FEATURE OPINION AND RESEARCH The endocannabinoid system’s role in pain and inflammation S (And a rant about the cannabis industry and legalization) by dr . chris spooner , nd other health care professionals other than MDs and Nurse Practitioners, who are currently the only health care professionals that can authorize medical cannabis access. ince the identification of endocan-nabinoid receptors, the analgesic properties mediated by the endocan-nabinoid system have been an area of great interest, however, despite the therapeutic appeal, the use of canna-bis-based medicines in clinical set-tings is complicated by the psychoactive side effects of THC and has resulted in hesitancy in their use. The three fundamental constituents of the endo-cannabinoid system include the endocannabinoid signaling molecules, G-protein-coupled cannabi-noid receptors, and enzymes involved in ligand biosynthesis and inactivation. Collectively, these components constitute the pain (nociceptive) path-way. It is well accepted that endocannabinoids have anti-nociceptive effects i The goal of this article is to briefly discuss the issues with product development in the cannabis industry that has emphasized high THC content and to then discuss the role of the endocannabinoid system in pain and inflammation. Future articles will discuss non-cannabis compounds that possess cannabimimetic properties and can be accessed by DR. CHRIS SPOONER ND. is a North Okanagan naturopathic doctor with 20 years of clinical experience. In his private practice, Paradigm Integrative Medicine, Dr. Spooner works with patients looking for a balanced approach to health care that combines conventional medicine with research informed integrative approaches. 18 Chiropractic and Naturopathic Doctor May/June 2022 www.Cndoctor.ca Photo: Tinnakorn/Adobe Stock The number of professions that can currently authorize medical cannabis access. Only medical doctors and nurse practitioners have this ability. 2 If you’re not an MD or Nurse Practitioner, you probably wrote off cannabis as a viable therapeutic product a long time ago. When the federal govern-ment limited the ability to authorize medical can-nabis to those two professions, regulatory colleges were left in the position of having to go through the surreal process of navigating the federal process for adding their profession to the list. I was involved in the process as a member of the cannabis task for the college of naturopathic physicians of BC and still have the scars on my forehead from banging it repeatedly against that brick wall. Canada had permitted cannabis for medical use since 2001 and many patients had experienced relief from chronic conditions that had been resist-ant to other therapies. There was much hope that legalized cannabis would usher in a period of inno-vation and product development for medical can-nabis products. In 2018, Canada legalized canna-bis to much national and international fanfare. However, the Canadian experiment hasn’t quite turned out as many had hoped. The so-called “green rush” started, and produc-tion went into overdrive. Stock prices soared and fortunes were staked, made, doubled, and tripled in an atmosphere reminiscent of the 90s dotcom boom, or the Yukon gold rush of the 19th century, when 100,000 prospectors headed into the Cana-dian hinterlands in search of riches. Many firms My issues with cannabis legalization and the cannabis industry
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