It seems like new cannabinoids come on the market every week, but THCA is one of the original cannabinoids, and you just didnt know it.
With the explosion of new hemp products on the market, many new derivative cannabinoids have been created, but THCA is not one of them. It exists in very small quantities in hemp plants, and is most abundant in the marijuana plant, and most known for it conversion to THC.
But on its own THCA may have unique health benefits, and new research is showing that it can interact with the endocannabinoid system.
All cannabis sativa plants, whether hemp or marijuana, produce cannabinoids in only one form, the “acidic form”. There are many different acidic cannabinoids, over 100, but some of the most common ones are:
The acidic term comes from the presence of a carboxylic acid group (-COOH) located on the different cannabinoids.
All cannabinoids come from the mother cannabinoid CBGA, which is created by the olivetolate geranyltransferase. CBGA is then converted to THCA by the THCA synthase enzyme.
In the marijuana plant, the flower produces high levels of the THCA synthase enzyme leading to high amounts of THCA, unlike the hemp plant which produces high levels of the CBDA synthase enzyme leading to high amounts of CBDA.
The preference between these two enzymes is the technical difference between the marijuana and hemp plant.
THC, like CBD, is a natural byproduct of acidic cannabinoids but is not directly made by the cannabis plant. To convert THCA to THC requires heat exposure, which decarboxylates the acidic form to its neutral form.
Isolation of THCA and other cannabinoids in the acidic form has been difficult at scale, and only recently have new products been developed with these type of cannabinoids.
Conventional curing and processing of raw cannabis flower introduce heat at many steps which convert THCA to THC:
Scientists at Natural Dos have created a new purification process that isolates only the acidic cannabinoids from the hemp plant.
For the first time time, this allows products to be made using high amounts of CBDA, THCA or CBGA!
While significant amounts of THCA are found in the flower, there is typically only a small amount of THC. When consumers purchase medical marijuana flower in state where it is legal, most of the cannabinoids are still in the acidic form.
No. But….
If you find an isolated tincture or edible, and the certificate of analysis shows that all the THC is in the THCA form, you will not get a high from it.
However, this is often rare. The process of making edibles usually involves heat, and some amount of THCA will turn into the psychoactive THC.
If you have a vape with THCA juice, smoking it will convert the THCA to THC and you will get psychoactive properties.
The same hold true for cannabis flowers that are high in THCA, any smoking will convert it to THC since the heat will always decarboxylate the vast majority of acidic cannabinoids.
THCA by itself is molecularly similar to delta 8 and delta 9 THC, but does not have the psychoactive effects.
When heated via smoking or vaping, THCA will have similar effects to delta 9 THC since it is converted. Delta 8 THC also has similar effects to delta 9 THC, but is considered to have slightly less psychoactive effects, sometimes referred to as “THC light”.
One of the unique benefits of cannabinoid acids is their superior absorption.
Recent studies show that THCA is almost 200% better absorbed than its neutral form THC. This is not unusual.
Other studies that show CBDA absorption is over 450% better than CBD.
The effects of cannabinoids are well studied for their interactions with the endocannabinoid system, and specifically, their interactions with different cannabinoid receptors.
Active THC is known to bind to the CB1 receptor, which is predominantly located on nerve cells the central nervous system. It is this interaction that gives THC its unique intoxicating effects.
THCA does not interact with the CB2 receptor, a target for CBD and CBDA, but does have weak interactions with the CB1 receptor. However, these interactions with the CB1 receptor are not strong enough to produce intoxicating effects like THC.
In summary, current research indicates that THCA itself does not interact much with the major cannabinoid receptors.
A number of research studies have found that acidic cannabinoids can have metabolic properties, and THCA is not exception.
For example, THCA metabolic effects were found to induce mitochondrial biogenesis through the PPAR-gamma transcription factor pathway. This PPAR dependent activation is a primary target for anti-diabetic drugs like rosiglitazone, that increase insulin sensitivity.
If you are interested in consuming THCA molecules themselves, and not decarboxylating to THC, then you will need to find a tincture or edible that is sourced from a cannabinoid acid only purification process.
Most of the THCA focused products will be in the smokable form, since the vast majority of users are looking for the psychoactive effects of THC itself.
Most cannabis consumers when looking at raw cannabis plants, such as medical marijuana, are interested in the THCA content. The amount of THCA in the flower will determine how much THC is consumed since the product is typically smoked.
A high THCA cannabis plant produces in the range of 20% or over for THCA.
Look for a certificate of analysis on the product to determine the amount of THCA in the flower or vape.
We bring up this point because many people consuming THCA in high amounts find the intoxicating effects to be too extreme. This is for two reasons:
Almost all the THCA products sold on the market in either in the flower form, or sometimes as vape juice. Also, since THCA is only found in the marijuana plant to any substantial degree, it can only be bought in states that have recreational or medical marijuana laws.
For more information on why you may or may not see “hemp derived THCA”, see the legal section below.
Yes. Sort of….
There is not enough studies on the side effects of THCA itself. For THC, there are a significant number of side effects that should be considered:
If you are new to THCA and THC, we recommend starting with a lower amount, around 5mg dose, before trying a higher amount. This can help reduce anxiety side effects of THC, along with taking CBD or CBDA at the same time.
The legality of THCA is a bit of a grey area since the 2018 federal farm bill. The federal guidelines state only mention a legal limit of 0.3% delta 9 THC. However, many states include THCA in their calculation of total THC in a hemp plant or final hemp product.
While the THCA molecule itself may be federally legal, most state hemp programs will not allow a product to have over 0.3%. Because of this, almost all THCA products can only be found in states that have legal medical or recreational marijuana laws.
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