What Is CBG? Cannabigerol in Weed, Explained

CBG is short for cannabigerol, one of more than 120 phytocannabinoids that researchers have isolated from cannabis (Jastrząb and colleagues, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2022). THC is the cannabinoid mainly responsible for feeling high, according to Health Canada. CBG is not: the 2022 review classes it as non-psychoactive, and a 2024 review in Molecules describes it as a cannabinoid that does not cause intoxication.

Researchers first isolated CBG in 1964, from a hexane extract of hashish (Jastrząb 2022). It then drew little attention for decades, partly because research concentrated on THC and CBD (Cuttler and colleagues, Scientific Reports, 2024).

In its glandular trichomes, cannabis makes cannabigerolic acid, or CBGA, from olivetolic acid and geranyl diphosphate. Enzymes then reshape CBGA into other acid cannabinoids: THCA synthase makes THCA and CBDA synthase makes CBDA, which later become THC and CBD, and CBGA is also converted into CBCA (Jastrząb 2022). Because so many cannabinoids start from it, CBGA is often called the mother of all cannabinoids (Cuttler 2024).

CBG itself forms when CBGA loses its acid group, a reaction called decarboxylation that needs no enzyme. It happens during long storage, under sunlight or UV light, and with heat, such as when cannabis is smoked (Jastrząb 2022).

Because the plant keeps converting CBGA, CBG makes up only a small part of most cannabis: up to about 10% of the cannabinoid fraction, according to the 2022 review. Plants whose genetics have been changed to reduce the activity of the converting enzymes can carry as much as 90% of their cannabinoids as CBG (Jastrząb 2022).

Canadian cannabis labels must show Total THC and Total CBD on the front of the package (Health Canada). CBG is not part of that requirement, so look for a CBG figure listed separately if the amount matters to you.

All 3 start out in the plant as acids made from CBGA, but they behave differently. For a longer comparison, see CBD, CBG and CBN compared or THC vs CBD: the key differences.

Most CBG research has been done in cells and animals. The 2024 Molecules review notes more than once that it is still unclear whether those results translate to people, and that human clinical trials are needed.

The first double-blind, placebo-controlled human trial, published in 2024, involved 34 healthy adults, and its authors wrote that no clinical trials of CBG had been published before. In that study, intoxication ratings and impairment-test scores after a single 20 mg dose were not significantly different from placebo (Cuttler 2024).

The same researchers cautioned that their side-effect findings cannot be extended to higher doses or repeated use, that possible interactions with SSRI antidepressants are unknown, and that minor cannabinoids are often marketed with bold but largely unsubstantiated health claims. If you take any medication or have a health condition, ask a doctor or pharmacist before trying CBG.

CBG is controlled, not banned. Health Canada says all phytocannabinoids are regulated under the Cannabis Act, in force since October 17, 2018, and that activities with them are illegal unless authorized (Health Canada). Schedule 1 of the Act also covers molecules identical to a phytocannabinoid however they were obtained, including by extraction or synthesis (Health Canada), so lab-made CBG falls under the same rules as CBG from the plant.

Hemp does not get a separate pass. Industrial hemp, meaning cannabis with 0.3% THC or less in its flowering heads and leaves, is regulated under the same Act, and Health Canada says the rules do not distinguish between CBD from hemp and CBD from other cannabis. More on that in hemp vs marijuana: the real differences.

GasDank delivers same day across Toronto and the GTA, usually within 1 to 2 hours, and ships across Canada by mail order. Browse the CBD section and check each label for its cannabinoid content; the menu carries lab-tested products. Customers must be 19 or older (21 in Quebec), with ID checked at the door.