It is a dihydroxybenzoic acid and olivetolic acid in which the hydrogen at position 3 is substituted by a geranyl group.

It is a biosynthetic precursor to Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, which is the principal psychoactive constituent of the Cannabis plant.

It is also a meroterpenoid (i.e. a polyketide and a terpenoid), a member of resorcinols and a phytocannabinoid.

[1] In the Cannabis plant, olivetolic acid and geranyl diphosphate are synthesized into CBGA.

[2]: 6 [3]: 17  CBGA is converted in the plant by CBCA synthase, CBDA synthase and THCA synthase into CBCA, CBDA and THCA respectively.