With the emergence of other cannabinoids like CBG and CBN, it can get trickier to decide which one is best for you or could potentially be better depending on the wellness benefits.
And with so much research done around CBD, it can get difficult to understand what other cannabinoids can help you with and their unique properties, how and if they overlap, or if they could work better in tandem or alone.
This is why we have gathered information about these cannabinoids in this extensive guide about CBD, CBG, and CBN.
In this article, we will explore what these non-intoxicating compounds are, how they work, and their potential benefits. After that, we also gathered a quick help so you can choose which products are best for you depending on your needs.
Without any further ado, let’s check out what these major and minor cannabinoids are all about and how they work with each other.
What is CBD
Cannabidiol, or CBD for short, is a compound found in the hemp and cannabis plant that is part of a group called cannabinoids. This family of chemicals is responsible for several natural functions in the plant and can be found organically in many plants, including cannabis.
CBD has grown in popularity due to its many wellness benefits, and unlike other cannabinoids like THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), this compound does not have any known psychoactive properties.
This compound interacts with different chemicals within the human nervous system, creating several effects. Some of these effects include muscle relaxation, pain-relieving aid, and anxiety, and being beneficial for several stress-related disorders.
What is CBD used for
CBD is being studied for its potential to support better sleep, stress and anxiety reduction, and pain management, among many others.
For instance, this research published in 2019 noted that CBD reduced anxiety levels in 79.2 percent of the patients, and 66.7 percent reported having overall better sleep quality.
Other research also concluded that cannabidiol might be effective as a compliment to deal with chronic pain diseases. In the paper, the use of CBD and THC helped in 15 out of 18 studied cases in cancer management, helping with both the neuropathic pain and relieving pain overall.
Benefits of using CBD topically
As with other cannabinoids, CBD has been found to be a helpful ingredient in certain skin creams, lotions, and other products that are used topically.
Some of the biggest benefits of CBD for topical applications are its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that this research from 2020 noted, which may help with the treatment of several skin conditions.
Some CBD skin creams and oils may also be helpful with joint pain, although much research is still needed to determine how they could work as a full treatment.
Other ailments such as Arthritis could be treated with long-lasting therapeutic effects on inflammation, according to this 2016 study.
CBD oil health benefits
Besides the notable effects above, some of the more significant benefits of CBD oil include helping with the general mood, muscle relaxation, helping pain-relief and anti-inflammatory treatment, and helping to reduce stress and anxiety.
Benefits of ingesting CBD
While using CBD topically can have several effects topically, ingesting CBD can also be helpful with several wellness properties.
This 2020 study found that CBD oil can help by reducing pain and in general help with numbness and weakening that this order causes.
What is CBN
Cannabinol (CBN) is one of the many components that are found in the hemp plant. Unlike CBD, CBN is formed when THC degrades due to exposure to external factors, such as heat, light, or even air.
This gives CBN a slight psychoactive effect that is pretty minor compared to D9 THC. However, it also gives some wellness benefits to THC, especially in the muscle pain department with the entourage effect of CBD and CBN, as this 2019 study noted.
Is CBN a stimulant?
While it has minor psychoactive effects, CBN is not considered to be a stimulant in regular. However, it does appear to act as an appetite stimulant as this 2012 study concluded that in the future, cannabinol could provide an alternative as a non-psychotropic agent to help with food intake.
What is CBN oil
Like CBD, CBN can be infused into oil for topical and food-grade products. CBN oil is rare in itself and can be mostly found with other cannabinoids in its mix, mainly CBD.
This is because CBN is not as easily accessible as CBD, but together they can have an entourage effect that potentiates the wellness benefits.
CBN cannabinoid benefits
As one of the potential cannabinoid newcomers, there is still a lot to understand and research about CBN.
With that said, studies have found that this cannabinoid could have potential benefits in three main areas, helping as supplementary cancer treatment, supplementary treatment with some neurological ailments, and as an analgesic.
Potential cancer benefits
While this cancer research is still in its early stage, this 2020 study noted that cannabinol could potentially help with the treatment thanks to its anti-tumorous properties.
The study showed the great potential of CBN in some anti-cancer therapy and treatment. However, there is still much to be explored.
Neurological health benefits
CBN appears to have similar capacities to those of CBN and THC as an anti-convulsant agent. This could potentially help epilepsy patients that want a complementary treatment that has low or practically no psychoactive effects.
Analgesic benefits
Cannabinol could also potentially be helpful as a pain relief agent. This study showed that CBN could be helpful with pain relief in rats, which in the long run and with more data, could be able to help with chronic pain conditions such as Sclerosis.
CBN oil benefits
When ingested through an oil form, there are several notable benefits from using cannabinol. While we’ve explored the CBN potential benefits in general, some are potentiated with the entourage effect.
Antibacterial benefits
A CBN study concluded that it could stop certain infections, especially when talking MRSA bacteria. The study showed that it could kill bacteria that are usually more resilient against different types of antibiotics.
Neuroprotective Benefits
A study from 2005 found that cannabinol could delay the onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS in rats.
With the help of this non-psychotropic compound, the research found it could significantly delay the effects of sclerosis, although there is still more to study to minimize the symptoms.
Appetite Benefits
Sometimes cannabinoids are known to modify how our appetite works. Cannabinol could potentially help with the treatment to help to regulate appetite in several conditions, including eating disorders.
This study noted that CBN helped with appetite stimulation in small rodents and concluded that it could potentially help with human treatment.
Is CBN legal?
Yes, CBN is fully legal thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill.
While CBN products, much like other cannabinoid-based products, are not regulated like other drugs, we do recommend choosing products that are transparent with their ingredient list and, most importantly, are tested by a third-party lab.
This helps to get products that are clean and forthright with the cannabinoid quantity and quality and you can get the benefits you look for.
CBN compared to CBD
While both chemicals are cannabinoids and interact with our system in the same receptors, they have different properties and effects.
CBD has been widely researched, CBN studies are scarcer and often look at potentials or stay in the preliminary state.
Both cannabinoids are known to help with anxiety, pain relief, and even as a sleep aid. However, when used alone, CBN has been preferred thanks to its properties, yet it is still encouraged to be used together.
Is CBN stronger than CBD?
The short answer is no, due to both cannabinoids having different effects. Even though both have similar compositions, they are not the same and have distinctive properties.
They are used together, as CBN is not as available in the hemp plant as CBD and can be expensive to isolate.
How long does it take for CBN to kick in?
This is a little bit tricky, as the absorption of this cannabinoid depends on your metabolism as well. As a general rule, the average user can expect to feel the effects of CBN within 30 minutes and up to an hour.
Before taking another dose, we always recommend waiting for at least that time for the cannabinoid to take effect.
What is CBG cannabinoid
CBG or cannabigerol is a minor cannabinoid that is also found in the hemp plant. Somewhat similar to CBN, CBG is harder to find than other compounds like CBD or THC.
Cannabigerol is sometimes known as the “mother of all cannabinoids,” as one of its compounds needed to create it eventually breaks down into THCA and CBDA. That means that if CBG didn’t exist in the hemp plant, THC and CBD wouldn’t exist.
This, however, also makes CBG pretty scarce unless the plant is cross-bred to have more of this compound.
CBG cannabinoid benefits
While no cannabinoid could match the number of studies about CBD, CBG has been one of the most researched cannabinoids thanks to its number of benefits and wellness effects.
Three of the most prominent effects are pain and inflammation relief, helping the digestive system, and antibacterial properties.
Pain and inflammation benefits
As with other cannabinoids, CBG has been found to have therapeutic potential. This 2021 study noted that CBG and its derivatives could have both anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties and could potentially prevent obesity.
Digestive benefits
CBG could potentially be helpful with specific inflammation that’s associated with inflammatory bowel disease. This 2013 study conducted with mice also noted that CBG could also help with Colitis and could be considered for clinical experimentation for this disease.
Antibacterial benefits
Cannabigerol, like other cannabinoids, could also have certain antibacterial benefits. This study suggests that CBG could be useful against certain bacteria, specifically Staphylococcus aureus, which is resistant to several antibiotics and in general fairly dangerous to treat.
CBG oil benefits
Even though CBG is harder to find in a product, we recommend getting a product that has full-spectrum CBD. These are much easier to access since CBG-only products tend to be scarce as they’re not that easily available.
There are, however, CBD and CBG-only products that could potentially help each other thanks to the entourage effect. And as with CBN, using products that are transparent and use third-party lab testing.
Does CBG make you sleepy?
If consumed in high quantities, CBG could potentially give you the side effect of feeling tired or sleepy.
However, when used in lower doses, CBG could also potentially help to ease the external factors affecting your sleep and thus be used as an aid to treat insomnia.
Can you get a high from CBG?
No, CBG is a non-intoxicating cannabinoid. While cannabigerol interacts in the same place as THC, it is not a psychoactive component and will not make you feel “high.”
It can work against intoxicating effects, so it could potentially be useful to shut down the intoxicating effects or to help you take a rest from THC.
Is CBG legal?
Yes, as CBN and CBD, thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, you can buy products with CBG legally. Just be mindful that cannabinoids are not regulated like other drugs by the FDA and you should look out for lab reports for quality and potency.
What is the difference between CBD and CBG?
While both are cannabinoids found in hemp, the main difference between both is how available they are in the plant. Thanks to its bioavailability, CBD is a major cannabinoid, while CBG is a minor cannabinoid.
Both interact in the same parts of our nervous system while having different effects. CBD has muscle relaxation properties, while CBG helps with specific treatment of inflammation and pain aid.
Is CBD or CBG better?
As you might guess by now, none of them is better than the other. While being similar in some parts, CBG is only a little rarer and that tends to spike the price up.
Nevertheless, that does not make CBD better, but actually, the perfect compliment to treat different ails.
Can you take CBD and CBG together?
Yes! Taking them in tandem has shown to be more effective than choosing one or the other. As they both tackle inflammation, pain, relaxation, and sleeplessness, they are great with each other.
It’s also easier to find either full spectrum CBD that already has CBG or dedicated CBD and CBG products to enjoy its benefits.
What is the difference between CBD, CBG, and CBN?
Now that you know a major cannabinoid (CBD) and two minor (CBG and CBN), you might be wondering about the difference between them.
While all of them have antibacterial properties, each of them tackles and acts differently in some aspects. These include sleep, pain, stress relief, and even focus.
Let’s dive into checking their differences.
CBD vs. CBG vs. CBN for sleep
It is usually believed that CBN is the best cannabinoid for sleep, but there is research still needed to make that kind of claim.
One of the main reasons for this is due to CBN’s origin, as it’s a cannabinoid that depends on THC breaking down and that “old weed” sleepiness. This is completely anecdotal, though.
With that said, we recommend trying a combination of CBD and CBG, CBD and CBN, or a mix of the three. CBD can help with the relaxation of muscles, while CBN and CBG are great with their sedative effects and mind ease.
CBD vs. CBN vs. CBG for pain
Of the three cannabinoids, CBD is still the most widely researched thanks to its availability. However, when talking about pain relief, the best is to use the three in tandem to help towards relaxation.
CBD may help with tension and stress, while both CBG and CBC could help with inflammation (and CBG specifically could help with digestive system pain).
CBD vs. CBN vs. CBG for relief
For overall stress relief, CBD has been shown to help manage symptoms associated to anxiety and stress thanks to its sedative effects.
While the other two minor cannabinoids could help to a degree, for general relief we recommend products that have a bigger ratio of CBD to other cannabinoids
CBD vs. CBN vs. CBG for focus
While it is mostly anecdotal, some users of CBG might feel a sense of alertness that could lead to feeling more focused on several tasks.
With that said, besides the potential neuroprotective properties, there is still a lot to study and understand about these cannabinoids.
How to choose the best CBD
Now that you know the basics about these three cannabinoids, you might want to try out the benefits of using a full-spectrum CBD.
Here at FOCL we want to use the best from nature simply and transparently with full potency in products you can trust.
If you don’t want to try edibles but still prefer something discreet, our CBD-based supplements could be the best option. The FOCL Day supplement is great for those long days that just need a quick productivity boost. These supplements contain several energetic adaptogens plus our premium hemp CBD and come in a 60 capsule pack.
For some CBD + CBN action, our FOCL Sleep Drops are great to fight certain symptoms of insomnia. These drops come with a hefty 1,000mg of CBD and 180mg of CBN per bottle, besides organic lavender and peppermint oils to help with the natural soothing. These drops are great to help you ease your mind, relax, and fall asleep quicker.
We also have CBD-based edibles available, and if you have a sweet tooth, you will find our gummies delicious and useful. While our FOCL Premium CBD Gummies have broad-spectrum CBD with 25mg of distillate per gummy.
