This is part 1 in our Medical Cannabis 101 education series.
Part 2 covers the cannabinoids THC and CBD.
Part 3 covers terpenes.
What is the endocannabinoid system?
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a vast network of receptors that are located throughout the human body and thousands of other species. Scientists speculate the system started evolving as far back as 600 million years ago.
Endocannabinoid receptors can be found in the most important parts of our bodies:
● Brain
● Lungs
● Gastrointestinal tract
● Muscles
● Spleen
● Bones
● Skin
● Immune system
● Liver
The reason cannabis can treat so many conditions is that the endocannabinoid system interacts with so many crucial parts of our body.
Everyone has a different amount of cannabinoid receptors in their body, therefore one strain of cannabis can affect two people differently.
What does the endocannabinoid system do?
Its job is to keep the body in homeostasis – essentially keep your body in balance. For example, if you’re in pain, your body is out of homeostasis. Many illnesses and disease result from homeostasis failure.
When was the endocannabinoid system discovered?
The first cannabinoid receptor was found in 1988. It was called CB1 and primarily found in the brain. The second cannabinoid receptor called CB2 was discovered in 1993. CB2 was found to plentiful throughout the gut, spleen, liver, heart kidneys, bones, blood vessels, lymph cells, and the reproductive organs.
The question scientists couldn’t answer was “why do we even have cannabinoid receptors?”.
That all changed in 1992 when they discovered the first endocannabinoid (cannabinoids the body naturally produces). It was named “anandamide”, ananda being the Sanskrit word for “bliss and joy”. Anandamide attaches to the same receptors as THC cannabinoid from the cannabis plant.
A second endocannabinoid was discovered in 1995 called 2-arachidonoylglycerol or “2-AG”. It attaches to both CB1 and CB2 receptors.
With these discoveries, working backward, scientists traced the metabolic pathways of THC which led to the discovery of an entirely new molecular system inside of us – the endocannabinoid system.
Why is it called the “endocannabinoid system”?
The endocannabinoid system was named in recognition of the cannabis plant that led to its discovery.
“By using a plant that has been around for thousands of years, we discovered a new physiological system of immense importance. We wouldn’t have been able to get there if we had not looked at the plant.”
– Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, organic chemist and Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
How does the endocannabinoid system work?
To understand how the endocannabinoid system works, we first need to make a distinction between endocannabinoids and phytocannabinoids:
- Endocannabinoids [endo=internal]: cannabinoids the body produces. The most well-known endocannabinoids are Anandamide and 2-AG.
- Phytocannabinoids [phyto=plant]: cannabinoids from the cannabis plant. The most well-known phytocannabinoids are THC and CBD. There are over 100 more phytocannabinoids that are being researched.
Without getting too technical, the ECS works by releasing endocannabinoids when our bodies are out of balance. The endocannabinoids attach to receptors on overactive neurons and “calm them down”.
Example:
When you’re in pain, neurons are sending signals to your brain to feel that pain. Endocannabinoids can attach to those neurons and tell it to stop sending or receiving signals from its fellow neurons. That means fewer pain signals being sent to the brain.
Neurological issues like stress and anxiety are the result of overactive neurons and lack of endocannabinoid production. Again, our body’s endocannabinoids are released to attach to the receptors on those neurons and quiet them down.
How does medical cannabis affect the endocannabinoid system?
If our bodies are deficient in endocannabinoids, medical cannabis can help the ECS by supplementing the body with phytocannabinoids and bring the body to homeostasis.
Clinical Endocannabinoid Deficiency has been linked to various symptoms and diseases such as migraines, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, depression, and more.
Interested in becoming a patient?
Canada House specializes in creating patient-specific medical cannabis treatment plans. Since 2013, we have helped over 14,000 Canadians improve their health.