Introduction to the Endocannabinoid System

By Dustin Sulak, D.O.

A description of the lipid signaling network essential to health, healing, and homeostasis, adapted from a class for doctors entering the field of Cannabis-based Medicine.

“You may be wondering why, as a clinician, you’ve never learned about the endocannabinoid system (ECS) during any of your training. The discovery of this system is relatively new, but it’s been around for 20 years, and a huge body of evidence and peer-reviewed research has been published on various aspects of the endocannabinoid system.

“There are two different cannabinoid receptors, the CB1 and the CB2, which are very similar in structure. They follow the classic pattern of the G protein-coupled receptor with seven passes through the cell membrane.