Lately in politics, there has been a push for the legalization of marijuana whether be it for medical or recreational uses. Within this push for the legalization of marijuana, there is a call for more research on cannabis, and how it affects the brain to see its benefits and side effects on the body and in particular the brain. Cannabis is made up of more than 400 chemical compounds, and with some having good effects, others negative and some both. There are two known cannabis receptors, CB1 and CB2, and these receptors are the way in which cannabis (marijuana) affects the body. The CB1 receptor is largely found in the brain and is the key player in how cannabis affects one’s memory, movement and cognition. The CB2 receptor is a key player in the modulation of the immune system. The cannabinoids that are found in the body are called endocannabinoids. Their receptors regulate and modulate various enzymes and ion channels which leads to multiple effects on the brain and in cell activity. There are two endocannabinoids that are confirmed, AEA (anandamide) and 2-AG (2-arachidonulglycerol). These two compounds have various beneficial effects on the body, and when their levels are modified, this can lead to the various medical benefits that we see. AEA has a particular cause of causing apoptosis, or death, in cells. This is sometimes good, but often bad. In the cases this would be beneficial is endocannabinoid induced apoptosis of cancer cells, which has been observe to occur in pancreatic cancer cells and colon cancer cells. Yet, this apoptosis is not always beneficial, as it may be causing cell deaths that are not meant to happen and throws off the balance of the body. Now, there are certain compounds in the cannabis that can target these processes, but researchers have found that there is difficulty in delivering just the one compound appropriately with minimal side effects other than just administering the entire plant extract. This is where the lack of research on cannabis becomes a problem. Marijuana is a schedule I drug, along with LSD and heroin, yet it is not nearly as harmful or addictive as any of its counterpart schedule I drugs. This also makes it hard for researchers to obtain marijuana or other cannabis compounds in order to do research, as it is generally hard to legally obtain illegal things. Yet, without studies that further investigate the drug, it is hard to tell exactly how marijuana is affecting cells and the signaling pathways. You see, both arguments of the debate of whether to legalize marijuana can have strong arguments that seem to contradict each other, as the side of the debate that wants marijuana legalized can point out that cannabis benefits the body (largely as a relief of pain) but the side against the legalization can also argue that it is harmful to the body (mostly the psychotic effects or “high” are looked down on). Without more research, there is no way to tell which argument is more valid since in many cases science simply knows that endocannabinoids are changing, or modulating the processes in the body. If marijuana were to be removed from the group of schedule I drugs, then more research could be done to discover just exactly how it is changing the body, and when those changes are good and bad.
Endocannabinoids and Cannabis as a Schedule I Drug
