Cannabinoids are chemicals that are in all forms of cannabis. They are what make marijuana and hemp what they are. It has the same kind of effects as the Cannabis Sativa plant. Most people only use it for fun, medicine, or to make things. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main psychoactive compound in cannabis and the most important cannabinoid. Cannabidiol, or CBD, is another important part of a plant.
Both cannabinoids change the way people act by binding to cannabinoid receptors in the brain immediate agonists. Endogenous cannabinoids like anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol bind to cannabinoid receptors as agonists. These cannabinoids are often found in high concentrations in the brain. These are easy for the brain to send and have a lot of neural circuits that deal with pleasure and pain.
To put it simply, our endocannabinoid system is a complicated system that helps cells talk to each other. When our endocannabinoid system is broken or broken down, painful signs and physical problems show up.
Cannabinoids: A Brief History
In China, around 2700 B.C., cannabis was used for the first time as a medicine. It was called “mind-taking drugs” by the Chinese, who also used it to treat mental disorders and in religious ceremonies. Cannabis was known to help with stomach problems, insomnia, blood clots, and parasites, as well as to ease pain.
Around the 8th century, cannabis was used as medicine in China, Egypt, Greece, India, the Middle East, and probably some parts of Europe. In the 1830s, an Irish doctor named William O’Shaughnessy is said to have brought hemp to the West and done experiments on animals.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s. Sleep problems, rheumatism, migraines, coughs, pain, and seizures were said to be cured by medicines like tinctures, powders, and syrups. Also In the early 1800s, morphine was taken out of heroin, and in the middle 1800s, cocaine was taken out of coca leaves. In the 1940s, CBD and THC were first taken out of marijuana.
In Raphael Mechoulam’s lab, twenty years later, their shapes and stereochemistry were figured out. Both of these compounds were made in Mechoulam’s lab in 1965. Since then, it has put together a list of more than 100 cannabinoids.
Cannabinoids were tested soon after the Mechoulam lab made some progress, and marijuana became popular as a recreational drug around the same time. Since most studies focused on how the drug made people feel, the non-psychoactive cannabinoid CBD was mostly left out.
Cannabinoids Have Good Effects
Studies have shown that marijuana and different THC and/or CBD preparations can be helpful. They are used for many things and could be used for even more in the future. Here are some of the health problems that marijuana can help with.
Pain That Lasts
Patients say that chronic pain is by far the most common reason they want to use cannabis as medicine. 94% of people with a Colorado medical marijuana ID card confirmed that “severe pain” was listed as one of their health conditions. In the same way, 87% of the people in their study said that medical marijuana helped them with pain. Also, there is evidence that some people are using marijuana instead of traditional painkillers.
Cancer
Cancer is a broad term for a group of diseases that all share the trait of irregular, uncontrolled cell division. It is a biological condition that leads to the growth of tumors. Cancer is one of the main causes of death in the United States. By the end of 2016, an estimated 1.7 million more people will be diagnosed with cancer. Several important studies on smoking weed have found that nausea and vomiting caused by cancer treatment can help treat it.
Parkinson’s illness
Parkinson’s is a disease that makes it hard to control your muscles. This is because dopamine-filled brain cells die off. Medically, it is defined by tremor, stiffness, lack of movement, and bad balance and coordination. Every year, about 60,000 Americans are told they have this disorder, and it is said that marijuana can help ease the early signs of Parkinson’s.
Dystonia
Dystonia is a condition in which the muscles contract for a long time or keep doing it over and over again. This causes the person to stay in strange, fixed positions or twist and move over and over again. Idiopathic cervical dystonia is the type of focal dystonia that happens more often. Usually, drugs don’t work. However, cannabidiol therapy, or medical marijuana, may be a very effective way to treat involuntary muscle spasms, since the condition is characterized by muscle spasms and contractions that happen without the person’s control.
Dementia
Memory, vocabulary, executive function, and perceptual-motor function are often affected by dementia. Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia, and Parkinson’s disease with dementia are three common diseases that can cause dementia. In the later stages of dementia, it is common for agitation, hostility, and not wanting to eat to show up as mental and behavioral symptoms. A few small clinical trials have looked at how well cannabinoids help with the behavioral signs of dementia.
Side Effects of Cannabinoids
Some people may have problems with a fast heart rate, low blood pressure, feeling lightheaded or dizzy, and even passing out. Some people don’t like how these medicines can make them sleepy or change their mood or make them feel “high.” Depression, mania, or other mental illnesses might even make them worse.
