# Cannabinoid

> A cannabinoid is any compound that binds the body's cannabinoid receptors or shares the typical cannabis terpenophenolic structure; the plant-made ones are phytocannabinoids such as THCA and CBDA.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cannabinoid.html
- Also written: cannabinoids, cannabanoid, cannabinoid compounds
- Glossary category: Cannabinoids and terpenes · Evidence: Established
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

A cannabinoid is a compound that either acts on the cannabinoid receptors (CB1, CB2) or belongs to the chemical family the cannabis plant makes in its [trichome heads](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/trichome-heads.md). The word covers three groups: [phytocannabinoids](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/phytocannabinoid.md) (made by plants), endocannabinoids (made by animals, such as anandamide) and synthetic cannabinoids (made in a lab). More than 100 phytocannabinoids have been described from cannabis, though only a handful occur at more than trace levels.

## In practice

Growers and labs mostly mean the plant's major cannabinoids: [THCA](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/thca.md), CBDA, [CBGA](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cbga.md) and their neutral forms [THC](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/thc.md), [CBD](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cbd.md) and [CBG](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cbg.md). On a typical drug-type flower COA, THCA makes up well over 90% of the cannabinoid total, with the rest split between Δ9-THC, CBGA and minor compounds. A "high cannabinoid" plant is one with a high total across all of them, not only THC.

## Don't confuse with

- **Terpene**: aroma compounds made in the same trichome heads; they are not cannabinoids, even though both share a precursor pathway.
- **Phytocannabinoid**: the narrower, plant-only subset of cannabinoids.
- **Synthetic cannabinoid**: lab-made receptor agonists, often unrelated in structure and not found in the plant.

## Related terms

[Phytocannabinoid](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/phytocannabinoid.md), [THCA](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/thca.md), [CBDA](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cbda.md), [CBGA](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/cbga.md), [Acid vs neutral cannabinoids](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/acid-vs-neutral-cannabinoids.md), [Terpene](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/terpene.md)

## Read more

- [Cannabis plant biology: the parts and what they do](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/basics/cannabis-plant-biology.md)

## Sources

1. Hanuš LO, Meyer SM, Muñoz E, Taglialatela-Scafati O, Appendino G. 2016. Phytocannabinoids: a unified critical inventory. Natural Product Reports 33(12):1357-1392.
2. ElSohly MA, Slade D. 2005. Chemical constituents of marijuana: the complex mixture of natural cannabinoids. Life Sciences 78(5):539-548.