Cannabis Infographics
Here's a collection of our major infographics. Feel free to capture and share them. They cover some of the most important concepts patients and consumers need to understand about cannabis & hemp medical or consumer products. This first graphic is our expanded "Family Tree" of the major cannabinoids, and the steps that The Amazing Flower (or nature or people) take to produce them:
Here is an abridged version of the Family Tree that includes only the most "popular" cannabinoids. If you want to know more, go the the Major Active Ingredients section of our Key Knowledge page.
Cannabinoids start out in an acidic form that is mostly water soluble. These acids (with a "-A" at the end) have been shown to have beneficial effects by themselves. One study showed that CBD-A was very effective at treating nausea, MUCH better than CBD. The plant makes these acidic cannabinoids in its trichomes, and then nature or humans turn them into the "neutral" cannabinoids like THC and CBD by adding heat, light, oxygen, & time.
The neutral cannabinoids are not water soluble, but are oil, or fat-soluble. The human body likes water-soluble compounds, so getting the oil soluble compounds into the body can be challenging. Inhaling tends to be more efficient than ingesting neutral cannabinoids, however taking them with fatty foods can actually help improve their bioavailability a lot.
The graphic below gives a summary of the average bioavailability of cannabinoids based on the method of consumption. Note that there are significant differences.
The following chart depicts the dominant terpenes based on the classification of a cannabis flower as "Sativa" or "Indica". This was based on a 2011 study, and generally reflects the dominant terpenes of each "type". Here's more info on active ingredient consistency & reliability.
The following 2 graphs show the general groups of terpenes that tend to give more relaxing or more energizing effects. A more detailed Terpene Overview is on our Key Knowledge (The Basics) page.
The next chart is set up like a terpene "thermometer" for boiling points of 23 major terpenes in cannabis. We've got this and more info on 68 active ingredients in cannabis and hemp here: Cannabinoids, Terpenes, & Flavonoids. If you inhale (smoke or vaporize) products, this chart will show you which ones you are getting based on the temperature of your vaporizer. Smoking usually exceeds the combustion temperature, so believe it or not, you actually get MORE terpenes when you smoke since most vaporizers don't exceed 451F (233C). The references we used for boiling points are on the terpene page. You may notice these boiling points differ from some sources. That's why we put links to each boiling point reference on the terpene page. If you know of better references, please let us know. Thanks!
Smoking, or burning will usually reach temperatures high enough to include most of the active ingredients, but there are more losses & unwanted by-products than with a controlled vaporizer temperature.
Here's an alphabetical list of the top 23 terpenes color-coded by boiling point temperature:
The next chart shows only those compounds that are reported to have calming or energizing effects. However, much of the clinical evidence for these conclusions is based on a single compound, not when it's combined with many others, as in most cannabis products.
The next two charts show the cost per milligram of active ingredients for flower and extracts or concentrates based on the cost per unit (Ounces for flower, and Grams for extracts). If you need higher doses like some patients, this is very important to understand, because costs vary WIDELY.
FLOWER:
