What is THCA?

In recent years everyone seems to be only talking about CBD. THC was once the most popular and best-known cannabinoid in cannabis. But CBD has gained a lot in popularity. A lot of products have recently come on the market to which CBD has been added. CBD is in cosmetics, shampoo, candy, lotions, pet food, coffee, and even hamburgers. Many people say that they benefit from the medical properties of CBD. It would reduce stress, reduce fatigue, bring focus, it would have anti-inflammatory properties, and it is said to reduce all kinds of pains. Not everyone benefits, but there are so many people who experience it as positive that it simply cannot be ignored. The immense popularity has ensured that many people have been able to test whether CBD can help them in any way with ailments. Incidentally, it is also concluded from laboratory studies that CBD and THC can only be really effective if both substances are present. So if there is also a bit of THC in a CBD strain, then that also boosts the properties of CBD. Now that CBD has become mainstream, the focus seems to have shifted to the next super-cannabinoid, and that is THCA. Did you know that there are more than 100 active cannabinoids in marijuana? So there is still a lot to discover in that area. Of all those cannabinoids we will discuss THCA further in this article.

Ok, but what exactly is THCA and what effects does it have? Well, did you know that THC does not actually occur in a cannabis plant? That sounds confusing, right? A cannabis plant contains THCA, and only when you harvest the weed plant, let it dry, and then heat or burn, the THCA transform into THC. So suppose you would eat a weed plant raw, it would not make you high, did you know that? Think about it. Why else would everyone go through that entire process, from harvesting, drying, curing, and smoking (burning) or cooking (heating)? The reason for this is to allow a decarboxylation process to take place. That is a difficult word that implies that the THCA is converted into THC. One cannabinoid, which does not make you high, is converted into another cannabinoid, which does cause psychoactive effects. A chemical reaction, therefore, takes place when a flower top is dried and hardened. But the process goes even faster when the plant material is heated or burned. So if, for example, you make cannabis butter, which you can later use in all kinds of dishes and edibles, you will wake up the THC by heating the THCA. In fact, THC is the psychoactive extension of THCA.

The strength of a certain cannabis strain or a certain cannabis product is measured by, among other things, the THCA content. There are various tests to measure the power of the product. Two of these are the so-called liquid chromatography and gas chromatography. Many US states require that cannabis and cannabis products demonstrate how strong the product is in terms of THC. In one method, heating takes place so that the THC value can be measured. Incidentally, there is a lot of criticism of this test because the results would not be reliable. The second method seems to be more accurate because it is possible to accurately calculate how much THC is in the product.