FAQs
Cannabinoids
What is a Cannabinoid?
Cannabinoids are a class of chemical compounds that interact in some way with the mammalian endocannabinoid system. These chemicals can originate from a variety of sources. Endocannabinoids are produced in our bodies, most notably anandamide. Phytocannabinoids are produced by plants in the genus cannabaceae, mainly cannabis sativa. Phytocannabinoids can also be produced in select angiosperms, liverworts, & fungi. Chemically they are classified as terpenophenolics and are prenylated polyketides.
What is CBG?
What is the Endocannabinoid System?
The endocannabinoid system has two main cell-bound receptors, CB1 & CB2 which are dispersed throughout the inflammatory & central nervous systems. The chemicals that interact with these receptors each cause a unique modification triggering a cellular response or allowing for the addition of other chemicals to the reaction causing further modification and a different effect. Endocannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system span our entire bodies and play a role in a large number of bodily & brain functions.
Check out “The Endocannabinoid System & Corresponding Cannabinoid Interactions” & “The Entourage Effect” research page categories to learn more.
How does CBG work?
CBG has a unique highly malleable structure allowing it to interact directly with our CB1 and CB2 receptors. CBG is a partial agonist of CB2 and reacts measurably with CB1 although the details of that mechanism of action are still unclear.
Check out “The Endocannabinoid System & Corresponding Cannabinoid Interactions” research page category or the “Why CBG” page to learn more
What is the entourage effect?
Cannabis inflorescences (buds) do not consist of solely one cannabinoid or one class of chemicals like cannabinoids. Instead, they are composed of a vast array of different classes of chemicals and substituents within these classes. Some common examples of chemical classes that exist in cannabis are cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and more. The entourage effect describes how these chemicals interact with one another within our bodies to produce a beneficially modified effect when compared to one chemical acting on its own.
Check out “The Entourage Effect“research category to learn more.
What is decarboxylation?
Cannabis plants synthesize cannabinoids in a carboxylated form, with a carboxyl group attached to their main chemical structure. Cannabinoids in this carboxylated form are considered acidic cannabinoids which, denoted by adding “-A” to the cannabinoid shorthand to represent the carboxylated, acidic cannabinoid ex: CBD-A, CBG-A, THC-A. In order to activate the cannabinoids so that they can interact with our endocannabinoid system, the carboxyl group must be removed in a process called decarboxylation. This process normally occurs by exposing the cannabinoid containing product to a certain amount of heat for a certain period of time. Decarboxylation is required prior to making cannabinoid-containing edible products so that the cannabinoids can be presented in their active form for ingestion. The decarboxylation process occurs in the act of smoking or vaporizing.
Check out the “Decarboxylation” research category to learn more.
Are there side effects?
While side effects are uncommon, it is important to consult with your doctor before taking hemp products to discuss any questions or concerns, and circumvent potential negative interactions with prescription pharmaceuticals.
What does full-spectrum mean?
Full-spectrum means that all of the cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and other beneficial secondary metabolites are included in the item being discussed. It also means that there has been no remediation, recombination, or isolation performed on the product. All of TheCBGGurus extracts & final products are full-spectrum.
Sales
Do you offer wholesale?
Yes, we offer wholesale pricing to select business partners. If interested in stocking any of our products, please reach out through our contact us page.
Do you offer third party manufacturing?
Yes, we offer extraction/manufacturing services to select business partners who can supply appropriate hemp licensing. If interested in these services, please check out our Solventless Extraction Services page and reach out through our Contact Us page.
Where does your hemp come from?
We grow and process all of our hemp products on TheCBGGurus’ 100% Certified Organic & Clean Green Cannabis Certified® hemp farm.
How do you ship?
We ship via USPS. Shipping is free on orders over $150.
Do your products expire?
Our products expire 1 year after their batch production date. All products have their batch number & batch date marked on their label. Our tincture and concentrates will last significantly longer if kept refrigerated. Please refrain from leaving your products in a hot place or in direct sunlight, as this increases the chance for degradation. Always ensure the product lid is closed tightly to prevent oxidization.
- If concentrates are stored in the fridge they should be allowed to come to room temperature before opening the container, this will ensure no added moisture gets into the extract.
- Tincture can be stored in the fridge and consumed cold after shaking well.
Extraction
What is ice-water extraction?
In the cannabis industry, ice-water extraction is considered to be a form of solventless, mechanical extraction. The idea behind ice-water extraction is to separate the trichomes, the glands on the surface of the plant that accumulate cannabinoids, terpenes, and other desirable secondary metabolites, from the remainder of the flower material. This separation occurs by combining dry or fresh frozen plant material with ice-cooled water, then allowing the extractor to vortex the water for a desired period of time. The system being as close to freezing temperatures as possible causes the trichomes to be fragile and easily separate from the flower with agitation. Once separated the extract, ice-water hash or bubble hash, is dried via lyophilization (freeze-drying), sieved to homogenize, and stored at freezing temperatures to preserve the quality: flavor, color, smell, & chemical composition of the extract.
What are alternative types of extraction & associated processes?
- Solventless extraction
- Besides ice-water extraction, another form of solventless mechanical extraction known as “Rosin Pressing” uses heat & pressure to extract the semi-liquid resin from the plant material.
- Dry sieving is similar to ice-water extraction in that the goal is to separate the trichomes from the flower material. In order to perform a dry sieve extraction, dry cannabis material is beaten against a mesh screen causing separation of the trichomes.
- Solvent-based extraction
- Solvent-based extraction has the ability to use a variety of solvents, mainly categorized as low molecular mass organic solvents, vegetable fats (oils), and supercritical fluids. Common low molecular mass organic solvents used for extraction are ethanol, butane, hexane, & methanol. If butane or propane are used, they are cooled or pressurized to condense from their gaseous ambient state to a liquid which is run through the sample material. In supercritical extraction, CO2 is a common solvent. For the extraction, pressure & temperature are precisely controlled to bring the chosen solvent to its supercritical point where the molecule exhibits liquid & gaseous properties. These solvents are used to dissolve the desired compounds and pull them out of the sample material, into the solvent. After extraction some solvents are removed from the extracted material, collected, and reused while others stay in the extract.
- Infusion is a type of solvent-based extraction. Desired compounds are extracted from starting material and infused into consumable goods.
- Cannabinoid isolation
- In the process of cannabinoid isolation, solvent-based extraction is used to extract the desired cannabinoid and then additional solvents & processes are used to remove all other compounds and purify the desired compound. The goal of isolation is to get the compound as pure (100% by weight) as possible.
- With precise mechanical extraction it is possible to isolate THCa and potentially other cannabinoids.
- Remediation
- Remediation is a process which separates and removes one chemical or a group of compounds from a solution. This can occur by solvent-solvent extraction where undesirable compounds get dissolved in one solvent which gets discarded while desirable compounds remain in the solution.
- Recombination
- Recombination occurs when desirable compounds like terpenes have been separated from the extract solution at some point in the extraction process and are reintroduced to the solution at a later point.
- Purification
- CRC
- CRC stands for color remediation chromatography. In cannabis extraction, CRC can be used to remove the chlorophyll and clarify the extract into an almost transparent state. The extract is run through a cylindrical column that is packed with a selected filtration material to remove impurities.
- Winterization
- Winterization separates fats/lipids, waxes, & chlorophyll from a crude extract prior to distillation. Ethanol is added to the crude extract at sub-zero temperatures so that the undesirable compounds can separate from the solution, coagulate, and get filtered out.
Legal
Is CBG/CBD legal?
The 2018 Farm Bill federally legalized hemp and hemp products that contain less than 0.3% delta-9-THC.
Is there any THC in your products? Will I pass a drug test?
Yes, our full-spectrum hemp products contain a federally compliant (less than 0.3%) concentration of delta-9-THC. TheCBGGurus do NOT recommend our products to anyone required to pass a THC drug test.
Why aren’t all of TheCBGGurus products USDA Certified Organic?
Although the 2018 Farm Bill provides for the Organic Certification of hemp as a crop, the FDA has not provided for the certification of hemp all consumable hemp products. Therefore, our raw hemp flower is USDA certified organic and all other products are labeled as “made with certified organic hemp flower.”
Are your products tested?
All of our products are third party laboratory tested to ensure their safety, efficacy & legality.
View detailed product lab results by visiting the “Lab Results” page.
Still need help? Send us a note!
For any other questions, please write us at info@theCBGgurus.com