*DISCLAIMER: This is a transcript of episode 5 – Your Endocannabinoid System – The Basics Part 1 from our Full Spectrum Living with CBD podcast. Click here to listen to the podcast episode or click here to watch the video.

Ep6_YOUR ENDOCANNABINIOID SYSTEM – THE BASICS PART 2

Meredith [00:00:06] Welcome back to Full Spectrum Living with CBD. I am your co-host, Meredith, here with our host Jessica and Adriane from Bluegrass Hemp Oil. And we are excited to continue the conversation about the Endocannabinoid System. We thought it would be great to maybe have you share, Jessica, like the different parts of the system now that we’ve talked about what it is and the history of it. So I’m dying for you to tell me more.

Jessica [00:00:30] OK, cool. So basically it can be broken down into three categories for this system. So first, you’ve got the endogenous cannabinoids like we’ve mentioned in the last episode, primarily there’s two but its thought that there’s certainly more. So, so 2AG, which is achara… Okay never mind, I’m not even going to attempt to say this, but it’s a really long word 2AG and Anandamide are produced within the body. And again, those are the two best known, but speculate they’re certainly more. And I actually saw a article in preparation for this, mentioning a few more that I had not previously heard of. So I don’t to speak to those, but this certainly seems like there’s more than that, mostly just those two that we know much about. So the actual cannabinoids in your body are Category 1 and then second category would be the receptors that they act upon and those receptors are primarily CB-1 and 2. But again, those are what we know most about. There’s two of them so far, probably gonna be more because there’s a lot of unexplained actions that are happening that you can’t account for with CB1 and 2. But it should be noted that like Anandamide is a direct bind to the CB1 receptors and that primarily CB1 receptors are located in the central nervous system, but they’re also in glands and reproductive tissues and the connective tissue. There’s a lot of places where you can find them, but their highest concentration will be in the nervous system, specifically the brain. And then CB2 receptors are thought to be primarily located in the immune cells. But kind of a fun fact about that is that in response to inflammation and injury, your body can create CB2 receptors in that site where they normally would not be located, which is really interesting to me. But again, that’s the two that we know the most about and likely there will be other aspects there that we find from my understanding. But we just discovered those two primarily. And then you’ve got enzymes, metabolic enzymes that break down the chemical and cannabinoids in the body and dispose of them. So it prevents you from having them accumulate and build up to levels that would be not ideal for function in the body. And again, those also are not fully understood yet. So like their G protein enzymes, I guess something like that. Not my strong point, but it’s also something that we’re we’re learning more about as an industry through research. So those are the three main pieces. I mentioned that Anandamide interacts mostly with the CB1 receptors because I wanted to bring up that THC is a phyto-mimic of Anandamide and because it reacts with CB1 receptors which are largely based in the brain. That’s where you get the intoxication that happens from THC because it affects the areas of the brain. But I definitely want to mention that you have nearly an absence of those CB1 receptors in the brain stem which controls heart rate and breath. So that’s why basically you can’t overdose from cannabis because it doesn’t affect your heart rate. Well, it does affect your heart rate. It doesn’t have a lethal effect to heart rate or breath. So just I just wanted to put that out there as to why why? That’s why THC is intoxicating and that’s why THC won’t kill you in a in a high dose.

Meredith [00:04:36] That’s super interesting. That’s super interesting. Right. That there’s the level of knowledge that comes with that now that we’ve identified this endocannabinoid system. So you’re saying there’s three parts pretty clearly. And so how do those parts interact? Like once CBD from an external source, like the products that you guys work with or that are widely available. So you’ve talked about, you know, if the product has THC in it, that’s how it interacts. But what if it’s just a CBD product? What if it’s not something with THC in it, how is that interacting with the endocannabinoid system?

Adriane [00:05:13] So there were definitely still be an interaction. So if you’re talking about a CBD isolate product, there would still be some interaction at the receptor. But when CBD, CBD does not have a lock and key relationship. So it does not go into the receptor, it does not turn on the receptor directly. It actually attaches at the receptor in an indirect way. So maybe like on the side. So that’s why we believe full-spectrum products are honestly the best way to go, because in that sense you have THC being that key, opening up that lock and that receptor and then CBD on the side, essentially having then access there to. CBD in that product is going, of course, to negate that intoxicating feeling or intoxication factor that’s going to come along from the THC suggested that guys know where it is. Sometimes things happen.

Jessica [00:06:08] I wanted to point out to what Adriane is saying that, you know, there’s still a lot that we don’t know about how specifically it’s interacting. That’s not just with CBD and THC, but all the other cannabinoids present. So we’ve got a lot to learn because there’s some mystery, but it’s really been limited because it’s been federally prohibited to study in the United States for a long time. And there’s other countries where they’ve been able to study it a bit longer. But I mean, it’s been scheduled as a Schedule 1 substance for what, the last, I don’t know, 50, 60 years, at least. Something like that. Which means it’s, it’s not been something we could research until really recently. And the 2018 Farm Bill, I think, did open that up from my understanding, especially for CBD. But a lot of research is happening now. We’re answering a lot of these questions. But even if you asked a cannabinoid research scientist like what does CBD do, I think they would have a better explanation than us. But it would still be like, but we still don’t know X, Y and Z.

Adriane [00:07:14] We’re still, we’re definitely still learning. So Jessica mentioned the research and it’s crazy. So when you look, if you go to pubmed.gov. Right. So U.S. Library of Medicine, that’s where we like to send all of our consumers when they’re saying, hey, what about CBD and X. Or what about CBD and Y? That’s your best place to go. And honestly, if you look in within the last 20 years, you can actually filter and search this library of medicine for studies based on cannabinoid research. And there was the last time I checked, it was well over twenty four thousand studies, which over the last 20 years equates to about three and a half studies per day. So in my mind, that’s a lot of studies. Right. But imagine that now that it’s been removed from Schedule 1, it’s been opened up. I guarantee you, if we check in a couple of months, we’re going to see that increase, you know, tenfold.

Jessica [00:08:05] And I checked last night in preparation. I checked last night. It was getting closer to twenty six thousand.

Adriane [00:08:12] Yeah, I love it. It’s it’s only it’s better for the consumer. It’s better for the industry. We definitely need to learn. Again, Jessica mentioned in the previous episode, over one hundred and almost close to one hundred and twenty known cannabinoids. Right in their varying amounts in the cannabis plant. But you know, we’ve been so focused on THC specifically historically on the negative aspects of THC. Right. So previously in the 80s, all the THC studies were focused on the negative side effects from it. Right. And it was put on by the National Institute of Drug, something. I don’t know. But NIDA. So they were the ones that were doing it. They were specifically looking for the negative aspects of it and came across the fact of, hey, there’s definitely positive aspects here to cannabis and cannabis therapies.

Jessica [00:09:01] Right. And I think all too often in the studying of that, because places we’re looking for the negative aspects, if they started to find that those negative aspects were not that significant and that there were positive aspects. The study would then be defunded and just ended. So that’s the big challenge.

Meredith [00:09:21] So, yes, you’re right. So it’s so interesting, though, to think about that. Right. So you’re saying that, you know, there’s 120 some odd cannabinoids in, you know, in hemp or marijuana. However, we want to phrase that. And only one of those is THC, which is the one that’s going to give us this, you know, receptor in our brain that’s ultimately going to give us this feeling of being, quote, unquote, high. Right. And so the the difference there, I think, is so important to outline of, you know, all of these other cannabinoid products that are out there in the marketplace have isolated the THC away from. Is that right? And so that’s how you’re getting this. Product that isn’t giving you the highs, that is just a separation of those different cannabinoids.

Adriane [00:10:11] Well, so our products do have THC in them. And there’s definitely a lot of products out there that are isolated that have removed the THC from them. And whether it’s just CBD isolate or what’s what’s considered broad spectrum, which is the other cannabinoids minus the THC. But in our world, our products are non intoxicating. You know, as long as you have more CBD in a significant amount than what you have in THC, you’re never gonna get that intoxicating feeling, but you will still get the benefits of THC. THC definitely has been studied to have therapeutic properties. It’s definitely beneficial. Again, like I said, it’s that key that’s going to unlock that receptor and that’s going to lead to actual overall benefit to the consumer when consuming a full spectrum product. So again, to each their own and sometimes consumers need a THC free product, but we believe in the, that the plant was put there for a reason with THC in it and in its natural form is always going to be the best way to consume a product.

Jessica [00:11:14] And the reason that Adriane mentioned that consumers would need to have THC out of their product is legal. It’s just legal. It’s not like they were having adverse reactions from the trace amounts or anything.

Jessica [00:11:25] It’s just like they could lose their job because of outdated drug workplace testing policies. So that now would be the reason. Now, I mean, we feel that most people, you know, they need that there for better benefit. And in some cases, maybe just a bit more THC than we can offer. Maybe for some people respond better. But I did also want to say that THC is not just so cut and dry, it’s not just THC. There’s a lot of different types of THC present. But Delta 9 THC is generally thought to be like the well, it’s known to be the one that causes intoxication. But there’s different metabolites of that. It gets really complex. So I just want to put out there, it’s not just like one element called THC and that gets you high. There’s a lot of different forms of that THC and what it’s like delta eleven COOH something or whatever it are making more. And then there’s synthetic forms that have been lab lab made that are higher in potency or have different effects, but it is pretty complex just even in that one cannabinoid.

Meredith [00:12:35] For sure. So then when it comes to the endocannabinoid system. Right, which we’ve talked about and we’ve talked about, there’s these three components of it and there can be deficiencies in each individual’s endocannabinoid system. So let’s talk a little bit about that and those deficiencies and how utilization of CBD products matches up with those those deficiencies like how did so how did the products in the Endo cannabinoid system all come together?

Adriane [00:13:05] Kind of work together? Yeah, absolutely. So to your point, a healthy cannabinoid system is going to include, again, the receptors in their right amount for that individual, the endocannabinoids in their right amount for that individual and of course, the right amount of enzymes. You can be deficient in one, none, or all three, to be perfectly honest. So you can have the correct number of receptors just sitting there waiting for endocannabinoids but your body’s not producing enough for whatever reason is going on there, whether it’s genetic or whether it’s an external stimuli. Your body is not producing them. By taking a phytocannabinoid supplement like a full spectrum CBD product your body will then, if the receptors are willing and waiting and ready for the cannabinoids, then it’s just going to accept it in your body. Most people in this situation, we’re going to see results a lot quicker regarding the symptoms that they’re looking to seek relief from. If you are deficient in receptors, then your body’s going to actually need to take a vital cannabinoid supplement because your body will then start building receptors. And so it may take a little bit longer for someone to see results because their body will need that time to actually build the receptors to accept the cannabinoids that you’re trying to give them. So all three of us could have fibromyalgia. But all with different healths of our endocannabinoid system. Whereas, you know, you, Meredith, may be deficient in all three. So it may take you upwards of two to three months of a consistent serving to actually build up the receptors and have your body, you know, accept, receive and then bring balance back to it. Whereas Jess could be sitting there with so many receptors just ready, willing to go, take her supplement. And then within a day to three days or even a week at that point, her body’s just raring to go and she’s feeling so much better.

Meredith [00:14:57] So is there a way to know about your own deficiencies or this is just…?

Jessica [00:15:03] Trial and Error Yeah, it’s really trial and error. I think luckily with cannabis, the error side is not very, it’s not toxic.

Adriane [00:15:15] Low risk.

Jessica [00:15:15] But it’s also very rare that you see really significant side effects. So there’s a lot of room for trial without a lot of error, which is nice. But the general practice in cannabis is start low and go slow. So you just start with the low serving and you slowly titrate up till you find the right amount for your needs, giving it space between each increment of increase because it does take a while. Maybe you finally find the right serving, but you might not realize that for a week or two as your body adjusts to what you’re in taking now. But the physician that we are enrolled in the course from and we’re gonna go see soon in L.A., which we’re really excited about that along with the godfather of Cannabis himself, which is Raphael Mechoulam but Dr. Dustin Sulak, who’s a cannabis physician in Maine, is the physician I’m speaking about, which we’re enrolled in his course. His whole thing is micro dosing, micro dose, micro dose. It’s thought that those small amounts are best to facilitate the function of your own endocannabinoid system without taxing it too much. So you take a small amount and your body starts to recognize and build the receptor sites and function and produce more endogenous cannabinoids. In theory itself. And so what you have then is a lower cost for the client and a just promoting your body’s own cannabinoid system as opposed to kind of the recreational typical use where you’re consuming a high amount in a short period of time. It’s luckily not dangerous, but it’s kind of taxing to that system and it can lead to overstimulating it and maybe paranoia or discomfort, physical discomfort, jaw tension or muscle tension, nausea, even. If you over stimulate this system, although it won’t kill you. It can really make you uncomfortable. And the same can happen with CBD, although it’s a lot. It just is less likely and more comfortable of an experience. But some people do get a little anxious occasionally from larger amounts of CBD, although that’s not that common.

Adriane [00:17:24] And Jess made a good point that that taxing, that overtaxing of the cannabinoid receptors when again we are of the western pharmacopeia mindset where more is always better. Give me more, more, more, more, more. Right, instead of that micro dosing, that small incremental intake. So when it comes to that, when you think about it, if you start with a really high serving, you can automatically start off on the wrong foot, overtaxing that receptor into being to the point to where it doesn’t work for me. I don’t know. I don’t know how people are seeing results. It’s not working for me. So you hear people talking about rebooting or stopping and stopping your cannabis intake or your CBD intake for several days. It’s honestly just a kind of re-flush your system and then starting low so that you can actually experience the benefits that it’s trying to bring to you.

Meredith [00:18:15] I see. OK. Awesome. Awesome. So when we’ve got this all dialed in and, you know, three parts of our system are firing at the highest levels and we’ve been able to take care of any of those deficiencies. Are there benefits from continuing to utilize the CBD products so that like I keep my system in check? So like, if I stop, will my deficiencies rear their heads again or how does that work?

Adriane [00:18:40] Yeah, that’s typically what we see. So a lot of consumers will get to a point of what they consider ideal and they are experiencing the benefits that they were seeking. And so they are comfortable and they will stop taking the product for a few days or stop taking the product in general. And we typically see a lot of customers come back saying that they felt that their arthritis pain is coming back, that they’re having some more of their inflammation, their fibro may have flared again. Now, when it comes to that, if you found that you started at a low serving size and you have slowly increased and increased and increased over time, you could quite possibly back down off of that serving size and continue on a lower serving because you have primed your endocannabinoid system. It is working efficiently and try doing it that way. But cutting cold turkey typically resorts in going back to where you started and Jessica, I don’t know if you have anything to add to that.

Jessica [00:19:33] Yeah, well, I mean it just depends because you know, it’s kind of speculated that maybe you’d by taking those small servings, you can kind of restore the balance and the function of that system and ultimately reduce or stop over time. But maybe the problem that was the issue in the first place, is that your body just didn’t naturally produce enough. And that might be a problem that’s always there. So you may always need to take it. And fortunately, you know, even if you did rely on taking those consistent servings. The good thing about which is this is the direction I thought you were going at first. But if you if you take CBD and, you know, just magically fix all of the problems and you’re considering, should I stop taking it? Well, the benefit to continued use is its effects on neuroplasticity and neuroprotection. So potent antioxidant and neuro protectant. It helps to protect the brain against brain damage from seizure or stroke. At the death of a neuron it often releases the contents of that cell and it can be an excito toxin or something like that. I wrote it my notes, but basically that can lead to the death of other neurons in the area. So like you see with stroke, the the initial damage that occurs tends to spread and grow over the next few days. And we currently have nothing to stop that, even though we know it’s happening. We can see people deteriorate over days after a stroke. Same with epilepsy. And cannabis can stop that it’s been shown. So I think just to kind of touch on like, well, why would you take it long term if it resolves your issue that you initially took it for? Because, I mean, it looks to be almost certain that it’s protecting your brain from damage, whether it be through oxidative stress or through mechanical injury or internal injury. It’s just it’s a neuroprotectant. That’s one of the things…

Adriane [00:21:38] I think that that’s a great point, Jess. And to be perfectly honest with you, going back to an earlier episode where we talked about, do you take it if nothing’s wrong with you write quote unquote, nothing’s wrong with you. And it’s like, yes, the best time to take a cannabis supplement is honestly as a preventative and not as a treatment. Right. So that kind of goes back to that feeling. And then there’s whether it’s it’s a significant condition like fibro or migraines or so forth, improved sleep quality or even mood regulation goes a long way. Right. So may not be as serious. I mean, I don’t know some of the married couple that have come in and said it’s pretty serious and thanked us for the mood regulation that they’ve experienced through that. But yeah, to that point, it goes back to that maybe a preventative or just overall daily function.

Meredith [00:22:24] Well, awesome.

Jessica [00:22:25] I think also like, you know, apoptosis, which is death of cells is as documented from CBD and cannabis products. But basically it looks likely that it’s helping the body decide what cells stay and what cells die. And that, you know, by taking it regularly, it may encourage the body to not harm the healthy cells, but kill off ones that are problematic like it should be doing. That’s the purpose. One of the larger purposes of this system and through keeping, you know, a healthy system through supplementation, you may be encouraging that and preventing illness possibly. But we can’t make that statement yet. We’re not allowed.

Meredith [00:23:10] Definitely more to come with the increase in the number of these studies with all the information that’s coming forward. I think this has been a great way to just cover off on really the basics of the endocannabinoid system. And I think that’s just a great place for us to start. For everyone that’s listening, because now we have the basis of the information. Right now we have really those basics down. So if people wanted to know like that next level of information or they wanted a review of what we’ve talked about today, where would be a great place for them to find that?

Adriane [00:23:40] Yeah, absolutely. Visit our website, bluegrasshempoil.com. We’ll definitely have a blog with regards to this. Again, trying to share the places that we go to to look for information where we’re trying to continue to study and learn. Dr. Dustin Sulak which Jessica mentioned we’ll definitely link his information there as well. Check our Facebook page. We always like to share studies and articles that we’re finding from PubMed.gov as well.

Meredith [00:24:04] Awesome. Great. Well, for this episode of Full Spectrum Living with CBD, I’m your co-host, Meredith here with your host Jessica and Adriane. And that’s all for today. We’ll see you the next time.