THC is known among many cannabis users since its important when choosing new strains and products. What is unknown to many is that THC is produced from the acid compound THCA through refining and curing. There has been a sharp contestation of THC vs THCA, with many confusing the content of raw and fresh cannabis. For those who are interested in medical marijuana, it will be very important to know the distinction and understand the comparison of THCA to THC.
Raw marijuana lacks the intoxicating cannabinoid THC but is rich in tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA). You can hardly compare THCA and THC, but knowing one comes from the other is important. We will demystify the difference between THC and THCA in this piece and explain what is thca, what does thca do, why you can get high on thc but not thca, and the difference between thc and thca.
What is Thca: Difference of THC vs TCHA?
There is a close comparison of Thca to tch, but it’s important to know What is Thca and its effects when consumed. THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) are non-psychoactive cannabinoids contained in fresh cannabis. On the other hand, THC is an active cannabinoid of converted from THCA through a decarboxylation process which is basically drying and/or heating. Heating raw cannabis will transform THCA into the intoxicating cannabinoid THC.
The most significant difference between thc and thca is the intoxicating effect. THCA will not make one high, while THC will. This fact explains why someone chewing fresh cannabis doesn’t get high. Cannabis, in its fresh state, only has THCA until exposed to heat, when it converts to THC, a psychoactive compound.
How is THCA Converted into THC?
THCA is converted into THC through a process called decarboxylation. The conversion of thca to thc involves exposing THCA to heat to remove the carboxyl group. Decarboxylation can be done through a different process.
Sunlight/Heat Conversion
Exposing the THCA to sunlight or heat will remove one carboxyl group, converting Thca to tch. The process will be slow at low degrees, but the result will be the same.
Room Temperature Conversion
Storing THCA at room temperature for a long time will convert it to THC. The process could also be slower, but the results will be fast when other molecules are added. Submerging the tcha in olive oil or ethanol increases decabonation making conversion of thca to tch quicker. They aren’t a must, though, since THCA on its own has the potential to change to THC after some time at room temperature without any intervention.
Exposure to Heat
Putting fresh cannabis in heat converts a large amount of Thca to thc. THCA can be converted to THC by exposure to heat through smoking, vaping, and oven decarboxylation.
Potential Benefits of THC vs TCHA
Cannabis has healthy nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and oxidants. They are high in fiber, omega 3, fatty acids, calcium, iron foliate, and vitamins A and K. research has also proved that they can help address appetite loss, nausea, pain, and inflammation. You can add them as part of your food for health enhancement. Other benefits of THCA include the following:
• Anti-inflammatory – the anti-inflammatory property of THCA makes it possible to treat and manage noncommunicable diseases like arthritis, fatty liver disease, and fibromyalgia, among others.
• Neuroprotective – neuroprotective protective property helps in treating and protecting against neurodegenerative diseases.
• Anti-emetic – these properties helps in the treatment of appetite loss and reduction of nausea
• Anti-obesity – THCA can treat and manage obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver.
• Anti-proliferative properties enable them to treat cancers like prostate cancer.
• Anti-spasmodic properties make it possible for THCA to treat muscle spasms.
Benefits of THC
THC has other benefits apart from the ones listed above. Some of these benefits include:
• Treatment of addiction by avoiding options, heroin or alcohol. It boosts the treatment of addiction to other drugs.
• Helps improve metabolism, which helps in reducing obesity and diabetes
• They reduce pain and eye pressure
• Help in reducing anxiety
• They aid in sleep
So, What does thca do?
Thca can work at lower doses compared to THC. Another distinctive comparison between Thc vs tcha is that thca is legal and doesn’t make people high; hence the use is more exciting, while THC has restrictions, and users don’t use it freely.
Methods of consuming THCA
Smoking
Smoking is the most popular way that many cannabis users prefer. Exposing THCA to high heat will convert it to THC within a very short time. It is not, however, efficient as a lot of molecules are lost.
Vaping
Vaping efficiently increases the amount of THCA converted to THC. The continuous heat at low temperatures helps convert the right amount of THCA. High temperatures could, however, make you lose THC; hence you need to regulate them.
Vape pens
Vape pens are more efficient since the conversion of Thca to tch is already done. The flowers used are heated and loaded in the vale pens, and decarboxylation is already done. Vape pens can therefore be an efficient way of consuming a large amount of THC.
Dabbing
You can take your THC by dabbing, which is almost similar to vaporization though it uses crystalline. It is flavored to strip terpenes and has flavonoids that isolate cannabinoids.
Baking
You can bake your cannabinoid in an oven to eat at home. The oven can efficiently convert THCA into THC. You can mix it with butter or any ingredient of your choice.
Juicing
It is easy and simple to make cannabis juice. Many people are taking cannabis juice, and it’s getting its way in many shops and restaurants. Making juice is easy, just like making any vegetable juice. Juicing extracts THCA from the cannabis without heating. This means THCA will not be converted to psychoactive THC. Hence they are mostly taken for medicinal purposes.
Other ways that people can add a dosage of cannabis to their diet include:
• Mixing in smoothies
• Raw salads
• Steaming with vegetables
• Salad dressing
You now have a clear knowledge of thc vs tcha and can make a clear distinction. It is good to know that they interact differently with people; hence, a good prescription can only be advised by a medical marijuana doctor. There are other THCA edibles you can get with clear dosage information on the market to help you know how much to take.
Find a Medical Marijuana Doctor
If you are in the states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, or New Jersey and are in need of a Medical Marijuana Doctor to get your MMJ card, contact Elite Alternative Medicine. Our Marijuana Doctor has been helping patients for over 10 years. Dr. Adams is intimately familiar with the laws, regulations, and processes required to get a medical marijuana id card in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Ohio. Don’t wait, contact us today!