CBN-C1.Cannabiorcol

Cannabiorcol (CBN-C1) is the methyl-chain homologue of cannabinol: the same fully aromatised benzo[c]chromene skeleton, with no stereocentre, but a single side-chain carbon instead of five. Vree and colleagues reported it in 1972 in hashish, together with the methylated analogues of tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry; this identification remains tentative, with no isolation and no reference standard. If present, it would form like cannabinol by oxidation of its tetrahydro precursor, which has not been studied. No affinity constant for CB1 or CB2, no screen at other targets and no pharmacokinetic, metabolism or toxicology data were found. The only reference point is indirect: in the THC series, binding to the CB1 receptor requires a side chain of at least 3 carbons, the optimum lying between 5 and 8 (Bow and Rimoldi 2016). In France, its structure falls within the generic class of benzo[c]chromene derivatives created by the ANSM in 2024, from which only CBN and CBNA are excluded by name.

Source

Cannabis sativa L.: tentative identification only, by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry in hashish (Vree et al. 1972), without isolation or confirmation against a reference standard. If it is indeed present, it would form like cannabinol, an oxidation product of Δ9-THC, from tetrahydrocannabiorcol; this lineage has not been studied. Origin not established.

No formation pathway has been demonstrated for cannabiorcol. By analogy with cannabinol, which results from the oxidation of Δ9-THC and not from a plant enzyme, formation by aromatising oxidation of tetrahydrocannabiorcol is plausible, but no study has established it.

European Union

Not listed by name in the schedules of the 1961 and 1971 United Nations conventions, according to annexes I to III of the ANSM consolidated list (26/06/2026). Checked on 20/10/2026.

France

Cannabiorcol is not named in the ANSM consolidated list (updated 26/06/2026). Its structure nevertheless matches the definition of the generic class created by the ANSM decisions of 22/05/2024 and 03/06/2024: a benzo[c]chromene nucleus, which the text covers « non ou partiellement ou totalement hydrogéné », with a hydroxyl at position 1, an alkyl chain (here a methyl) at 3, two alkyl groups at 6 and an alkyl at 9. The text's exclusions name CBN and CBNA, as well as THCV and THCVA up to 0.3%, and THCA subject to a content condition, but not cannabiorcol. On this reading, cannabiorcol has been a controlled narcotic since June 2024; this interpretation must be confirmed by a lawyer. Checked on 20/10/2026.

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

Family

Phytocannabinoid › Minor

Presence in the plant

Tentative identification, never isolated

Chemistry

Type CBN · C1 side chain · neutral form

Verification

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

Wikipedia (English)

No dedicated article.

1. 1Vree T. B., Breimer D. D., van Ginneken C. A. M., van Rossum J. M., identification in hashish of the methyl side-chain analogues of tetrahydrocannabinol, cannabidiol and cannabinol, J Pharm Pharmacol 1972, 24:7-12 (new tab)PMID 4401327
2. 2Radwan M. M. et al., Cannabinoids, Phenolics, Terpenes and Alkaloids of Cannabis, Molecules 2021 (figure 5, compound 81, CBN-C1) (new tab)PMID 34066753
3. 3Bow E. W., Rimoldi J. M., structure-function relationships of the classical cannabinoids (side chain of at least 3 carbons, optimum 5 to 8), Perspect Medicin Chem 2016 (new tab)PMID 27398024
4. 4PubChem CID 59444404 and GSRS UNII 3X9ANZ6GZQ: cannabiorcol, CAS 19825-73-1 (new tab)
5. 5ANSM, consolidated list of substances classified as narcotics, updated 26/06/2026 (benzo[c]chromene class and its exclusions) (new tab)

SMILES

CC1=CC2=C(C=C1)C(OC3=CC(=CC(=C32)O)C)(C)C

Machine-readable entry (JSON)

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