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

>Why did the human body develop the ability to engage with cannabinoids

This is a common, but totally backwards misunderstanding of how evolution works. Evolution isn’t directed. It doesn’t have goals or a purpose. Traits emerge at random, and positive *or neutral* ones stick around while negative ones get selected out.

There’s no evolutionary link between our endogenous cannabinoid receptors and cannabinoids found in plants like cannabis. Endogenous cannabinoids are just a class of chemicals in our bodies that aren’t fully understood but help regulate a variety of our bodily processes. It’s just a coincidence that the cannabinoids found in cannabis plants fit into the receptors for our endogenous cannabinoid receptors.

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