NBC News, September 26, 2019
Israeli chemist Raphael Mechoulam, the man who discovered THC and CBD, has made another leap in the field of cannabis research after announcing earlier this week that they had figured out a process to create stable, cannabinoid acids, NBC News reports.
What does that even mean? Cannabis compounds like THC and CBD occur in an acid form in the plant (THC-A and CBD-A). But soon begin to change as the plant is harvested. While THC-A is non-intoxicating, it changes to the psychoactive THC when heated. Preliminary research has shown promise for the acid compounds to treat a variety of medical conditions, including anxiety and a variety of autoimmune diseases. The creation of these stable acid compounds could lead to a variety of pharmaceutical drugs. The researchers are licensing the compounds to companies for drug development.
