Transformed cannabinoids and derivatives

Semi-synthetic cannabinoids arise from the chemical modification of a natural cannabinoid, most often hemp CBD. Some exist in trace amounts in the plant while also being manufactured commercially through transformation. This is the distinction this lexicon maintains throughout: on one side what the plant produces, on the other what gets transformed.

This market is moving fast: the European Union Drugs Agency counted forty semi-synthetic cannabinoids on European markets at the end of 2025. Research, for its part, is not moving at the same pace - and that's the reason for our choice.

Moonlight has made a clear choice: our selection sticks to the cannabinoids the plant itself produces. The names that follow are gathered so you can recognise them on a market where they circulate - not to lead you to them.

This family notably includes H2-CBD, H4-CBD, HHC, HHC-P or HHCP, as well as related names such as HXC. Hydrogenation modifies a cannabinoid's structure by adding hydrogen. Commercial products can contain several stereoisomers in varying proportions.

HHC and several related derivatives are controlled in France. H2-CBD, H4-CBD, THCP and HHCPO are notably among the substances targeted by French decisions issued in 2024. HHC was also placed under international control in December 2025.

This family groups names such as THC-O, delta-9-THC-O, THCP-O or THCPO, HHC-O, HHCP-O or HHCPO, and CBN-O. A commercial 'O' suffix can signal an acetate, but the naming used on packaging is not always precise enough.

These compounds remain poorly documented in humans, and their behaviour under heat is not described by their name alone. They fall among the transformed compounds, and are therefore not part of our selection.

The names 8-HXY, 9-HXY, 10-HXY, 11-HXY, 8-OH-HHC, 10-OH-HHC, 10-OH-HHCP or 10-OH-THC describe or suggest hydroxylation. Some hydroxylated compounds can also be known biological metabolites, while other names are used as brands or commercial shorthand.

Without a published structure or independent analysis, these names say little about what they denote. They are listed here to be identified, not to be recommended.

Names such as THC-D, THC-M, T9HC, T8HC, HDH, PHC, O-HMS or OHMS, THCX, THV+, THVN10, THP-420 and HHC-A appear on some markets. They can denote a homologue, a derivative, a mixture, or simply a commercial identity.

When a name matches no published structure and no accessible analytical standard, it denotes a commercial identity rather than a molecule. And the absence of a name from a regulatory text does not amount to an authorisation: bans often target entire chemical families, along with their isomers and derivatives.

These names are gathered here because they share the same situation, not the same chemistry: the analysis report that accompanies them links them to no established structure. Until that link is made, we leave them out of the selection - it's the rule that led to the withdrawal of the THP-420 e-liquid.

Scientific hindsight is still thin, regulation moves fast, and conversion processes require particular controls. Faced with this, our position is simple and fits in one sentence: we prefer to stick to what the plant already produces, and to name the rest so you know how to recognise it.