A New York study found that 49% of surveyed medical cannabis patients could not afford enough cannabis to manage their symptoms. This article examines a missing variable in the affordability debate: whether chronic high-THC exposure, tolerance and CB1 adaptation may increase the amount of cannabis required for sustained therapeutic effect.
Category: Endocannabinoid System (ECS)
Announcements
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Open letter to CB1 researchers
An open letter inviting researchers to investigate whether metabolic state influences CB1 receptor stability, trafficking and degradation across insulin-sensitive tissues, and whether this represents a broader principle of endocannabinoid system regulation.
Commentary
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The missing membrane layer in a new marathon endocannabinoid study
A new BMC Medicine study shows that marathon running triggers distinct temporal changes in anandamide, 2-AG and arachidonic acid. The missing piece may be the runners’ membrane fatty-acid state before exercise.
Endocannabinoid System (ECS)
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How the Endocannabinoid System Helps the Brain Adapt and Learn
The Endocannabinoid System and the Biology of Learning: How Endocannabinoids Help the Brain Adapt Why one-shot learning matters for survival Imagine touching a hot surface for the first time. The experience lasts only a moment, but the lesson can last a lifetime. The brain does not need repeated exposure to…
Endocannabinoid System (ECS)
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The Western Diet Has a Hot ECS — but Clinical Medicine Isn’t Paying Attention
A new study (Powers et al., 2026) just confirmed something that should change the way we talk about diet and health—not just heart health, but brain health, metabolism, and, if you’ve been following this site, endocannabinoid health, too. When you look at red‑blood‑cell fatty acids, you’re not seeing a niche…
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Bariatric Surgery Progressively Recouples the eCBome
How Bariatric Surgery Recouples the Endocannabinoidome For years, obesity has been framed as a simple problem of “too many calories in, not enough out.” The endocannabinoidome (eCBome) tells a different story. In severe obesity, the lipid‑signaling network that should help regulate appetite, energy balance and metabolic health is present, but…
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Liraglutide, 2‑AG and the Microbiome: A New Gut–Brain Pathway for Antidepressant Effects
From metabolic drug to mood modulator A new paper in Cell Host & Microbe has just delivered one of the most compelling mechanistic stories yet for how the endocannabinoid system (ECS) links metabolic drugs, the gut microbiome, and mood regulation. The study shows that the antidepressant effects of the GLP‑1…
Endocannabinoid System (ECS)
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The Mouse That Can’t Get Fat — and What It Reveals About Your Endocannabinoid System
There is a mouse that refuses to follow the script. Feed it a high-fat Western diet for sixteen months and it stays leaner, its gut stays tighter, its blood stays cleaner, and its cells age more slowly. Not because of a drug. Because of one change: the balance of fats…
Endocannabinoid System (ECS)
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ECS Literacy in Medicine: Why It Makes Better Doctors
What happens to clinical reasoning when a physician understands the endocannabinoid system? Seven conditions, two kinds of doctors, and the reasoning gap that a better curriculum could close.
Endocannabinoid System (ECS)
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How Poor Diet and Insulin Spikes Disrupt the Endocannabinoid System and Drive Fatty Liver
Scientists have identified a new mechanism linking everyday diet to endocannabinoid system (ECS) dysfunction: normal post‑meal insulin spikes can increase CB1 receptors in the liver by about 50% by slowing their lysosomal recycling. Together with an omega‑6‑heavy fat intake, this amplifies diet‑driven steatosis and helps explain how common foods drive fatty liver disease.