Who Discovered THC & CBD?
- JK Logix
- Feb 10, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 22
Two pretty dope dudes.
These gentlemen pictured below may not have invented cannabis, but their work led to the discovery of THC & CBD: the active components in the cannabis plant. The discovery of these chemicals allows modern-day scientists to complete extensive potency testing, which is both required by law and helpful for the end consumer — a breakthrough that forever changed how we understand who discovered cannabis.
A brief history: The discovery of THC and CBD
So, who is the father of weed? Raphael Mechoulam, known as the 'father of marijuana', was the first to isolate THC, the main psychoactive ingredient of the plant, in the 1960s. He also managed to synthesize both THC and cannabidiol (CBD) and prove their effectiveness for the treatment of different diseases.
In the 1960s, together with his colleague Yechiel Gaoni, Mechoulam began to investigate the composition and active ingredients of the 'Cannabis Sativa' plant. "Although painkillers had been isolated from controlled substances within the early nineteenth century and cocaine from coca leaves within the middle of it, the chemistry of cannabis wasn't familiar," said Mechoulaim. His groundbreaking work finally answered the question of who discovered THC, unlocking decades of research into the plant’s medical potential.
Marijuana had been in use for many years for therapeutic and recreational functions, but no one had dedicated time and resources to review its chemical properties. Mechoulam and Gaoni's investigations shortly bore fruit: they recognized a dozen compounds, but noted that only 2 of them modified the behavior of the primates used in their testing. These two were CBD and THC, marking the beginning of when was THC discovered in modern science..
For the first time, Mechoulam and his team discovered and isolated mind-altering drugs, specifically THC and cannabidiol (CBD). Their work laid the foundation for understanding the chemical structures of THC and CBD that researchers rely on today.
Present day: Cannabis potency testing methods
For centuries, cannabis was widely used, but people often wondered who discovered weed and truly unlocked its chemical secrets. That answer came in the 1960s, when Raphael Mechoulam, often asked about who discovered THC, first isolated the plant’s main psychoactive compound.
The testing of THC and CBD today is done via two different methods: High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) & Gas Chromatography (GC).
GC is more cost-effective and relatively simpler than HPLC. But GC requires the additional step of sample derivatization to provide both the free and acid forms of THC and CBD. Derivatization is a technique used in chemistry that converts a chemical compound into a product of a similar chemical structure.
For GC testing to work, the cannabis extract must be heated so it can be converted into its gas form. The heat causes the acid forms (THCa and CBDa) to convert to the free forms (THC and CBD). Without taking the additional step of derivatization, GC would only allow for the testing of the free forms of THC and CBD, but not their acid forms. And this would result in a narrower scope of testing possibilities.
In contrast, HPLC can separately quantify THC, THCa, CBD, and CBDa without derivatization, which is particularly useful for edible cannabis products because they will typically be consumed without additional heating. For edibles, GC might provide erroneously high potency values because the technique itself converts THCa into THC, and CBDa into CBD. This distinction highlights not just how THC was discovered, but also how modern testing continues to evolve to measure cannabinoids more precisely.
HPLC, formerly referred to as high-pressure liquid chromatography, is a technique in analytical chemistry used to separate, identify, and quantify each component in a mixture. It relies on pumps to pass a pressurized liquid solvent containing the sample mixture through a column filled with a solid adsorbent material. Each component in the sample interacts slightly differently with the adsorbent material, causing different flow rates for the different components and leading to the separation of the components as they flow out of the column.
Derivatization methods are highly subject to error and difficult to validate, so many labs are choosing to invest in Liquid Chromatography (LC) equipment. In a recent lab proficiency testing program, a survey of preferred potency testing methods found that 90% of the labs use LC. However, GC without derivatization can provide a "quick and dirty" estimate of cannabinoid potency (THC + THCa, CBD + CBDa), which may be helpful for process monitoring.
To learn more about cannabis potency testing, check out the following articles:
The end result: Safe and informed cannabis consumption
All this to say that modern-day testing of THC and CBD is possible thanks to two scientists in the 1960s who began the research on the “Cannabis Sativa” plant. Their discoveries and contributions opened the door for the testing of cannabis products. This allows end consumers to make informed decisions to safely consume a variety of cannabis products. We tip our hats to Raphael Mechoulam & Yechiel Gaoni.
If you want to read more of Gaoni's and Mechoulam's work, check out the 1964 publication of their findings- Isolation, Structure, and Partial Synthesis of an Active Constituent of Hashish.
