Life is generous. When we least expect it, it leads us to new discoveries. It opens doors for us. It takes us along paths that, like branches, diverge into leaves and flowers. Sometimes we arrive at a special flower. This time I reached a flower that, when known and used properly, allows us to function better, live healthier, and even cure ourselves of certain diseases: the cannabis flower, specifically from the unfertilized, female plant.
So far it is an intellectual discovery. I have never seen one of these plants and even less one in bloom. My relationship with CBD, the cannabinoid that is allowed in Costa Rica for medicinal use, has been limited to the purchase of a very expensive oil that I acquired because it was fashionable and because it never hurts to have an extra help to deal with stress in your handbag.
Now I know what CBD is, why it might be important for my health, and why it’s important to combine it with other cannabinoids to enhance its medicinal effects. All this thanks to the latest episode of the podcast La Telaraña, entitled “Cannabis”, in which Dr. Giselle Amador, doctor, former minister of health and specialist in cannabis medicine and Jorge Albán Dobles, visual artist and cannabis specialist, participated, as confirmed by all the knowledge he shared with us during the episode.
Among the phytocannabinoids, the best known are CBD and THC, which are present in the cannabis flower, but also in our body, in a similar form, which we know as endocannabinoids. A phytocannabinoid such as THC is capable of acting as a substitute for an endocannabinoid, since both are keys capable of binding to the receptors in our cells, which act as locks. In this process, they are able to correct an imbalance in our body. Stabilize ourselves. Level us up.
When our cells function properly and a healthy balance is maintained in the body, we speak of homeostasis. The mission of the so-called endocannabinoid system is to regulate the flow of chemical messages between cells in order to preserve homeostasis. What has happened to the dissemination of this important knowledge? Why have we been carried away by prejudice? How could a person who studied science, like me, have no idea that human beings have an endocannabinoid system, which helps us rebalance our body?
“The magic is in the balanced proportions,” commented Jorge Albán in La Telaraña. He also told us about the “entourage effect” of cannabinoids, which means that these substances are more effective together than separately. These synergies enhance and modulate the effects of these compounds with a beneficial result. Studies show that THC increases its pain-relieving potency when taken in conjunction with CBD. All this is explained by Dr. Bonni Goldstein, in the book “Cannabis is medicine” (2023), which was recommended in the program, as well as “The health effects of cannabis and cannabinoids” (2017), published by the academies of sciences, engineering and medicine of the United States, which can be downloaded at this link.
Dr. Giselle Amador indicated that Costa Rica has been one of the Latin American countries that has taken the longest to use cannabis as medicine. We have a law; however, the regulation does not yet exist. In addition, the discussion at the legislative level, in relation to a responsible use of cannabis, which would reduce the risks associated with its prohibition, such as violence between organized crime gangs or the adulteration of cannabis, is a pending issue.
There is much to be done in terms of legislation in our country, but even more to discover in relation to the endocannabinoid system and the internal keys that could offer us better health and guide us towards greater well-being.