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IF anecdotes and ancient medicine are to be trusted, cannabis is a wonder drug. Yet results of clinical trials have been mixed and its use in modern medicine remains limited. Now it seems the reasons may be practical as much as political and cultural: there are fundamental problems with how our bodies respond to the stuff.

Some compounds in cannabis, including THC and cannabidiol, interfere with a natural signalling system throughout our brains, nerves and immune system. This system, which produces its own cannabis-like compounds called endocannabinoids, plays a role in many medical conditions including pain, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s…

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