What Are Cannabinoids and How Do They Help Your Body? 2/15/18

What exactly are cannabinoids and how do they help your body? 

What Are Cannabinoids? Learn about them at Solful marijuana dispensary in Sonoma County

Cannabinoids are compounds that keep our bodies in balance. Our bodies create them naturally, and the cannabis plant creates very close imitations of these compounds. Cannabinoids facilitate the communication between the cells in our body to preserve the internal state of balance. So when we use cannabis, we are helping the function of our endocannabinoid system and amplifying the body’s ability to bring things back into proper order.  

Cannabinoids work in concert with terpenes and other compounds to create specific effects on the body. The combinations of cannabinoids and terpenes give different strains their unique qualities, such as making you more alert, elated, focused, relaxed, or sleepy. Also, you’ll find products where cannabinoids appear in different ratios to each other to create different ranges of effects.


The Cannabis Plant Produces Over 100 Cannabinoids!

While the cannabis plant produces over 100 unique cannabinoids, we’d like to call your attention to the six most commonly known cannabinoids. These are the ones where we’re starting to scratch the surface of understanding what these compounds can do. By all accounts, there are a lot more cannabinoids that we don’t know about than we do. And as scientists apply research to the other cannabinoids they’ve identified, we expect to see a growing number of ways to use cannabinoids to improve our health.




To put it simply, THC is the primary compound that gets you high. It is the most commonly known and used cannabinoid. It is used to relieve pain and nausea, stimulate the appetite, and can also alter moods and perceptions.




CBD is the best-known cannabinoid for providing the benefits of cannabis without getting you high, as a result, it has gained popularity for therapeutic uses such as pain relief, anti-nausea, and lessening anxiety.  CBD functions differently depending on the ratios to THC.




THCa is not a well-known cannabinoid but is what’s mostly present in your cannabis before you heat it. During the process of smoking or vaping, the cannabinoid then changes its state and loses its acidic precursors to become THC. When you ingest raw cannabis, you’re consuming THCa— which for some people helps with nerve pain, inflammation, and can work as an antispasmodic.




Like THCa, CBDa is a new cannabinoid for most cannabis users. It is the unheated form of CBD. CBDa has been reported to function as an anti-inflammatory among other health benefits, and we expect to learn more about its effects as usage increases.



(moderately psychoactive – depending on dose)

This mildly psychoactive cannabinoid is mostly known as a sleep aid. When THC oxidizes, it then converts to CBN.



(highly psychoactive)

This is a highly psychoactive cannabinoid and also functions as an appetite suppressant. It is often found in landrace African varieties of cannabis.


Interested in learning more about Cannabis?

Check Out The Solful Field Guide – Getting the Most out of Your Cannabis

We created the Solful Field Guide to give you an overview of the most important topics learn about for knowledgeably using cannabis to improve your health and happiness. If you’re interested in learning more we invite you to read through the Field Guide, and bring your questions with you next time you visit Solful!


If you’re looking for more reading, our team also really enjoyed Dustin Saluk’s article: Introduction to the Endocannabinoid System.


Ask Your Cannabis Questions in Person!

We’d be happy to answer any questions you have about cannabis when you visit Solful.


We love educating the community on cannabis. If you have questions or are just curious to learn more about edibles, topicals, tinctures, flowers, or any of the various ways you can get the benefits of cannabis, please come by! Our dispensary is licensed for adult use, which means anyone over the age of 21, with a valid ID, can visit. Solful is located in Sonoma County, in the town of Sebastopol, just a short drive from Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Healdsburg, Windsor, and Marin.