That's a damn shame.. I respected you until this post... Now you're just regurgitating the same crap that people who have raw milk enemas spew.
Lol, oh noes.. I lost the respect of one out of thousands of users on an internet forum, what shall I dooooo?!? But tell me Mr. Encyclopedia, are the Chinese herbalists into raw milk enemas? Cause that's where a lot of this type of information comes from, well came from and then forgotten/ignored by us, only to slowly rediscover it as if we're the ones figuring it out. I could also provide you some links of some cannabis researchers who are researching the specific effects of terpenes in weed, but you pride yourself on being self taught, so I won't ruin the adventure for you. That's the problem with your autodidactism, once you settled on an answer, you're settled. Leaves little room in a stubborn mind for someone to say otherwise, you've reached an answer you're ok with and that's that, even if it's not correct. Moving on, why do you think Marinol and other THC based drugs flop? Because they don't typically include the other terpenes.. They're essential to the varying effects, they may not be the biggest factor, but they are a factor. Now I am not saying that if you eat just a bunch of one, let's say limonene, you'll be able to produce the same effect as if you smoked weed with limonene, the THC is just as important to the effect. Ingesting large amounts can and probably will make you sick, but when used in proper amounts, there's a ton of health benefits.. Now if you knew me, you'd know that I drink anywhere from 1-3 liters of soda a day, smoke a pack of cigs a day, and stuff my face with food that isn't really considered healthy, but that's not going to blind me to the facts.. I know what's good and what isn't, it's a matter of giving a fuck. So Mr. Encyclopedia, how do you equate all the varying effects of cannabis? Strictly based on the levels of THC? Or do cannabinoids (made from terpenes) play a role too? And if you're wondering why I care enough if I don't even really bother with them in use of a "healthy" lifestyle, it's cause I use them for other things. Mainly random experiments out of curiosity, the best was a creme I made for dog wounds. The main active ingredients are essential oils (that I always test on myself, an occasionally make myself sick with..) and it works better than anything else. I have another batch brewing since we went through the last one fast, but when the dogs go to the vet, the vets are usually like "one of the healthiest wounds we've seen". My creme has even taken care of wounds that literally smell like roadkill, where bacteria is slowly eating the flesh. My all organic, essential oil creme did the job where pharmaceutical anti-whatevers failed, including Neosporin. So I know from personal experience that ingesting essential oils/terpenes can and usually do have some kind of physical effect on the body and/or brain. Reading is only a part of autodidactism, the rest is taking what you've learned and applying it to real world experiences and learning from those experiences.. If you've never down anything with terpenes other than think 'that smells nice', then I can see why you're the way you are, but if you never actually experience it, can you really say you're learning to your fullest potential?