Jeśli wiesz, czym jest THC, ale tak naprawdę nie słyszałeś o THCa , prawdopodobnie nie znasz różnicy. Chociaż oba są kannabinoidami , nie są takie same i nie będą miały takiego samego wpływu na ciebie po spożyciu. Łatwo byłoby pomylić THCa z THC, zarówno pod względem nazwy, jak i wyglądu, ale istnieje znacząca różnica, którą należy wziąć pod uwagę.
Jeśli szukasz nowych sposobów doświadczania działania kannabinoidów, ważne jest, abyś wiedział o nich wszystko i które będą zachęcać do pozytywnych efektów podczas palenia, wapowania lub spożywania ich w inny sposób. Ale podczas gdy THCa i THC pochodzą z tej samej rośliny, THCa po prostu nie da ci takiego samego haju – i prawdopodobnie jest to powód, dla którego słyszysz o tym po raz pierwszy.
Why are they different?
If they are so different, then why do they have a similar name? Well, THC or delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol is not completely separate from THCa or tetrahydrocannabinolic acid. Put simply, THCa can be considered the acidic form of THC, giving it different properties and results when ingested. THCa contains an additional carboxyl group and this is where the main difference comes from. However, THCa can be converted to THC in various ways.
Exposure to heat is the main way THCa is converted to THC, whether through sunlight, over a flame (smoking), or vaping. If you’ve ever consumed THC through baking, you’d probably need to put your ingredients in the oven before including them in your baking recipe – which is called decarboxylation. It is a process that removes an extra carboxyl group from a compound. Thus, it can be considered that THCa is just a raw form of THC that has not yet been prepared for consumption. That’s why you can’t eat THC and get high – because it hasn’t gone through the decarboxylation that happens when you smoke or vaporize it.
Before decarboxylation, the compound is larger, making it much harder for our CB1 or CB2 receptors to bind to it.
Benefits of THCa
Just because you won’t see the same high doesn’t mean there aren’t any benefits to consuming. In fact, there are many reasons to consume THC, despite the lack of the high you’ll get from it.
- Anti-inflammatory properties. THCa can be used to treat inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, chronic pain, as well as other serious injuries.
- Appetite-stimulating. People struggling to increase their appetite or eat regularly may need appetite stimulants to maintain a healthy diet.
- Help in falling asleep. THCa can potentially be used to treat sleep disorders such as insomnia.
- Anti-proliferative. According to research, THC can be used in the fight against cancer and some cancers.
- It can be used to treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and ALS.
As you can see, when it comes to medicinal benefits, THC can be used to alleviate many symptoms that may be lost after decarboxylation.
Benefits of THC
- In some cases, THC can be used as a painkiller. Like THCa, THC can reduce the symptoms of chronic pain.
- It can be used to treat the symptoms of glaucoma.
- THC can increase the body’s metabolism, which makes it easier for the body to process fat and prevent conditions such as diabetes.
- It can be used to treat other addictions by reducing dependence on other addictive substances.
THCa consumption
Since it does not work in the same way as THC, THC cannot be consumed in the same way. Smoking would decarboxylate it into THC. Instead, it may be as simple as just eating it. Consumption is not dangerous and the benefits of taking it orally can be seen. However, this is not the best way to consume it, purely because of the taste. THCa is not great tasting and can be swallowed much easier by adding it to juices or smoothies. Of course, the conversion to THC is not instantaneous, but it is quick as soon as THC is exposed to heat. If you smoke THC, you’ll only absorb a small amount of THC, so you need to think about that if you’re primarily looking for the THC benefits – rather than just trying to get high from it.