Hemp and the Endocannabinoid System
The seemingly magical effects Cannabis/Hemp has on the human body are overwhelming and documented. What the average person doesn’t know is that the human body has been set up all along to naturally accept its medicinal properties. Unfortunately, we as a society, have been lied to for the last 100 years about the significance of this magnificent plant and all of the life-changing medical benefits it offers. But why is this plant so effective and why does it naturally seem to be absorbed by the human body so effectively?
The answer is the Endocannabinoid System (ECS). In our body, it works alongside the nervous system and the immune system that was naturally designed to recognize, absorb, and use Cannabinoids to reactivate blocked neurotransmitters, control and promote balance and homeostasis in the body.
The Cannabis plant (Hemp, as well as its THC cousins, Cannabis Sativa, and Cannabis Indica) has the ability to create what are called Cannabidiol (CBD) and Cannabinol (CBN) oils. Cannabidiol (a precursor) is the most abundant non-psychoactive constituent of Cannabinoids that occurs naturally in Cannabis. Cannabinol (a metabolic of THC) is the result of oxidized THC through either age or heat decarboxylation. The importance of all of this is the Endocannabinoid receptor system in the human body, which readily recognizes these substances. Humans have had it all along and what the pharmaceutical companies don’t want you to know about.
CBN is a CB1 and CB2 receptor agonist, a chemical that binds to receptors activating it to produce a biological/biofeedback response aiding in immune cell functionality. These oils have been proven to help kill malignant cancer cells, MS, diabetes, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s, seizures, Louis Gehrig’s, Crohn’s, regulate obesity, anxiety, and PTSD, just to name a few, with relatively no nasty side-effects at all associated with synthetic pharmaceutical chemicals.
The irony and hypocrisy of this ongoing debate is that the federal government suggests that cannabis has absolutely no ‘medicinal’ contributing benefits what-so-ever, yet they have been actively cultivating it and processing it for decades to treat glaucoma and a variety of other illnesses…while still listing it as a Controlled Substance Act Schedule 1 narcotic.
This Endocannabinoid System was discovered in 1995 from research done by Dr. Ralph Mechoulam, a chemist from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. Dr. Mechoulam was the first to isolate the THC genome and in the process found that the body naturally produces two of the three genomes that make up THC. The two genomes are anandamide, which is produced in the brain and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG). All internal organs produce this. When these two natural chemicals are produced they are picked up by the CB1 and CB2 receptor. The CB1 is associated with the Nervous System in the brain. Each CB1 receptor is attached to every neurotransmitter. The CB1 only accepts cannabinoids. Once the CB1 accepts the cannabinoid it takes the genome and sends it to the neurotransmitter for a signal. Regular neurotransmitters have synaptic and postsynaptic transmitters that send and accept signals. CB1 reverses the process and goes from post-synapsis to synapsis. Almost resurrecting dead or blocked neurotransmitters enabling them to send and receive signals again. This is why CBD is so effective on Parkinson’s, MS, and Seizures because CBD reduces inflammation, and activates neurotransmitters in the Brain. This is why you may often hear Cannabis users say that it, “Cannabis opens up my mind.” Other plants like marigolds, echinacea, liverwort, chrysanthemum, chocolate and even black pepper contain levels of cannabinoid.
The CB1 and CB2 receptors are so effective that even big pharma companies have recognized the benefits and have tried to cash in on the Endocannabinoid System. Several companies are developing synthetic drugs that resemble cannabinoids to try and stimulate the ECS. They claim, along with the FDA/DEA that a synthetic form of Cannabinoid is safer than from real Cannabis. This is intended to give the green light for pharmaceutical companies to develop an imposter, much like spice, that can be circulated into communities to disrupt natural cannabis use.
The next time a pharmaceutical drug commercial comes on the television, make note of the long list of side-effects associated with it. It’s staggering and often makes you wonder if it’s even worth taking the risk of dying from the side-effects.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3997295/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3349875/
http://cherrypharma.com/the-endocannabinoid-system
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZYjJf0t2OQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axqa4h6BNSg&t=18s
