When it comes to the most common cannabinoids in cannabis plant, CBD and Delta-9 THC are always fronting the band.
But there’s an orchestra playing with them!
These are the minor cannabinoids. And there are well over a hundred of them.
The majors are Delta-9 THC and CBD. It’s said that THC comes from cannabis and CBD from hemp.
The difference is a legal definition based on an arbitrary number, the percentage of one of the cannabinoids, Delta-9 THC. The cannabinoids come from the resin in the flowers. If that resin contains less that .03% Delta-9 THC, it’s hemp. If it’s greater than .03%, it’s cannabis. But it’s the same plant.
In recent months and years, we’ve seen the minors step to the front of the stage and deliver some great solo performances — including Delta-8 THC, HHC, CBN, CBG, and others.
Some argue that the next version of the Farm Bill, or other legislation, will restrict converting cannabinoids in the lab. In other words, the players in the band may not be allowed to switch instruments, causing the minors to fade away, leaving the two lead players — Delta-9 and CBD — as the dominant players going forward.
Some of the states that were early to legalize marijuana have been slow to accept Delta-8. Some have passed laws to restrict or disallow the selling of it. Oddly enough, several of these same states, which have regulated dispensaries selling Delta-9 (marijuana), are not allowed to sell Delta-8 within the state. They are, however, allowed to be large producers of D8 and sell to stores like PhenomWell, in states like North Carolina, one of the fourteen states that have not passed laws to legalize medical or recreational marijuana. Talk about irony.
No one knows the future. We tend to think the laws will inevitably change and the trend towards acceptance and innovation will continue — and that the minors have only just begun to play.
Who knows. Public acceptance of cannabis as alternative medicine and dietary supplement has changed rapidly in recent years — and so have the laws. It’s likely the pace of change will continue.
We’ve seen most of the stigma melt away in the past three years, since PhenomWell opened.
Certainly, people are rapidly becoming more familiar with a range of cannabis products. Our guess is that they will soon be routine purchases, like a bag of pasta or carton of orange juice.
Nevertheless, we tend to think the industry will continue to embrace new possibilities, such that things will become more varied and sophisticated in coming years.
There will be more research backing up the anecdotal evidence about medical usage and health benefits. There will be new products with new combinations of cannabinoids and terpenes.
As the industry evolves, we predict the minor cannabinoids will play a major role.