Cannabinoid

Cannabinoids are a structurally diverse chemical class whose members are united by activity at the cannabinoid receptors rather than by a single common skeleton. The classical phytocannabinoid members share a dibenzopyran-type framework in which an aromatic ring bearing a hydroxyl and a long alkyl chain is fused to an oxygen-containing pyran ring and a carbocyclic terpene-derived ring. Synthetic cannabinoids often abandon this scaffold entirely, linking core groups such as indole or indazole rings through amide or ester linkers to assorted tail and head groups. Members act predominantly as cannabinoid receptor agonists, producing effects that range from mild relaxation to intense intoxication, and the class spans several distinct structural families.