President Ronald Reagan, in the 1980s, earmarked tens of millions of dollars into a specific study to prove the negative effects of marijuana in the brain.
In dispelling the claim, the Reagan administration ended up discovering the endocannabinoid system.
The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a collection of cell receptors and the corresponding molecules (agonists) in the human body. This system helps to regulate sleep, appetite, mood, motor control, immune function, pleasure, pain, reproduction and fertility, memory and temperature regulation.

When the ECS is in balance, you experience homeostasis. Endocannabinoids are the molecules that act as chemical messengers that bind to cannabinoid cell receptors and tell the body to do certain things. The human body naturally produces endocannabinoids with the help of consuming foods like fatty acids found in nuts and fish. The sixty cannabinoid molecules found in cannabis also can bind to cannabinoid receptors. Although different cannabinoids (like CBD and THC) cause different effects, it is all through the same system that similar molecular messages are sent throughout the body. Put more simply, the molecules found in cannabis plants aid in the human body’s endocannabinoid system, which is responsible for many vital functions.
Currently, there is a high number of research papers that back up the possibility of CBD as a competent tool to combat addiction. It makes sense when you think about the interaction of CBD with the endocannabinoid system of the body.
How CBD Can Prevent Relapses For A Long Period Of Time
Recently, a few researchers used a sample of transdermal CBD to determine it anti-relapse potentials. The researchers pooled a few animal subjects with a history of self-administering alcohol or cocaine. When such test subjects began to exhibit relapse characteristics – impulsivity, anxiety, and dependency – they administered transdermal CBD to such subjects. Once every 24 hours, the researchers would administer the CBD to the test subjects. The consistency in administering the CBD for seven days unfolded a profound discovery.
From the test results, the 7-day period of CBD treatment led to:
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- The prevention of the development of the early signs of addiction in the test subjects
- The decline in the possibility of a relapse
These characteristics occurred even though the CBD was absent from the body and the brain after 3 days. Hence, CBD is an active substance in the prevention of relapses in