It’s easy to find CBD products in many of today’s products, whether that’s a health and beauty product or in food. Yet, CBD isn’t the only cannabis-derived chemical that’s getting the attention of many today. CBN is another option that’s turning heads for what it can do.
So, What Is CBN?
CBN is the “sleeper” in the industry. That is, it’s the cannabinoid that many haven’t yet heard of but could rightly take the spotlight within the next few months. Specifically, CBN is noted for its ability to provide relaxation and improve sleep, something many of today’s stressed and anxious crowd could benefit from using.
Also known as cannabinol, CBN isn’t a new product. It’s been in the background of the industry for decades. Many organizations haven’t taken the time to develop and apply CBN to their business models because it is a more time-consuming process to extract and make the cannabinoid useable.
CBN comes from hemp plants. Both CBD and CBN are cannabinoids from the cannabis plant. However, they have significantly different chemical structures. So, how is CBN produced?
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the main ingredient in cannabis. To create CBN, THC is heated and exposed to oxygen. At that stage, it converts to CBN. This process changes the chemical components of THC. As cannabis dries and ages, the natural oxidation process occurs. As that happens, it turns THC molecules into CBN.
New methods of extraction have helped to speed up the production of CBN. At the same time, these methods are also helping with the purification of the cannabinoid to provide a more consistent isolate. Manufacturers can then use this isolate easier to create CBN edibles and supplements.
Have You Heard of CBN? More People Than Ever Are
While it wasn’t produced at the same rate as CBD products for a long time, demand for CBN is growing, and with that comes opportunities for people to find the sleep support they need. Sales of products that contain CBN are growing. These are nearly always in the form of edibles.
Why are people so interested?
The American Sleep Association states that between 50 and 70 million adults in the U.S. struggle with a sleep disorder. From the pandemic to the economy, people are stressed. Anxiety is on the rise, too. All of this contributes to an inability to get a good night’s sleep. Yet, sleep is critical to physical and mental well-being.
There are sleep aids available, including numerous chemical-based products that are sold over-the-counter or through a prescription. For some, these products work, but for only a short period of time. For others, they create difficult side effects. CBN offers somewhat of a solution – it’s a natural product that’s easy to take and doesn’t create the common side effects man-made products are so well known to create.
According to some reports, CBN is making waves. For retailers in just four states – California, Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon, the sale of CBN, mostly in edible form, totaled $65 million over just a year. California is the largest market. There, $16.1 million worth of CBN was sold in the second quarter alone of 2021.
More products are becoming available as new manufacturers enter the picture as well. As that occurs, it may help push CBN to the forefront across the country, especially as cannabis-related laws continue to open the door for recreational use.
What Are the Benefits of CBN?
For a person that’s never used cannabinol products at all, making the decision to start using CBN may be easier than you think. To be clear, CBN isn’t going to create a high. You will not feel as though you have any type of hangover from using it, either.
There are several reported benefits from the use of CBN. Keep in mind that it may impact people in different ways. Some of the reported benefits include:
- Improving sleep quality
- Reducing pain
- Reducing inflammation
- Stimulate appetite
- Work as an antibiotic
- Aid as an anti-convulsant
- Support bone healing and growth
These three areas are the most commonly associated benefits of using CBN with consistency. However, improving sleep quality is by far the most common use for this product. By contrast, those taking CBD products are less likely to find themselves naturally falling off to sleep. However, CBN has very specific relaxing properties.
Many people use an edible to take CBN. Once taken, it takes between 30 and 80 minutes for a person to feel tired and want to go to sleep. It does not work immediately but takes a bit of time to work through the system. Once it begins to work to tell the brain to relax, it’s typically very effective at helping a person to stay asleep. It can also help some people to experience more deep sleep.
How does that happen?
All cannabinoids affect the human body, including the brain, in different ways. Most interact with the endocannabinoid system, which is involved in regulating the psychological function and response in the body. That includes things like pain perception, cognitive function, appetite, and mood.
CBN seems to interact with this system and affects the function of hormones as well as neurotransmitters, which are responsible for communicating messages in the brain. These neurotransmitters impact energy levels, focus, mood, and cognitive function.
While there is still the need for more thorough insight into how CBN works, researchers have found that the use of CBN can prolong sleep. However, scientific studies are needed to better understand how this happens, why it occurs, and how it can be best managed to provide people with routine improvement.
How to Use CBN
Each person’s needs are very different. Each of the edibles and supplements you find for CBN is a bit different in their formulation as well. As a result, it’s important to consider your use carefully.
It may be best for those who are new to cannabis products to stick with the lowest dose possible. That should be no more than 2.5 milligrams of THC per dose of CBN. Over time, increasing this dose may become necessary as tolerance to it builds.
Keep in mind that most states treat CBN the same as they do other cannabis products that have psychoactive effects. As a result, its sale is typically only allowable in states where recreational marijuana laws are in place allowing for its use. It may be possible to purchase CBN with a medical marijuana card in states that allow this.
Most often, CBN is available through licensed dispensaries. If you have not found it yet, turn to a dispensary that specializes in this product.
Should You Try CBN?
CBN is a unique product, and more people will likely be exposed to it over time as manufacturers ramp up production using new extraction methods. As marijuana laws change to allow for more recreational use, more people may have access to CBN.
CBN is not likely to be the most desirable option for those seeking a high unless you have never used cannabis before. For most people, the real benefit of using CBN comes from its improved sleep quality. For those who struggle to remain asleep each night, the use of this naturally occurring product may offer the relaxation and support needed. It may work even when over-the-counter products no longer do or with fewer side effects.
Take a closer look at the options available at Keylife CBD, such as our CBD + CBN Oil, or CBN Oil. For many people, finding relief and support from CBN and CBD products may significantly improve their quality of life and overall well-being.
Everything You Need to Know about Cannabinol (CBN)
For a long time, the cannabis plant was noted solely as a plant that could help people get high. The plant is more complex than many recognized. It has over 100 cannabinoids and hundreds of other compounds.
Perhaps the most well-known compounds are THC and CBD. THC is a cannabinoid noted for its psychoactive effects. THC is the component of the cannabis plant that makes a person feel high. CBD does not have this effect but has been noted for its ability to help with pain relief, anxiety support, and other benefits. CBN is another, though lesser-known component.
CBN Defined
Cannabinol (CBN) comes from the cannabis plant but is not as readily accessible as other forms. It has a mild psychoactive ability to it, much less than that of THC. Like other cannabis compounds, CBN is not water-soluble but is fat-soluble.
One of the ways CBN differs from THC and CBD is how it’s derived from the plant. It does not come directly from the plant itself. Rather, it forms as oxidation of THC occurs. When THC is cut and stored, oxidation happens over time. Oxidation leads to a chemical change that develops CBN. Here’s how that happens in scientific form.
THC contains an acid called THC-A. When this acid is exposed to oxygen for a significant amount of time, it causes the THC-A to lose its hydrogen molecules. This leads to oxidation. Which then leads to the acid form of CBN. From there, manufacturers will expose it to UV light and heat. As that happens, it converts to a usable form of CBN. At this point, the CBN dissolves into methanol and ethanol.
If you have used cannabis products before and perhaps had some marijuana plants that were not stored properly, this can naturally create CBN. These plants may be high in CBN acid.
Many people don’t use stale marijuana buds. After all, most people who are using marijuana are doing so for the psychoactive effects it can have. That’s significantly reduced by the time the plants sit around, and CBN develops. How can CBN be beneficial, then?
What Are the Benefits of Using CBN?
CBN is significantly different than THC. While a person using THC may feel a sense of euphoria, CBN creates a much-reduced feeling – it is about 10 percent as potent as THC. However, it does have other types of benefits. Perhaps the most notable of these is having a sedative effect. It is considered the most sedative of all cannabinoids. For example, a person taking 5mg of CBN is getting the same results as someone taking 10 mg of Valium.
CBN works to relax the body and brain. It may offer benefits such as pain relief and improvement in appetite. Yet, its most significant benefit is being able to prolong sleep. CBN may be a solution for those who struggle to sleep at night.
What Makes CBN and CBD Different from Each Other?
CBD is significantly different in function and form compared to CBN. CBD is the most abundant of cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant. It makes up as much as 40 percent of cannabis resin. CBD is present in the cannabis plant, but CBN is not. CBN only occurs after the oxidation process happens.
However, CBD is lacking in any significant amount of THC. That’s why it does not create a high. Most of the time, people use CBD for its medicinal benefits, such as helping to reduce anxiety or providing pain relief. CBN creates an anxiolytic effect. As that occurs, the hallucinogenic effects of THC are not present.
There’s also much less scientific research and data available to understand how CBN works in the body. It does not have the same level of effect on the endocannabinoid system that CBD does, but it still impacts the function of the brain enough to create change – such as helping a person to sleep longer. More scientific research is needed to fully understand how CBN works.
How Do People Use CBN?
Manufacturers are finding new ways to extract CBN at a faster rate from cannabis. As that happens, people are likely to gain more access to CBN through supplements and edibles. Why take them? What can they do?
As noted, more research is necessary to fully understand how CBN impacts the brain and body. However, there are some benefits described by users that are hard to refute.
Sedative
By far, the most significant effect of CBN is its sedative effects. It is more potent in this way than any other component of the marijuana plant. In this way, the use of CBN may help people to stay asleep longer. One of the key benefits of using this instead of over-the-counter medications is that CBN doesn’t create grogginess or any after-effects of use like those products. It has been shown to have fewer side effects than the use of prescription sleep aids as well.
For some people, CBN may help in the treatment of insomnia. Some studies have been done to show that CBN can help with insomnia, as demonstrated in mice, though few studies have looked at the impact on humans.
Keep in mind that CBN doesn’t cause sedation. That is, it does not help a person to fall asleep. However, in small doses, the combination of CBN and THC may help encourage sleepiness. The two cannabinoids together may offer the support needed to fall asleep.
Anti-Inflammatory
Another potential benefit of the use of CBN is as an anti-inflammatory. It appears to have the ability to reduce inflammation in the body. How it does this is less known, but many people find less inflammation when using CBN on a consistent basis.
Pain Relief
Though noted as not being as effective as CBD, some people may see benefits from CBN for pain relief. This may include the treatment of chronic pain. CBN seems to influence neuron activity, especially those that are sensitive to capsaicin. These nerves are a big part of the pain signaling in the body – the process of nerves communicating pain to the brain. CBN doesn’t stop pain or the cause of it. However, it can change the perception of that pain by the brain, reducing symptoms a person feels.
Anticonvulsant
Another potential benefit of CBN is its anticonvulsant properties. It may help people who have epilepsy-related seizures. It may stop the occurrence of some seizures, reducing the frequency of these events. CBN is just as effective at doing this as the use of THC or CBD is.
Bone Health
There is some evidence that CBN can help with bone healing. It helps to support the function of stem cells located in the bone marrow. These stem cells can then be converted naturally into fat, cartilage, and bone cells. There is some limited evidence that suggests CBN may also help increase fibroblast cells. These help to support bone healing as well. This may mean faster recovery from injuries, including broken bones.
Increasing Appetite
Another potential benefit for some people is CBN’s ability to stimulate appetite. People using this product may eat larger meals or be more willing to eat larger food portions on a regular basis. For those who may be struggling with limited weight gain, this may help.
Reducing Blood Pressure
CBN may also be an effective tool for reducing blood pressure. That’s because it works to relax blood vessel walls as a vasorelaxant. For those who have a condition such as glaucoma, which is already difficult to treat, the use of CBN may enable improvement in eye pressures. It may also help those who have hypertension.
CBN’s other potential benefits may include treating psoriasis, acting as a burn treatment, and functioning as an antibacterial.
Is CBN Legal to Use?
As noted, CBN has some psychoactive components to it. On a federal level, it is illegal to use cannabis products. However, many states have passed laws to better regulate the use of products like CBN. Most often, CBN is legal to use in states where there are recreational marijuana laws that allow for its use. In areas where there is a marijuana medical program, CBN may be allowable under the state’s laws.
The use of CBN is a valuable tool for many people. Purchasing a high-quality product is critical. At Keylife CBD, we aim to provide the very best quality of products like this.
