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Why Does Cannabis Work? Introducing Your Endocannabinoid System

Cannabis can alleviate pain, anxiety, insomnia, depression, inflammation, and much more.

But how?

By interacting with one of the most critical systems in your body that you’ve probably never heard of: 

Your Endocannabinoid (EN-do-ca-NA-bi-noid) System or “ECS.”

No matter how much attention you paid or didn’t pay in high school biology class, you are probably aware of the human body’s major systems:

  • Our cardiovascular system keeps our heart beating and our blood pumping.
  • Our respiratory system keeps our lungs breathing and our bodies oxygenated.
  • Our digestive system breaks down food and houses our immune function.
  • Our nervous system guides our five senses.
  • Our endocrine system orchestrates the rise and fall of our hormones. 

That’s it.

Or so we’ve been told.

The truth is, the Endocannabinoid System acts as a master control over ALL of these systems. 

What is the ECS?

human endocannabinoid system

The ECS is a set of chemicals and receptors made by your body.

There are ECS receptors all over our bodies, as shown in this image.

The ECS interacts with our other bodily systems to regulate core functions like sleep, mood, pain, metabolism, and immune response.

The goal of the ECS is to maintain balance in the body.

How does the ECS work?

Think of the ECS as a set of locks and keys.

Some endocannabinoids are shaped like locks, perched on the outside of your cells. Those are the CB1 and CB2 receptor sites shown in the image.

Other endocannabinoids are shaped like keys, floating around your body.

A third set of endocannabinoids are enzymes that build and break down the keys.

When one of your major body systems is out of balance, you have inflammation, for example, your ECS “locks” send out chemical signals to your ECS “keys.”

Your keys float over, fit into the locks, and tell the signal to change.

This calms the inflammation and restores balance to that system. 

What does the ECS have to do with cannabis?

Well, does the word “endocannabinoid” sound like another word you know? 

Maybe Cannabis? 

Incredibly, the reason for this is that the chemical shapes of the endocannabinoid “keys” produced by your body are almost identical to the chemical shapes of the phytocannabinoids – THC, CBD, CBG, and nearly 120 others – produced by the cannabis plant. 

That means your body already makes a “key” that looks just like THC. That’s right, your body makes weed!

Mind-blowing, right? 

Cannabis “keys” fit our body’s “locks.” 

Yes, you read that right.

Your ECS treats the cannabis “keys” just like your body’s own ECS “keys.” The key you make looks like THC, the key you take in when you consume cannabis looks like THC.

Your body tells the cannabis keys where to go right along with your ECS keys.

The cannabis keys fit into your ECS locks, giving your body relief where it needs it. 

This is how and why cannabis works in harmony with your body, and why cannabis can treat such an enormous range of ailments.

Consuming the cannabis plant is like adding “keys” to your ECS. 

I don’t know about you, but living in this modern era has me feeling short on keys.

So I use cannabis to fill those gaps.

Because it mirrors our body’s own system, it is one of the most natural and efficient ways available to feel better.

Cannabis works on our bodies by working with our bodies. E

very mammal on earth has an ECS, including you. We are meant to use this plant for healing and balance. 

Want more detail? Take it from Harvard! Check out this informative article from Harvard Medical School, “The Endocannabinoid System: Essential and Mysterious.”

TLDR

Your Endocannabinoid System (“ECS”) balances your main body systems.
Your ECS makes compounds that are identical to cannabis compounds.
Cannabis works by interacting in harmony with your ECS.
Kate Lily
Certified Cannabis Educator

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