The increase in legislation supporting the legalization of cannabis or marijuana has helped more people become more familiar with tetrahydrocannabinol or THC.
However, tetrahydrocannabinol is far from the only cannabinoid or cannabis compound you can find in marijuana. Many people are also familiar with its cousin, cannabidiol or CBD, but few know about THCA.
No, THCA isn’t a typo. It’s a whole other cannabinoid. Adding just one letter at the end can change many things — from people’s knowledge and perception about it to its chemical composition and how to take cannabis to get more of it.
Every cannabis-based product from a High Profile dispensary, whether recreational or not, comes with an extensive product label. These labels are filled with an alphabet soup of capital letters: THC, THCA, CBD, CBG, CBN, and more. Each label details the cannabinoid and terpene profile down to the exact percentages.
Does THCA Get You High?
Upon careful inspection of these labels, you’ll likely notice a trend — THCA almost always has a much higher content than other cannabinoids. You might find yourself wondering, “What is it and why does it have a higher content percentage than tetrahydrocannabinol? Is there really any difference?”
Understanding THCA and its difference from THC begins with a basic understanding of THCA vs THC.
THC, or more formally delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, is one of the hundreds of cannabinoids found in cannabis plants, such as marijuana or hemp. Tetrahydrocannabinolis an active ingredient derived from the leaves, flower or buds, and stem of the marijuana plant. However, it isn’t found in the raw or freshly picked parts of the plant.
THC is also primarily known for being the defining factor behind the legality of cannabis products on a state and federal level.
THCA stands for tetrahydrocannabinolic acid. Like THC, it is also a cannabinoid naturally found in marijuana. THCA also shares a similar chemical composition to THC, with the only difference being an additional carboxyl group.
Having almost the same chemical structure except for an extra carboxyl group makes THCA the acidic form of tetrahydrocannabinol. This slight difference in structure means that it works differently. Unlike THC, THCA is an inactive compound. It is also present in raw, live, freshly-picked, and unprocessed parts of the plant.
More importantly, it is the precursor to THC. Heat, burning, and prolonged exposure to air or drying out marijuana triggers the chemical reaction that converts it.
Here’s a quick and simplified recap of the differences:
It is an inactive compound, while THC is active.
THCA becomes the other when you burn, heat up, or dry out marijuana. It is present in live, raw, freshly-harvested cannabis, while tetrahydrocannabinol comes from processed cannabis.
Decarboxylation turns one into the other by removing the extra carboxyl group in its chemical structure. This chemical reaction is triggered by exposure to high temperatures, heat, or light.
This process changes the chemical composition or structure, converting it into the other one.
Decarboxylation can happen through any of the following:
Exposure to direct heat, such as burning, vaping, or smoking cannabis
Exposure to extreme sunlight
Exposure to high room temperatures
Prolonged exposure to air
The legal use of cannabis or marijuana depends on a lot of factors, including age, state laws, amount used, and more. Medical marijuana use is now legal in 38 states, plus Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, recreational marijuana has been legalized in 19 states and D.C.
Another important factor in determining marijuana legality is the potency of the THC. Across the U.S., the legal limit for it in marijuana products is 0.3%
The only way to get it is to use or ingest raw cannabis. You shouldn’t smoke, vape, or even add it to your favorite desserts.
One alternative to eating or ingesting raw marijuana into your diet is to look for products that process the cannabis without using any heat. You can visit your nearest High Profile cannabis dispensary to ask for recommendations and ideas on how to use them.
You can also add the leaves, buds, or flower to smoothies, juices, salads as greens or dressing, sauces, and other cooked meals as garnish.
Ingesting or juicing fresh leaves, buds, and flower allows you to get the potential therapeutic effects of marijuana without experiencing any psychoactive effects, such as the signature euphoric high.
When talking about cannabis products, you can’t leave out potency and product labels. Federal rules require brands and dispensaries to be transparent regarding these topics. This is mainly because this is how the legality of marijuana on a state level is determined.
Cannabinoid potency affects the product’s overall potential therapeutic benefits. This means products with low THCA and THC potency will be less effective than more potent ones.
There are two ways to test for potency. One is liquid chromatography (LC), while the other is gas chromatography (GC). Both of these techniques are effective but produce slightly different results because of the difference in how they are conducted.
For more accurate THCA potency, relying on LC or liquid chromatography test results is better. This is because gas or GC involves high temperatures. As such, most of the THCA ends up decarboxylating into THC.
For high THCA content, using or taking raw marijuana buds, leaves, and flower may be your best option. However, there are also many processed products that contain both. If you want or need more or have questions regarding product potency, we recommend talking to any staff in a High Profile dispensary.
If you are interested in trying cannabis or have any questions, the experienced staff at your local High Profile Cannabis store locations in cities like St Louis, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, and many other dispensaries can help you find the right product or strain for all your needs.
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