The ABC’s of the Endocannabinoid System

Source: Leafly

Like most systems in our bodies, the ECS needs help! Think along the same lines of eating healthy and taking supplements – this is all about helping our body regulate, maintain, and run as efficiently as possible. It just so happens that for the endocannabinoid system, it’s cannabis and the cannabinoids it produces that are the ‘supplements’ needed to optimize performance.

When talking about cannabinoids, we need to separate them into two distinct categories: endocannabinoids and phytocannabinoids. Endocannabinoids are the ones that our bodies create naturally. Phytocannabinoids are the ones we receive from consuming the cannabis plant.

We’ll get into all the different phytocannabinoids in another blog post, but for now let’s talk about the two most popular ones: THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol). Both are cannabinoids, but both have very different implications on the body and our ECS. This is easily seen because THC is psychoactive and responsible for the “high” when consuming marijuana and CBD is non-psychoactive.

Without going into too much detail about the CB receptors, there are two main ones (CB1 and CB2) and they interact differently with the numerous cannabinoids. Notice how the chemical structures of THC and CBD look like two very similar, but slightly different keys. This, in a nutshell, is why the various cannabinoids have unique positive effects on the endocannabinoid system. Thinking of the phytocannabinoids as distinctive keys is a good way to really picture how they’re interacting with the cannabinoid receptors. And you guessed it, this is all about achieving the coveted homeostasis!

WHAT’S NEXT?

We need more research! There haven’t been any long-term studies yet, but with the rescheduling of hemp as an agricultural crop and the growing movement of cannabis acceptance in America, hopefully there will be more and more studies being conducted. This in return will hopefully lead to pinpointing proper dosage for different ailments, determining any potential side effects, and learning the best cannabinoids for certain conditions – so that you and your endocannabinoid system can become masters of homeostasis!

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