CBD Education Endocannabiniod System

1. CBD Education 101
Tara Eveland for Success Team
Cannabidiol—CBD—is a cannabis compound that has significant medical benefits but does not
make people feel “stoned” and can actually counteract the psycho-activity of THC (if someone
has a reaction such as anxiety to THC, they can take some CBD and feel calmed minutes later).
The fact that CBD-rich cannabis is non-psychoactive makes it an appealing option for anyone
looking for relief from inflammation, pain, anxiety, psychosis, seizures, spasms, and other
conditions without the side effects of THC. The fact that CBD is mainly found in the hemp plant
is another perk that makes up its growing popularity. CBD is typically sourced from federally
legal (2018 Farm Bill) Industrial Hemp plants and
can be readily delivered to your front door in all 50
states without the need for a Medical Marijuana card.
You literally get all of the benefits of the cannabis
plant, without the high from marijuana.
Scientific and clinical research—much of it
conducted by Israel—shows CBD’s potential as a
treatment for a wide range of conditions,
including arthritis, diabetes, alcoholism, MS, chronic
pain, schizophrenia, PTSD, depression, antibiotic-resistant infections, epilepsy, and other
neurological disorders. CBD has demonstrable neuroprotective and neurogenic effects, and
its anti-cancer properties are currently being investigated at several academic research centers
worldwide. Further evidence suggests that CBD is safe even at high doses, as some Seizure
patients require. Newer Israeli research is showing promising effects on children with ADHD
and even Autism who are being given CBD.
You may be asking yourself right now, “How is that even possible?” “Is that even legal to give
to kids?” “Will it make me high”?
To answer all those questions and more, let’s start with the basic framework: the system that
controls it all.

2. Discovery of the Endocannabinoid System
Dr. Mechoulam of The Hebrew University in Isreal was the first to discover a cannabinoid. In the 1960s,
he also became the first chemist to synthesize the well-known cannabinoid THC. He continued studying
cannabinoids into the 1990s, when he made a second notable discovery. Dr. Mechoulam found that the
human body contains a specific neurotransmitter, known as anandamide, that behaves like a
cannabinoid. His team went on to discover that these receptors are just one part of the body's complex
endocannabinoid system. Most of todays research that we have still being conducted is from Israel as
well.
After discovering THC and its’ psychoactive effects on the body, scientists tried to backtrack and
explore whether the body made its’ own version of THC and where the whole blissful process
took place in our bodies.
What did Science find after 20 years?
Read on to discover what cannabinoids are, how your body uses them, and what they’re used for.
We’ll go over what happens when your body becomes cannabinoid deficient and of course how
you can fix it.

3. Chapter 1: Endocannabinoid System 101
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is one of the body’s largest neurotransmitter networks but
was only discovered in the 1980’s – two decades after THC. The ECS is always working to
achieve balance, or homeostasis, which means maintaining a stable internal environment
despite changes in the external environment.
Or, balance for our systems, despite the constant chaos of the outside world on our physical and
emotional health. As you can imagine, this is a crucial physiological system to keep healthy
considering it’s involved in every other part of your body.
At its most simple, the ECS’s communications are composed of messengers and receptors. The
brain naturally produces endocannabinoid molecules (like anandamide and 2-
arachidonoylglycerol, or 2-AG), which are home-grown messengers that can be found in your
brain, organs, connective tissues, glands, and immune cells.
Endocannabinoids, like anandamide, act like the body’s natural THC but have a much shorter
effect in the body than THC does. In fact, anandamide comes from the Sanskrit word for “bliss”,
making it the body’s natural “blissful” molecule. There are also plant cannabinoids that are
found in cannabis (THC and CBD are the biggest), and synthetic cannabinoids, which are lab-
created and can be up to 600 times more powerful than THC (and carry harsh side effects over
their natural form).
Cannabinoids look for and activate cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) and when they get
together, much like a lock fitting into a key, they tell your body to feel a certain way and do
certain things. Through research, scientists are gaining an understanding of the two main
receptors in the brain that respond to cannabis:
• CB1 (primarily in the central nervous system)
• CB2 (primarily in the immune system).

4. They also affect and regulate the way other bodily systems function, like your immune, nervous,
and gastrointestinal systems.
The best way to describe the ECS is as a
balancing system (or homeostatic
regulator): it sends neurotransmitters
(messenger + communication molecules)
to all your bodily parts to check that
everything is working smoothly and
confirm if anything needs to be
rebalanced. When it finds a problem, it
regulates it by sending further instructions
to receptors that adjust how you feel and
think.
So, what does your ECS keep tabs on?
• fertility, pregnancy, and reproductive systems
• appetite, hunger, and digestive systems
• sleep,
• motor control,
• pain and pleasure,
• immune function,
• effects of other cannabinoids,
• temperature,
• mood and
• memory.
Because the ECS underpins most of our body’s systems – like the immune, gastrointestinal,
central and peripheral nervous, reproductive, digestive, and more – it remains a crucial
opportunity for many researchers to uncover more answers about the medicinal benefits of
cannabis, but woefully understudied. As cannabis moves towards the mainstream, more research
to understand receptors and our ECS are sure to come.

5. The natural “bliss” molecule: anandamide
The body’s best-known endocannabinoid, anandamide, does more than just make you feel
“blissful”… it’s synthesized in parts of the brain that are important for:
• memory,
• motivation,
• higher thought processes,
• movement, as well as
• pain, appetite, and fertility.
When we understand what role anandamide plays in our bodies naturally, we gain a greater
understanding of the possibilities of cannabis.
Anandamide is the chemical that helps us forget unimportant details, improve our happiness,
increase neurogenesis (creates new nerve cells), reward us for a job well done (runner’s high),
and battle anxiety and depression.
Researchers believe that if you naturally have more anandamide, you have less use for cannabis.
But can you imagine if your body wasn’t creating enough?
That’s a lot of critical functions of your life that could go haywire right?

6. Types of cannabinoid receptors
While we know cannabis can and does interact with cannabinoid receptors –the receptors
weren’t created for cannabis. They were created as part of the ECS to receive endocannabinoids
(and the messages they send) from your brain. Interestingly enough, these receptors also far
outnumber any other receptor found in the brain.
Technically, the ECS is just being supplemented when a person consumes cannabis and their
receptors are stimulated. Thankfully, this means that many deficiencies and overexpressions of
certain characteristics of disease can be “course-corrected” by plant-based cannabinoids like
THC and CBD.
As mentioned, there are 2 main types of receptors: CB1 and CB2.
Cannabinoid Receptor 1 (CB1) receptors are mainly located in the brain and nervous
system, as well as in the lungs, liver, and kidneys. Our natural endocannabinoids and the
cannabinoid THC from cannabis mainly bind with CB1 (due to their similar molecular
structure), which gives patients relief from pain, nausea and depression, among others.
Cannabinoid Receptor 2 (CB2) receptors are found mainly in the immune system,
with a heavy concentration in the spleen and in the gastrointestinal system. CB2 receptors bind
best with the endocannabinoid 2-AG and cannabis’ CBD and are involved in the regulation of
appetite, immune system functions like inflammation, and pain management.
Scientists are on the cusp of determining a third type of cannabinoid receptor (for CBN), but
research in this area is ongoing and inconclusive as of now.

7. How cannabinoid receptors work
The best way to imagine cannabinoids and their receptors is like a lock and key. When a person
consumes cannabis, the cannabinoids THC and CBD (keys) flood your body in search of
receptors (locks). When they find one that fits, the effects of the cannabinoid and the function
and location of the receptor “click” together, and messages are sent through the rest of your
body.
As an example: Taking a dose of CBD oil (which will typically bind with the CB2
receptor) can inhibit your appetite, whereas a THC-rich strain can increase appetite because it
binds more readily with the CB1 receptor. Hence why you get “munchies” from certain strains of
cannabis, but not from others.
However, the ECS is unique in that it communicates “backwards”: this particular sort of cell-
to-cell communication inhibits immune response, reduces inflammation, relaxes muscles, lowers
blood pressure, and normalizes stimulated nerves. Basically, our natural endocannabinoids
“check” to make sure not too much is happening in your body before accepting more stimulation
or the system creating more messages.
What this means is that endocannabinoids are created “on demand” and can act as a “dimmer
switch” that affect how quickly, often, and where messages get transmitted.
That’s why the ECS is so crucial to proper functioning and health. Dysregulation of the ECS
contributes to a wide variety of conditions that prevent the body from achieving balance, like
fibromyalgia or IBS. Whether an overproduction of an enzyme, protein, or an overexpression of
receptors, if the ECS isn’t functioning correctly, your body has a difficult time regulating it’s
emotions, appetite, memory, and everything else the ECS is responsible for.
Though the lock and key analogy does a good job of explaining the basics, the ECS is more
nuanced and complex than scientists can confirm even today. While THC works in line with the
lock-and-key analogy (binding directly to receptors by mimicking endocannabinoids), CBD
works to increase the amount of endocannabinoids in your system.

8. Balance of CB1 and CB2 receptors
Beyond affinity for binding with certain molecules, receptors are also located in different body
parts and have different density and numbers, which is considered to be the “expression” of the
receptors.
The expression of receptors is as unique person-to-person as their fingerprints: everybody has a
different balance, number, and concentration of them, which is why experimenting with cannabis
medication is such a delicate and slow process. Different expressions of cannabinoid receptors
mean different experiences consuming the same type of cannabis.
The increased density of CB2 receptors in the gastrointestinal system is a great example of why
patients with Crohn’s or IBS benefit so much from cannabis medication: CBD-rich medication
binds with all the receptors in your gastrointestinal tract and provides pain relief and relief from
the inflammation typical in those diseases.
Another example is an over-expression (too many) of CB1 receptors causing a patient to be
overly sensitive to THC, leading to munchies or other side effects much quickly than others. If
patients under-express the CB2 receptor, they would need to consume greater quantities, other
cannabinoids, or specific terpenes along with CBD to feel its’ healing effects.
While cannabinoids have flexibility about the receptors they bind with, having a general
understanding of the likelihood (or affinity) for bonding with receptors and their locations,
functions, and expressions can help patients have deeper, more meaningful discussions with their
physician and come up with stronger treatment plans.
It’s important to keep up-to-date with studies about cannabis that are constantly being updated
with findings about receptors, cannabinoids and how they work.

9. Cannabinoid receptors in action
Knowing about cannabinoids, terpenes, and the endocannabinoid system can only help you get a
better grasp of how cannabis affects your body. Scientists that are exploring the endocannabinoid
system have found information regarding the following conditions:
Epilepsy
Patients with epilepsy have recently been recommended a CBD-rich, low-THC strain because of
its anti-inflammatory properties and its’ bonding with CB2 receptors. The side effects for typical
anticonvulsant medications are miles long as opposed to the calming, non-psychactive, and
healing effects of CBD.
IBS or Crohn’s
Because CB2 receptors are located densely in the gastrointestinal system (as mentioned above),
they are responsible for regulating inflammatory responses for the system – which is good news
for patients who use CBD for gastrointestinal issues like IBS or Crohn’s.
PTSD
Patients that suffer with PTSD have had increasing success with THC, due to its’ mimicry of our
natural endocannabinoid anandamide. While at first its’ ability to help us forget unimportant
details (or mental clutter) is strange, using that functionality to help patients overcome negative
memories surrounding a traumatic event and increasing their mood has proven to be very
successful and helpful.
General Mental Health
Researchers have found that mice without CB1 receptors show “psychological abnormalities”
like increased anxiety and enlarged amygdalas (responsible for emotions and motivation).

10. Genetic studies show that CB1 receptors are important for reducing and controlling anxiety
during high-stress periods, so having less or none of these receptors can cause complications.
Reminders about Cannabinoid Receptors
• Humans come equipped with an Endocannabinoid System (ECS), which
include endocannabinoids and cannabinoid receptors, which function
like a lock-and-key
• The ECS underlies and controls the balance of all your other bodily
systems by being a great communicator
• We have 2 different types of receptors – CB1 and CB2 – that are
responsible and built for accepting and locking with different types of
molecules
• CB1 is a great fit for anandamide and THC
• CB2 is generally receptive and activated by CBD
• Endocannabinoids are naturally produced by our bodies, but we can
supplement them by learning more about plant cannabinoids, derived
from cannabis
• When the ECS is dysregulated, your body has difficulty communicating
with your brain and vice versa
• Scientists are discovering new things about cannabinoids and
cannabinoid receptors every year, so it’s important to keep up on the
latest studies to update your knowledge and inform your health care
plan
• Everybody’s ECS is totally different – like a fingerprint – which is why
everyone experiences cannabis in different ways, and why it’s crucial to
start low, and go slow
To find out how to pick a quality CBD oil and to order the purest products on the market just contact the person that
gave you this packet!