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Dr. Cannabis

Glossary

Entourage effect

The hypothesis that cannabis compounds work better together than in isolation. Plausible, widely assumed, and still unproven in humans.

A 2024 PRISMA systematic review concluded that "the potential for synergistic or additive enhancement of cannabinoid efficacy by terpenes remains unproven" and called for clinical trials.

Two well-conducted mechanistic studies disagree. One found terpenes do not act at cannabinoid receptors and do not modify THC signalling. Another found several terpenes produced cannabimimetic behaviour in mice — but at concentrations above 10 micromolar in vitro and 200 mg/kg in vivo, far beyond realistic human exposure.

Treat the entourage effect as an open scientific question, not a settled fact.

Also written as: ensemble effect, synergy.

Related terms

Sources

  1. André R, Gomes AP, Pereira-Leite C, et al. The Entourage Effect in Cannabis Medicinal Products: A Comprehensive Review. Pharmaceuticals. 2024;17(11):1543.(DOI 10.3390/ph17111543)Accessed 2026-08-15.
  2. Finlay DB, Sircombe KJ, Nimick M, Jones C, Glass M. Terpenoids From Cannabis Do Not Mediate an Entourage Effect by Acting at Cannabinoid Receptors. Frontiers in Pharmacology. 2020;11:359.(DOI 10.3389/fphar.2020.00359)Accessed 2026-08-15.
  3. LaVigne JE, Hecksel R, Keresztes A, Streicher JM. Cannabis sativa terpenes are cannabimimetic and selectively enhance cannabinoid activity. Scientific Reports. 2021;11:8232.(DOI 10.1038/s41598-021-87740-8)Accessed 2026-08-15.