They all appear to interact with each otIher in what experts call the “entourage effect.”
This is the hypothesis that the “full spectrum” of cannabis, including all the cannabinoids, terpenes, and other compounds found in cannabis, work synergistically to produce its sensations and effects.
In other words, it’s a hypothesis that a little bit of everything might have more benefit than a lot of one thing.
A 2010 studyTrusted Source, for example, showed that a combination of CBD and THC was more effective for pain management than THC alone.
In a 2018 studyTrusted Source, breast cancer tumors in a Petri dish responded better to a cannabis extract than pure THC on its own. However, those synergistic effects were believed to be mainly attributed to other cannabinoids and not terpenes.
This is important to consider if you’re using CBD for therapeutic purposes. If you use a CBD isolate (a product that contains only CBD) and find it doesn’t have your desired effect, it might be worth trying full-spectrum CBD.