Moonlight Lexicon

Understand
before you choose.

Cannabis and hemp produce a wide variety of compounds. This lexicon gathers simple landmarks to find your way: acidic forms and precursors, major and minor cannabinoids, and the recipes that combine them. It says where each compound comes from, and what research knows about it today.

Families
10
Entries
66
Sections
11

Lexicon families

Getting started

Understanding

The plant, the endocannabinoid system and the reading conventions used throughout this lexicon: acid forms, major or minor, and the current state of knowledge.

5 entries

What the plant produces

Precursors & majors

The four pairs that structure a variety's profile: CBGA and CBG, CBDA and CBD, CBCA and CBC, THCA and delta-9 THC.

4 entries

Minor cannabinoids

More discreet in proportion, they are what give each recipe its character. A modest abundance, never a lesser value.

12 entries

Recipes & entourage

What a recipe's name covers, what the entourage effect describes, and how to read a quantity or a microdose.

10 entries

Terpenes & compounds

The compounds that give each variety its aromatic identity, and a few molecules found in wellness formulas.

4 entries

Plants & mushrooms

Botanical identity, traditional or contemporary uses, and the real state of knowledge, plant by plant and mushroom by mushroom.

14 entries

What gets transformed

Isomers & conversion

Molecules obtained by chemically transforming a starting cannabinoid. Named here so they can be recognised, they are not part of our selection.

3 entries

Transformed & derivatives

Hydrogenated, acetylated, hydroxylated derivatives, modified side chains. A directory to help you find your way on a fast-moving market.

6 entries

Reading a product sheet

Quality & regulation

How to read a certificate of analysis, tell a commercial name apart from a chemical identity, and keep up with evolving regulation.

3 entries

Analyses

The single reading table carried by every product sheet: five majors, ten minors, total THC and its threshold, and what the notations mean.

5 entries

How to read this lexicon

Five keys to reading.

Naturally present

This mention means the molecule has been identified in the plant itself. That's an origin, and it already says a lot: where the compound comes from. To know how much of it is present and…

Major or minor

A cannabinoid is called major when it can dominate the profile of a variety or an extract, and minor when it appears in a smaller proportion. It's a matter of abundance, not value: minor…

Acid form and neutral form

In the fresh plant, the main phytocannabinoids are mostly present in acid form: CBGA, CBDA, CBCA or THCA. Heat, and more slowly, time, drive their decarboxylation - the loss of a carboxyl…

Recipe or formula

A recipe combines several major and minor cannabinoids, often with terpenes - it's an act of composition, in the sense that one composes a fragrance. The recipe's name conveys the intent;…

State of knowledge

'Studied in the laboratory,' 'observed in preclinical models,' 'evaluated in humans': these phrasings don't say the same thing, and we use each one in its place. When research on a compound…

Index

The 66 entries, from A to Z.