Alright, imagine this: it’s the 1980s!
The air is filled with the sounds of Michael Jackson, big hair, and neon everything. Meanwhile, scientists are sitting in labs, working hard to figure out how cannabis works in our bodies. While the rest of the world is rocking out to cassette tapes, these researchers are discovering some wild stuff that would change everything.
Enter Allyn Howlett and his crew at St. Louis University. In the 1980s, they were the first to find solid evidence that our brains have special receptors (fancy word for “tiny brain doors”) that love cannabinoids. These little doors were just waiting for cannabis to come in and do its thing. But nobody knew why or how... yet.
Fast forward to 1988. With a new trick called radiolabeling (fancy science talk for “making stuff glow”), Howlett’s team confirmed that these newfound cannabis receptors were hanging out in rat brains. Yes, they were finding brain doorways for weed, but in rats first. Classic science move.
Then, in 1990, the real magic happened. The first cannabinoid receptor (called CB1) was cloned in rats and humans. Think of it like discovering a new species—and finding out humans are one of them. A few years later, in 1993, another receptor called CB2 was discovered. Now they were really getting the picture of how cannabis interacts with our bodies.
And just like that, we went from “What does weed do to your brain?” to “Here’s a whole system in your body designed to handle it!”
So the next time you enjoy cannabis, just know: while the rest of the world was busy rocking neon spandex, some smart folks were figuring out how it works inside you. And hey, thank the ‘80s for giving us not just big hair, but the key to unlocking the endocannabinoid system.
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