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From the plant

Δ9-THCΔ⁹-Tetrahydrocannabinol

The main intoxicating cannabinoid of cannabis, and the molecule the French legal threshold is written against.

Narcotic: named in schedule
Level of detail

C₂₁H₃₀O₂

CAS 1972-08-3

Family
PhytocannabinoidPrincipal
Origin
Decarboxylation
First described
1964
Molar mass
314.46 g/mol

Updated on

In plain terms

THC is the molecule that gets you high. In France it is classified as a narcotic: a hemp product is legal only below 0.30% THC, measured in the finished product.

Receptors and activity

Target network

CB1Partial agonistKi = 40.7 nM · Emax ≈ 40%
  • Activates
  • Binds or modulates

The lower the cited value, the closer the target sits to Δ9-THC: 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 Δ9-THC.

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 = 40.7 nM · Emax ≈ 40%no measured value cited
  2. CB2Partial agonistKi = 36 nMno measured value cited
  3. GPR55Agonistweak agonist · µM rangeno measured value cited
  4. TRPV2Agonistagonist · thermal activationno measured value cited
  5. PPARγModulatorpartial 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

Δ⁹-THC is a partial agonist at CB1 and CB2, and its CB1 activity accounts for the intoxicating effects. It is the reference molecule of the French regulatory framework: the decree of 30 December 2021 sets the limit at 0.30% for the plant and the products made from it. Its acidic precursor THCA is not intoxicating and converts to THC under heat.

Key sources.

Approved medicines

Marinol (dronabinol)
Syndros (dronabinol, solution buvable)
Sativex (nabiximols, extrait THC + CBD)

Biosynthetic pathway

Thermal decarboxylation of THCA, produced from CBGA by THCA synthase

Classification

Family, origin and source verification

Family

Phytocannabinoid › Principal

Presence in the plant

Neutral form: decarboxylation of a plant acid

Chemistry

Type Δ9-THC · C5 side chain · neutral form

Verification

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

Wikipedia (English)

Tetrahydrocannabinol (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. Pertwee - BJP 2008 · CB1/CB2 receptors (new tab)PMID 17828291
  2. McGilveray 2005 - oral PK 4–12% (new tab)PMID 16237477
  3. Gaoni & Mechoulam - JACS 1964 (new tab)DOI 10.1021/ja01062a046

Identifiers

Names

Common name
Δ⁹-Tetrahydrocannabinol
IUPAC name
(6aR,10aR)-6,6,9-trimethyl-3-pentyl-6a,7,8,10a-tetrahydrobenzo[c]chromen-1-ol
Other names
THC · Delta-9-THC · Dronabinol (INN)

Identifiers

Formula
C₂₁H₃₀O₂
CAS
1972-08-3
PubChem CID
16078(new tab)
ChEBI
66964(new tab)
InChIKey
CYQFCXCEBYINGO-IAGOWNOFSA-N
SMILES
CCCCCC1=CC(=C2[C@@H]3C=C(CC[C@H]3C(OC2=C1)(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