The endocannabinoid system and CBD

This article is entirely written according to the mission and values of “ABBA Society оf Health & Wellness” Foundation to inspire more people on their way to becoming healthier, happier, and full of energy and enthusiasm.

In recent years, a trendy new topic has emerged – the media is filled with controversial stories about hemp & CBD products and their evil friends, THC and marijuana. Many articles, reports, interviews, and similar, gravitating around those plants and their derivatives, have flooded the media globally. You might be wondering, what is the driving force stirring this? Why suddenly the society have a newfound love for hemp and the stunning amount of applications it has (according to some sources, industrial hemp has over 25 000 applications)?

There are probably tons of factors behind the rise in the popularity of hemp and its derived CBD products. The situation is complex, but the main causes that are spiking the public’s curiosity maybe are related to the fact that our community has finally shifted its perception and has realized the green potential of hemp. Other topics trending globally and contributing to the popularity of industrial hemp and CBD are the health and wellness challenges we are facing lately.

Fortunately, industrial hemp has a lot more going on, than just the empty discussions about the plant that has the potential to be our planet’s ecological savior. Apart from purely practical applications, this greenery and its derivatives also have an abundance of confirmed health benefits. We will take a better look at them down the article, but first, let’s mention some of hemp’s plentiful utilizations:

Fibers

Textiles: clothing, shoes
Industrial textiles: rope, nets, carpet, tarps
Industrial products: paper, building materials

Leaves

Farm and landscaping: mulch, composting, and animal bedding
Hemp Oil
Foods: oil, food supplement; birdseed
Personal care: soap, beauty products, moisturizer

Seeds

Seed cake
Protein flour
Animal feed (currently illegal)

As you can conclude, after you have seen just a few of the areas that industrial hemp can be a game-changer, its applications are too vast to be a subject of a single article. Additionally, because we are experts in the health and wellness industry, our focus until the end of the article will be put on the health properties of CBD.

But as much as we want to start talking about the health-related aspects, we can’t do that without first clarifying the misconceptions created in the past century about the safety of hemp. We also want to shed a bit of light on the disastrous regulations, that currently can be viewed as a few of the most paradoxical failures in political,  intellectual, and of course, economical aspects, that we have made in the past century. We find it funny that even today, industrial hemp is subject to legal complications in a lot of locations worldwide. It’s ironic that the plant labeled as “the most useful plant known to mankind” can’t be legally cultivated in some countries. From our experience and research, we’ve concluded that the factors which led to this paradox are derived from several main sources. First, around 1970 year in an attempt to declare a war on drugs, and in particular marijuana (with its high content of THC that actually has state-altering properties), the US government categorized all cannabis plants as illegal.

During this period Harry Anslinger, who was head of the top US Drug Enforcement Administration for roughly 3 decades, worked actively to demonize cannabis.

When this became a reality, all CBD products, even those containing less than 0.03% of THC (the psychoactive compound in marijuana), which is currently considered a completely safe amount, were also banned. This trend also spread globally without much resistance. The shocking truth is that even to this day, in some countries, the stigma of those so valuable products can’t be lifted. The contradicting part is that before the mentioned events, in many regions around the world, cultivating hemp was a big industry pillar, and even there are rumors that it was mandatory for the farmers in some regions.

So, if it was banned worldwide, it would be logical that industrial hemp should be dangerous. In addition, CBD oils must be getting you “high” and have addictive properties.

No. This is the short answer. According to one reputable source: “CBD is a plant compound found in cannabis Sativa – both hemp and cannabis.” What does this mean? To elaborate further, CBD compounds can be made from both hemp and cannabis, which is already obvious. But to clarify the misconceptions we have to look at CBD’s interesting “relative”. We mean the other compound that makes it into the headlines so often – tetrahydrocannabinol or, in short, THC. The amount of THC in the cannabis plants is what is important. The ones that have less than 0.03% are considered industrial hemp. The CBD products derived from hemp (even from cannabis but having less than 0.03% THC) have no potential to harm or addict anyone. Unfortunately, with industrial hemp, we had a case of “Guilty by association.”

We found it really disturbing that, even though only one of the two main cannabinoids: THC and cannabidiol (CBD), has dangerous properties (even though some recent studies slowly dismantle this), both of them had been publicly deprecated.

Also, while we are still on the topic of cannabinoids, a good question to ask is how many cannabinoids exist? Science has found that besides THC and CBD, more than 100 other cannabinoids have been identified. Next, you might be wondering what cannabinoids are. They are a group of substances found in cannabis plants. But what is fascinating is how they interact with our…

Endocannabinoid system

If you have never researched ECS, brace yourself because we are about to share some very curious facts about the “Endocannabinoid System (ECS), the largest receptor system and the master regulator of homeostasis in the human body.” An interesting fact here is that the ECS was discovered accidentally while researchers were trying to learn more about THC’s effects on humans. This happened around the 1990 year which in terms of science is quite recent.

It’s a shame that we are making so slow progress in understanding the ECS. Because this system is maintaining the body’s homeostasis, acting as a chemical bridge between body and mind. The ECS can be interpreted as the main mechanism for maintaining our stable health and wellness in general. Fortunately, with the discovery of the endocannabinoid system, our scientists have significantly advanced their understanding of health and diseases.

Currently, we know better than ever what happens if the endocannabinoid system doesn’t function properly. Unfortunately, if we have to describe it with one word, it has to be “disease.” A scary fact is that top-tier researchers have concluded that the endocannabinoid system is dysregulated in nearly all pathological conditions. Thus, it won’t be illogical to conclude that “modulating endocannabinoid system activity may have therapeutic potential in almost all diseases affecting humans,” as Pal Pacher and George Kunos, scientists with the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), suggested in a 2013 publication.

With all of that new knowledge, we are slowly starting to comprehend why CBD and THC are such versatile compounds. Also, how their impact on the Endocannabinoid System has a major correlation to such a broad range of physiological processes, affecting our everyday experience.

Currently, science has discovered that ECS affects or regulates:

Mood
Our energy levels
Stress
Blood pressure
How we experience pain
Glucose metabolism
Appetite and digestion

Inflammation and other immune system responses

Learning and memory
Motor control
Sleep
Cardiovascular system function
Muscle formation
Bone remodeling and growth
Liver function
Reproductive system function
Skin and nerve function
And much more

As you can see, by modulating the endocannabinoid system (which affects all of the mentioned above and probably much more in our bodies) and enhancing endocannabinoid tone, CBD and THC can slow – or in some cases, stop – disease progression.

Let’s learn more about how ECS work

The system involves three core components: endocannabinoids, receptors, and enzymes.

First, let’s take a look at endocannabinoids. They are also called endogenous cannabinoids and are molecules made by your body. They’re similar to cannabinoids (CBD products are what’s interesting to us), but they’re naturally produced by your body. Until now, we have identified two key endocannabinoids: anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglyerol (2-AG). These two compounds help our internal functions run smoothly. What’s challenging in studying them is that our body produces them as needed, making it difficult to know what the typical levels are for each.

The next part of the puzzle are the endocannabinoid receptors. These receptors are spread throughout your whole body. Endocannabinoids bind to them to translate signals to ECS when it needs to take action. There are two main endocannabinoid receptors:

– CB1 receptors which are mostly found in the central nervous system.

– CB2 receptors which are mostly found in your peripheral nervous system, especially immune cells.

Endocannabinoids can bind to either receptor. The effects that result depend on where the receptor is located and which endocannabinoid it binds to. For example, endocannabinoids might connect to a type of receptor located in the spinal nerve and signal to ECS to relieve the pain. Others might bind to a CB2 receptor in your immune cells to inform them that your body’s facing an inflammation, a scenario typical for autoimmune disorders.

Finally, we have the enzymes. Enzymes are responsible for breaking down endocannabinoids after they’ve done their duties. There are two main enzymes responsible for this:

– Fatty acid amide hydrolase, which breaks down AEA

– Monoacylglycerol acid lipase, which typically breaks down 2-AG

After we know how the system works, what about the effects of cannabinoids outside of our system? Namely, the THC and CBD.

Let’s start with Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) – from what we know, two main factors are important for our discussion. THC is the compound that gets you “high.” And also, once it is in your body, it has a significant effect on the ECS because of its ability to bind to both receptors – CB1 and CB2 (which are spread all throughout our organisms, including in different brain regions). Logically, this way, THC exhibits varying effects on us. The unpleasant fact is that they range from insignificant ones, such as increased appetite, to a more severe ones, for example, experiencing paranoia. At this stage, scientists are working on developing more refined variants that only have a positive impact.

Now let’s look in the direction of CBD – the other major cannabinoid present in cannabis that differs from THC in many ways. The most significant, especially in the cultural aspect, is that it doesn’t make you “high.” Also, currently, we don’t know about it having any negative effects. But unfortunately, the experts are not yet familiar with the mechanisms of interaction between ECS and CBD. One thing confirmed is that CBD doesn’t interact with the same receptors that THC has an effect on. Some scientists believe that its effects prevent the body’s endocannabinoids from being broken down, thus increasing their effects. Also, there is a possibility that CBD-specific receptors haven’t been found yet. With the debate going on, the best we can do is focus on the confirmed positive effects of CBD oils by a lot of studies.

Potential Benefits of CBD products

The positive influence of CBD on our endocannabinoid system (which, as we have seen, regulates almost every other system in our bodies) explains the vast array of health benefits typical for those compounds. One researcher said, “CBD restores homeostasis (the body’s natural balance).” It has the potential to regulate mood, temperature, cognitive function, and muscle repair.

At this phase, the preliminary studies show that CBD oil may also be used to treat or improve the following areas:

Acute and chronic pain;
Seizures due to epilepsy and related conditions;
Anxiety disorders, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder;
Psychiatric and neurologic conditions and diseases;
Inflammation;
Digestive health;
Weight management;
Oxidative stress;
Cardiovascular conditions, such as hypertension, heart disease, and stroke;
Stress-induced cardiovascular conditions;
Skin health;
Insomnia;
Cancer.

Potential Risks and Side Effects

As with every supplement (right now, apart from one or two officially approved drugs, CBD products are classified as supplements, which is a problem of its own, but more for that at the end of the article), there are several potential risks when using CBD in any form, including:

– Potential liver injury;
– Negative drug interactions that may cause serious side effects;
– Increased risk of sedation and drowsiness when used with alcohol or drugs that slow brain activity;
– Changes in alertness during use;
– Gastrointestinal distress, such as diarrhea and/or decreased appetite;
– Changes in mood, such as irritability and agitation.

For us, the potential benefits of the right dosage of cannabidiol far outweigh the downsides, if there are any. But there is a bigger challenge…

How to find high-quality CBD

We will try to be short with this one because it is a self-explanatory issue. Finding certified and pure CBD products of any type is a bit of a challenge. It is this way because currently, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the US (and its equivalents around the world) has approved only a few officially CBD drugs. The first CBD-containing drug (after 80 years of long war) which is officially approved is a medicine named Epidiolex, an almost pure pharmaceutical CBD formulation. It is used to treat two severe pediatric seizure disorders, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome.

Apart from that, the majority of cannabidiol products are currently not regulated. That is a big challenge requiring the users to carefully pick their sources. Fortunately, our organisation provides many educational resources on the topic. In addition, we are also proactive ambassadors of CBD products. We have our own line of high-quality, certified, and tested for purity forms of cannabidiol with less than 0,02% of THC, making them perfectly safe and legal.