CBG and CBN - Lesser-Known Cannabinoids in Therapy

THC and CBD are the stars of medical cannabis, but the plant contains over a hundred different cannabinoids. Two of them - CBG and CBN - come up more and more in conversations about therapy. It is worth knowing what they are, because a plant's profile is more than two letters.

CBG, or cannabigerol, is sometimes called the mother of cannabinoids - it is from its acidic form in the young plant that THC and CBD are formed. In mature flowers there is usually little of it.

CBG is not intoxicating. In research it is linked, among other things, to a potential anti-inflammatory effect and to tension, but the evidence is still early and more is needed.

CBN, or cannabinol, forms mainly from the degradation of THC - as dried flower ages and oxidises. It is weakly psychoactive and is associated with sleepiness and relaxation, although here too the evidence is not yet strong.

That is why old, poorly stored flower is said to be more sedating - its share of CBN grows at the expense of THC.

In medical cannabis the individual components do not act in isolation. Cannabinoids and terpenes work together in the so-called entourage effect, mutually modulating their action.

That is why a doctor looks at a strain's profile as a whole, not just at THC content. We describe the role of aromas in terpenes, and the basics of the two main components in THC or CBD.

For now therapy rests mainly on THC and CBD, while CBG and CBN are an area of research and round out the picture. Do not seek them out on your own - the doctor decides on the profile based on your symptoms.

We explain how the whole system that cannabinoids act on works in the endocannabinoid system.