Recent decades have belonged to two important cannabinoids: THC and CBD. However, the next few years promise to haul in a new era of equally therapeutic cannabinoids. Leading this speculation is CBG, or cannabigerol, which has shown impressive medicinal value. From treating glaucoma to combating inflammation, cannabigerol has been at the forefront of many scientific studies. Despite this soaring scientific interest in CBG, there’s a marked murkiness surrounding the compound, especially if it’s legal or not.
The Farm Bill of 2018 removed cannabidiol from the controlled substances act. As a result, paving the way for its widespread manufacture and distribution. However, THC still didn’t climb this obstacle. Because, unlike CBD, THC is psychoactive and can alter consciousness and cause a high. The compound also may cause negative psychological effects. For instance, hallucinations and delirium, which has further backtracked its legalization at the state and federal level.
Understanding the chemical profile of THC and CBD is important because it gives us clues about another cannabinoid: CBG. Fortunately, CBG is more like CBD than it is like THC. Both cannabigerol and cannabidiol are non-psychoactive, and therefore legal at the state level. However, CBG’s legal status is not as defined as CBD.
Here’s what we know for now:
What is the FDA’s Stance on CBG?
The Food and Regulation Authority continues to mobilize resources to introduce several cannabis products into the market. The regulatory authority recently sent out warning letters to 15 CBD companies. It stated that it would tighten the regulations governing CBD products in the imminent future. This will have critical implications for all cannabis products, including CBG.
What is CBG?
CBG is the mother compound. Present in the form of inactive Cannabigerolic acid or CBGA, it gives rise to all other cannabinoids of the cannabis plant, including THC and CBD. In the early stages of a hemp plant’s life, most of the plant’s CBG is transformed into more than 113 other cannabinoids indigenous to the cannabis plant. Adult plants contain extremely low levels of CBG concentrations, so plants need to be harvested early to produce CBG.
CBG science is still in its infancy. There’s just not enough conclusive evidence to prove CBG’s safety and efficacy. However, existing research is promising. Many studies have shown CBG to possess potent pharmacological properties, and is effective for various conditions, from arthritis to glaucoma.
Some research also indicates that cannabigerol may possess critical neuroprotective properties, which may prove a pivotal role in devising cannabis-based drugs for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. Along with another cannabinoid, CBN or cannabinol, CBG is also thought to act as a sleep aid and may replace natural sleep-inducing drugs like melatonin in the future.
Although there is a range of CBG products available in the market, CBD production is fairly limited. This is because CBG production is a costly process, and most plants are bred for CBD and THC, not CBG — which is understandable considering the demand for cannabidiol and THC is head and shoulders higher than CBG.
Is CBG Legal?
CBG doesn’t fall under the category of controlled substances in the United Nations Single convention. However, there’s one exception. If CBG is not hemp-based and is derived from THC-rich sources like marijuana, it is considered a Schedule 1 substance. While CBG can be extracted from hemp, most manufacturers find this a costly process and often skirt legalities, which lands them in trouble.
When it comes to food and drug laws, the FDA’s stance on CBG and CBN is the same. The regulatory authority has never greenlighted its selling as an ingredient in food or supplements. That said, CBG is still in the grey zone, whereas the prohibitions surrounding CBD regarding this debate are strict and offer no leeway.
What are the benefits of CBG?
There’s a lot of scientific evidence to support CBG’s potential health benefits.
One of the most contested topics in the debate is whether cannabigerol can help improve eyesight or not. Preclinical studies have shown that cannabigerol may improve blood flow to the eyes, thus improving blood circulation. This could help manage intraocular pressure and treat eye conditions like glaucoma. However, because of CBG’s legal status, people may use it as a health supplement and not a drug.
Another therapeutic benefit CBG has been associated with is the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s and colitis. In a 2013 study, researchers demonstrated how CBG helped reduce the severity of colitis in rats. Anecdotal evidence has also indicated that taking cannabis may help with abdominal pain, nausea, weight loss, appetite suppression, and many other symptoms common in inflammatory bowel syndromes. While cannabis contains more than a hundred compounds, and CBG may not be responsible alone for this effect, it’s an avenue worth looking into.
Preliminary studies have also suggested that cannabigerol may act as a potent antibiotic. Researchers have documented its ability to fight gram-positive bacteria and MRSA. In the global fight against antibiotic resistance, this may spell a major development, and usher a new line of natural antibiotics.
MRSA is a drug-resistant bacteria that are known to resist conventional treatments. With CBG, there’s hope that bacteria like MRSA will no longer pose the same resistive power that they are known to against conventional treatments and drugs. And the best part about CBG is that it exhibits its antibiotic effects without any adverse side effects. Several studies have backed this claim.
What can we conclude?
Because CBG has so many benefits, and so many people have started using it to treat acne, insomnia, and various other issues, its legalization has become an imminent need. The FDA guidelines don’t put cannabigerol in the list of scheduled drugs. But, it’s okay to use as a dietary or health supplement, which offers some middle ground to seasoned cannabigerol consumers.
This also implies that CBG is not a drug, and therefore has an excellent safety profile, and can be consumed for dietary and nutritional purposes. Unlike THC, cannabigerol has also evaded the grasp of international treaties. So, if you’re worried whether CBG will cause any adverse effects like THC or criminalize you in the eyes of the law, you have nothing to worry about.
