What the Heck is the ECS, and Why Should it Matter to You?

The Endocannabinoid System commonly shortened to ECS, was discovered some 30 odd years ago by researchers looking to understand how cannabis works in the body.

What they discovered was the Endocannabinoid System. It regulates a vast range of biological functions to maintain homeostasis, i.e.  keeping the body in balance and systems functioning effectively, such as:

  • Sleep- wake cycles
  • Pain tolerance
  • Memory & Learning
  • Motor control
  • Appetite & Digestion
  • Mood
  • Immune system
  • Metabolism
  • Inflammation
  • Stress
  • Muscle formation

There are three main parts to the ECS: endocannabinoid receptors, endogenous cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid metabolic enzymes. Because this is such a broad subject this is an overview of one part of this amazing system, the Endocannabinoid Receptors and how Cannabis interacts with them.

ENDOCANNABINOID RECEPTORS: respond to both endocannabinoids and phytocannabinoids (Cannabis)

There are two main cannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, which bind with a set of fatty acid-based molecules called endocannabinoids. These cannabinoid receptors are found in various locations in the body.

CB1 receptors are found primarily in the brain and the central nervous system (CNS). Some are found in the pituitary, adrenal and thyroid glands, fat, muscle and liver cells, and the digestive tract, lungs and kidneys.

CB2 receptors are found mostly in peripheral organs relating to the immune system, the spleen, thymus, tonsils, and gastrointestinal system. Their primary role is the regulation of inflammation, cell migration, and programmed cell death. They also have a role to play in bone mass, density and bone health.

Endocannabinoids bind to these receptors in response to an imbalance in the body. Their job is to help maintain homeostasis, which is our body’s process of maintaining a stable internal environment capable of sustaining life.

So how does Cannabis figure into the ECS? Cannabis is a phytocannabinoid (plant-based) and as such also binds to Endocannabinoid Receptors to help balance the ECS and maintain homeostasis. Both THC and CBD have this binding ability.

Think of these endocannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2 as a lock and both cannabis (THC and CBD) and the endogenous cannabinoids (present in the body) as the key. THC binds with the CB1 receptor to provide medicinal benefits related to pain, insomnia, stress and a plethora of other issues.

CBD interacts with the CB2 receptor to affect our immune system response and provides many other health benefits. And when taken with THC, can increase THC’s effectiveness (the “Entourage” effect) and ameliorate unwanted intoxicating effects.

Cannabis isn’t the “gateway drug” that it’s been stigmatized as – it’s plant medicine that can help relieve many painful and debilitating physical conditions. Cannabis education is key – so find knowledgeable people specifically trained in the use of Cannabis to help you find what works best for YOU.

In conclusion, I’m providing a quote from Dr. Dustin Sulak, a renowned expert in the use of Medical Cannabis and CBD and Founder, Healer.com:

“The ECS is perhaps the most important physiologic system involved in establishing and maintaining human health. Endocannabinoids and their receptors are found throughout the body: In the brain, organs, connective tissues, glands, and immune cells. In each tissue, the cannabinoid system performs different tasks, but the goal is always the same: homeostasis, the maintenance of a stable internal environment despite fluctuations in the external environment. Cannabinoids promote homeostasis at every level of biological life, from the subcellular, to the organism, and perhaps to the community and beyond. “ 

I’ve included a list of resources with links if you’d like more information, but be sure to check out our video on the ECS below!

© 2021 Jean-Anne Taru Fisher

Used with Permission

 

Dr. Sulak’s video: Your Endocannabinoid System Explained

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZYjJf0t2OQ

PubMed: Cannabinoid Receptors and the Endocannabinoid System: Signaling and Function in the Central Nervous System

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5877694/

Healthline: A Simple Guide to the Endocannabinoid System

https://www.healthline.com/health/endocannabinoid-system#thc

Metagenics Institute: The Endocannabinoid System: Components, Actions, and Optimization

https://www.metagenicsinstitute.com/blogs/endocannabinoid-system-components/

Natural Practitioner Magazine: The Endocannabinoid System & Phytocannabinoids

https://naturalpractitionermag.com/the-endocannabinoid-system-phytocannabinoids/

 

visit our youtube channel

Kansas Considers Cannabis

On February 24, proponents of Kansas House Bill 2184 testified before the Federal and State Affairs Committee to advocate for patient access and amendments to the bill. 

Our fearless leader, nurse April, was one of them. During the 3 minutes she was given to speak she shared two stories, the story of her grandmother who suffered due to opiates and the other, a story about a boy diagnosed with autism who has made great progress since he began a high CBD, low THC oil.

April strongly encouraged the committee to allow the sale of dried cannabis flower, home cultivation, to provide patient protections, and to add autism to the list of qualifying conditions.

To read her full testimony and Todd Scattini’s, a veteran and strong supporter of medical cannabis as an alternative to the often ineffective pharmaceuticals prescribed to veterans, visit the state legislature site here.

 Kansas HB 2184 Proponent Testimonies

To read the Kansas Reflector article where both April and Todd are quoted, please follow the link below. 

Read the KS Reflector Article here

“I’m just calm”

Brandon Sparks, of USMC, finds calm with cannabis.

Brandon Sparks, 19, saw more at his young age than many men will see in a lifetime on a dark night in 1996.  Sparks would recall 20 years later the horror of the night when two US Marine Corps helicopters collided in mid-air claiming the lives of 14 marines.

A member of the Quick Reaction force, Sparks was called to the scene with fellow teammates to recover the bodies of the fallen and in a North Carolina swamp, that’s not an easy task in any type of weather or light conditions.  That moment in time would change his life forever, as he recalls his exposure to the sheer carnage of retrieving bodies that had literally been hacked to pieces by the tail rotor of one of the aircraft.  Sparks said of that night, “I just kinda started falling apart.”  He would leave the USMC within a year and squashed his memories of that fateful night into the corners of his mind for the next 20 years, when he was finally diagnosed with PTSD – post traumatic stress disorder.  

In 2018, Sparks would apply for and receive his medical marijuana card in an effort to lower the use of five different kinds of medication to treat his insomnia, bipolar disorder, as well as anxiety, depression, and insomnia.  Smoking cannabis flower has led him to a place where he says he has been able to reduce his medications and only take pharmaceuticals for bipolar and anxiety.  

Today, Sparks says “I wake up in the morning, I have a cup of coffee and I smoke a bowl or smoke a vape and within 20 minutes I’m just calm, I’m not over processing things in my brain.  I’m not hypervigilant, I don’t have a ton of thoughts.”  A true believer in the power of the plant medicine offered by cannabis, Sparks is now a 42-year-old father to three girls in Buffalo, New York. 

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