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Derived from the plant

H4-CBDTetrahydrocannabidiol (H4-CBD)

Hydrogenated CBD, a mixture of epimers. Psychoactivity not established. A narcotic in France since 3 June 2024.

Narcotic: named in schedule
Level of detail

C₂₁H₃₄O₂

CAS 4460-20-2

Family
Semi-synthetic cannabinoidCBD derivative
Molar mass
318.50 g/mol

Updated on

In plain terms

H4-CBD is CBD in which two double bonds have been saturated by hydrogenation in the laboratory. An older study attributes a moderate affinity for the CB1 receptor to it, but a more recent assay showed no activation of this receptor. It has been classified as a narcotic in France since June 2024.

Receptors and activity

Target network

CB1Partial agonistKi = 145 nM · not verifiedCB1 binding of the epimer mixture; conditions (species, radioligand) not verified, value cited by Schirmer et al. 2025 from the original study
  • Activates

The lower the cited value, the closer the target sits to H4-CBD: one ring per factor of 100. A target with no measured value stays on the edge.

Where these targets live

Where each target has been found in humans, according to the cited studies. The map shows the target, not an effect of H4-CBD.

Brain, side view
Body, front view
Blood

CB1CB1 found in 7 regions of the body

  1. Basal gangliadenseMost dense in basal ganglia outflow nuclei1
  2. CerebellumdenseVery dense in the cerebellum1
  3. HippocampusdenseVery high concentrations in the hippocampus2
  4. AmygdaladenseHigh concentrations in the amygdala2
  5. CortexpresentPresent throughout the neocortex2
  6. Adipose tissuepresentExpressed in adipose tissue3
  7. GutpresentColonic epithelium, smooth muscle and plexus4

Map sources

  1. Herkenham M et al. Cannabinoid receptor localization in brain. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1990 (new tab)
  2. Glass M et al. Cannabinoid receptors in the human brain: a detailed anatomical and quantitative autoradiographic study in the fetal, neonatal and adult human brain. Neuroscience, 1997 (new tab)
  3. Engeli S et al. Activation of the peripheral endocannabinoid system in human obesity. Diabetes, 2005 (new tab)
  4. Wright K et al. Differential expression of cannabinoid receptors in the human colon: cannabinoids promote epithelial wound healing. Gastroenterology, 2005 (new tab)

Cited values

  1. CB1Partial agonistKi = 145 nM · not verified47 out of 100

    Ben-Shabat S et al. New cannabidiol derivatives: synthesis, binding to cannabinoid receptor, and evaluation of their antiinflammatory activity. J Med Chem 2006;49:1113-1117 (new tab) · CB1 binding of the epimer mixture; conditions (species, radioligand) not verified, value cited by Schirmer et al. 2025 from the original study

  2. CB2 ((S)-H4-CBD)Agonistno measured value cited
Bar length follows the measured value (Ki, Kd, EC50 or IC50), on one scale shared by every entry, from 100 µM to 0.1 nM. A target with no cited value has no bar.

Pharmacology

H4-CBD (tetrahydrocannabidiol, sometimes written THD) is the fully hydrogenated derivative of CBD: its two non-aromatic double bonds are saturated, and the product is a mixture of epimers. Jacob and Todd observed as early as 1940 that CBD takes up two equivalents of hydrogen. In 2006, a study reported a Ki of 145 nM at the CB1 receptor for this mixture (Ben-Shabat et al.), whereas CBD acts at CB1 as a negative allosteric modulator. A β-arrestin 2 recruitment assay, however, showed no significant CB1 activation for either epimer; (S)-H4-CBD activated CB2, (R)-H4-CBD did not (Janssens et al., 2024). User reports are contradictory and no controlled human study has been published; its psychoactivity is therefore not established. After oral intake, it is metabolised by hydroxylation and carboxylation (notably 7-COOH-H4-CBD and 5″-COOH-H4-CBD), then glucuronidation (Schirmer et al., 2025). H4-CBD appeared on the European market among the successors of HHC. In France, the ANSM decision of 22 May 2024 lists it by name as a narcotic, with effect from 3 June 2024; Spain placed it in List II on 23 April 2025. In the United Kingdom, the ACMD considered in May 2025 that the evidence of psychoactivity and harm remained insufficient for control under the Misuse of Drugs Act.

Key sources.

History

Source
Semi-synthetic (hydrogenated derivative of CBD)

Route of preparation

Chemical process

No biosynthesis: H4-CBD is not described as a constituent of cannabis. It is obtained by hydrogenation of CBD, which saturates its two non-aromatic double bonds; the product is a mixture of epimers (Schirmer et al., 2025).

Classification

Family, origin and source verification

Family

Semi-synthetic cannabinoid › CBD derivative

Chemistry

C5 side chain · neutral form

Verification

Every fact on this entry was checked against its primary sources on 20 October 2026.

Wikipedia (English)

H4-CBD (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.

References

  1. Schirmer W et al. Identification of tetrahydrocannabidiol metabolites in human urine. Drug Test Anal 2025;17:2333-2346 (new tab)PMID 40897389
  2. Ben-Shabat S et al. New cannabidiol derivatives. J Med Chem 2006;49:1113-1117 (new tab)PMID 16451075
  3. Janssens LK et al. Investigation of the intrinsic cannabinoid activity of hemp-derived and semisynthetic cannabinoids with β-arrestin2 recruitment assays. Arch Toxicol 2024;98:2619-2630 (new tab)PMID 38735004
  4. ANSM, decision of 22/05/2024 amending the list of substances classified as narcotics (new tab)
  5. Orden SND/380/2025, de 14 de abril, BOE núm. 97 of 22/04/2025 (new tab)
  6. ACMD, letter of 22 May 2025 « Semi-synthetic cannabinoids related to tetrahydro-cannabinol and cannabidiol » (new tab)

Identifiers

Names

Common name
Tetrahydrocannabidiol (H4-CBD)
IUPAC name
2-(5-methyl-2-propan-2-ylcyclohexyl)-5-pentylbenzene-1,3-diol
Other names
H4-cannabidiol · H4CBD · THD

Identifiers

Formula
C₂₁H₃₄O₂
CAS
4460-20-2
PubChem CID
616324(new tab)
InChIKey
LXIXAVCVBZBXIY-UHFFFAOYSA-N
SMILES
CCCCCC1=CC(=C(C(=C1)O)C2CC(CCC2C(C)C)C)O

Machine-readable entry (JSON)

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

In the Journal