Why Consuming Cannabis is a Dietary Essential Over the Age of 25

The other day I was thinking about how that now, being over 30 years old, I don’t get as high as I used to when I was a teenager. I mean, I still get ‘high’, but when I was a kid and smoked weed I’d be transported to other dimensions. These days, unless it’s some pristine weed sent to me by the ganja gods themselves, my highs are pretty stable.

This pronged me to start researching a bit more on the subject and eventually I read up more about the endocannabinoid system. Wikipedia explains the Endocannabinoid System as follows;

The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a biological system composed of endocannabinoids, which are endogenous lipid-based retrograde neurotransmitters that bind to cannabinoid receptors, and cannabinoid receptor proteins that are expressed throughout the mammalian central nervous system (including the brain) and peripheral nervous system. [Source]

Within humans, the endocannabinoid system continues to develop up until roughly the age of 25. As it develops, more endocannabinoid receptors and endogenous endocannabinoids flood the human brain and body. Seeing that cannabinoids perfectly fit into the endocannabinoid receptors located all over your body, the influx of similar substances creates a compounding effect within the individual.

However, once the endocannabinoid system is fully developed, the production of endocannabinoids reduces significantly. Suddenly, the number of endocannabinoids that were binding to the receptors start to diminish and in turn biological functions triggered by the receptors begin to change.

While the initial changes might hardly be noticed, give it a decade or two to manifest itself in the form of a disease or medical condition. This is partly the reason why people age 50 and higher are turning to cannabis in such staggering numbers. They are the ones that feel the greatest health boost when it comes to consuming cannabis.

Cannabis a Dietary Essential

Your body is a well-oiled machine. Endocannabinoids act as the “oil” to that system. Up until you’re about 25 years old, your body produces “oil” to help develop the system. However, once it has reached full maturity, the endocannabinoid production reduces which in turn converts your “well-oiled-machine” into an old rust bucket over time.

This is why I believe that introducing cannabis into your diet in your thirties is one of the smartest things you could do for your health. I’m not saying that you should start bong-ripping tomorrow. Rather, find creative ways for you to introduce cannabis into your diet.

Something as simple as putting leaf in smoothies could suffice. Taking marijuana oil orally will also not get you high, but will provide your body with the essential cannabinoids to optimize the functionality of your endocannabinoid system.

What does the Endocannabinoid System Regulate?

Cognitive Processes
Fertility
Pregnancy
Pre and Post Natal Development
Appetitive
Pain sensation
Mood
Memory
Immune Function
Stress Responses
Sleep
Etc.

As you can see, your general well-being depends on the how efficient your endocannabinoid system works. People who are advanced in age often times are “starved” for endocannabinoids and while doing sports and other activities can increase endocannabinoid production, it usually isn’t enough to maintain the system.

People take vitamin supplements for its health benefits. Similarly, consuming cannabis is merely supplementing what your body is missing or failing to produce.

We can observe this with the “baby boomer” demographic within the cannabis industry. It’s one of the fastest growing demographics within the industry as the vast majority of “boomer-users” consume it for medical reasons or to improve their quality of life.

More often than not, they obtain just that.

I argue, that this might be due to the fact that they were suffering from an endocannabinoid deficiency which in turn threw their endocannabinoid system off balance. By supplementing the endogenous endocannabinoid production with external cannabinoids, they replenish the system and allows for optimal performance.

Suddenly they feel like a million bucks and it’s because they are now receiving the necessary cannabinoids to provide relief to a strained endocannabinoid system.

Of course, this is pure speculation and I have done absolutely no physical tests within this area, however based on my years of extensive research in the field of the effects of cannabis on human beings…it’s a plausible theory.

My Hopes

Let’s face the facts, I’m a writer. I don’t claim to be a medical researcher, despite the fact that I read hundreds of medical papers on cannabis every year. My job is to inform people, to raise questions and to question the status quo.

I simply hope, that start asking the real questions when it comes to cannabis and the human condition. Why is it that we produce compounds that are similar to that found within the cannabis plant and could it be possible that after the age of twenty-five, consuming cannabis could be a dietary essential?