Cannabis, which is a product of marijuana, is said to help people feel energized and calm. Cannabis is known to have various health benefits, including treating chronic pain, anxiety, seizures, and more. As researchers are continuing to study these products and find out more health benefits, the popularity of marijuana continues to grow.
There are substances in marijuana called cannabinoids responsible for the medical effects. Apart from the common THC and CBD, there are more than a hundred different types of cannabinoids.
From the hundreds of cannabinoids in the market, few have undergone extensive research to prove their health benefits. This article provides a list of the most popular types of cannabinoids and their health benefits. Read through and choose which one will be best suitable for your medical condition.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)
THC is one of the most recognized marijuana compounds and the most abundant strains. THC is available in marijuana in concentrations of about 30 to 40%. This compound is strong enough that it contributes to both positive and negative effects on the user.
On the positive side, THC stimulates appetite and enhances mood. THC has anti-inflammatory properties making it a perfect remedy for epilepsy and arthritis. According to a study posted in Pharmaceuticals & Medical Technology, 65% of medical marijuana patients admit that they take weed to reduce chronic pain.
Researchers have even recommended a dose of THC for reducing spastic movements in Tourette’s syndrome. It’s a neuroprotectant used to treat multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s.
THC can help shift metabolism, which helps in reducing weight gain.
On the negative side, THC is psychoactive; hence, it can make you high. THC can reduce coordination, interfere with consciousness, change perception, and reduce short-term memory. It’s also said to cause paranoia and anxiety, which makes many people uncomfortable.
For marijuana to produce THC, it has to decarboxylase or be heated.
THC is finding its way into the legal cannabis market in the form of capsules and tinctures. This has made it easy for consumers to access and take these products. The product offers high levels of pain relief that even the popular CBD won’t surpass.
Cannabidiol (CBD)
If you don’t want to experience the psychoactive effects of THC, a better option that works almost the same except making you high is CBD.
How CBD functions in the body are opposite to THC as it does not have intoxicating effects. Taking CBD produces the same desired outcomes at THC combined with other physiological effects.
Some people have praised this marijuana product and even dabbed it ‘healing without the high.’ This product is very prevalent in industrial hemp and the second most abundant chemical in the marijuana plant after THC. Many people who take CBD agree that their minds are normal and function better.
Cannabis helps with many health conditions, including reducing inflammation, relieving pain, and fighting anxiety. According to research by World Health Organization, CBD can also help treat several diseases. These include epilepsy, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.
CBD is safe and does not cause addiction, making it legal in 47 states in the U.S. Because of the lack of high effect and safety, CBD is recommended as a form of medication to patients of all ages as long as it’s in a concentration of 0.3%.
This product is sold as oil and is available in ointments, lotions, and creams.
Cannabinol (CBN)
It’s worth mentioning that CBN is not directly present in fresh cannabis but is a THC product. It forms when THC breaks down. Even though CBN is derived from THC, it has low psychoactivity; hence, used as a sedative.
The primary focus of this product is to fight sleep disorders like apnea and insomnia. CBN is a long-awaited product for many people who were struggling with falling asleep. Apart from aiding sleep, CBN also helps to boost the immune system.
The product is also a perfect remedy for inflammation and pain caused by Crohn’s disease and arthritis. It’s used in patients with epilepsy and other seizure disorders. It’s also a perfect eye remedy that helps to dilate blood vessels, reduce intraocular eye pressure, and aid blood flow to the eyes.
Like other cannabinoid types, prolonged use of this product may cause the body to get used to it. If you notice that you don’t feel any effects after taking CBN or doesn’t find taking it fun anymore, you should take a break.
Take a look at how tolerant breaks work in cannabinoid products.
Cannabigerol (CBG)
Cannabigerol is a less common product among the cannabinoid options and equally important as the most common ones. CBG doesn’t contain any psychoactive effects and is present in minimal amounts. But even with the low levels, it still helps reduce diseases such as cancerous tumor growth, glaucoma, irritable bowel syndrome, and Crohn’s disease.
CBG also comes packed with a whole set of therapeutic effects. It’s an excellent anti-inflammatory agent and a pain reliever. The product works as a neuroprotectant helping in the degeneration of Huntington’s disease.
The benefits don’t end there as it also promotes neurogenesis, which is the growth of new brain cells.
CBG has been at the forefront in the fight against different types of cancer, including colorectal, oral, and prostate cancer. CBG helps fight skin conditions and regulate emotions by acting as an antidepressant.
If you’re experiencing bacterial issues resistant to traditional antibiotics, CBG is the remedy to go for. You can use CBG as a buffer for psychoactivity because it helps relieve anxiety and other side effects of THC.
Cannabichromene (CBC)
While CBC is not widely known, it recently started receiving wide recognition. Researchers believe that CBC contains more anti-inflammatory and anti-depressive properties than CBD.
Well, before you get too excited, it’s important to know that it has the psychoactive effects of THC.
About its medicinal benefits, CBC is a neuroprotectant. It works well as an antibiotic used to treat fungus and bacterial infections and aiding acne treatment. It also works the same way as CBN and CBG to relieve pain and relax the muscles.
Still, in its neuroprotective benefits, CBC encourages new brain cells, which aids memory and learning. It also helps people suffering from a neurodegenerative disease like Alzheimer’s.
CBC helps in the fight against several tumors in the body and helps reduce depression.
You won’t believe this, but researchers can prove that CBC has a higher number of strains available in marijuana than CBD. It’s the third common cannabinoid after THC and CBD. CBC can also perform well when combined with other cannabinoids producing what’s referred to as the ‘entourage effect.’
Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV)
THCV is another product of cannabinoids found in Sative strains and shares a lot in common with THC. Like THC, THCV can also make you high after taking it but has various benefits of cannabinoids that will make you go for it. It differs from THC in its chemical structure and the effects it brings to the body.
The products help in boosting energy, suppressing appetite, and increasing brain focus. It somehow produces opposite effects to THC, which increases anxiety. On the other hand, THCV reduces panic attacks, anxiety and aiding all other common anxiety disorders.
When used together with THC, THCV can reverse the anxiety effects of THC. It’s a neuroprotectant that is helpful for the central nervous system.
This product slows down cell degeneration. Hence, it aids treatment of Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease.
By reducing appetite and boosting the body’s metabolism, THCV can act as weight-loss medicine. It also helps control insulin production and lowers blood sugar levels, making it a perfect treatment for diabetes. THCV is also ideal for preventing the weakening of bones and promoting the growth of new bone cells.
Cannabidivarin (CBDV)
CBDV has a similar structure to CBD, making it another favorite cannabinoid product for CBD lovers.
Like CBD, CBDV has no psychoactive effects; hence, it will not interfere with your memory, perception, or brain functioning. It has not undergone much research like other well-known cannabinoid products but has enough to ascertain its uses.
One of the most common uses of CBDV is anticonvulsant, mostly used by those who have epilepsy. It does this through the activation ion channel in the central nervous system.
CBDV helps to reduce seizures in patients. It’s also a perfect reliever against nausea and is used to modulate pain and its transmission.
CBDV is mostly present in marijuana strains that contain a lot of CBD. The product is not water-soluble in large amounts and is bioavailable in humans at 6% through oral consumption. A lot of research is still ongoing on CBDV’s neurological effects and epilepsy treatment.
Tetrahydrocannabinolic Acid (THCA)
THCA takes the name of THC but doesn’t take even a single one of its properties. The product is present in live and raw cannabis, and it constitutes resin concentrates. THCA is the acidic form of THC that becomes the psychoactive compound of THC when heated or exposed to decarboxylation.
There are a lot of THCA strains in THC that have not undergone the decarboxylation process. You can find raw marijuana products and test for THCA by yourself. Don’t decarboxylase if you want to experience it in raw cannabis components.
Well, this product is not as common as other cannabinoid compounds and has undergone very little research. But few studies done on it have proven that it can reduce vomiting and nausea.
Research has also proven that THCA is a neuroprotectant. It helps in the treatment of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. The product is also helpful in the proliferation of cancerous cells and is an appetizer.
For patients who want to experience the benefits of THC without going through the psychoactive effects, THCA is a perfect product. It’s legally available in several states in tinctures and capsules form.
Cannabidiolic Acid (CBDA)
CBD also has its acidic precursor known as cannabidiol Acid. Like CBD, this cannabinoid product also has no psychoactive effects. You’ll find this product in any raw marijuana strain with high CBD strains and raw hemp.
CBDA turns into CBD when exposed to the decarboxylation process. In the past, researchers found no benefits of CBDA unless it was turned to CBD. Recent studies have proven this wrong by studying many effects of CBDA in the body.
The product helps fight anxiety, sleep disorders, regulate moods, and help reduce nausea. It also has antidepressant effects in dozes less than CBD, making it a perfect stress reliever and a remedy for depression. This could be associated with high levels of serotonin production.
Cannabigerolic Acid (CBGA)
CBGA is a precursor of all the cannabinoids present in marijuana, making it the essential product. It’s normally referred to as ‘the mother cannabinoids’ since many other cannabinoids won’t be existing by now without it. The product is responsible for the creation of CBG, CBDa, THCa, and CBCa.
This is the reason behind weed providing its therapeutic effects and making people high. CBGA has no psychoactive effects but has various medicinal strains of marijuana. The strains of marijuana are what are converted to form other cannabinoids.
CBGA turns into CBD when heated. High strains are converted into usable CBD to bring out various health benefits.
CBGA doesn’t have much research on its uses. It’s undergoing lots of research to determine its role in cannabinoid building blocks and not the compound itself.
Choose Different Types of Cannabinoids Wisely
There are different types of cannabinoids found in the market with potential benefits and uses. While some have undergone no research on medical benefits, others have various health benefits. They help fight anxiety, sleep disorders, different illnesses, and more.
Different cannabinoids have positive effects on the body as well as negative effects. What works for your friend might not work for you and vice versa. So, before you rush to buy your first marijuana product, consult with professionals for guidance.
We’re also here to offer necessary guidance on everything about cannabis and your health. You’ll have all the helpful information regarding different types of cannabinoids. Browse this site for all the information you may need.
