The Lowdown on a New High: Exploring Rare and Exotic Cannabinoids

We’re all familiar with the superstar cannabinoids – THC and CBD. But there are plenty more where those come from. As legalization has spread, so has research into the more than 100 lesser known cannabinoids. Now we are learning more about the nuances that have a powerful impact on how we experience cannabis. 

Delta-8 

Although its properties are almost identical to Delta-9, the effects of Delta-8 are just different enough to make it pretty revolutionary. Fans of sativa strains will likely quite enjoy Delta-8: It produces a clear, focused high that elevates your mood without leaving you stoned. It’s less psychoactive, but that also means less anxiety-inducing. And it appears to be even more therapeutic than Delta-9 in a few important ways: It’s up to 200% more effective at preventing nausea, it’s even better at stimulating appetite, and like CBD, Delta-8 is a pain reliever that also inhibits tumor growth.

Delta-8 can be found in fruit chews and sublingual tablets, and an increasing number of other products. Sometimes it can be derived from hemp.

CBG

CBG is essentially the grandmother of THC and CBD. When exposed to sunshine and other ultraviolet light or heat, CBG turns into CBCA, another rare cannabinoid, as well as THCA and CBDA, which ultimately become the THC and CBD that provide the dominant therapeutic and recreational effects cannabis is known for.

Like CBD, CBG is non-psychoactive, so it won’t actually get you high. But like THC, CBG interacts with cannabinoid receptors. In this way, CBG can have a direct impact on your high, because it reduces the paranoia and anxiety THC often induces.

Research is still in its infancy, but so far CBG looks promising as a digestion aid and in reducing inflammation, particularly in the gut.

CBG can be found as an isolate and in full-spectrum CBD products.

CBN

CBN is a cannabinoid you’re probably more familiar with than you realize. Ever left a nug out on the coffee table, only to return to it days later to find the high’s not quite as strong, and maybe even makes you a little tired? Then you’re already well acquainted with CBN. 

If CBG is the precursor to THC, THC is the precursor to CBN. When THC is exposed to air it oxidizes and becomes CBN. One of its greatest properties is giving you a restful night’s sleep. But don’t seek out CBN isolates just yet – so far research shows it’s much more effective when part of the entourage of cannabinoids.

We have seen quite a few products pop up using CBN that highlight its relaxing qualities – ask your budtender for their favorites and let us know what you think!

With as much variety as there is among strains of cannabis, it’s no surprise that there is a multitude of components acting in unison to create such a plethora of effects. With more time and more research, the sky is the limit to what we can learn about the influence of other cannabinoids on the cannabis experience.