7,8-DHC.7,8-Dihydrocannabinol

7,8-Dihydrocannabinol sits between Δ9-THC and cannabinol: its terpene ring carries an extra double bond at 6a,10a, which brings it closer to cannabinol without fully aromatising it. Hanuš et al. (2016) cite its isolation as evidence for the artefactual origin of CBN-type cannabinoids, formed by oxidative aromatisation of THC. Caprari et al. (2024) list it among the semi-synthetic cannabinoids discussed by users, obtained from Δ9-THC according to a patent, and state that effects close to those of Δ9-THC are expected. No CB1 or CB2 binding assay has been published; a 2020 computational analysis predicts greater susceptibility to liver metabolism, without experimental validation. No human or toxicological data are published. In France, since June 2024 it falls under the generic "benzo[c]chromene" clause of the narcotics list.

Source

7,8-DHC is a partially aromatised intermediate between Δ9-THC and cannabinol. The critical review by Hanuš et al. (2016) cites its isolation as evidence for the artefactual origin of CBN-type cannabinoids, formed by oxidative aromatisation of THC-type derivatives: it is therefore present in cannabis as a degradation product, in trace amounts, even though the original isolation paper was not found. It also exists as a semi-synthetic product: Caprari et al. (2024) list it among the "pseudo-natural" cannabinoids discussed on user forums, prepared according to a patent (Loewinger et al.) from Δ9-THC, itself easily obtained from CBD.

No enzymatic route is described. In the plant and in extracts, the molecule is linked to the spontaneous oxidative aromatisation of Δ9-THC into cannabinol, of which it is a partially aromatised intermediate step (Hanuš et al. 2016). Its semi-synthetic preparation is a partial dehydrogenation of Δ9-THC, described here by class only.

European Union

No European Union text names this molecule, and it is not in the schedules of the 1961 and 1971 United Nations conventions. Its status therefore depends on each Member State, according to whether it has a generic definition covering this type of derivative.

France

Classified as a narcotic in France through a generic clause, not by name. The ANSM decisions of 22 May and 3 June 2024 added to annex IV of the decree of 22 February 1990 any substance derived from the benzo[c]chromene nucleus, non-, partially or fully hydrogenated on ring A, substituted in particular by a hydroxyl at position 1, an alkyl chain at position 3, one or two alkyl groups at position 6 and an alkyl at position 9. 7,8-Dihydrocannabinol meets these criteria and is not among the exclusions (cannabinol, cannabinolic acid and, subject to content limits, THCV, THCVA and THCA). Production, sale and use are therefore prohibited.

Sources: EUR-Lex, UNODC, CND, ANSM, IUPHAR/BPS, ChEBI, EUDA. Our method.

Family

Semi-synthetic cannabinoid › Provisional classification

Chemistry

Type CBN · C5 side chain · neutral form

Natural trace reported

Hanuš et al. (2016) cite the isolation of partially aromatised derivatives such as 7,8-dihydrocannabinol (compound 41) in support of the artefactual origin of CBN-type cannabinoids (oxidative aromatisation of THC). An oxidation trace, not produced by the plant; the original isolation publication has not been identified.

Hanuš LO, Meyer SM, Muñoz E, Taglialatela-Scafati O, Appendino G. Phytocannabinoids: a unified critical inventory. Nat Prod Rep 2016;33:1357-1392 (new tab)

Verification

Checked on 20 October 2026; some points still await human review.

Wikipedia (English)

7,8-Dihydrocannabinol (new tab)

Article paired by the molecule's structure (InChIKey), revision read on 19 October 2026. Read as a second opinion, never cited as a source.

1. 1Hanuš LO, Meyer SM, Muñoz E, Taglialatela-Scafati O, Appendino G. Phytocannabinoids: a unified critical inventory. Nat Prod Rep 2016;33:1357-1392 (new tab)PMID 27722705
2. 2Caprari C, Ferri E, Vandelli MA, Citti C, Cannazza G. An emerging trend in Novel Psychoactive Substances (NPSs): designer THC. J Cannabis Res 2024;6:21 (new tab)PMID 38702834
3. 3Jagannathan R. Identification of Psychoactive Metabolites from Cannabis sativa, Its Smoke, and Other Phytocannabinoids Using Machine Learning and Multivariate Methods. ACS Omega 2020 (new tab)PMID 31956775
4. 4ANSM, decision of 22 May 2024 amending the list of substances classified as narcotics (generic benzo[c]chromene clause) (new tab)
5. 5ANSM, decision of 3 June 2024 amending the list of substances classified as narcotics (new tab)
6. 6ANSM, consolidated list of substances classified as narcotics, updated 16 February 2026 (annex IV) (new tab)
7. 7PubChem, 7,8-Dihydrocannabinol, CID 94376 (new tab)

SMILES

CCCCCC1=CC(=C2C(=C1)OC(C3=C2C=C(CC3)C)(C)C)O

Machine-readable entry (JSON)

LLM ingestion format: a structured superset of the entry (identifiers, binding, versioned legal status). Full corpus.