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PL Cannabinoid · Propyl analog
CBDV (cannabidivarin) is a non-intoxicating cannabinoid that is, chemically, CBD with a shorter side chain — a propyl (3-carbon) tail instead of CBD’s pentyl (5-carbon). It is the compound that has taken cannabinoids furthest into neurodevelopmental research: it has been tested in humans for epilepsy (where a Phase 2 trial did not beat placebo) and is in active trials for autism spectrum disorder.
Decarboxylation and infusion
Behaves like CBD
In the plant CBDV starts as its acid, CBDVA, and decarboxylates to CBDV with heat much like CBDA to CBD (around 110–120 °C). CBDV is fat-soluble and infuses into oil or butter the same way; it is non-intoxicating, so it is typically of interest as part of a full-spectrum or CBD-type preparation rather than for effect on its own.
What the research shows
CBDV is unusual among minor cannabinoids in having reached controlled human trials — and the honest picture is mixed:
Epilepsy (negative result). GW Pharmaceuticals took CBDV (GWP42006) into a Phase 2 trial in 162 adults with inadequately controlled focal seizures. It did not meet its primary endpoint: CBDV and placebo both cut seizures by about 40%, an unusually large placebo response, so no treatment difference could be shown.1
Autism spectrum disorder (ongoing). CBDV is in Phase 2 trials for ASD led by Eric Hollander at Montefiore/Albert Einstein, targeting irritability and behaviour (e.g. NCT03849456).2 A single-dose imaging study in adults found CBDV shifts brain excitation/inhibition (glutamate) signalling, supporting the rationale.3
No CBDV medicine is approved, and the epilepsy result is a reminder that a promising mechanism does not guarantee a clinical effect.
Legal and sport status
CBDV from hemp (under 0.3% Delta-9-THC) is treated as a hemp derivative in the US and much of Europe. In sport, WADA exempts only CBD, so CBDV is not exempt despite being non-intoxicating.
Preguntas frecuentes
Is CBDV psychoactive? No. Like CBD, it is non-intoxicating.
What is CBDV used for? There is no approved use. It is being researched for autism spectrum disorder; a Phase 2 epilepsy trial did not beat placebo.
How is CBDV different from CBD? It is the propyl analog — the same molecule with a shorter (3-carbon) side chain instead of CBD’s 5-carbon chain.
Sources
- Brodie et al., “A Phase 2 Randomized Controlled Trial of Cannabidivarin as Add-on Therapy in Focal Seizures,” Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research (2021). doi.org/10.1089/can.2020.0075
- Safety and Tolerability of CBDV in ASD (NCT03849456), ClinicalTrials.gov. clinicaltrials.gov
- Pretzsch et al., CBDV effects on brain excitation/inhibition in ASD, Neuropsychopharmacology (2019). ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Part of the NOIDS cannabinoids index. Educational reference, not medical advice.
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