SCIENCE ROUNDUP pt 2: intro Endocannabinoid System
Salutations
Endocannabinoid system or ECS for short:
It is the reason we are all reading this page right now. Whether you're a patient, or just kicking back with a bowl while perusing some Critical Bowl, we wouldn't be talking about marijuana without it.
I know that MY biology class didn't go over this important feature of mammalian physiology, but I'll try and give a brief recounting of how we got to where we are.
Sir William O'Shaughnessey first methodically assessed the medical benefits of marijuana in 1840 and his work was largely expanded upon in the British academia before it was banned in 1920. Twenty years later cannabinol was fully synthesized by Nobel laureate Lord A.Todd.
Now it is 2018 and doctors are taking a deep dive into shallow evidence, in the search for pearls.
Researchers trying to reconcile what data they have, while also trying to provide answers after a long delayed- but fairly rushed legalization of cannabis- as the population wants to know why the abrupt shift in policy.
Medical professionals want to know how this plant affects us, why they should prescribe it, and how to talk to patients about their options for treatment. To get to the root of this, we need to understand the ECS and how cannabis applications can affect our body, both positively and negatively.
The endocannabinoid system and its finer workings are still under the microscope, but it is essentially a communication network within your body that helps regulate the immune system, digestion, mood and many processes we take for granted.
Receptors throughout the central nervous system, brain, muscles and organs can be targeted by cannabinoids to influence and effect how these processes work. This is why we feel the way we do when we use THC or CBD.
Pharmacologist and cannabinoid researcher Dr. Laprarie who is part of CRIS- has an amazing talk on the Reefermed podcast about the endocannabinoid system and can explain this in much greater detail than this little blog can. He is very enthusiastic about cannabis medication, and is applying evidence based science to help establish guidelines and protocols for prescribing cannabis effectively.
We need to be realistic about assessing the medical benefits of cannabis. It is never a first course treatment for disease or illness and can only be used in harmony with self-care, behavioral therapy and pharmaceuticals.
Next up: Dosing
Endocannabinoid system or ECS for short:
It is the reason we are all reading this page right now. Whether you're a patient, or just kicking back with a bowl while perusing some Critical Bowl, we wouldn't be talking about marijuana without it.
I know that MY biology class didn't go over this important feature of mammalian physiology, but I'll try and give a brief recounting of how we got to where we are.
Sir William O'Shaughnessey first methodically assessed the medical benefits of marijuana in 1840 and his work was largely expanded upon in the British academia before it was banned in 1920. Twenty years later cannabinol was fully synthesized by Nobel laureate Lord A.Todd.
Now it is 2018 and doctors are taking a deep dive into shallow evidence, in the search for pearls.
Researchers trying to reconcile what data they have, while also trying to provide answers after a long delayed- but fairly rushed legalization of cannabis- as the population wants to know why the abrupt shift in policy.
Medical professionals want to know how this plant affects us, why they should prescribe it, and how to talk to patients about their options for treatment. To get to the root of this, we need to understand the ECS and how cannabis applications can affect our body, both positively and negatively.
The endocannabinoid system and its finer workings are still under the microscope, but it is essentially a communication network within your body that helps regulate the immune system, digestion, mood and many processes we take for granted.
Receptors throughout the central nervous system, brain, muscles and organs can be targeted by cannabinoids to influence and effect how these processes work. This is why we feel the way we do when we use THC or CBD.
Pharmacologist and cannabinoid researcher Dr. Laprarie who is part of CRIS- has an amazing talk on the Reefermed podcast about the endocannabinoid system and can explain this in much greater detail than this little blog can. He is very enthusiastic about cannabis medication, and is applying evidence based science to help establish guidelines and protocols for prescribing cannabis effectively.
We need to be realistic about assessing the medical benefits of cannabis. It is never a first course treatment for disease or illness and can only be used in harmony with self-care, behavioral therapy and pharmaceuticals.
Next up: Dosing
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