Cannabinoid acids

Cannabinoid acids are the carboxylated forms in which cannabinoids are actually made by the hemp plant, such as CBDA, THCA and CBGA, before heat converts them to their neutral forms.

In the living plant, enzymes in the trichomes build cannabigerolic acid and then convert it into cannabidiolic acid, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid and cannabichromenic acid. Each carries a carboxyl group that is lost as carbon dioxide when the material is heated, dried or aged, a reaction called decarboxylation that yields CBD, THC and CBC. Raw hemp flower and cold-processed extracts therefore contain mostly acids, while heated or distilled products contain mostly neutral cannabinoids.

Laboratories report both forms separately, and the total THC calculation on a certificate of analysis adds THCA, adjusted for the weight lost on conversion, to delta-9 THC. The acids differ from their neutral counterparts in solubility, stability and receptor activity; THCA, for example, is not intoxicating. Cannabinoid acids have been studied mainly in laboratory and animal work, and human evidence for any of them is early.