By Often referred to as “the most powerful cannabinoid for sleep,” the reality of cannabinol (CBN) is much more complicated. This brief provides the information you need to know to distinguish fact from marketing fiction about the first-ever identified and isolated cannabinoid.
How is CBN made?
To better understand how CBN is made, let’s start with a quick lesson in cannabis chemistry. CBN is a very rare cannabinoid that is only present in trace amounts in living plants. Once the plant is harvested and begins to dry and harden, the conversion clock is started, converting all THCa to THC, which in turn converts THC to CBN. This conversion is caused by a chemical process known as decarboxylation. This process is familiar to all edible food manufacturers. Decarboxylation is a chemical reaction in which a carbon atom is removed from the carbon chain attached to the THCa molecule, releasing carbon dioxide (CO).2) and turn that THCa into THC. CO released2 That’s why the steam coming out of a batch of cannabutter gives off a very strong smell.
THC can be further decarboxylated to CBN through the same or similar heat application process. Besides using heat, decarboxylation can also be caused by UV (sun) exposure, exposure to oxygen, or simply the passage of time.
How Does CBN Interact With Your Body?
research Cannabinoids are weak psychoactive compounds, possibly more psychoactive than CBD but less than THC, and there are anecdotal reports of people feeling “high” when using CBN. Cannabinoids ‘consistently reported to be weak CBs’1 In other words, it can give you the same (but to a lesser extent) “high” that THC does. Results were mixed as to how strongly CBN affected her CB2 receptors. Beyond the endocannabinoid system like CBD, CBN interacts with various TRP channels and is a “potent agonist of TRPA1 and antagonist of he TPRM8 channels.”
CBN and Sleep: A Mixed Bag
Many articles going back nearly 10 years. previous article The authors focus on the sedative effects of CBN, but both cite the same source, Steephill Labs. Unfortunately, steep slope The website is down due to “business restructuring”, but after investigating the situation in detail, internet archive, since their website did not cite any studies to support their claims, it is clear that their sourcing was questionable to begin with. There was very limited research on CBN at the time, which is why I cited them in my 2014 article, but much more research has been done since then, casting some doubt on CBN as a sleep aid. .
according to 2021 Literature Review “Studies investigating the effects of CBN are old and limited.” Furthermore, “studies specifically evaluating sleep-related subjective effects, such as sedation and fatigue, are rare.” “There is not enough published evidence to support sleep-related claims,” it concluded. This study was conducted shortly after an incident. 2020 survey investigated the effects of CBN on zebrafish larvae and “showed that CBN acts as both a stimulant and a sedative”.
Let’s take a quick look at some of that “outdated and limited” research. Most of them were published in the 1970s and 1980s, before modern test and survey methods were developed.in one 1975 study, gave very few volunteers a placebo or cannabinoid dose and then administered a questionnaire to measure their response to the drug. The researchers found that “volunteers reported feeling addicted, inebriated, dizzy, and drowsy under the delta-9-THC condition, but not under the CBN condition.” This means that CBN by itself does not cause drowsiness. When used with THC, CBN was found to make the drowsy effects of THC stronger.another 1975 studyseemingly contradicts these findings, noting that “the combination of THC and CBN caused no detectable changes in the quality, strength or duration of the effects of THC alone.” Apparently, even the older studies didn’t uniformly state that cannabinoids are beneficial for sleep.
Uses of this cannabinoid
Now that we’ve covered the elephant in the room that CBN may not be as beneficial for sleep as many of us have heard, let’s discuss the less contradictory studies. It’s important to note that much of the research on CBN, like most research on cannabinoids, was done in animals rather than humans. Also, it goes without saying that humans are not the same as animals (although there are some similarities).
Studies have shown that cannabinoids can: delay the onset of ALS By “two weeks or more” strong activity Effective against a variety of MRSA strains. pain reliever It has similar (analgesic) properties to THC, stimulate appetite Less effective than THC, but still effective fight growth It suppresses the growth of cancer cells and may benefit patients who: psoriasis.
CBN is a poorly studied and relatively rare cannabinoid, but there has been increasing interest and research in recent years, many of which have shown some medical benefit for a wide range of conditions. CBN’s benefits seem to overlap a lot with THC, which makes some sense given that CBN is derived from THC but lacks the same level of psychoactivity. So cannabinoids can be useful for people who want to use THC but don’t feel high.
