The endocannabinoid system (ECS) has been neglected by Western medicine for years, despite studies establishing its power to regulate parts of the central nervous system (CNS) and gastrointestinal tract that began around 1992. Perhaps its association with cannabis, a substance banned for so long, is a big part of the reason.

The nervous system drives the way all parts of our body responds to exercise and injury. The Queensland Brain Institute, in Australia, describes the CSN as an electric grid: with the peripheral nervous system as the network of long cables that connect the powerhouse to cities and towns, then send information back about their status.

These messages that motor neurons transmit tell the body to carry out functions like breathing, digesting, salivating and body movement. When we receive sensory input through our five senses, those signals then relay back to the CNS so the brain can encode the appropriate sensations and maintain a state of balance, or homeostasis.

The ECS, comprising a vast network of chemical signals and cellular receptors that are densely packed throughout the brain and body, directs the communication traffic. Cannabinoid receptors in the brain (CB1) outnumber many other types of receptor in the brain, controlling the levels and activity of most other neurotransmitters via immediate feedback, turning up or down the activity of whichever system needs to be adjusted (hunger, temperature, etc.) or alertness.

There are two major cannabinoid receptors in the ECS: CB1 receptors, found mainly in the CNS (spinal cord and brain), associated with memory, cognition, emotion, motor control, appetite stimulation and perception of pain; and CB2 receptors, located mostly in the peripheral nervous system outside of the brain and spinal cord, associated with the immune system, the body’s response to inflammation, pain reduction and relaxation.

The body’s cannabinoid receptors sit on the surface of cells and “listen” to conditions outside the cell, then transmit information about changing conditions and kick-start appropriate cellular responses. When something brings a cell out of its habitable "Goldilocks” zone, the ECS maintains homeostasis. Cannabidiol (CBD) plays a role in bringing us back to homeostasis without affecting normal functioning cells.

Because the ECS works with all other bodily systems, it is time to reassess medical curricula and normalize medical marijuana. Schedule a consultation with a Pennsylvania medical marijuana provider to take control of our collective hemp health.