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Recently, it has been discovered that the natural endorphins actually have a molecule structure that is too large to pass the brain’s protective gate mechanism known as the blood brain barrier. Phenomenons such as the ‘runner’s high’ were thought to mediated via release of endorphins but this was found to be incorrect. This example of pain signaling is actually mediated by the endocannabinoids that can permeate and pass through brain barrier. After a prolonged distance of running, the body experiences increased cellular activity from various physiological systems, mainly from the cardiovascular and muscular systems. Endocanna-binoids produced by the body can pass the brain’s protective barrier and are used in the brain to reduce the activity of the“hot” signals, thus decreasing the intensity of the pain signal being received in the brain.
More uses of cannabis and the endocannabinoid system are being discovered as health science progresses. Medicine constantly changes as a result, thus why the profession is referred to as a practice. The human body is so complex; it’s no shock to believe that new discoveries are still being made. Interestingly enough, cannabis comes into political conversation because it is a substance that the body has a receptor for. Modern medicine aims to find compounds similar to the body’s neurotransmitters that can bind and elicit similar responses from the target cells. Cannabis does just that and is being rebranded in government policy because of the demand for further research on the effects.