What is CBG, and how is it different from CBD?

What is CBG?

CBG is short for cannabigerol, one of the more than a hundred cannabinoids that have been found in hemp and cannabis. It was first described in 1964 by the Israeli researchers Yehiel Gaoni and Raphael Mechoulam, the same year they mapped THC.

CBG is often called the mother cannabinoid. That is because the hemp plant first makes the acid form CBGA, and the better-known cannabinoids are then created from it. By the time the flowers are harvested, most of the CBGA has already been converted, which is why an ordinary plant usually contains only a little CBG.

Like CBD, CBG is not intoxicating. That makes it interesting both for researchers and for anyone who wants to try a cannabinoid other than CBD.

How is CBG made in the hemp plant?

CBGA is made in the plant’s trichomes, the tiny glittering hairs on the flowers. Different enzymes then take over and turn CBGA into new cannabinoids:

• THCA synthase turns CBGA into THCA, which becomes THC.
• CBDA synthase turns CBGA into CBDA, which becomes CBD.
• CBCA synthase turns CBGA into CBCA, which becomes CBC.

The acid forms are converted into their neutral forms, such as THC, CBD and CBG, when they are heated or stored for a long time. The process is called decarboxylation.

Which cannabinoid dominates is therefore largely down to the plant’s genes. In 2005, plant breeders Etienne de Meijer and Kathy Hammond showed that plants lacking a working enzyme for the next step build up CBGA instead. This is how today’s CBG-rich strains were developed. A well-known example is the French industrial hemp variety Santhica, which makes almost nothing but CBG.

CBG vs CBD vs THC: the differences

CBG, CBD and THC all come from the same starting compound but differ in how common they are and how they act in the body.

If you want to know more about other cannabinoids, we have a separate guide to cannabinoids.

How does CBG work in the body?

The body has its own signalling system, the endocannabinoid system, with receptors called CB1 and CB2. THC binds strongly to the CB1 receptors in the brain, which is why THC gets you high. CBG binds only weakly to CB1 and CB2, which explains why CBG is not intoxicating.

Instead, lab studies have shown that CBG acts elsewhere. In 2010, a British research group showed that CBG strongly activates what are known as alpha-2 adrenergic receptors and blocks the serotonin receptor 5-HT1A. CBG also affects several TRP channels, which are involved in how we sense heat, cold and pain.

This sets CBG apart from CBD, which also acts on many receptors but partly in different ways. How these differences play out in people is not yet clear.

CBG effects: what does the research say?

Research on CBG is younger than research on CBD, and most of it has so far been done in the lab and on animals. That has started to change in recent years.

The first placebo-controlled study

In 2024, the first double-blind, placebo-controlled study of CBG in humans was published. On two separate occasions, 34 healthy adults were given either 20 mg of CBG or a placebo. After CBG, participants rated their anxiety and stress lower than after the placebo, and they did better on a test of verbal memory. No one felt intoxicated, and the tests showed no impairment of motor skills or reaction time.

The study was small and the participants were experienced cannabis users, so the results need to be confirmed in larger studies. But it shows that CBG can be studied in people and that it does not get you high.

How users describe CBG

In 2022, the same research group published a survey of 127 people who used products high in CBG. Most used CBG for anxiety, chronic pain, low mood or sleep, and a majority felt it helped. The most common side effects were dry mouth, sleepiness, increased appetite and dry eyes, and 44 per cent had not noticed any side effects at all. A survey without a control group, however, says more about how CBG is used than about how well it works.

Animal and lab studies

In animal studies, CBG has been examined in several contexts. In rats, CBG increased appetite, and in mice with gut inflammation, CBG reduced the inflammation. In the lab, CBG has also shown antibacterial activity, including against MRSA. Results from animals and test tubes cannot be transferred directly to humans, but they explain why interest in CBG has grown.

CBG and CBD together

Because CBG and CBD act in partly different ways, they are often combined in the same product. The idea builds on the entourage effect, the notion that the plant’s compounds work together and produce a fuller whole than each one on its own. We write more about it in our article on terpenes and the entourage effect.

That is also why our CBG oils contain both CBD and CBG.

What CBG products are there?

• CBG oil. CBG dissolved in a carrier oil, often together with CBD. We sell CBG + CBD oil in 10, 20 and 40 per cent strengths.
• CBG isolate. Pure CBG in powder form, around 99 per cent. Suited to anyone who wants to dose it themselves or make their own products. See our CBG isolate.
• CBG flowers and CBG hash. Flowers from CBG-rich strains, or hash made from them. The range varies with the harvests.

Whichever product you choose, it should come with an up-to-date lab report from an independent lab showing the levels of CBG and THC. We explain how to read a lab report.

Is CBG legal?

CBG itself is not listed in the UN drug conventions. In most European countries, what decides whether a hemp product is legal is its THC content, and the limits vary from country to country. Check the rules that apply where you live.

Frequently asked questions about CBG

Sources

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