Most people interested in cannabis and its health benefits know that it contains cannabidiol (CBD) and THC. Among these two, CBD is used for various purposes. And, most know that THC is the compound that causes high and is a strong psychotropic.
Researchers have now identified more than 400 compounds in cannabis and more than 60 cannabinoid compounds. Interestingly enough, these cannabinoids have quite a different mode of action. Some of them even have opposing effects. Researchers are still exploring the full and vast effects of cannabinoids.
The future of non-psychotropic cannabinoids
CBD is of high interest for sure. However, now the attention is turning to understand the benefits of the second most common cannabinoid in the plant, cannabigerol (CBG). Other compounds of interest are cannabinodiol (CBND) and cannabichromene (CBC). It appears that these compounds have no or very weak psychoactivity, and yet they may have various influences on health. These compounds seem to influence the endocannabinoid system differently.
These days CBD isolate is quite popular. There is a reason why manufacturers like CBD isolate. These days regulatory agencies are getting more stringent. They are asking for better proof of the safety and purity of various products. And as one may guess, getting such regulatory approval for a single molecule is much more straightforward than for a cocktail of compounds.
However, people also understand that single molecules do not work as intended. Broad-spectrum CBD products have superior health effects. It is because of synergy between various natural compounds, also called the entourage effect. However, getting legal approval for a product with multiple cannabinoids, added terpenes, and other phytocompounds become pretty complex.
Regulation of the market will ultimately boost innovation
In the UK and EU, CBD is now classified as a novel food, thus a need for regulatory approval. Getting approval is a daunting task. However, it has its upsides both for manufacturers and consumers.
It means that fewer players would remain in the market. However, it also means that those remaining players would need to invest more in creating innovative products. In addition, it means greater attention to various non-psychoactive cannabinoids. More studies would be done regarding the role of various terpenes in boosting the quality of CBD products.
One of the essential elements of regulations is proving the safety of products. It means greater attention to the purity of cannabinoids. Further, most producers would be expected to precisely describe the content of various cannabinoids, terpenes, and other phytochemicals. Not only that, they would need to justify their use.
One of the significant reasons for the unforeseeable side effects of CBD products is the presence of impurities. In the future, manufacturers would need to pay greater attention to them, ensuring that their products are free from fertilizers, insecticides, solvents, and heavy metals.
To conclude, these are still early days, and the CBD industry will see many changes in the near future. There would be great stress on understanding the role of various non-psychotropic cannabinoids. Moreover, there is still a need to understand better how multiple cannabinoids interact with each other. It is quite possible that some of the cannabinoids may considerably help boost CBD’s activity, thus help create better CBD products.
