35 - What’s Actually Happening in Your Body When You Take Cannabis with Kyla de Clifford.

In this episode of the Canna Curious Podcast, Kyla slows things right down and returns to the foundations.

Before conversations about strain names, dosing, or delivery methods before stigma, shame, or opinion this episode asks a simpler question:

What is actually happening inside your body when you take cannabis?

This episode is for patients.

For women who turn to this plant not to escape their lives - but to cope with pain, stress, hormonal change, burnout, grief, or nervous system overload.

At the centre of this conversation is the endocannabinoid system (ECS) a regulatory system that exists in all of us, whether we ever take cannabis or not.

In this episode, Kyla explores:

• What the endocannabinoid system is - and why it’s not a “weed system,” but a core biological regulator
• How the ECS was identified in the 1990s through cannabinoid research by scientists including Ally Howlett and Raphael Mechoulam
• The three key components of the ECS: receptors, endocannabinoids, and enzymes
• The roles of CB1 and CB2 receptors, and how THC and CBD interact with them differently
• Why your body makes its own cannabinoids — and even passes them through breast milk
• Why relief from cannabis looks different for everyone, and why variability is expected - not failure
• How hormones, stress, nervous system state, and life stage (including perimenopause) influence response
• The difference between regulation and escape, and why many women use cannabis to stay present not numb
• Why dosing can feel unpredictable, and why curiosity works better than rigid rules
• How one-size-fits-all advice often creates shame and what a body-literate approach offers instead

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Resources & Further Reading

Understanding the Endocannabinoid System

These sources support the explanation of the endocannabinoid system as a regulatory system involved in balance, pain, mood, sleep, inflammation, and stress:

• Di Marzo V, Piscitelli F. (2015). The endocannabinoid system and its modulation by phytocannabinoids.Neurotherapeutics, 12(4), 692–698.
  https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13311-015-0376-6
• Lu HC, Mackie K. (2016). An introduction to the endogenous cannabinoid system. Biological Psychiatry, 79(7), 516–525.
  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006322315002127
• Pertwee RG. (2015). Endocannabinoids and their pharmacological actions. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, 231, 1–37.
  

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Connect with Kyla de Clifford
Instagram: @cannacuriousaus
TikTok: @cannacuriousau
YouTube: @cannacurious

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Disclaimer:
We are not doctors, and this is not medical advice. Everything shared here is based on our personal lived experiences and the stories of others. Always speak with a qualified healthcare professional before making any changes to your health or wellness routine.