Ask a Budtender: What Does CBG Feel Like?

Question: There are a lot of new products on my dispensary menu, and I see some new gummies with CBG as the featured ingredient. What does CBG feel like? Does it feel like CBD? CBD doesn’t do anything for my daily pain.  

I was curious about who CBG is for, and if you have any personal experience with it. Thanks!

Cannabis Coach Haley: I love that you brought this up, as this has been a popular question lately. As we learn more about the benefits of cannabis, we’re starting to isolate more of the beneficial cannabinoids too!  

You may know this already, but scientists have discovered over 100 beneficial cannabinoids in the cannabis plant. As time goes on, we can pinpoint more of the specific effects of each cannabinoid.  

CBG is short for “cannabigerol” and is a beneficial part of cannabis, just like CBD and THC.  The neat thing about CBG is that it’s sometimes called “the Mother cannabinoid” because it’s where CBD and THC come from.  

When you grow cannabis plants, one of the very first compounds to appear in the plant is CBG, then all other cannabinoids form from there. So what does CBG do exactly? And what kind of person would benefit from it? 

What Conditions Is CBG Good For?

CBG is primarily known for being non-intoxicating and non-psychoactive, much like CBD, and there’s a medical interest in its ability to fight pain and inflammation.  

In this study from PubMed, patients taking CBG completed a survey. The most common conditions that CBG was used for include: 

• Anxiety (51.2%)
• Chronic pain (40.9%)
• Depression (33.1%)
• Insomnia/disturbed sleep (30.7%)

Most folks in this study claimed that they prefer CBG-predominant cannabis over conventional medicines.  

If you’ve tried CBD before and found that it didn’t provide the effects you were looking for, you might give CBG a try. Many folks turn to CBG or add CBG to their existing cannabis routine to increase the Entourage Effect. 

You might like this article: What Does New Cannabis Research Tell Us About the Entourage Effect? 

Is CBG Only Available in Gummies? 

I’ve been on the hunt for CBG products for the past year, and I will say this: it’s hard to find!  

At our dispensary, only 2-3 products feature CBG, and it’s not very prominent on the menu. It could be that the marketing efforts for CBG aren’t there yet, as many customers have never heard of it.

I always scout out CBG products when traveling or visiting a new dispensary. If you ask your budtender, they may be able to highlight what products on their menu contain this cannabinoid.  

I will note that I’ve only seen CBG products available in gummies and tinctures at the dispensaries I’ve visited – and there’s a good reason for this. In most cannabis strains, CBG is somewhat rare and accounts for less than 1% of the cannabinoids.

Mainly, this is because all of the CBG is turned into THC over time with the help of UV lights and heat – the more THC in a plant, the less CBG there will be.  I’ve personally not seen any CBG flower or vapes, but this could be an option for the future.  

CBG is often found in gummies, tinctures, and other edibles. In my personal experience, I’ve seen many products that contain all three cannabinoids in one product, like a gummy with CBD, CBG, and THC.

The idea here is that all of these compounds would work together to create a synergistic effect. Together they provide more relief than if the cannabinoids were used in isolation.  

What Does CBG Feel Like? 

Currently, anecdotal reports of CBG are widespread, but thorough studies about cannabinoids are seriously lacking. I mainly have heard about CBG’s effects through cannabis Reddit forums and Facebook groups where folks are trying out CBG and reporting the results.  So, what does CBG feel like according to these reports?

I first heard of CBG a few years back when a friend was using it to give her energy and alertness instead of coffee in the mornings, and she swore by it. Anecdotally, I’ve seen folks at the dispensary purchase CBG for anxiety and pain, many people noting things like “It works way better for me than CBD” and “It helps me get relief without getting sleepy.”  

You Might Like This Article: What You Should Know About CBG, and Its Health Benefits 

Recently, I purchased gummies with 10mg THC and 2mg CBG in each gummy. I tried this for a solid week straight instead of my regular THC gummies. I was surprised how much I liked it!  

I took the gummies in the morning and noted that they provided sustained anxiety relief for me and addressed my daily pain issues much better than CBD did. I felt alert, awake, and calm – it made the whole experience of taking an edible very smooth and easy.  

The main effect I noticed was the pain-relieving aspect. I often take THC gummies, and my pain will still be very prominent. I was impressed with this combination of THC and CBD. The effects lasted for the whole day.  

Many folks seem to like gummies containing both THC and CBG, and I’ve heard from several folks that gummies like this help them manage anxiety without feeling too stoned or sleepy from the THC.  

I hope that helps to give you a little of my personal experience with CBG. If you haven’t tried it, I’d consider it if you struggle with daily discomfort or anxiety. Pick some up at your dispensary next, and let me know what you think!