Overview

BUY LOCAL MEDICAL CANNABIS SEEDS & OILS You Probably Didn’t Know About The Endocannabinoid System. Tyler StrauseBlockedUnblockFollowFollowing May 16, 2017 In school, you are taught that there are 11 major organ systems in the human body. They include the circulatory, respiratory, urinary, reproductive, integumentary, skeletal, muscular, nervous, endocrine, lymphatic, and digestive systems. All these systems make up the human body. But did you know you also have an endocannabinoid system (ECS)? You probably didn’t because unless you are a research scientist or work with medical cannabis, it is unlikely that you will ever hear of it. And yet, the ECS has been called “the most important physiologic system involved in establishing and maintaining human health. Major Organ Systems in Human Body Why don’t more people know about the endocannabinoid system (ECS)? We have known about the ECS for about 25 years. It was first discovered in the 1990's, by L.A. Matsuda. Dr. Matsuda was the first to describe the structure and functional expression of the cannabinoid receptor, CB-1. Scientists were trying to understand how THC, the primary intoxicating substance in marijuana, affected the body. What they discovered was a remarkably complex network of cannabinoid receptors (CBr) expressed in cells of both the central and peripheral nervous system Since then other cannabinoid receptors have been identified including cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB-2), which is found primarily in the immune system, digestive system (gastrointestinal-tract), and many of the body’s major organs. But these receptors were only half the story. The discovery of CB-1 and CB-2, prompted a hunt for the body’s own cannabinoid-like chemicals that naturally interact with these newly discovered receptors. Why would the body produce receptors if there were no naturally occurring cannabinoids that would bind with them?