Cannabinoids.
THC and CBD belong to this family. A batch report identifies the cannabinoids present and measures their amounts.
The 710s guide to compounds
Inside the resin.
What the names on a lab report mean, how terpenes shape aroma, and what heat actually changes.
Two families. Different roles.
“Concentrate” describes the product. These names describe compounds within it.
Terpenes.
Aromatic compounds also found in other plants. They contribute familiar citrus, pine and floral notes.
Four names worth knowing first.
THC and CBD are the neutral forms. THCA and CBDA are their acidic precursors, the forms found in the raw plant.
Terpenes. Familiar aromas.
Terpenes shape the aroma. The same molecules give citrus peel, pine and lavender their scent.
Heat changes the molecule.
Acid cannabinoids can lose CO₂ when heated. THCA becomes THC; CBDA can become CBD.
THCARaw, acidic form · C₂₂H₃₀O₄
CO₂CO₂CO₂
THCNeutral form · C₂₁H₃₀O₂
Heat does more than one thing.
Chemical conversion and evaporation are different processes. Neither is an on/off switch at one universal temperature.
- Conversion.Heating can change chemical identity, as in decarboxylation.
- Evaporation.Compounds enter the gas phase across ranges shaped by the mixture, pressure and airflow.
- Degradation.Increasing heat can also cause unwanted chemical changes.
A composition. Not a prediction.
A batch analysis can describe measured compounds. It does not, by itself, predict an individual experience or establish every aspect of safety.
Does a mixture always work better together?
The "entourage effect" is the idea that cannabis compounds work better together than alone. It's a hypothesis, and the evidence in people is still limited and debated.
The phrase was coined in 1998 by Shimon Ben-Shabat and Raphael Mechoulam's team, originally for compounds made by the body. Researchers including Ethan Russo later applied it to plant compounds (2011).