Italian scientists have discovered a new cannabis compound that is potentially thirty times more potent than THC, reports CNN.

The study, that was published in the journal Nature, Scientific Reports, shows that apart from the new cannabinoid THCP, the scientists also discovered a previously unknown compound that appears to be a close relative of CBD, which is known for its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant activity, according to CNN.
In order to conduct the study, the compounds were isolated and identified and tested for their ability to bind to human cannabinoid receptors which are responsibe for regulating everything, from sleep to apetite and pain. The results showed that THCP bounded to the receptors 33 times more than THC does.
"This means that these compounds have higher affinity for the receptors in the human body," said Dr. Cinzia Citti, lead author of the research and post-doctoral fellow in life sciences at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy. "In cannabis varieties where THC is present in very low concentrations, then we can think that the presence of another, more active cannabinoid can explain those effects."