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What Is CBN: the Lesser Known Cannabinoid

Cannabis sativa seems to be a plant that keeps on giving. Many people are fond of the benefits of CBD oils or THC. However, it’s often forgotten, that cannabis has more than a hundred other cannabinoids. For now, let’s focus on what is CBN.

This cannabinoid is very rarely talked about, comparing it to its more popular cousins such as THC and CBD. But CBN benefits aren’t at all worse than the ones produced by other cannabinoids. So, let’s figure out what is CBN oil, is CBN legal, CBN effects, as well as CBN benefits to your health. 

Keep on reading to find out!

Bryan Woods

Compounding Pharmacist

Can CBN become as popular as CBD?

CBD is more popular in the public forum today, however, I predict in the near future, with aid of social media, that CBN will ascend into the narrative of solutions for anti-anxiety and sleep prolongation just like CBD has with pain and inflammation.

What is CBN?

First and foremost, before we get to CBN benefits, we must cover what is CBN. CBN stands for cannabinol, and it’s one of the many cannabinoids found in the cannabis family plants. Cannabinoids work by interacting with your endocannabinoid system. CBN is not an exception.

The way cannabinoids affect you is by targeting the cannabinoid receptors. More specifically, either CB1 or CB2 receptors. CB1 receptors can be found in your brain and CB2 receptors appear in your immune cells. 

The systems with the receptors are extremely important for the functionality of your body. It coordinates functions such as appetite, sleep, motor control, pain, and inflammation. Cannabinoids can help tremendously when the system becomes imbalanced. 

Just like CBD, CBN is said to be slightly psychoactive. However, you will not experience the full-blown high you would get from consuming THC, the psychoactive cannabinoid. But that still brings some trouble to answering is CBN legal and if it should be. 

What is CBN: cannabinoids

What’s also important to mention when it comes what is CBN is that it becomes present in the cannabis when THC ages. It takes oxidation of THC for CBN to become present. After THC’s oxidation, it starts degrading into CBN. 

So, now that you know what is CBN, let’s get to the benefits of using CBN. 

Benefits of CBN

Having talked about what is CBN, we should also talk about why you should be using it. So, let's talk about CBN benefits to fully understand whether using CBN would be beneficial for you. 

Antibacterial

One CBN effects that answers what is CBN, is that it is antibacterial[1].  Studies have been conducted on strains of MRSA bacteria. This bacteria is known to be resistant to traditionally used antibiotics. However, CBN was proven to be a working antibacterial agent against it.

These studies are quite promising and this benefit is great. Using antibiotics more often than not comes with serious side effects. One of the most common ones is a weakened immune system. Avoiding this would benefit us on a huge scale. 

what is CBN: antibiotics

So,  this cannabinoid could be used alongside conventional medicine in treating various bacteria-caused illnesses. And the best part is that it doesn’t come with the severe side effects attributed to taking antibiotics. 

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Appetite Stimulant 

Studies on rats show that CBN can significantly increase appetite.[2] In the study after rats were given CBN, they consumed a lot more food than without being given CBN.

The same study showed that being given CBD rats ate less than prior to being given CBD. These two cannabinoids produced completely opposite effects. So, CBD could be used for weight loss, while CBN is good for inducing appetite.

These studies are promising because a lack of appetite can have severe consequences. Low appetite is a side effect of various illnesses. One of them is cancer. Due to treatment, patients tend to get nauseous and don’t feel like eating. 

Not consuming enough food leads to malnutrition and it might be extremely dangerous when dealing with any kind of illness. When the body lacks nutrients, the immune system doesn’t function to its full potential. That might prolong the healing process. 

What is CBN: man with no appetite

Also, CBN could beneficial for treating eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa. Despite the fact that anorexia, first of all, is a mental disorder, one of its side effects is a loss of appetite. Even when patients try to seek recovery, their bodies reject food. 

Using CBN, in this case, could help ease that. Raising the appetite in these patients may come with positive results and faster healing.

However, these are all speculations based on animal studies. There haven’t been any studies on humans conducted yet, but the results on animals are promising enough to believe that people would be affected similarly. 

Can Help Treating Glaucoma

Glaucoma is a condition that damages your optical nerve. The cause of glaucoma is often linked to a buildup of pressure in your eye. The results of it can be tragic. It might lead to damage to the optical nerve. The worst-case scenario is that it might end up in blindness.

Symptoms of glaucoma include vision loss, reddened eyes, nausea, headache, and one of the most important giveaways is throbbing pain in the eyes. Glaucoma is treated by lowering the blood pressure in your eyes. 

what is CBN: a red eye

A study on rabbits has shown that CBN can reduce intraocular pressure. This results in not letting glaucoma affect your health. However, it’s also advised that glaucoma should be medicated since CBN isn’t proven to be enough of a treatment to produce good enough effects.

CBN might not function well enough to be used for glaucoma treatment alone, but it’s a great alternative for those who seek to boost their health in natural ways. 

Anti-inflammatory

One more of the CBN effects is that it is anti-inflammatory. Inflammation is a vital part of the immune system. When a part of a body gets inflamed it should be treated as a sign that the body is responding to an injury. 

However, sometimes inflammation occurs not only when it’s needed. One of the illnesses CBN could help to treat, as far as inflammation is concerned, is arthritis. Arthritis is inflammation of a joint or several joints. 

Symptoms can include debilitating pain, joint stiffness, and swelling. It all causes distress to a person experiencing it. It might result in difficulty moving as well as mental problems caused by a condition that lowers the life quality. 

What is CBN: arthritis

Due to its seriousness, ways to treat it are sought. Arthritis can be treated by physical therapy, exercise, drugs and sometimes even surgery. However, some people seek additional help along with all these methods. 

CBN could work for that. CBN has been proven to reduce inflammation. Using it to treat arthritis or any other condition that involves swelling could be a great natural alternative or an addition to the ongoing treatment. 

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Sedative

One more of CBN benefits that answer the question of what is CBN, is that CBN is a sedative. Sedatives are used for the treatment of many different conditions, mostly, mental illnesses. One of the examples could be anxiety.

Anxiety shows itself by inducing constant worrying, overthinking, panic attacks, trouble concentrating or sleeping. It’s one of the most commonly reported mental illnesses in the USA. Anxiety can cause severe distress for those who struggle with it. 

what is CBN: anxious woman

If untreated it can lead to various illnesses caused by being stressed and worried all the time. One of the common effects of anxiety is digestion issues. Many people experience digestion disruptions when they’re anxious. It’s necessary to ease anxiety to avoid this and all the other illnesses and ailments caused by it. 

Anxiety is treated by sedatives and tranquilizers. However, these drugs prescribed to vanquish anxiety come with various side effects. Because of that people often seek more natural treatments for anxiety. 

CBN could be used as a treatment for this and other illnesses that sedatives are used for. So, if you’re looking for a treatment for anxiety, you should try out some CBN. Also, CBD oil is often used for treating anxiety. So if you’re looking for additional aid, check out the best CBD oils for anxiety. 

Treating Insomnia

Another aspect that answers what is CBN oil is that it is a sleep aid. CBN oil is most commonly advertised as a treatment for insomnia. If you looked up what is CBN oil, you’d most likely find major CBN producers claiming that CBN oil is great for inducing sleep. 

And there is some grounding to that. CBN has been shown to induce sleepiness and help with insomnia. There are countless other treatments for insomnia, that include drugs, melatonin, meditation, relaxation techniques, and many others.

what is CBN: woman with insomnia

However, they don’t work for all and people are still searching for cures to their insomnia. Many people choose to try out CBN oil. And quite a few claim that they achieved success using this method. 

So, if you’re looking for treatment for insomnia you could benefit from trying out CBN oil, before opting for other less natural treatments. 

Drawbacks of CBN 

While answering what is CBN oil, it’s not only important to mention CBN benefits, but also the drawbacks. While the benefits are tempting, you should definitely be aware that it might cause some adverse effects. Let’s figure them out. 

Might Induce Drowsiness

One of the main drawbacks is kind of similar to the benefit we talked about when answering what is CBN. CBN is a sedative. That means that while it could possibly ease anxiety, stress, and insomnia, it might make you feel sedated in a less positive way. 

CBN might make you feel drowsy. While it doesn’t really impair you as it’s, unlike THC that it derives from, not psychoactive or it’s psychoactiveness is rather low, it might still cause some problems. CBN is said to be great for treating insomnia, but can it cause daytime sleepiness?

Some people suggest that CBN actually does induce daytime sleepiness. It might be especially dangerous for those who drive, operate any machinery, or look after kids who need supervision.

what is CBN: drowsy driving

You should definitely first try out using CBN when you’re sure you won’t need to participate in any activities that require concentration. Having found out the effects CBN has on you, and whether it impairs your concentration or not, you could start using it without these precautions. 

Hard to Find 

Another drawback is that it is comparatively hard to get. CBN isn’t the most popular cannabinoid compared to CBD or THC. For example, CBD oil is everywhere. There are countless different articles talking about the benefits of CBD oil and how to use it.

Also, there are so many different products made from CBD. It can come in the shape of CBD oils, tinctures, CBD vape oils, creams and lotions, CBD edibles such as CBD gummies, and many others. Some bars even offer CBD infused drinks. 

What is CBN: CBD gummies

CBD products are easy to obtain and it’s often talked about. However, CBN isn’t as popular as CBD is. There aren’t that many products available, and there isn’t that much known about it. Is CBN legal, what are the benefits of using CBN? Chances are that more people would be able to answer these questions about CBD rather than CBN. 

Furthermore, it isn’t as well-researched as CBD is. Due to CBD’s popularity scientists are constantly looking into the different properties of CBD as well as the side effects. Currently, there’s a lot known about CBD and how it affects people, but not as much is known about CBN

So you might have more success looking up CBD rather than CBN. Also, the resources you come across will likely be more reliable than the ones on CBN. Hopefully, there will be more known in the future about this cannabinoid that carries so many great health properties.

Conclusions

CBN is the less often talked about cannabinoid if compared to CBD or THC, not many people even know what is CBN, or the CBN effects. However, there are many benefits to CBN. It’s antibacterial, stimulates appetite, is one of the cures for glaucoma, is anti-inflammatory, and also a sedative. 

All these CBN benefits are promising, however, there are a few drawbacks to it. Using it could make you feel drowsy. What is more, there isn’t that much known about it when compared to other cannabinoids. This might make it harder for you to find its products and also the information about it. 

However, if you’re looking for a well-known cannabinoid that carries these and a few other properties, you might be best off sticking to CBD. There are various CBD products available. If you’re looking for the best CBD oil, check out our guide to find it!

Bryan Woods

Compounding Pharmacist

Contributed By Bryan Woods, Compounding Pharmacist

Bryan Woods brings over 35 years of experience to the Double Down CBD team, with the last 20 years specializ...

Read Full Bio...

Scientific References

Contributed by Bryan Woods, Compounding Pharmacist

1. Appendino G., Gibbons S., Giana A., et al. 'Antibacterial cannabinoids from Cannabis sativa: a structure-activity study.'

2. Farrimond J., Whalley B., Williams C. 'Cannabinol and cannabidiol exert opposing effects on rat feeding patterns.'

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Recent User Reviews

Appetite

I think it’s the same effect as CBG, gaining weight is a very important point indeed.

I’ve learned so much

Oh very rich content, i’ve learned so much reading this article, good luck!

I agree

I agree with you, cbn is great but it must be used in the right situation in the right moment, otherwise, it could be risky.

Very informative

This article is nicely written, the content is very informative, thank you!

Cannabinol

It’s an interesting Cannabinoid for the future, definitely an option once more scientific studies are done.

Nice article

I didn’t know CBN had all these benefits, awesome article thanks!

Psychoactive effect

I think that even if it has a minor psychoactive effect, it remains risky enough!

Great explanation!

You did a great job! You explained a topic with complicated mechanisms and terms in a very easy to understand manner, hats off!

Thank you

Thank you for providing such valuable and priceless information, i really loved this article.

Antibacterial

It’s great that it can be used in association with traditional medicines, that proves how much this cannabinoid is valuable.

Why isn’t well-know?

I really wonder why is it so rare to find articles or people talking about it. I think it’s a very interesting product

Drowsiness

People must be careful when it comes to CBN, they have to choose a convenient time to take it.

Appetite stimulation

This is an interesting use case for CBN. It makes it stand apart from CBD, this is particularly helpful for people that are looking cbd effects and are interested by gaining weight in the same time.

Insomnia

Oh i think i will try it for my insomnia, i hope it will not be that complicated to find.

CBN is a great option

I think if someone’s looking to gain weight, it’s an excellent alternative to cbd, more people should be aware of cbn benefits.

Thanks for sharing

Great content, thanks for sharing this article. Also great topic choice!

Awesome article

This article is just awesome, many forget that there aren’t only two cannabinoids out there, it’s important to point out to other cannabinoids. Cbn looks promising!

Resources

I agree with you, it’s a huge drawback that science don’t have enough evidence about how if affects our body, for me, it’s not an option currently.

Scientific evidence

It needs more scientific evidence and studies to be adopted. It comes with some risks and it should be taken very carefully.

Interesting content

You picked a great topic, there’s only a few articles that talk about cannabinoids other than THC and CBD.

FAQ

Is CBN different from CBD?

Yes, these are two different cannabinoids. CBD always exists in the plant, and CBN appears when THC starts deteriorating. If you’re looking to try out some of the CBD products, look no more, and check out the best CBD oil guide to help you find the best product.

Is CBN good for you?

Judging by the few kinds of research conducted on CBN, we can speculate that CBN is good for you. Also, many people claim it helps them with various issues. However, if you’re looking for a better-researched cannabinoid, you would be best off sticking to using CBD. Check out the best CBD oils to choose the best one.

Is CBD good for me?

There's a lot of ongoing research in the field of CBD, but you can already find studies stating the different benefits of CBD oil. Thousands of CBD users report different pros of the product. We represent the voice of the majority of CBD users, who struggle with sleeping problems, anxiety, various diseases & so on. Reading through our CBD oil reviews, you'll understand the details about CBD products, but you should always consult your doctor for more in-depth advice.

Does CBD have side effects?

According to user reviews, different CBD oils may have certain side effects on some people. The most common ones include drowsiness, sleepiness, nausea. However, analyzing the extent of these side effects, it seems that it’s not common, and mostly depends on the usage of the oil (the amount, concentration, flavour) & brand. The benefits seem to overshadow any possible side effects that may occur.

How is AllbestCBDoil different from any other websites that write CBD oil reviews?

AllbestCBDoil is an investigative initiative. The team behind the project is working hard at finding & filtering thousands of user reviews. We deeply investigate products by creating expert documentations, all to provide readers with the most accurate information possible. We are independent & completely unbiased. Unlike some other review sites, AllbestCBDoil cares about your wellness & always aims to uncover the truth behind each CBD brand. We do not compete with other review websites - instead, we focus on the most truthful content.

What do the different concentrations of CBD oils mean?

Different concentration levels mentioned in various CBD oil reviews reference the fact of just how “strong” the oil actually is. Depending on the reason why you want to purchase CBD products, you’re going to need different amounts of cannabidiol in the oil itself.