The Benefits of CBG when compared to CBD rich Hemp.

CBD began to hit the headlines as a possible intervention for epileptic seizures in 2012 when the Colorado-based Stanley Brothers developed a full-spectrum, hemp CBD oil in order to help a little girl diagnosed with epilepsy and cerebral palsy. Her family relocated to Colorado in order to provide her with treatment using high-CBD, low-THC oils that controlled her life-threatening diagnosis with great outcomes. She has recently passed, but in her lifetime she was able to progress from numerous daily seizures, to greatly reduced episodes that allowed her to grow, develop educationally and lead her interim years with vastly improved quality of life. Her journey also showed us what was possible, a gift for which we are grateful.

CBD’s effectiveness was an unexpected discovery, as the Stanley Brothers followed their gut feeling that perhaps high-CBD content hemp could somehow be useful. Further studies have shown that CBD can help with a range of issues from anxiety to inflammation and chronic pain in both people and animals. It has also shown positive early results in the treatment of neurodegenerative disease including Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s.

CBD has a relatively low direct impact on receptors in the brain, working more through the endocannabinoid system comprised of CB1 and CBD2 receptors throughout the body. CBD is a common property of hemp, meaning it can be extracted in a fairly straightforward and cost-effective manner.

On the other hand, early studies show CBG is believed to work directly with the CB1 and CBD2 receptors and may also offer positive health impacts in treatment of Crohn’s, as well as the diseases noted above, glaucoma, and works as a colorectal cancer inhibitor and in the battle against drug-resistant bacteria such as MRSA. That said, during the hemp growing process less CBG develops meaning more biomass is needed to yield usable quantities, resulting in higher processing costs. Therefore, hemp growers must decide whether to grow for CBG, which would require crops be pulled prior to full maturity when CBG profiles are maximized, or continue growing to full maturity, when CBD content is higher and CBG content lower, in order to help offset costs.

It is yet to be determined if the market will bear these costs and how demand by consumers, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical companies will drive the market. If further study shows CBG’s full potential to be as impactful this century as penicillin was in the last, its path forward will likely be one filled with exponential growth.