endocannabinoid system

The endocannabinoid system or the endogenous cannabinoid system was named after cannabis because the plant led to the discovery of this crucial physiological system. The system is made of up endocannabinoids and cannabinoid receptors, which help regulate many of our most basic functions like sleep and appetite. Endocannabinoids are naturally produced in the body and cannabis consumption increases the amount of endocannabinoids present in the body. The function of endocannabinoids and their receptors is to maintain homeostasis from the organism to the cell level by reversing damage in whatever way possible. One way the endocannabinoid system does this is in cancer patients, the cancer cells are programmed to kill themselves when endocannabinoid levels increase.