Blog Post
This post was originally published on November 12, 2026, as an article on Harold’s LinkedIn profile. You can read and leave comments here.
Every new industry builds its own vocabulary, and cannabis beverages are no exception. Over the past few years, we have created, referenced, and repeated a lot of new terms. One shows up almost everywhere: water-soluble cannabinoids. We read it on spec sheets, see it in the news and hear it from consumers. Most of us have stopped questioning it.
In a recent survey, over 1/3 of respondents believed emulsion makes cannabinoids water-soluble. However, “water-soluble” is not the scientifically accurate term to describe cannabinoids in the emulsion. In this article, let’s go back to the basic science and redefine the terms properly.
In chemistry, the word soluble has a precise meaning: when a substance dissolves, it breaks apart into individual molecules and stays as it is. For example, stir a spoon of sugar into water and watch the crystals disappear. Each glucose molecule breaks apart from other molecules and stays on its own. Compounds like sugar or salt can be called water-soluble.
Cannabinoids are hydrophobic and are not water-soluble by themselves. To get them into a drink, a certain transformation is needed. There are two major philosophies on the transformation which would lead to completely different behaviors and terminologies.
The chemical transformation: Glycosylation
Glycosylation usually happens under the fermentation reaction where a glucose molecule is connected to CBD with a chemical bond. Since glucose is water-soluble, it makes this new glycosylated-CBD molecule dissolve in water just like sugar.
This process alters CBD into a new molecule, which is called a prodrug in pharmacological terms. After we drink it, the enzymes cut the bond between the glucose and the CBD. Only then is CBD released and become bioavailable. In order for this technology to be widely applied, we have to understand the safety and pharmacokinetic pathway of this prodrug.
Water-soluble would be the correct terminology to describe cannabinoids going through a chemical reaction, allowing the new compound to dissolve in water at the molecular level.
The physical transformation: Emulsification
Emulsification takes the opposite approach. The process does not chemically change cannabinoids’ molecular structures. What it does is to assemble cannabinoids into tiny oil droplets while coating a layer of emulsifier on the external layer.
An emulsifier has two ends: an oil-loving tail and a water-loving head. During the emulsification process, the tail anchors in the droplet and the head faces out into water. This coating lowers the interfacial tension between oil and water, and it gives the droplets a water-friendly surface, allowing them to be introduced into aqueous products easily.
Since CBD molecules remain intact through emulsification, it is scientifically inaccurate to call it water-soluble. Thanks to the layer of emulsifier, the oil droplet became compatible with water. This is why water-compatible is the scientifically correct term when describing the behavior of cannabinoid emulsion droplets.
The take-home message
On paper, water-soluble and water-compatible look interchangeable. But scientifically, they describe two different ways a cannabinoid ends up in water. Emulsification technology does not change the cannabinoid structure but alters its physical presence, turning the emulsion droplets water-compatible.
The terminology is not trivial. Our industry is still young, and the words we choose have a big impact on regulators and consumers. Once a wrong term goes mainstream, it is very hard to pull back, and the misconception could travel for years. Correcting it is our responsibility, and it’s easier now than later.
Dr. Harold Han — the “Happy Chemist” — combines his storied background in emulsion chemistry and science with curiosity and fascination in the rapidly growing cannabis industry. Developing nano and micro emulsions his entire career, Harold holds a Ph.D in Surface Chemistry from NYU and is the holder of multiple patents for his inventions in emulsion chemistry.
As the Chief Science Officer at Vertosa, Harold spearheads the company’s development of industry-leading and customized active ingredients for infused product makers, offering pre-suspended aqueous solutions to create incredibly homogenous and stable products while maximizing bioavailability, clarity, and taste.
To learn more about the science of cannabis, make sure to follow Harold on LinkedIn and check out his Happy Chemist videos.