A Burning Question: Does CBD Smell Like Weed?

Almost every adult who’s had a normal life can recognize the distinct smell of cannabis. Not all marijuana strains smell like skunk, of course, but it’s pretty easy to identify a telltale weed aroma.

That leads to a common question asked by those about to try CBD products for the first time: does CBD oil smell like weed?

The honest answer: it depends.

That may not be a satisfactory answer, but it’s true. Pure CBD itself doesn’t have an odor (or a taste, either), but high-quality, full-spectrum CBD oil may smell a little — or even a lot — like cannabis. It might also smell sweet and fruity, or like citrus fruits, coconut, or even peppermint.

Why is there such a wide variety of possible scents? It’s for two reasons.

1. The aroma is largely determined by other plant compounds extracted with the CBD.
2. Other ingredients, including flavorings, are added to CBD products.

Here’s how all of that works.

Cannabis, Hemp, and Terpenes

Let’s start with the differences between marijuana and CBD products.

Weed is sourced from the cannabis plant, while CBD is usually sourced from the hemp plant. (It may be sourced from cannabis and sold in dispensaries, in nations where weed is legal.) The two plants are close relatives because both are members of the cannabis sativa family.

Each plant contains more than 100 cannabinoids, natural botanical compounds that differentiate cannabis and hemp from most other plants. The two best-known cannabinoids, of course, are THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) and CBD (cannabidiol).

Cannabis plants contain large amounts of THC, which produces weed’s well-known psychoactive effects, and relatively small levels of cannabidiol. By contrast, hemp plants contain lots of CBD and very little THC content. That’s the primary reason why marijuana gets you high, and CBD products produced with hemp extract don’t.

There are other similarities and differences between the two plants.

Their cannabinoids interact with the body’s endocannabinoid system (ECS), which controls a large number of the body’s crucial functions. However, cannabis and hemp plants contain different levels of different cannabinoids; in fact, different weed strains have widely varying cannabinoid profiles.

The two plants each contain other plant compounds, including flavonoids and terpenes. They work together with cannabinoids to provide the plants’ flavor, aroma, and colors, and to boost the effectiveness of their apparent therapeutic benefits by what’s known as the entourage effect. (THC and CBD appear to provide different health and wellness benefits, too.)

However, there are different mixes of terpenes in cannabis and hemp, and as you’ve probably guessed by now, each strain can have a different terpene profile.

That leads us right into our next discussion.

The Importance of Terpenes

Terpenes are natural, aromatic compounds found in most plants (and even some animals). If you love the smell of oranges, roses, or rosemary, you can thank the terpenes they contain.

The terpenes in both cannabis and hemp, as we’ve mentioned, work to increase the effectiveness of THC and CBD. They also deliver their own health benefits, serve various functions to protect the plants, and help to determine the plants’ taste — and they’re the most important factor determining their aroma.

About 150 different terpenes have been found in cannabis sativa plants. Some, however, are more common and each provides their own distinct scents. The wide range of aromas that marijuana strains are known for is due to the unique terpene profile of each strain. And hemp plants contain most of the same “terps.”

Some of the most common terpenes in these plants are myrcene (fruity and earthy), limonene (citrusy and spicy), caryophyllene (spicy and peppery), pinene (piney and woodsy), and linalool (flowery). And combinations of these and other terpenes are responsible for the scents often associated with marijuana.

You’ll notice that we haven’t identified the specific terpenes responsible for the “weed smell” most of us can identify. That’s because no specific mix of terps makes marijuana “smell like marijuana.” The common combinations, though, are what give cannabis plants their distinct aromas, and they give hemp plants similar smells.

But that doesn’t mean most CBD products smell like weed.

How Cannabidiol is Extracted and Used in CBD Products

When someone rolls a joint or packs a pipe with cannabis buds, there’s nothing to interfere with the inherent aroma of the marijuana. It’s a very different story for CBD products.

They’re made with cannabidiol extracted from hemp plants, and hemp flower smells very much like cannabis. Several different extraction processes can be used; some maintain most of the plant’s native scent while others retain less of that aroma. High-quality processes (like the use of CO₂) produce high-quality CBD and retain most of the aroma.

What remains after extraction is known as full-spectrum cannabidiol. It contains all of the hemp’s cannabinoids (including its small amount of THC content), terpenes, and other plant compounds. Full-spectrum CBD products are likely to be the most effective (because of the entourage effect), and they’re also most likely to have an aroma similar to marijuana.

Full-spectrum CBD can be processed further. Almost all of the THC can be removed to produce broad-spectrum cannabidiol. It still contains terpenes and other natural compounds, but the several rounds of processing can diminish the hemp’s natural scent even more. Broad-spectrum CBD products are a bit less effective because they only contain trace amounts of THC.

One more round of processing produces the final type of CBD, CBD isolate, which is just pure CBD with no other cannabinoids and no terpenes. What’s the typical smell of CBD isolate? There is none, because it contains no terpenes.

All three types of CBD are used to produce CBD products. They’re labeled as full-spectrum, broad-spectrum, or isolate, giving consumers their choice of products with the maximum allowable THC content (the UK government has set it at 0.2%, the US Farm Bill makes it 0.3%, and most European nations also set it at 0.3%), only a trace of THC, or no THC at all.

The type of CBD in the product you purchase you purchase is one determinant of how much (or how little) your CBD oil (or tincture, edible, topical, or vape juice) will smell like weed. It’s not the only one, however.

Manufacturing CBD Products

When you buy a CBD product at the store or online, it contains more than cannabidiol. Other ingredients in the product can play a major role in what it smells like.

Cannabidiol is paired with a “carrier oil” in virtually all CBD products. That oil helps the body fully absorb the cannabinoid, maximizing the CBD’s effectiveness. Special types of oils, known as medium-chain-triglycerides, are used as carriers because they help the cannabidiol get into the bloodstream quickly without having to first go through the digestive process.

The most common carrier oils are MCT oil, coconut oil, and hemp seed oil. Some can have an impact on the way CBD oil and other products smell; MCT oil typically has no aroma, but hemp seed oil has a nutty scent, and coconut oil, naturally, smells like coconut.

Most producers include other extra ingredients to their CBD products, too. Some add terpenes to make up for those that may have been lost in the extraction process, and those terps will affect the aroma of the product. Emulsifiers, preservatives, and other ingredients meant to boost the product’s health and wellness benefits are often added.

Flavoring and coloring agents are common additives as well. Flavoring agents, of course, will usually impact the smell of a product; CBD gummies and edibles are more appealing to consumers if they smell and taste like fruit or chocolate, not weed. And essential oils are regularly added to creams, lotions, and other topical products, dramatically altering their scent.

Here’s the bottom line. If you’re going to be smoking CBD in the form of CBD flower, it will smell like weed because it comes directly from the hemp plant. For all other cannabidiol products, there are almost as many possible scents as there are options for using CBD.

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