The Entourage Effect

The term Entourage Effect was first coined by Dr Ralph Mechoulam and his colleague Dr Ben-Shabat in Israel during a research session in 1998. The term was postulated to describe the combined effect of the compounds found in cannabis on the endocannabinoid system.

Another cannabis researcher Dr. Ethan Russo described the concept of botanical synergy, in which a dominant molecule is supported by other plant derivatives – cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids and other inactive substances, to achieve a maximal pharmacological effect.

According to Dr Russo, this was his reasoning why whole plant extract is more effective than isolated cannabinoids. We believe that this indicates that future research will be able to isolate and combine specific components of cannabis in order to target individual symptoms. This is the future of medical cannabis.

Our main reference material can be found here with citations to additional research studies.