StaffEditors Note: This is a guest post.
You are probably familiar with THC, the psychoactive compound that gets you high. Scientifically, it is referred to as Delta – 9 Tetrahydrocannabinol.
Sometimes, it can induce an intense high to users, which might border towards anxiety and paranoia. An alternative, referred to as Delta – 8 THC, has started making a name for itself in the growing cannabis market.
This is because the consumption of Delta 8 THC allows the users to enjoy weed without trading off their peace.
It is thus sold packaged in edibles, tinctures, flowers, oils, or vaporizers. Below, you will see all the information you will need to know about a Delta 8 flower.
Making the Delta 8 THC Flower
There are no specific cannabis strains that produce Delta -8 THC in large amounts. Naturally, the compound is found in amounts close to 1% in the hemp plant by the oxidation of delta – 9 THC to Delta 8 THC.
Due to this scarcity, companies result in using state-of-the-art extraction, refining, and isolation methods.
They include distillation, molecular isolation, isomerization of CBD to delta eight, or thin-film distillation of delta 9 to delta 8. The process is energy and time-consuming, contributing to the high cost of delta – 8 products.
Differences Between Delta – 9 and Delta – 8 THC
Although both compounds are siblings, their molecular make-up and effects are ways to pick them apart.
Chemical double bonding on Delta -8 is on carbon number 8, while delta – 9 is on the ninth one. This, in turn, affects how each compound interacts with the body.
How Delta – 8 THC Works
All cannabinoids work through the endocannabinoid system. This is how nature intended to control hormone release, inflammatory response, mood, appetite, and essential body functions such as blood pressure and blood glucose regulation.
Smoking a Delta – 8 Flower delivers THC directly into the blood from the lungs, thus providing the fastest route to elicit a response.
Delta – 8 THC has a preference for CB1 receptors primarily found in the brain and spinal cord. Hence, the psychoactive effects are only about 66% of a Delta-9 THC ‘high’ experience.
Research on this compound is still in its early stages, but the response is interpreted as a bridge between CBD and Delta – 9 THC. That means a combination of euphoria common to the latter and serene relaxation attributed to the former.
Effects of Smoking a Delta – 8 Flower
Smoking the product can help:
- Reduce nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy drugs.
- Act as an anti-tumor agent. Research has shown that it can reduce a tumor mass in rats by a significant percentage.
- Increase your focus and energy levels, which is ideal if you are taking it for other ailments but still want to do some work.
- Make you more intelligent by enhancing the neurotransmitter acetylcholine synthesis and release that makes learning easier and faster.
- Improve your appetite.
Dosages of Delta – 8 THC
Everyone is unique, and therefore there is no standard dosage across the board. The response depends on age, body weight, genetics, nutritional factors, among others.
Smoking also depends on your level of experience and tolerance to cannabis. However, the relatively safe way to try out the products can be using tolerance to your advantage.
You can start with low doses working towards dosages you are comfortable with.
Common side effects include; an increased heart rate, mood changes, and slowed movement and reflexes.
Can You Pass a Drug Test with Delta – 8 THC?
Even though the 2018 Farm Bill legalized the cannabinoids found in hemp as long as THC levels are below 0.3%, the body does not recognize this.
Therefore Delta – 9 and Delta – 8 THC will be metabolized the same way, producing molecules that produce a positive drug test.
Regularity of smoking is another factor; THC is fat-soluble and can thus be stored in fat cells, making clearance take a long time.
Is delta – 8 THC legal?
The DEA still includes tetrahydrocannabinol as a Schedule 1 controlled substance; therefore, this vagueness can still land you in trouble. Avoid it at work or if you are taking a drug test in three months.
