8 Amazing Facts About the Endocannabinoid System – and Why We Should Tell the World About It

August 20th, 2017

By Mary Biles

Guest writer for Wake Up World

Did you know your body has an endocannabinoid system? A year ago I didn’t either.

I’m no doctor, but I thought I was familiar with the key biological systems in the body. Turns out though, I was wrong. That’s because unless you’re a research scientist or work in the field of medical cannabis, it’s unlikely you’ll ever have been told about the endocannabinoid system. And yet, it has been hailed as “the most important physiologic system involved in establishing and maintaining human health.”

Why do so few people know about the endocannabinoid system?

So what’s the big mystery? Well, it might have something to do with how the endocannabinoid system (ECS) was discovered. Back in the 1990s scientists were trying to understand how THC, the psychoactive substance in the cannabis plant, elicits its effect on the body. What they uncovered was a complex network of receptors (CB1) in the brain and central nervous system that were a perfect fit for the THC molecule.

Soon after another type of receptor (CB2) was discovered in the immune system, gut and many of the body’s major organs. But that was only part of the puzzle. The hunt was on to find out whether the body produced its own cannabis-like chemicals, and with the identification of the first endocannabinoid Anandamide, they had their answer.

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Also by Mary Biles: 7 Ways Cannabis Can Protect The Brain

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