Medical cannabis has exploded into mainstream popularity over the past two decades or so. Going from a black market drug trade primarily driven by sketchy dropouts growing a few plants under some crappy grow lights in their spare bedroom to a fully legal, medically-backed multi-billion dollar cash cow, it’s fair to say that the medical potential of cannabis has been recognized. That’s likely why more than 5 million folks across the U.S. have gotten medical cannabis cards of their own for a massive array of conditions!
Aside from helping connect patients to certified medical cannabis doctors and getting cards of their own, we here at FadeMD are all about providing the full picture of how and why to make your medicine work best for you! With that in mind, we wanted to pose our medical patients a question.
Why exactly does medical cannabis work so effectively? Why is it so helpful for a massive variety of qualifying conditions? While many might credit it to the incredible cannabinoids as THC and CBD found in medical cannabis products, the full picture is actually a bit more complicated. Getting the most out of your medicine isn’t just about what’s in your medical cannabis products. It’s about how those cannabinoids interact with what’s in you! Or, more specifically, your endocannabinoid system.
This article is going to serve as a deep dive into the complicated and often misunderstood endocannabinoid system, breaking down how it works, how medical cannabis products interact with it, and why understanding it can help you better treat and manage the symptoms of whatever qualifying condition you’re dealing with.
Let’s get right into it!
What is the Endocannabinoid System?
Let’s start out with the basics. After all, unless you’re an experienced medical cannabis professional like a certified cannabis doctor or dedicated pro-cannabis advocate, you’ve likely never heard of the endocannabinoid system. So let’s treat this as your crash course.
At its core, the endocannabinoid system is a complex array of receptors, enzymes, and (as its name would suggest) endocannabinoids that impact a massive array of bodily systems, playing a part in helping to regulate sleep, mood, memory, appetite, reproduction, and pain tolerance/sensation.
It’s best to think of it like wiring throughout the body that helps keep normal systems operating without a hitch. And from the limited research you’ve gotten on the endocannabinoid system since it was discovered in the early 90s, we know that it’s all about helping keep the body in a state of prolonged ideal homeostasis. That means that the endocannabinoid system plays a key role in keeping our bodies in a nice middle ground zone of operating at their best, even on a cellular level.
But how and why does it do that? Let’s dig a little bit deeper, shall we?
How Does it Interact with Medical Cannabis?
So how exactly does the endocannabinoid system in every one of our bodies work? As we mentioned before, it’s made up of a few unique components that work together as one. Firstly, we have the CB1 And CB2 receptors. While CB1 is primarily in the brain and CB2 in the immune system, both are located throughout the body.
These receptors are there to receive and absorb naturally occurring chemical compounds like enzymes and endocannabinoids, both of which are absorbed to help keeps the cells in that state of even-handed equilibrium. Those endocannabinoids, however, are incredibly similar to the cannabinoid compounds like THC and CBD that you take in via medical cannabis products!
Due to those similarities, our endocannabinoid systems easily and readily absorb the THC, CBD, and many other cannabinoids we get from medical products and use them to dull pains, ease symptoms of illnesses, and help our medicine get to where it needs to go.
Basically, without the endocannabinoid system to absorb the extra cannabinoids you take in via medical products, we wouldn’t be able to feel the full effects and enjoy those cannabinoids.
The Bottom Line
As you can now see, understanding how and why your endocannabinoid system works the way it does is essential in helping you figure out which products will be most effective at helping the issues you’re looking to treat. But fully understanding your own endocannabinoid system is much easier said than done.
That’s why it’s so incredibly important to both meet and consult often with certified medical cannabis professionals that you trust. Whether it’s with the well-qualified doctor that we here at FadeMD connect you with or the -in-house pharmacist at your local dispensary of choice, these medical pros can help you get a firmer grasp of what exactly you need and which products will help to get the job done.
After all, not only will getting the right products help you save time and money when it comes to buying those medical cannabis products for yourself, but choosing the right one will not only mean relief from the symptoms of your qualifying condition, but that added dose of cannabinoids will help your system to better regulate itself and keep your body in that much-needed equilibrium.
No matter how you slice it, whether it’s for more effective treatment, relief from symptoms, or just to help get your system itself back to baseline, there are really no downsides to learning about and understanding your endocannabinoid system better. So the next time your head to the dispensary, whether it’s to pick up some cannabis flower, a tincture, or even a topical cream, make sure to keep the cannabinoid profile in mind and speak with a medical pro about what’s best!
Disclaimer: The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained in this article is for informational purposes only. No material from this article is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment before undertaking a new health care regimen. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
