We do not hear a whole lot about cannabigerol (CBG) these days. When it is talked about, discussions are usually limited to its potential as a medicine. But without a whole lot of evidence to prove what CBG can and cannot do, people are left to speculate. Does CBG have a place at the medical cannabis table? Maybe.
The thing about cannabis is that it isn’t just about THC and CBD. There is so much more to it. In fact, a lot of new Medical Cannabis patients who haven’t done a lot of research are surprised to learn that cannabis plants contain more than a hundred cannabinoids and terpenes. We just don’t know about the medical implications of each one right now. But that will come with time and research.
As for cannabigerol, it is sometimes called the “mother of all cannabinoids’ due to how it behaves in the plant itself. It turns out that CBG also behaves differently in the human body. It affects different receptors, thereby producing remarkably different effects as compared to THC and CBD.
According to The Cannigma contributor Matan Weil, some people refer to cannabigerol as the mother of all cannabinoids because they believe that its properties are responsible for determining the effects of other cannabinoids. However, science doesn’t back that up. He maintains that a better explanation for the term lies in the fact that CBG is a precursor to those other cannabinoids.
In other words, a cannabis plant produces CBG first. That cannabigerol is converted into other cannabinoid acids – like THCA and CBDA. By the time a typical cannabis plant is harvested, its actual CBG content is 1% or less.
Weil says that CBG is gradually becoming popular enough that growers are starting to produce plants designed to be CBG-heavy. In the same way they create varieties that are heavy on THC or CBD, they are starting to maximize cannabigerol volumes in other strains.
Research into CBG’s potential in medicine is still young, but it’s believed the cannabinoid could be useful in treating:
One thing we can say for sure about cannabigerol is that it is not intoxicating. Like CBD, CBG derived from industrial hemp can be bottled and sold anywhere in the U.S. And make no mistake about it, consumers are buying cannabigerol. Do a quick internet search and you will find all sorts of information from people who say it has helped them.
The more we learn about the cannabis plant, the more we understand Medical Cannabis efficacy. That is a good thing. The plant has had a cultural pall hanging over it for decades, and undeservedly so. We need to bring it back into the open and start medically researching it in earnest.
For more information about CBG, watch “The CBG Rundown” on the Discover Marijuana YouTube channel.
