Why Does CBD Help With So Many Different Things?
Understand the Endocannabinoid System
The Short Answer
You’re right to be skeptical. CBD has been marketed for everything from weight loss to gum disease, and countless other conditions with little or no supporting evidence. History is full of products that claimed to cure everything and cured nothing. So what makes CBD different?
CBD has also been studied across a remarkably wide range of conditions, including epilepsy, chronic pain, anxiety, inflammation, sleep disorders, addiction, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease. That doesn't mean researchers believe CBD treats dozens of unrelated diseases directly. Instead, it appears to influence major signaling systems—including the endocannabinoid system—that help regulate many different functions throughout the body.
Cannabis was once part of the American Pharmacopoeia, meaning doctors had standardized methods for its preparation and medical use. But decades of prohibition slowed modern cannabis research. As legal access to cannabis products has expanded again, marketing claims have quickly outpaced the evidence. In this industry genuine scientific discoveries often exist alongside exaggerated or unsupported claims.
Jump to:
- Your Body Makes Cannabinoids
- One System Affects Many Things
- Research Explains some Claims...
- ... Marketing Explains the Rest
- Our Approach
Key Takeaways
What we know
The endocannabinoid system is a widespread signaling system involved in regulating many normal physiological processes. CBD interacts directly and indirectly with several biological signaling systems, which helps explain why researchers study it across many different areas.
What the evidence suggests
CBD may influence some of these regulatory processes in ways that produce meaningful effects, but biological plausibility alone cannot establish whether a clinically significant effect will actually occur in real world use.
What we don't know
Understanding a biological mechanism does not tell us for certain which conditions CBD could effectively address, what effects an individual should expect, or whether findings from one area of research apply to another.
What this doesn't establish
The evidence discussed here does not establish that any product sold by Herbal Edge (or any commercially available CBD product) diagnoses, treats, cures, or prevents disease or injury.
Support free cannabis education by shopping with Herbal Edge
Your Body Makes Cannabinoids Too
One of the biggest surprises in cannabis research was the discovery that your body naturally produces its own cannabinoids, called endocannabinoids.
In the 1980s scientists were trying to understand how THC worked in the human system when they discovered receptors that appeared highly specific for cannabinoids. The natural question was, “why do we have receptors for this chemical that only occurs in plants?”
Researchers later identified naturally occurring cannabinoids such as anandamide and 2-AG, giving rise to what we now call the endocannabinoid system.
Although research has advanced rapidly, decades of cannabis prohibition made studying these compounds difficult, and many questions remain unanswered.
What researchers do know is that the endocannabinoid system helps regulate many normal physiological processes. Rather than simply forcing a biological response, CBD appears to influence regulatory systems the body already uses every day.
Related Reading →
- Why CBD "Doesn't Work” for Some People (Publishing Soon)
Why One System Can Affect So Many Things
The endocannabinoid system helps regulate communication throughout the nervous system, immune system, digestive system, skin, and many other tissues. That's why researchers investigate CBD in so many different areas.
Researchers don't believe these diseases share a single cause. Rather, many involve biological systems that are influenced—at least in part—by endocannabinoid signaling.
The endocannabinoid system is also evolutionarily ancient. Variations of it are found across much of the animal kingdom, which is one reason cannabinoids have effects in humans, dogs, cats, horses, and many other species.
Related Reading →
Research Explains Some Claims...
A plausible biological mechanism doesn't prove CBD works but it can tell us why it might. A good biological theory must have three elements:
- Plausible Mechanism — Why should this work?
- Observed Effect — Does it actually work?
- Predictive Power — What new observations should we expect if the theory is correct?
Sleep provides a useful example. Researchers have proposed several mechanisms by which CBD could improve sleep, including indirectly influencing stress regulation through the endocannabinoid system. Clinical studies and patient reports suggest some people do sleep better. A good theory then makes a prediction: if stress regulation is part of the mechanism, CBD could work better for stress-related insomnia than for insomnia caused by untreated sleep apnea.
Biology tells us what might work. Clinical evidence tells us what actually does.
Related Reading →
- THC and Sleep (Publishing Soon)
…Marketing Explains the Rest.
Marketing has a much simpler standard of evidence: "Will this sell more products?" You can recognize marketing claims by their reckless confidence and absolutism. They promise certainty and stretch weak evidence far beyond what it can support.
Many CBD companies spend thousands of words explaining the endocannabinoid system, then quietly jump from mechanistic theory to confident medical recommendations. There is no direct line from mechanistic theory to actionable advice.
At Herbal Edge, biological theory helps us understand why CBD is being investigated. Published research and observed outcomes help us evaluate whether those theories hold up outside the laboratory. Years of experience can add useful context, but none of these should be stretched beyond what the evidence actually supports.
Understanding the endocannabinoid system explains why CBD is being studied for so many conditions. It does not justify marketing CBD for every condition.
Related Reading →
- How to Shop for CBD (Publishing Soon)
Our Approach
One thing we've noticed in the cannabis industry is an unwillingness to publicly challenge questionable claims. Companies are quick to criticize regulators, but far less willing to criticize each other's marketing. The result is an ecosystem where exaggerated claims often go unanswered by the people most qualified to correct them.
Cannabis compounds have legitimate medical uses. Cannabis is also an intoxicant. And there are bad actors in the industry. If we in the industry won't take action against these people, we can expect regulators to drop the hammer on all of us.
At Herbal Edge, our goal is to explain both the plausible applications of CBD based on current research and how people use commonly CBD, and to call out the scams. Better-informed consumers create better markets—and ultimately better public policy.
About the Author
Before launching Herbal Edge, Avery Martz operated one of Idaho's largest CBD retailers, reviewing products, working with independent makers, and helping hundreds of people learn about CBD.