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Cannabis plants create a smorgasbord of chemicals.
Buy any cannabis product at your neighborhood dispensary, and you’ll be presented with what may seem like a dizzying array of chemicals and percentages.
There’s THC, THC-A, CBD and CBD-A. Those four are cannabinoids — chemicals produced by the cannabis plant responsible for its effects, both recreational and therapeutic — that the state requires all consumers be informed of. But they’re just four of over 100 naturally occurring in cannabis.
Numerous others, some of which are explained below, also play a role in how cannabis impacts the human body and mind.
While they may not be listed on the sticker that comes adhered to every cannabis product legally sold in the state of Washington, these chemicals are in the product that consumers are ingesting. They impact how it makes you feel.
The state might not require them to be listed on a label, but they’re worth knowing nonetheless.
HHC
Hexahydrocannabinol is the name. Getting high is the game.
Discovered in 1940, HHC is a hydrogenated derivative of THC that is found in trace amounts in naturally produced cannabis. Naturally occurring HHC is so rare that it has essentially no value, which is one of the reasons you won’t see it mentioned on any label at a dispensary.
Laboratory produced HHC, however, does have value. Unlike THC, which is illegal federally and regulated at the state level in Washington, HHC falls into a gray area. It can be produced, legally, from hemp.
This has made HHC the latest in a long line of designer drug-style cannabinoids.
HHC and THC have the same chemical recipe — they both contain 32 hydrogen, 21 carbon and two oxygen atoms, arranged in almost the same way. The only difference is where the chemical bonds occur between them, allowing HHC to bind to receptors in the brain much like THC does, and as a result, produce a high much like THC does.
CBG
Without cannabigerol, cannabis would just be an actual weed.
CBG is the chemical from which all other cannabinoids are derived. Cannabis plants first make CBG before sunlight helps convert it into the good stuff like THC, CBD and all the rest.
While the plant converts most of the CBG it contains into other cannabinoids, some CBG remains. Whereas THC concentration can range into the 30% range, CBG is typically at or below 1%.
CBG is legal at the federal level as long as it is produced from hemp. However, since CBG is typically converted by the plant into other molecules, growers need to take specific care to grow plants that produce CBG and not derivative cannabinoids.
Like other cannabinoids, CBG has been used for its anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety and pain-relieving effects, among many other claimed health benefits.
For consumers, CBG is most commonly found in edible form. It is also available in concentrates, though those tend to have a high THC component as well.
CBN
Where there is THC, eventually there will be CBN.
Cannabinol, or CBN, is created from THC, the most active ingredient in cannabis, over time. THC naturally degrades into CBN. Cannabis harvested late in its growth process will have higher concentrations of CBN relative to THC, which is why some growers and consumers dismiss those plants as “bad weed.”
Because of its similarity to THC, CBN is psychoactive. It can produce a high, it just takes a lot more of it to do so than THC. Which is why CBN-heavy cannabis is often viewed as a weak version of normal THC-heavy cannabis.
DELTA-8
This is where the law comes into conflict with nature.
Delta-8 Tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as delta-8, is almost identical to delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in cannabis known commonly as “THC.”
The only difference between the two is the location of a single, specific chemical bond on the molecule. Delta-9 (again, known as THC) has a double-bond between carbon molecules at the ninth spot on the uppermost ring of the molecule. Delta-8 has that double-bond on the other side.
That means delta-8 is an isomer of delta-9. It’s the same chemical, it’s just arranged in a slightly different way.
As far as the human brain is concerned, though, that barely matters. Delta-8 binds to the receptors in the brain almost exactly like delta-9 does, which is to say, it gets you stoned.
Therein lies the reason it’s worth discussing.
From a chemical perspective, delta-8 is not delta-9. As such, it is legal. However, it is so close to delta-9 that the brain barely can distinguish between the two.
It’s sold as “legal weed,” for lack of a better phrase, in places that haven’t legalized recreational cannabis. It’s close enough to fool our brains, but different enough to fool our laws.
“}]]Buy any cannabis product at your neighborhood dispensary, and you’ll be presented with what may seem like a dizzying array of chemicals and percentages. There’s… Read More
