Continuing from Part 1, we return to Cannabis University to work on our (unofficial) Ph.D. in cannabis!
Our staff writer Kat Hearons is taking the class Demystifying Cannabis: Discover the Truth About the Profound Physical, Emotional & Spiritual Healing of This Ancient Plant Medicine, created and led by Dr. Pepper Hernandez.
The course is offered by The Shift Network, whose stated mission is: “Upgrade our human operating system in order to co-create a healthy, peaceful, sustainable, just, and prosperous world.” To learn more about the class, click here.
With Shift’s permission, Kat will be passing along some course highlights, shared in the recurring segment “Head Magazine at Cannabis University.” For the full experience – one we enthusiastically recommend – contact Shift to inquire about access to course materials. In the meantime, you can check out the Head articles cited below that reinforce points made by Dr. Hernandez.
“When our ECS [endocannabinoid system] is saturated to wellness and is completely at its highest peak, it will maintain homeostasis for the rest of the body.” – Dr. Pepper Hernandez
Head Magazine interviewed Dr. Nicholas DiPatrizio, associate professor of biomedical sciences at the University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine, to provide a reader-friendly rundown of the ECS. In the transcript, you’ll find his explanation of how the system regulates most of our body’s physiological functions. Among other things, he observes the following:
“[The ECS comprises] the natural molecules that our body produces called the endocannabinoids, as well as the receptors that they bind and activate, which are located on cells. … [A]ctivating them leads to a whole bunch of different intracellular responses.”
He provides the following example:
“[T]hese chemicals [endocannabinoids] are produced on demand. I like to think of them as nature’s safety net. … If you’re, for example, leading to a hyperexcitable state, let’s say leading up to a seizure, your body would have lots of glutamate and an excitatory neurotransmitter being released in certain areas of the brain. What’s been found is that thought that when you have tons of glutamate, this produces the endocannabinoids. What they do is they travel retrograde, bind presynaptic cannabinoid receptors, and in essence, slow down and reduce and block glutamate release. You can see it’s a safety net. If you have too much of something being produced, the endocannabinoids come along and go, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let’s slow things down here.’”
Prof. Nick DiPatrizio explains the endocannabinoid system in detail, in a way anyone can follow, in “Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Endocannabinoids.” Photo Credit: Stan Lim
Additional experience-driven insight was provided by Dr. Pejman Bady, the chairman of the board at NuVeda Natural Solutions, as well as a the founder of the medical cannabis dispensary Sanctuary. When editor-in-chief Charlotte Parker asked Dr. Bady about cannabis’s expansive role in our body’s wellness, he explained:
“The CB1 and CB2 [cannabis] receptors are obviously in our body and the endocannabinoid system, which it modulates and allows the modulation of our body’s endocrine and a lot of other systems, are significant. … That’s why, I believe, for thousands and thousands of years they’ve [medicinal systems alternative to Western medicine] used cannabis to manage the CB receptors, which is both in the brain and on the musculature, and has a significant effect on our nervous system, our brain nervous system, and allows the modulation of our activity and works in a very specific portion of our brain near the substantia nigra that really is important and is understudied.”
How does the endocannabinoid system affect so many parts of our bodies? Dr. Pejman Bady answers that question in “The Continuing Frontier of Medical Cannabis.”
“Last season’s weed, if it’s been stored properly, gives you something powerful for treating insomnia: the cannabinoid CBN [cannabinol]. You only get this once the THC has been oxidized.” – Dr. Pepper Hernandez
Head Magazine explored CBN in depth in a feature on this cannabinoid’s role in treating insomnia. CBN is a safe, potent way to get your body over the threshold of sleepiness and into sleep when you’re fighting to make it happen on your own. Prescription and over-the-counter sleep aids generate all kinds of side effects, including confusion, memory problems, headaches, prolonged drowsiness, muscle weakness, heartburn, gas, constipation and diarrhea. By contrast, CBN is gentle on the body and is sort of a halfway point between cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) with respect to its sedative effects.
In “Insomniacs for the Win! Natural CBN Offers Effective, Legal Alternative to Manufactured Sleep Drugs,” we explain what makes CBN effective at helping you to get high-quality sleep. Photo by Karolina Grabowska / Pexels.com
“Terpenes are one way to choose the right cultivar for medicinal use. Different ones interact with different parts of our body to produce intended effects on our nervous system, GI system – whatever you’re going for.” – Dr. Pepper Hernandez
If you’re new to buying cannabis, Head Magazine has just what you need: a shopping guide for beginners! One of the ways we guide you toward finding what’s best for you is through terpene profiles.
Let Head Magazine guide you toward the cannabis cultivar that is best suited for your intended medical (or recreational) purpose in “Choosing the Right Cannabis Strain: A Beginner’s Guide.” Image by Stay Regular from Pixabay
If you’re looking specifically for terpenes that will chill you out, we’ve got a guide for that too!
In “How Terpenes Help in Relaxing Your Mind and Body,” we share information that can help you choose the cannabis cultivar that will give you the greatest medicinal benefit. Photo by Evelyn Mostrom on Unsplash
Look for Part 3 of this series, coming soon!
The information in this article and any included images are for educational purposes only. This information is neither a substitute for, nor does it replace, professional legal advice or medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about laws, regulations or your health, you should always consult an attorney, physician or other licensed professional.
Kathleen Hearons is a writer, editor, linguist and voice over actor from Los Angeles. She specializes in creative writing and research-intensive analysis and reporting.
Sources and Suggested Reading
“Demystifying Cannabis: Discover the Truth About the Profound Physical, Emotional & Spiritual Healing of This Ancient Plant Medicine.” The Shift Network. Accessed Aug. 2, 2025. https://theshiftnetwork.com/Demystifying-Cannabis.
“Everything You’ve Ever Wanted to Know About Endocannabinoids: A Conversation with Professor Nick DiPatrizio, Ph.D.” Head Magazine. Accessed Aug. 2, 2025. https://headmagazine.com/everything-youve-ever-wanted-to-know-about-endocannabinoids/.
Hearons, Kathleen. “Head Magazine at Cannabis University: Part 1.” Head Magazine. Accessed Aug. 2, 2025. https://headmagazine.com/head-magazine-at-cannabis-university-part-1/.
Hearons, Kathleen. “Insomniacs for the Win! Natural CBN Offers Effective, Legal Alternative to Manufactured Sleep Drugs.” Head Magazine. Accessed Aug. 2, 2025. https://headmagazine.com/insomniacs-for-the-win-natural-cbn-offers-effective-legal-alternative-to-manufactured-sleep-drugs/.
Henrietta, Kalki. “How Terpenes Help in Relaxing Your Mind and Body.” Head Magazine. Accessed Aug. 2, 2025. https://headmagazine.com/how-terpenes-help-in-relaxing-your-mind-and-body/.
“Our Mission.” The Shift Network. Accessed Aug. 2, 2025. https://theshiftnetwork.com/about.
Parker, Charlotte. “The Continuing Frontier of Medical Cannabis: An interview with Dr. Pejman Bady.” Head Magazine. Accessed Aug. 2, 2025. https://headmagazine.com/the-continuing-frontier-of-medical-cannabis-an-interview-with-dr-pejman-bady/.
The Shift Network. Accessed Aug. 2, 2025. https://theshiftnetwork.com.
Warren, Michael. “Choosing the Right Cannabis Strain: A Beginner’s Guide.” Head Magazine. Accessed Aug. 2, 2025. https://headmagazine.com/choosing-the-right-cannabis-strain-a-beginners-guide/.
