t accelerate progression to AIDS or meaningfully impair immune cell counts. ¹¹
The FDA-approved synthetic THC drug Marinol tells a similar story; it doesn’t appear to worsen immune function or increase susceptibility to infection. ¹² Yet the broader evidence still counsels caution: cannabis use is associated with greater vulnerability to bacterial, viral, and fungal infections. Whether that risk falls mainly on heavy, chronic users or extends to occasional ones remains an open question.
One area carries a clearer warning: pregnancy. THC crosses the placental barrier, and exposure during pregnancy appears to disrupt the developing fetus’s immune system, leaving it less equipped to fight infection in early life. ¹³ In a field full of nuance and caveats, this is one of the more unambiguous signals the science has produced.
Furthermore, smoking adds its own wrinkle. Inhaled cannabis triggers airway inflammation, activating immune sentinels in the respiratory tract and elevating inflammatory markers. ¹⁴ Importantly, some of this effect likely comes from the smoke itself, not THC alone. It’s one reason researchers increasingly favor edibles, oils, and other non-combustion methods when trying to study what THC is actually doing, separate from the act of burning something and breathing it in.
The Flip Side: THC as Immunotherapy
Here is where the science becomes genuinely thrilling. The same immunosuppressive properties that raise concern in healthy people represent an extraordinary opportunity when the enemy isn’t a pathogen, but the immune system itself.
Autoimmune diseases are, at their core, a case of friendly fire. In conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lupus, Crohn’s disease, and type 1 diabetes, the immune system loses the ability to distinguish “self” from “threat”. It begins attacking the body’s own tissues. ¹⁵ The result is chronic pain, progressive disability, and organ damage.
This is where THC enters with a compelling offer: the ability to quiet an immune system that won’t stop shouting.
In rheumatoid arthritis, research has shown that THC reduces levels of TNF-α, a key inflammatory protein and the very target of some of the most expensive biologic drugs on the market. ¹⁶ In animal models, cannabinoids slow the inflammatory cascade that destroys joint cartilage, suggesting potential not just for symptom relief but for slowing disease progression.
In multiple sclerosis, THC has shown promise on two fronts: dampening the inflammatory signals that drive nerve damage, and easing the symptoms that conventional drugs often fail to control. The American Academy of Neurology has endorsed oral cannabinoids for MS symptom management, and Sativex, a THC-CBD mouth spray, is approved in many countries specifically for MS-related muscle stiffness. ¹⁷
In Crohn’s disease, early studies found that cannabis reduced disease activity, lowered medication use, and produced complete remission in some patients. ¹⁸ These were striking results for a condition notoriously resistant to treatment.
As you can see, THC holds a lot of potential in various autoimmune diseases. Still, the research isn’t 100% there in understanding the direct impacts of this cannabinoid on the immune system.
Conclusion: A Molecule Worth Taking Seriously
THC is not the blunt immunological hammer it is sometimes made out to be. Nor is it the miraculous immune regulator that the most enthusiastic cannabis advocates claim.
It is a pharmacologically active molecule that interacts with one of the body’s most fundamental regulatory systems, producing effects that are real, measurable, dose-dependent, and context-specific. And, depending on who you are, it can be potentially harmful or potentially therapeutic.
The most important lesson the science of THC and immunity teaches us is that the human body does not draw a clear line between the nervous and immune systems. The endocannabinoid system bridges both, and THC, when it enters the body, does not politely stay in its lane. It reaches everywhere the ECS reaches, and that turns out to be nearly everywhere.
As research continues to mature, as regulatory barriers fall, and as clinical trials grow in rigor and scale, we may eventually have the personalized, evidence-based guidance that patients and clinicians genuinely need. For now, the honest message is one of cautious curiosity: this is a molecule doing something real and important inside the immune system, and we are still (only just) learning what.
Images from – Unsplash – Taras Chernus – M Luan
Published in issue 177 Weed World Magazine
References
¹ Essays in Biochemistry: The endocannabinoid system: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32648908/
² Current Opinion in Anaesthesiology: An overview of cannabinoid type 2 (CB2) receptor system and its therapeutic potential: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6035094/
³ European Journal of Rheumatology: The endocannabinoid system in pain and inflammation: Its relevance to rheumatic disease: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5685274/
⁴ Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging: Review of the Endocannabinoid System: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2451902220302068
⁵ Viruses (MDPI): The Link between Cannabis Use, Immune System, and Viral Infections: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8229290/
⁶ Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology: Effects of Cannabinoids on T-cell Function and Resistance to Infection: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11481-015-9603-3
⁷ Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences: The CB2 receptor and its role as a regulator of inflammation: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5075023/
⁸ Cellular Immunology: The effects of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on inflammation: A review: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0008874920301775
⁹ Journal of Leukocyte Biology: Tetrahydrocannabinol-Induced Suppression of Macrophage Spreading and Phagocytic Activity In Vitro: https://jlb.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jlb.39.6.679
¹⁰ Life (MDPI): Antibacterial Effects of Phytocannabinoids: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9505641/
¹¹ The Journal of Infectious Diseases: Impact of Cannabis Use on Immune Cell Populations and the Viral Reservoir in People with HIV on Suppressive Antiretroviral Therapy: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10681869/
¹² Food & Drug Administration (FDA): MARINOL: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2017/018651s029lbl.pdf
¹³ Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences: Cannabinoid exposure during pregnancy and its impact on immune function: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6632091/
¹⁴ Respiratory Research: Modulation of pulmonary immune function by inhaled cannabis products and consequences for lung disease: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10043545/
¹⁵ Boston Children’s Hospital: Autoimmune Diseases: https://www.childrenshospital.org/conditions-treatments/autoimmune-diseases
¹⁶ International Journal of Immunopharmacology: Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol suppresses tumor necrosis factor alpha maturation and secretion but not its transcription in mouse macrophages: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8732433/
¹⁷ Neural Plasticity: Sativex in the Management of Multiple Sclerosis-Related Spasticity: Role of the Corticospinal Modulation: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4325203/
¹⁸ Cochrane Library: Cannabis for the treatment of Crohn’s disease: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6517156/
