Studies on cannabinoids that predate the identification of ∆⁹-THC as the intoxicating constituents of recreational cannabis by Raphael Mechoulam in 1964 are reviewed, critically analyzing the controversies and faux pas that have characterized the early research in this area. Significant contributions to the elucidation of the signature molecular scaffold of cannabinoids were provided by some of the finest organic chemists of their generation, like Roger Adams and the Nobel laureate Alexander Todd, and important studies of preeminent scientists like Robert Sidney Cahn and František Šantavý also deserve mentioning. The results of these studies include the structure elucidation of cannabinol (2a), and the preliminary structure elucidation of cannabidiol (CBD, 3a) and various semi-synthetic tetrahydrocannabinols (THCs). A comparative analysis of the contributions to the area by Adams and Todd highlights the transition between two generations of organic chemists, and the profound influence that the development of chromatographic methods of purification and of spectroscopic techniques of structure elucidation have played on the development of organic chemistry.

研究早于Δ鉴定大麻⁹的-THC作为休闲大麻在1964年醉人的成分由拉斐尔·梅乔勒姆审查，严格地分析了争议和失礼有特点在这一领域的早期研究。罗杰·亚当斯（Road Adams）和诺贝尔奖获得者亚历山大·托德（Alexander Todd）等当代最优秀的有机化学家为阐明大麻素的标志性分子支架做出了重要贡献，罗伯特·西德尼·卡恩（Robert Sidney Cahn）和弗兰蒂谢克·桑塔维（FrantišekŠantavý）等杰出科学家的重要研究也值得提及。这些研究的结果包括大麻素（2a）的结构解析，以及大麻二酚（CBD，3a）和各种半合成四氢大麻酚（THC）。对Adams和Todd对这一领域的贡献进行的比较分析突出了两代有机化学家之间的过渡，以及色谱纯化方法的发展和结构解析光谱技术的发展对有机化学发展的深远影响。 。