Cannabis: A Lost History By Dr Joseph Mercola “Wake Up World “July 2018
Cannabis, better known as marijuana, has
been used for its medicinal properties for
thousands of years. Cannabinoids and the Cannabinoid
Receptor System
The marijuana plant contains more than 60
different cannabinoids; chemical compounds
the human body is uniquely equipped to
respond to.
The two primary ones are cannabidiol (CBD)
and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the latter of
which is the psychoactive component.
Cannabinoids interact with your body by way
of naturally occurring cannabinoid receptors
embedded in cell membranes throughout your
body.
It’s been heralded as a “cure-all,” revered for
its healing properties, particularly for pain but
also as a potential cancer treatment.
Marijuana was a popular botanical medicine
in the 19th and 20th centuries, common in
U.S. pharmacies of the time. There are cannabinoid receptors in your brain,
lungs, liver, kidneys, immune system and
more; the therapeutic (and psychoactive)
properties of marijuana occur when a
cannabinoid activates a cannabinoid receptor.
It wasn’t until 1970 that the herb was declared
a Schedule 1 controlled substance in the U.S.,
a classification reserved for drugs with “high
potential for abuse” and “no accepted medical
use.”
Three years later the Drug Enforcement
Agency was formed to enforce the newly
created drug schedules, and the fight against
marijuana use began. In light of its history as
a global panacea for all sorts of ills, it’s
classification as a controlled substance is
particularly unjustified.
Historical remnants from all around the world
also reveal the importance of cannabis in
medicine and spirituality. For example, Taoist
monks in ancient China burned cannabis as
incense, and consumed it with ginseng — a
combination thought to open your psychic
centres, allowing you to see the future.
Cannabis was also revered as sacred in
Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism.
Your body also has naturally occurring
endocannabinoids similar to THC that
stimulate your cannabinoid receptors and
produce a variety of important physiologic
processes.
So, your body is actually hard-wired to
respond to cannabinoids through this unique
cannabinoid receptor system.
We still don’t know exactly how far its impact
on your health reaches, but to date it’s known
that cannabinoid receptors play an important
role in many body processes, including
metabolic regulation, pain, anxiety, bone
growth and immune function.