The cannabis market is booming right now. As states and governments begin to see the benefits of legalization, a whole new insight into the world of cannabis is beginning. With this booming market, people are starting to learn more about cannabinoids that they wouldn’t otherwise know about.
For those that aren’t sure, cannabinoids are naturally occurring compounds within the cannabis plant. You’ll undoubtedly be familiar with the cannabinoid THC. This is the compound that causes marijuana’s psychoactive effects.
There is, however, a world of cannabinoids out there. Take cannabigerol and cannabichromene, for example. There has been excited about the potential for these cannabinoids and promising research to back it up.
What is Cannabigerol?
Cannabigerol is sometimes seen as the arch cannabinoid, mother to all others. The reason for this is that all cannabinoids are derived from cannabigerol acid.
Despite its importance in creating cannabinoids, the amount of CBG in a given cannabis plant is relatively low, usually only around 1%. For reference, there’s usually 12-30% CBD or THC. Because of this, cannabigerol products can often be challenging to come by and quite expensive.
CBG is most often extracted from young plants. This is because the CBG can be extracted before it has had the chance to convert into other cannabinoids. Certain strains are better for CBG extraction than others, and cultivators are looking into breeding more CBG dense strains.
What is it Used For?
CBG works like any other cannabinoid. When it enters our bloodstream, it gets processed by our endocannabinoid system.
CBG has often been used similarly to CBD because it can have excellent pain management benefits without the intoxicating effect of THC.
Research is still being conducted, but a potential list of CBG benefits is already being drawn up. Here are a few of the things it could help in the future.
Glaucoma
Glaucoma is a condition in which the nerve that connects the eye to the brain has become damaged. It causes a build-up of fluid in the eye and can eventually lead to blindness.
Researchers gave CBG to cats suffering from glaucoma and noticed that the eye pressure was reduced, and the eyes started clearing out the built-up fluid.
Cancer
There’s been a lot of focus on the way cannabinoids interact with cancer. Medical marijuana has been a recommended therapeutic treatment for cancer patients for many years now.
While this is usually in the form of THC or CBD, some people may not want to use these cannabinoids. Research conducted on rats seemed to show promise for CBG. In some cases, the cannabigerol was able to block the receptors responsible for cancer cell growth.
Huntington’s Disease
Huntington’s disease is a degenerative brain disease that is passed down from parents to children. It causes a slow deterioration of the brain and can lead to complete personality changes.
The disease specifically targets the nerve cells in the brain, and CBG studies in mice showed that CBG and other cannabinoids could protect the brain’s nerve cells and potentially fend off the onset of the disease.
What is Cannabichromene?
Cannabichromene often referred to as CBC, is the third most prominent cannabinoid in the cannabis plant. It’s somewhat of a brother to CBD because it works in similar ways without intoxicating the person taking it. It was first discovered in 1966.
Cannabichromene is known to work well with other cannabinoids, and there is a growing body of research into this cannabinoid to look at its effects and benefits.
It can be purchased in many different forms, one of the most popular being CBC isolate.
What is it Used For?
It took researchers a while to come round to conducting tests with CBC, but in recent years there have been numerous studies into its effects.
Like other cannabinoids, there is a raft of potential health benefits associated with cannabichromene. Let’s take a look at a few.
Pain Management
Like its ‘brother’ CBD, CBC has been shown to be incredibly effective as pain relief. Some early research even indicated that is level with CBD in its effectiveness at managing pain.
In the future, we may see CBD and CBC used alongside each other to maximize the pain management effects of both cannabinoids.
De-stressing
CBC can help people relax. Again, this is because it works similarly to CBD, which is growing as a popular treatment for anxiety.
The therapeutic effects of CBC may be able to help migraine sufferers out of the intense pain and stress that the onset of a migraine can cause. It may also become a helpful supplement for people who are highly strung a lot of the time.
Brain Function
Cannabis and brain function have not usually been two things lumped together. Mainly due to ignorance of the various compounds found in the cannabis plant. Compounds like cannabichromene.
Early research indicates that CBC can work to boost brain function by promoting the growth of new brain cells. Because of this, there is optimism that CBC can help alleviate the conditions in the brain that cause things like anxiety and depression.
Cannabinoids are More Than Just THC and CBD
So there you have it, cannabigerol and cannabichromene–two exciting and promising cannabinoids. Only associating cannabis with THC or CBD is often a trap that many people fall into. Still, a growing body of research shows promising signs for other, less well-known cannabinoids.
This research is crucial because we need to keep striving to fully understand cannabis and the health benefits it can have.
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