Quick answer
Cannabis sativa makes more than 120 cannabinoids. About 15 show up on lab reports at levels above 0.1%. The rest sit in trace amounts. Each compound has a different molecular shape and a different target in the body.
Minor Cannabinoids: Benefits and Uses
The acid forms
Raw cannabis holds cannabinoids with a carboxyl group. These acid forms carry an "A" in the name. Heat removes that group in a reaction called decarboxylation.
- THCA, the acid form of delta-9 THC
- CBDA, the acid form of CBD
- CBGA, the parent molecule for THC, CBD, and CBC
- CBCA, the acid form of CBC
- THCA-C4 and CBDA-C4, forms with a shorter side chain
Decarboxylation starts near 220 F (105 C) and finishes above 300 F (150 C). Time and temperature both matter.
What Are the Main Cannabinoids? THC, CBD, and the Rest of the Plant
Major neutral cannabinoids
- Delta-9 THC (tetrahydrocannabinol). The main psychoactive compound. It binds CB1 and CB2 receptors.
- CBD (cannabidiol). The second most studied cannabinoid. It shows low affinity for CB1 and CB2.
- CBG (cannabigerol). Most cultivars test below 1% in dried flower.
- CBC (cannabichromene). Not psychoactive. Studied for action at TRP channels.
- CBN (cannabinol). An oxidation product of THC. Flower ages into CBN over months.
- THCV (tetrahydrocannabivarin). A propyl side chain. Acts as a CB1 antagonist at low doses.
- CBDV (cannabidivarin). The propyl form of CBD.
Minor and semi-synthetic cannabinoids
These compounds appear at low levels in plant material or come from chemical conversion in a lab.
- Delta-8 THC and delta-10 THC, isomers of delta-9 THC
- CBL (cannabicyclol), a degradation product
- CBT (cannabitriol)
- THCP and CBDP, forms with a seven-carbon side chain
- HHC (hexahydrocannabinol), made by hydrogenation
How to read a cannabinoid panel
Certificates of analysis from labs list each cannabinoid as a percentage of dry weight. Total THC uses the formula: THCA x 0.877 + delta-9 THC. The 0.877 factor is the molar mass ratio of THC to THCA. Total CBD uses the same math with a 0.877 factor. A panel with THCA at 20% and delta-9 THC at 0.5% gives total THC near 18.04%.
FDA-approved cannabinoid drugs
The FDA has approved one cannabis-derived drug, Epidiolex (CBD), for two forms of epilepsy. The agency has also approved three synthetic cannabis-related drugs: dronabinol (Marinol, Syndros) and nabilone (Cesamet). No over-the-counter CBD product has FDA approval.