"Eating cannabis engages with our endocannabinoid system differently than when we inhale it. But why? Imagine standing in front of a locked door with a key in each hand. One key leads to an invigorating hot yoga session. The other opens the same door except you’re in a fist-pumping nightclub at 2 a.m.The door represents your brain’s cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1), one of two primary endocannabinoid receptors in your endocannabinoid system, says Adie Wilson-Poe, a translational neuroscientist who studies cannabis and the endocannabinoid system at Portland, Oregon-based Legacy Health. The keys are two variations of decarboxylated tetrahydrocannabinol (THC): one smoked, the other consumed orally. Each fits the same lock but opens the door to different experiences. What gives?'The short answer is, we don’t know,' says Wilson-Poe. 'The endocannabinoid system was only discovered in the early 1990s, and we’re still learning what it does in our body and what happens when different cannabinoids and their metabolites bind with its receptors.'Cannabis is safe in low-potency herbal form, she says, but there’s much more to learn. Here’s where the science stands. ..."Read the full article by Alex C. Pasquariello at Kitchen Toke.