Cannabinoids Explained: Plant, Body-Made and Laboratory-Made Compounds

What the word means

"Cannabinoid" started as a name for compounds found in the cannabis plant. Today it covers three families that share one idea: they act on, or are chemically related to, the body's cannabinoid signaling system. NCCIH calls cannabinoids a group of substances found in the cannabis plant, with THC and cannabidiol (CBD) as the main ones. [1] NIDA says the plant contains at least 125 different cannabinoids, [2] while NCCIH says more than 100 others have been identified besides THC and CBD. [1] The counts differ by source and by what is counted, so no single number is final.

Chemistry overview only. Where a source describes how much converts, it varies. See Decarboxylation explained.

Three families

Laboratory-made compounds are covered in detail on Natural, Semisynthetic and Synthetic Cannabinoids.

Receptors and the endocannabinoid system

The endocannabinoid system is made of cannabinoid receptors, the body's own cannabinoids, and the enzymes that build and break them down. [4] The best-studied receptors are CB1 and CB2. CB1 receptors are abundant in the brain and mediate many of the psychoactive effects of cannabinoids, while CB2 receptors are found mostly in immune cells. [7] THC works through these receptors. [4] CBD has low affinity for CB1, which fits with it lacking THC-like euphoria. [8] Other receptor types and non-receptor routes are also involved for some compounds. [4][9] A fuller tour is on The Endocannabinoid System.

Acid and neutral forms

Many plant cannabinoids are first made as acids, such as THCA and CBDA. These can change into the neutral forms THC and CBD, which have different pharmacology. [10] The WHO CBD review describes THC and CBD as generated from THCA and CBDA by nonenzymatic decarboxylation. [11] The chemistry is explained on Decarboxylation Explained, without any instructions.

Evidence labels used in this library

We use plain labels: approved medicine (a regulator has approved a specific drug for a stated use), established, promising but limited, mixed, insufficient evidence, preclinical (cells/animals only), no good evidence of benefit, evidence of harm and marketing claim. "Proper evidence not found" means we looked and found nothing usable. Findings from cells or animals are not applied to people.

Where to read about each compound

Safety note

A name that ends in "cannabinoid" does not tell you whether a compound is safe, intoxicating or approved. NIDA says some CBD products have been found to contain different amounts of CBD than their labels show, and some contained THC. [2] Anyone taking prescription medicines should talk with a prescriber or pharmacist first; see Cannabis and CBD: Medicine Interactions and Toxicology.