The Endocannabinoid System (ECS) -by Anne Marie, HempEdification
As you probably already know, unlike water, alcohol and many top-selling pharmaceuticals, it’s impossible to overdose on Cannabis. What you might not realize, however, is that this remarkable attribute of Cannabis stems in part from the fact the human body actually produces its own ‘endogenous’ (made in the body) cannabinoids (endocannabinoids).
Cannabinoids, whether formed in the brain or inhaled via a vaporiser for example, fit neatly into a series of specialised receptors located throughout the body, with their greatest concentration in: the hippocampus (regulates memory); the cerebral cortex (cognition); the cerebellum (motor coordination); the basal ganglia (movement); the hypothalamus (appetite); and, the amygdala (emotions). Cannabinoid receptors are similarly found in “every animal species down to the sponge”, said Dr Donald Abrams, Professor of Clinical Medicine at the University of California San Francisco, Chief of Hematology / Oncology at San Francisco General Hospital and a leading medical Cannabis researcher.
Dr Abrams was speaking about cannabinoid receptors and the potential therapeutic benefits of THC in children with serious illnesses. When compared to the side effects of other drugs commonly prescribed to kids with cancer, the decision of parents to administer highly-concentrated Cannabis oil to their sick children seems to be a better choice.
First identified in the late 1980’s, the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) consists of cannabinoid (CB1) receptors predominantly located in the nervous system, connective tissues, gonads, glands and organs; and cannabinoid (CB2) receptors, primarily found in the immune system and the spleen, liver, heart, kidneys, bones, blood vessels, lymph cells, endocrine glands and reproductive organs. These receptors can be stimulated and modulated by compounds called endocannabinoids that are produced naturally in the body, like anandamide (ananda is the Sanskrit word for bliss); by ingesting a set of closely-related botanically-based phytocannabinoids like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), Cannabis’ best known and most psychoactive compound; or by ingesting synthetic cannabinoids produced in a laboratory. After binding to receptors in the body that fit them like a lock fits a key, these endo, phyto and synthetic cannabinoids all produce a wide range of physiological effects, altering everything from blood pressure to pain response to memory to appetite to consciousness.
“The endogenous cannabinoid system, named after the plant that led to its discovery, is perhaps the most important physiologic system involved in establishing and maintaining human health”, Dr Dustin Sulak, a leading practitioner of what some have dubbed ‘cannabinopathic medicine’, said during a lecture at the 2010 NORML convention. “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”. Think of the ECS as your body’s ‘root level’ operating system, a kind of central processing unit that regulates and alters the functioning of many other important systems and keeps them in balance.
Martin Lee, author of, ‘Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana’, notescannabinoid receptors are more abundant in the brain than any other type of neurotransmitter receptor and “function as subtle sensing devices, tiny vibrating scanners perpetually primed to pick up biochemical cues that flow through fluids surrounding each cell … When tickled by THC or its endogenous cousins, these receptors trigger a cascade of biochemical changes on a cellular level that puts the brakes on excessive physiological activity. Endocannabinoids are the only neurotransmitters that engage in such ‘retrograde signaling’ a form of intracellular communication that inhibits immune response, reduces inflammation, relaxes musculature, lowers blood pressure, dilates bronchial passages and normalizes overstimulated nerves. Retrograde signaling serves as an inhibitory feedback mechanism that tells other neurotransmitters to ‘cool it’ when they are firing too fast”.
In a 2006 study published in Pharmacological Review, National Institute of Health researcher Pal Pacher, M.D., Ph.D explained the cognitive leap that took place.
“In the past decade, the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) has been implicated in a growing number of physiological functions, both in the central and peripheral nervous systems and in peripheral organs. Modulating the activity of the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) turned out to hold therapeutic promise in a wide range of disparate diseases and pathological conditions, ranging from mood and anxiety disorders, movement disorders such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, neuropathic pain, multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury, to cancer, atherosclerosis, myocardial infarction, stroke, hypertension, glaucoma, obesity/metabolic syndrome and osteoporosis, to name just a few”.
But what happens when you purposefully disrupt the body’s ability to stimulate the ECS? Things can go haywire, as discovered when ‘Big Pharma’ tested Rimonabant, an anti-obesity drug designed to create a kind of ‘reverse munchies’ by preventing cannabinoids (endo or phyto) from binding to CB1 and CB2 receptors. Those enrolled in a planned 33-month study of Rimonabant did report lower overall appetite when taking the drug, but they also demonstrated an increased risk of suicide so pronounced that the study was abandoned after little more than a year and four suicides! “Patients taking Rimonabant reported feeling severely depressed and having serious thoughts about committing suicide”, Psychology Todayreported. “It was as though the patients had lost their ability to experience pleasure… [Which] tells neuroscientists that our endogenous marijuana* system is normally involved, either directly or indirectly, in controlling our mood and allowing us to experience pleasure; antagonizing the actions of this chemical in the brain leads to depression with possibly dangerous consequences”.
Researching the Truth about Cannabis and Hemp
And yes, here’s hoping for a very hempy celebration season – AnnMaria HempEdification http://hempedification.blogspot.com/
Lately, many people have shared with me how completely exhausted they are for no reason. Many have shared that their doctors say. their endocrine system is out of balance, not working properly and even shut down. This is very concerning since I know our endocannabinoid system and our endocrine system are directly connected.
The challenge has been, over the past 80 years, not many people have been ingesting cannabis to feed their endocannabinoid system which balances the homeostasis of the endocrine system. I’m no expert in this field, however, I have learned so much about our internal systems over the past few years in the hemp world that’s I’m excited to continue sharing this information with you.
Because we have experts in this area, I am turning to Linda & Tyler Struse to give us even greater detail on this life-enhancing and life-saving discovery! take it all in – Darlene Mea, Producer, HempingtonPost
The Role of the Endocannabinoid System in Restoring the Endocrine System.
Over the last few years, cannabis and the endocannabinoid system have emerged as a topic of interest among patients and those within the scientific community.
The endogenous cannabinoid system (ECS), named after the cannabis plant that led to its discovery, is one of the most important physiological system involved in establishing and maintaining human health. Endocannabinoids and their receptors, CB1 and CB2, are found throughout the body: in the brain, organs, connective tissues, glands, and immune cells. In each tissue, the ECS performs different tasks with the goal of maintaining homeostasis, the maintenance of a stable internal environment despite fluctuations in the external environment.
The endocrine system is the collection of glands in the body that secrete hormones into the bloodstream to be carried towards distant target organs. The central neuroendocrine systems isthe interface between the brain and the rest of the endocrine systems. The part of the brain that balances the release of hormones in the body is called the hypothalamus and sits right on top of the pituitary gland where it regulates stress, metabolism, growth, reproduction, and lactation.
All of these processes are regulated by the hypothalamus releasing or inhibiting the release of hormones by the pituitary gland. The release of pituitary hormones affects downstream physiological functions. Other hypothalamic neuroendocrine cells control water/salt balance, and lactation and childbirth, through the release of vasopressin and oxytocin. Together, these hypothalamic neuroendocrine functions enable the central nervous system to respond rapidly to internal or external environmental change, and to maintain a response through endocrine hormonal transducers. The ECS modulates the regulation of the neuroendocrine system, which regulates organ function and stress response and helps maintain a healthy balance across the neuroendocrine system and related physiological body system.
Targeting the Endocannabinoid System for Endocrine Regulation
Cannabinoids in cannabis have long been known to be able to affect the secretion of pituitary hormones. By way of the ECS we regulate our hormonal balance, both up and down, through a direct effect on the organs themselves. The stimulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is a crucial neuroendocrine response to stress and is dependant on CB1 receptor-mediated signaling. Activating the CB1 receptors in the hypothalamus results in a signaling cascade that ultimately inhibits overall neuroendocrine function. Stress is well known to affect endocrine function and a poorly regulated endocrine system can lead to major health problems. The endocrine response, as part of the HPA axis, is central to its regulation.
Up until a few years ago, the stimulatory effects of cannabinoids on the HPA axis was considered as an exception. The commonly accepted view of the ECS was that it played a general inhibitory role on neuroendocrine functions. We now understand that cannabinoids can have both stimulatory and inhibitory effects on the HPA axis which is how it’s able to modulate its regulation. These biphasic effects of cannabinoids, both stimulatory and inhibitory, are increasingly revealing themselves as we look closer at the interactions between the ECS and the endocrine system.
Cannabidiol (CBD)
This brings us to the cannabinoid du jour, cannabidiol or CBD. Long playing the second fiddle to the more active tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), CBD does not interact strongly with either the CB1 or CB2 receptors. Instead, CBD is able to increase endocannabinoid tone by inhibiting fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and enzyme that breaks down cannabinoids in the body. FAAH inhibitors may be helpful for people with anxiety-related disorders because they appear to improve the regulation of the HPA axis. It’s unknown precisely how this happens, but it appears they help to modulate the sensitivity of the cannabinoid receptors in the body.
In addition to its stimulatory effects on HPA, the ECS also plays a critical inhibitory role in regulating HPA functions. Researchers found that endocannabinoid signaling negatively modulates the stress-induced activation of the HPA axis, confirming the notion that an increase in endocannabinoid signaling activity may constitute a novel approach to improving the lives of people with anxiety-related disorders.
Currently, the best way to boost endocannabinoid signaling, improve the regulation of the HPA,, and promote a healthy endocrine system is the use of a dietary cannabinoid supplement made from hemp. These products contain naturally occurring cannabinoids, including CBD, which has been shown to naturally increase ECS tone which helps to improve the regulation of homeostasis across the HPA axis. This will improve both the physiological and psychological responses to stress making us more likely to resist the cascade that leads to HPA dysfunction and endocrine-related health problems. Enjoy a cannabinoid supplement every day!
Source: Uberto Pagotto, Giovanni Marsicano, Daniela Cota, Beat Lutz, Renato Pasquali; The Emerging Role of the Endocannabinoid System in Endocrine Regulation and Energy Balance, Endocrine Reviews, Volume 27, Issue 1, 1 February 2006, Pages 73–100, https://doi.org/10.1210/er.2005-0009
‘I, Darlene Mea, producer of HempingtonPost.com have discovered over the past few years ‘we have an endocannabinoid system’ AND CBD is the absolute best food ever for our entire body’. I use CBD daily, it has changed my vitally level immensely’.
The following article is written specifically for HempingtonPost.com from our most trusted source, www.RandysClub.org – We appreciate this company because their dedication is beyond the frenzy of the dollar – it is their mission to help heal the world with cannabis hemp products.
We at HempingtonPost are excited to post this excerpt from our first TRUSTED HEMP PRODUCT, Made here in America – Here’s what the Strouse Family has to say about HEMP’s amazing healing qualities! We are loving their product line!
This article is re-posted from their page!
Entourage Effect:
1. Cannaka is a botanically complete source of natural cannabinoids and aromatic terpenes. A proprietary blend of hemp and other plant extracts, the ingredients in Cannaka promote the entourage effect which describes the various synergies between naturally occurring cannabinoids and other flavonoids. As a result the benefits of Cannaka are multiplied compared to any individual ingredient taken alone. This improves the local and systemic responses to an abundance of disorders, especially inflammation.
2. Neuromodulation: Cannaka engages the endocannabinoid system (ECS), a scientifically proven system of receptors and neuromodulatory ligands that are distributed throughout the body. The ECS is the largest system of “neuromodulators” in the body, which are responsible for ensuring that the body remains in homeostasis, a stable equilibrium.
3. Regulates physiological processes: The ECS is distributed throughout the body, including the brain and the central and peripheral nervous systems. The ECS is involved in a variety of physiological processes including appetite, pain-sensation, mood, and memory. The ECS affects every major body system and organ. It also plays a major role in the digestive and circulatory systems and helps regulate bone density and muscle tone. Finally it helps regulate body temperature, blood sugar, and neuroendocrine functioning.
4. Influences memory and emotions: The ECS influences reasoning, awareness, and emotional response. It is involved in learning and memory systems where it plays a critical role in helping people to forget; a process that is just as important to mental health as remembering. The ECS regulates voluntary movements and involuntary stress responses including anxiety, fear, and pain.
Supports equilibrium in the body and immune system: Endocannabinoids are crucial to maintaining a state of stable equilibrium in the body. Their main role is in cell to cell signaling. They help fine tune the body’s response to the central nervous system and send signals backward to the brain, modulating its activity. Without the ECS, the brain would have a difficult time fine tuning its response to a given stimulus possibly increasing the risk of autoimmune or inflammatory disorders.
5. Mediates Stress Response: Endocannabinoids play a central role in our stress responses. Chronic stress is often associated with negative health effects. The ECS is the central mediator of the stress response. The ECS regulates the release norepinephrine and cortisol and affects how stress affects mood, cognition, and activation of the limbic system. The ECS also helps mediate some of the metabolic effects of stress on lipid metabolism. Therefore, maintaining a healthy ECS is important for reducing the harmful effects of chronic stress on overeating and mood.
6. A MAN’S LEGACY
Randy’s Remedy products are botanically complete products that contain naturally occurring cannabinoids from hemp. Developed by the Strause Group; Linda, Tyler, and Brendon, they are the products they wished they had when their husband and father, Randy Strause, was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an incurable brain cancer. Together they helped develop Randy’s Remedy products and infused them with beneficial natural cannabinoids creating the products they’d been looking for.
In today’s society, there are many people who still have a negative connotation surrounding hemp. It is a lot of times associated with a marijuana plant, however, although they are similar, they are different varieties of plants from one another.
They actually have opposite effects on the brain when consumed. The type of hemp that is consumed by humans has been bred to contain very little of the active ingredient in marijuana and more essential nutrients. When marijuana is consumed it has a negative impact on brain development, where hemp consumption is correlated with positive development.
This is largely in part due to hemp containing essential fatty acids, also known as EFAs. The discovery of the health benefits of EFAs is one of the most important nutritional breakthroughs in recent history. Specifically, researchers have noted that omega-3 fatty acids found in hemp are one of the most important nutrients in optimizing brain function and your overall health.
One of the main ways that this occurs is through omega-3s making cell membranes more fluid. This, in turn, helps improve communication between brain cells, which induces brain development. A positive development that comes from fluidity is a boost in memory. The less omega-3s in a person’s brain, the less fluid all your memories are, making it harder to recollect specific things. As you ingest omega-3s, your memories become more fluid and flexible to remember certain times.
The amount of omega-3s are also highly correlated with intelligence and cognitive performance in infants and young children. As the person begins to grow older, omega-3’s are slowly lost from the brain affecting the person’s memory. Scientists suspect that because EFAs are lost as a person grows older and that it could be correlated with cognitive disorders like aggression, depression, anxiety and more serious diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. This makes it that much more important for a person to make sure they are ingesting the proper amount of omega-3s, in order to keep the brain’s productivity at a high level.
Since hemp provides the perfect ratio of Omega- 6 to Omega-3 then the EFA’s found in hemp seeds are easily digestible. Due to this, our brains can fully benefit from a daily intake of hemp-based products.
Chronic stress can have serious and lasting negative effects on physical and mental health. It impairs normal cognitive function and can cause anxiety, depression, headaches, sleep problems, and weight gain. Left unchecked, people suffering from chronic stress can develop heart disease and digestive problems. Randy’s Remedy contains natural cannabinoids from hemp and may be useful in combating the negative effects of chronic stress.
Natural Cannabinoids in Hemp Improves Memory and Cognition.
Randy’s Remedy products are made from hemp. The natural cannabinoids found in hemp have been found to improve cognitive function and memory by improving symptoms related to anxiety and depression. When an individual is stressed or anxious, blood flows from the frontal lobe region of the brain as part of the fight of flight response. Bacopa monnieri, a nootropic herb that has been used in traditional medicine for longevity and cognitive enhancement, is said to improve cognition by reducing anxiety in the person. Results indicate that this is because a person is more able to think clearly when they are relaxed. When a person is stressed out, blood flows away from the frontal lobe of the brain as a symptom of fight or flight.
The frontal lobe region of our brain is where decisions are made. It is the region responsible for our “executive functions.” This includes attentional control, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. It is also where reasoning, problem solving, and planning occur. All of these activities are essential for the conscious control of behaviors. Monitoring those behaviors is necessary to facilitate the successful attainment of chosen goals. In other words, the frontal lobe is where we think about what we want, plan how to get it, and then execute that plan successfully.
So how does the frontal lobe relate to Randy’s Remedy? Well, I have mentioned how stress and anxiety can reduce blood flow to the frontal lobe of the brain. Reducing blood flow is an invitation for rash decision making; there is less room for forethought, deliberation, and careful planning. However, by using Randy’s Remedy to reduce the fight or flight stress response, proper blood flow to the brain is preserved which in turn allows for better decision making.
Chronic Stress is Bad Your Health
The ingredients of Randy’s Remedy may reduce stress and alleviate the negative effects of chronic stress. Chronic stress is more common than you might think. It has become more common in industrialized societies that seem to run on stress, hunger, caffeine, and adrenaline. Long hours at work combined with long commutes in traffic make it very difficult to escape the stress of modern life that has become part of our everyday lives.
A little stress may not bad, but chronic stress can be terrible for your overall health and wellbeing. Specifically, chronic stress inhibits the ability of your immune system to fight off infections. This increases the likelihood of becoming sick as well as the risk of weight gain and Type 2 Diabetes. Chronic stress has also been linked to peptic ulcers and other diseases of the gut as well as causing a buildup of plaque in the arteries. Chronic stress is also strongly correlated with various psychiatric conditions which may be linked to its effects on the immune system.
Acute Stress is not the same as Chronic Stress
It’s important to remember that the amount of stress is less important than the frequency. Acute stress triggers a lasting increase in the transmission of glutamate. Glutamate is a neurotransmitter which sends signals from one neuron to the next. In response to acute stress the pace at which signals are sent across the prefrontal cortex of the brain increases for a period of time after the situation has been resolved, but not during the acute stress.
At this point it is important to note that acute stress is positively correlated with what is called associative memories, those memories which are closely tied to a particular context. This phenomenon is also called associative learning, whereby acute stress is used to reinforce a learned response to a stimulus. For example, military training often involves performing tasks under extreme stress. The tasks themselves are typically introduced under normal conditions and then tested and reinforced under stressful conditions. The results are behaviors which become second nature; behaviors that are able to be performed without conscious consideration.
Chronic stress causes elevated levels of corticosterone to be released which impairs long-term potentiation (LTP). LTP is a long-lasting strengthening of synapses between nerve cells. Impairment of LTP may cause long term depression in the hippocampus. I have found that regular use of Randy’s Remedy has helped me to reduce my stress and mitigates the negative effects of chronic stress. Many of our customers report feeling much more relaxed and less stressed when confronted by stressful situations. In addition they also report that Randy’s Remedy products are helping them to think more clearly and make calmer, more rational decisions. One customer even reported that she had been able to kick a 20 year addiction to diet soda. She said she just didn’t feel like drinking it anymore.
This makes sense given all that we know about the benefits of the natural cannabinoids from hemp which are found in Randy’s Remedy products.
How Chronic Stress…..
affects memory: Compared to acute stress, chronic stress takes a heavy toll on the brain and acts like a slow poison degrading and depressing executive functions while also impairing our ability to recognize objects and utilize our working memory. Over time, chronic stress increases your susceptibility to mental illness and reduces the number of connections in our brain.
affects anxiety: Chronic stress reduces blood flow to the part of the brain responsible for higher functioning and reasoned thought. On the other hand, it preserves blood flow to the amygdala which is the part of the brain responsible for fear conditioning and anxiety like behavior. This means that chronic stress reinforces fear and anxiety causing you to subconsciously behave and act in ways that are driven by fear and anxiety, not thoughtful consideration. These negative stress responses are not without their utility, fear and anxiety both motivate action in a fight or flight situation where the consequences may be life or death.
affects glutamate transmission: Chronic stress suppresses the transmission of glutamate in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of young male rats. The PFC, it seems, is particularly sensitive to chronic stress, particularly during the adolescent period when this region is still developing. By suppressing Glutamatergic transmission in the prefrontal cortex, chronic stress prevents it from functioning properly, hindering executive functioning. When this happens while the PFC is still developing the result can be profound and may even be permanent.
Randy’s Remedy are helpful here because they contain naturally occurring cannabinoids found in hemp which help counter some of the negative effects of chronic stress. This leads to improvements in health and overall wellbeing.
But what happens when you purposefully disrupt the body’s ability to stimulate the ECS? Things can go haywire, as discovered when ‘Big Pharma’ tested Rimonabant, an anti-obesity drug designed to create a kind of ‘reverse munchies’ by preventing cannabinoids (endo or phyto) from binding to CB1 and CB2 receptors. Those enrolled in a planned 33-month study of Rimonabant did report lower overall appetite when taking the drug, but they also demonstrated an increased risk of suicide so pronounced that the study was abandoned after little more than a year and four suicides! “Patients taking Rimonabant reported feeling severely depressed and having serious thoughts about committing suicide”, Psychology Today reported. “It was as though the patients had lost their ability to experience pleasure… [Which] tells neuroscientists that our endogenous marijuana* system is normally involved, either directly or indirectly, in controlling our mood and allowing us to experience pleasure; antagonizing the actions of this chemical in the brain leads to depression with possibly dangerous consequences”.
This brings us to the cannabinoid du jour, cannabidiol or CBD. Long playing the second fiddle to the more active 
