The Endocannabinoid System

 The endocannabinoid system is made up of several integrated mechanisms:

• enzymes responsible for creating and destroying cannabinoids
• receptor sites on cells to receive cannabinoids (CB1 and CB2)
• the endocannabinoids themselves (compounds that are naturally produced by the human body).

Together, these mechanisms are predominantly responsible for regulating body processes and functions. Endocannabinoids interact with the CB1 and CB2 receptor sites with the goal of helping the body achieve homeostasis, or equilibrium2.

CB1 and CB2 receptors respond differently, respectively, to different cannabinoids. CB1 receptors, most prevalent in the central nervous system, are linked to modulating stress, anxiety, appetite, nausea,  immune system balance, and even the inhibition of tumors. CB2 receptors, found mostly on cells in the immune system, seem to dominate in fighting inflammation and damage to tissue11. Some cells can even contain both types of receptors, each responsible for a different function.

Phytocannabinoids, which are compounds found in the seeds, stalk and flower of cannabis, also interact with the cannabinoid receptors6,8. The most common cannabinoids found in cannabis are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive compound known to produce a high, and cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive compound.

While the endocannabinoid system is linked to a number of important processes and is concentrated in the brain, nervous system, and reproductive organs, it has shown not to affect the regions of the brain that control heart and lung function. This is one of the main reasons that fatal overdoses of cannabinoids do not occur7.