As medical cannabis becomes more legalized across the country, more research is being done to understand how it can be used as an all-natural medical treatment. Of course, we already know you can use medical cannabis to help treat medical issues such as pain and inflammation. But, there’s also another system in our bodies that medical marijuana could affect.

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a system in our bodies that regulates what we eat and sleep, how our body responds to stress, and how our immune system functions.

In this article, we’ll be going over the endocannabinoid system and how it’s affected my marijuana.

An Explanation of the Endocannabinoid System

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a natural regulatory system in humans that was discovered only recently. This system may be found in all of us, whether or not we use marijuana. It helps to aid many activities, including the following:

• Regulation of sleep
• Inflammation and pain
• Mental functions such as mood and memory
• Regulation of stress
• Our digestive process and metabolism

The endocannabinoid system contains several endocannabinoid receptors (ECS) located throughout the body, including in our brains. This allows our bodies even produce their own endocannabinoids.

Endocannabinoids are chemicals that help to send signals from one neuron to another. A medical professional may consider calling endocannabinoids our body’s natural version of medical cannabis, as they bind with the cannabinoid receptors in our ECS and affect how we feel. Our neurons have specialized transporters called cannabinoid transporters (CBT). When medical marijuana binds to the CBT receptors, it sends a signal that further stimulates the neuron.

When medical marijuana interacts with CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors in our ECS, it affects the body. First of all, medical cannabis acts on both cannabinoid receptors by inhibiting neurotransmitter release. In other words, medical marijuana inhibits the release of chemical messengers that stimulate neurons to fire, which blocks neurotransmitter release and essentially stops the activity once medical marijuana affects CB2 endocannabinoid receptors in our immune system (with medical benefits such as modulation of inflammation).

Medical Marijuana’s Effect on Our Endocannabinoids

One interesting benefit of medical marijuana has its effect on anandamide, one of our body’s endocannabinoids. Anandamide is a neuromodulator that works with the CB1 cannabinoid receptors. When medical marijuana interacts with CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors in our ECS, it affects our body. This medical benefit affects how we feel and function, improving our mood and helping us with pain.

This medical benefit can affect how we feel and function, improving our mood and helping us with pain. Medical cannabis can improve so many medical conditions that medical marijuana should be considered one of the most effective medical treatments available.

Conclusion

In conclusion, medical marijuana impacts medical conditions because of its effect on our natural endocannabinoid system. This medical benefit can affect how we feel and function, improving our mood and helping us with several ailments like pain and sleep disorders.

Are you interested in medical marijuana? What about learning more about your medical marijuana options?

Sources:

https://www.tocris.com/pharmacology/cannabinoid-transporters

https://www.healthline.com/health/endocannabinoid-system

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5877694/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5576607/