eli5: What is the original purpose of cannabinoid receptors in the human body?

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Why did the human body develop the ability to engage with cannabinoids? I’ve heard people postulating that we’re practically build to get high, as a justification for cannabis usage, but I can’t really believe it would be the main cause for this specific natural selection. I mean; from a darwinian perspective it doesn’t really make sense – how would getting high be survival of the fittest? Also, there exist other cannabinoids than THC, so what is the effect of these, and how present are they in our daily lives and what are the effect of these?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

They’re receptors for chemicals your body makes at happy times, like laughter or orgasm.

But when your body makes the chemicals (called endocannabinoids, no way to age that word down), they break down in the body really quickly, so for a long time scientists didn’t even know they existed, and still have a hard time studying them.

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