With the rise of “legal cannabis”, consumers are constantly being bombarded with new products and terminology.
One such buzzword is THCa.
THCa is often touted as a non-psychoactive alternative to traditional THC, but that is not necessarily the truth. The facts are that ALL cannabis products are actually THCa. There is absolutely no difference from THCa cannabis to the THC cannabis that you get from the dispensary or from your street plug. It’s simply a legal loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that cannabis producers exploit to be able to market their products. The Bill states that THC cannabis can’t be sold. There is no direct THC in raw cannabis to begin with. Never was. All THC starts out as THCa. Eating raw cannabis won’t get you stoned. Heat it up in an oven at 250 for 20-30 minutes and you release the a molecule in THCa, leaving only THC and you’ll get stoned. Same thing with smoking it or vaping it. You need to heat it to do that, Duh.
The cannabis has to be heated by smoking it, vaping it, or decarbing it for edibles. It’s always been this way. There is no such thing as special weed with just THCa that doesn’t convert to THC when heated. The squares that wrote the Bill were not versed on the actual science behind cannabis, and therefore it created a loophole for cannabis to be sold. Nothing more regarding the legal aspects.
There are differences however, in the ways the cannabis is produced which directly impacts the levels of THCa and THC in the finished product. Some cannabis producers use methods like harvesting the cannabis early to deliberately keep THCa and THC levels low. They do this for a variety of reasons. Here are a few.
- By having lower levels of THCa and THC, their products can be legal in regions where cannabis laws are more strict.
- Earlier harvest means faster production. Faster production means more money made for the greedy business.
Improper drying and curing will also lead to a product with lower THC levels as well as a few other things. I won’t get into all the facets of growing and processing crappy flowers. Just know that they are out there. Over 90% of the stuff available on the internet is trash. Do your own research on these brands before you buy it. Dank Works grows all of our products indoors, organically, and under optimal conditions. No shortcuts. You’ll never get mids with us.
You can find out the actual THC content if you only know the THCA percentage by using this simple math formula.
THCa to THC Conversion Formula:
Total THC = 2 + (THCa% × 0.877)
Example:
Product contains 30% THCa
30% THCa x 0.877 + 2 = 28.31% THC
Synopsis
Most of the cannabis producers grow their products outdoors or in greenhouses which produce a mid quality product. Outdoor cannabis will not have as high THC levels as the same cannabis strain grown indoors under optimum conditions.
So if you are buying a cannabis strain that is supposed to be 30% THC, but it doesn’t feel like it, the cannabis was most likely not produced indoors and/or under the most ideal conditions. The strain may be able to achieve a THC level of 30%, but only if you maximize that strain’s THC potential by growing it in the most perfect conditions.
Different strains have different amounts and levels of THCa/THC and cannabis farmers growing and processing the cannabis use different methods which directly impact how much THCa/THC will be in the cannabis. If the farmer grows outside and in greenhouses instead of indoors under ideal conditions, the cannabis will be of mid-quality. If the farmer harvests early, there will be less THCa/THC in the cannabis. If the farmer processes the flower without a proper dry and cure under the right conditions the cannabis will be sub-par and the THCa/THC content will be less than if allowed to fully dry and cure. Some cannabis farmers will often purposefully keep the THC levels low so that the products can legally be sold in areas that strictly adhere to the rules. Most cannabis farmers grow outdoors to keep costs low, but that results in a lesser quality product than you get with indoor flowers.
In short, there are cannabis brands producing high quality indoor flowers with a proper dry and cure, but mostly you’re getting mids, at best from online “THCa” shops. Don’t expect high quality Cali bud from most retailers unless you know that’s what they deal in, like Dank Works.
A Bit Of Science
What is THCa?
THCa, or tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, is the acidic precursor to THC, the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis. In its raw form, THCa does not produce the euphoric effects associated with cannabis consumption. (Just like any other cannabis) However, when heated through processes like smoking, vaping, or cooking, THCa undergoes a chemical transformation called decarboxylation, converting it into THC.
The Decarboxylation Process
Decarboxylation is a crucial step in activating the psychoactive properties of cannabis. Whether you’re smoking a joint, vaping a cartridge, or making edibles, the heat source initiates this process, turning THCa into THC.
In Conclusion
It’s important to understand that all cannabis is THCa.