Beyond THC and CBD: The New World of Rare Cannabinoids
Inside the tomb of a Chinese shaman buried nearly 3,000 years ago, archeologists discovered the oldest cannabis used by humans. For millennia, humans have been using cannabis for medicinal, spiritual and other purposes. However, no one knew what was inside cannabis and what created its effects… that is until the 1960s, when scientists in Israel identified THC as the first of the cannabinoid clan to be named.
As the decades rolled on, scientists discovered that while THC was the principal intoxicating component of cannabis, it wasn’t the lone ranger in cannabis-ville. Over 100 different cannabinoids have now been identified that are generally non-intoxicating and unique to the cannabis plant — occurring nowhere else in the world. CBD, for one, has in recent years become no less a celebrity of its own. As co-founder of a research firm involved in clinical trials of supplements, I’ve seen firsthand the wide range of cannabinoids and their potential for future use.
New Discoveries Inside Cannabis
Beyond THC and CBD has been the discovery of cannabinoids such as CBN, CBC, CBG, and THCV, which are termed “rare” cannabinoids since they tend to be less abundant in cannabis. Their non-intoxicating nature may explain their relatively low concentrations in many cannabis strains today; humans may have preferred cannabis that altered their consciousness and thus for millennia may have unknowingly been selected for cannabis abundant in THC.
Until the Farm Bill, the “narcotics” label didn’t differentiate between cannabinoids. All cannabinoids were illegal, despite the non-intoxicating effects of the rare cannabinoids. In 2018, the Farm Bill swaggered in and unshackled cannabis that has less than 0.3% THC from the Controlled Substance Act and defined it as hemp. For the first time in nearly a century, non-intoxicating cannabinoids were legal and could be produced en masse from a federally legal agricultural crop! CBD was the first out the gate, appearing in our vapes, smoothies and even lubricants for adult activities — thanks to the eruption of legal hemp cultivation and cannabinoids extracted from hemp.
Why is Knowledge on Rare Cannabinoids… Rare?
There is more to uncover, of course, from this curious plant. Science knows the most about the medical effects of THC on humans, among all the cannabinoids. Despite its meteoric rise in popularity, we still know much less about the medical effects of CBD. And we know even less about the medical effects of rare cannabinoids on humans.
We have seen, though, that rare cannabinoids demonstrate properties including anti-inflammatory, anti-pain, anti-tumor and neuroprotective effects in cell and animal models. If these much-coveted properties hold true once rare cannabinoids are subjected to rigorous human clinical trials, it can potentially mean treatment for a spectrum of ailments.
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So why haven’t we seen more human clinical trials on rare cannabinoids yet? There is a chicken and egg problem. Rare cannabinoids haven’t been wafting through elevated human consciousness for thousands of years like THC, nor has it ridden the post-Farm Bill hemp boom like CBD. Less consumer awareness and demand motivate fewer businesses to focus on producing rare cannabinoids or fund human-subject research on the effects of rare cannabinoids. In return, it’s hard to grow consumer awareness and demand if there isn’t a ready supply or proof of effectiveness. Luckily, funding from the U.S. government to study rare cannabinoids, as well as new “Proof-as-a-Service” technology that makes trials more rapid and affordable, are about to crack this egg wide open.
Latest Clinical Findings: Improvements in Sleep and Mood with CBN
Starting in 2019, the U.S. National Institutes of Health began funding research into the therapeutic potential of rare cannabinoids. While those studies and results are still in the works, results from a few blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled human clinical trials on the effectiveness of rare cannabinoids have seen daylight.
One study is a 2016 rigorous clinical trial on THCV produced by GW Pharmaceutical, now part of Jazz Pharmaceuticals. It involved participants with type-2 diabetes with a focus on improvements in biomarkers of sugar regulation among participants.
My own company is utilizing clinical trials using the proof-as-a-service approach to explore rare cannabinoids. One trial looked at CBN as a sleep aid and another looked at a combination of CBN, CBD, THC and other botanicals for their potential impact on sleep quality.
Citizen Scientists Cracking Open the Future
So maybe the egg doesn’t hold a chicken, but an ancient creature hibernating for ages. After all, cannabis is ancient and first appeared not too long after the last dinosaurs went extinct. Recent shifts in regulations enabling rare cannabinoids to be distributed as agricultural products and not narcotics, coupled with the emergence of the “Proof-as-a-Service” approach to clinical trials, could usher in significant amounts of human clinical data. This new approach to clinical trials is powered by citizen scientists who are everyday consumers volunteering from the comfort of home. The result is large-scale, diverse, rapid, affordable clinical research that can make natural health products like rare cannabinoids-proven alternatives to pharma.