CBD and THC, Delta 8, 9, 10, LMNO AND P?!? What the hell is happening? It seems that every week there is some new cannabis terminology that I have to throw on my professor’s cap for. In a time almost forgotten, way, way back in the early 90’s when I was being expelled from high schoo,l did I ever think to myself. “Alex, one day you are going to study a plant. You’re going to learn some big sciencey sounding words and out of pure frustration from lack of information you will start typing out a blog post with the best two finger pecking that anyone has ever seen.” But as reality would have it, here we are, missing the Family Feud and listening to my gums smacking after all. And although there will not be a test. We might as well get everyone signed up for Oaksterdam University. Because the entire class is going home with a Bachelor’s degree in Weedology.
WHAT ABOUT THC?
CBD (cannabidiol) is the lesser known chemical found in the Cannabis Sativa plant, Aka regular old sticky icky or what we have in Texas. It is different from THC, mainly because CBD does not have traditional psychoactive effects. Meaning that no matter how much you consume CBD doesn’t get you high, man. Bummer I know, but what the CBD molecule lacks for in length, it makes up for in girth. All of the medicinal value that we have grown to love from the hemp plant comes from the CBD side of things. But be aware of what you are putting in your body. If your job tests for THC, you will want to stay far away from any “full spectrum” CBD products. Those are the ones that will contain trace amounts of THC. And although it’s not guaranteed that you will pop dirty, there will always be a chance. Of course you will also want to verify lab reports. And if they ain’t got them, you can keep on shopping. But somewhere else, not there. Because that place sucks, it sucks like changing a tire in the summertime, boo boo.
what about thc?
THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) is the chemical found in the Cannabis plant that your parents are familiar with from their teenage years, But of course made sure to tell us all that they never inhaled. And while yes there are tons of medicinal benefits of THC on its own, perhaps my favorite benefit of the THC chemical is that it gets me stoned. “Ummm, can he say that?” Yes, yes I can, you’re not a cop right? You know you would have to tell me if you were? (Side note, THEY DO NOT HAVE TO TELL YOU.) And before people get there britches all up in stitches and start telling me about how their Memaw only used it for her glaucoma or how marijuana is the only thing that helps their own anxiety. What I am saying is the relief that we feel isn’t necessarily coming from the THC. Commonly the only two compounds that most people have heard anything about are simply THC & CBD. But there are literally hundreds and hundreds of other minor canabinoids in the plant that give us so many different benefits as well as a wide range of different “feelings.” It is gonna get controversial for a minute so go ahead get some popcorn ready. The comment section is going to be lit.
"LISTEN, IF YOU HAVE BEEN PASSING AROUND THE LEFT HANDED LETTUCE WRAPS FOR LONG ENOUGH THEN SOMEONE HAS MENTIONED THE TERMS, INDICA, SATIVA AND HYBRID BEFORE"
SATIVA, INDICA AND HYBRID... WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?
For years we only had the expertise of our local dope man to get us where we wanted to be. Y’all would meet at your favorite local shady spot and discuss what has been troubling you. And after enough small talk had gone down they would say something like. “I got you big homie, this cheese right here, this cheese is gonna make it all go away.” And hopefully if your street pharmacist was half as good as mine, then they usually weren’t far off. But if you were to ask them why they suggested one bud over the other, the best answer you might get is something related to the strain of the plant. “You want that Indica for sleep dawg, I’m telling you.” First they are not wrong(ish.) Listen, if you have been passing around the left handed lettuce wraps for long enough then someone has mentioned the terms, Indica, Sativa and Hybrid before. (Here comes the controversy.) We all learned that Indicas are heavy, more for the evening. And Sativas can be uplifting, better suited for the daytime and Hybrids are a blend of the two. We might have even learned a catchy Mnemonic that helped us to remember, “Indica, In Da Couch.” Once you knew that one, you couldn’t forget the rest. And all that was true for the nugs that Cheech & Chong were puffing on from the 1970’s. But this is not your grandson’s weed today.
EVERYTHING is a Hybrid. That sentence wasn’t just for shock value. It is undeniably becoming the truth. We have had over fifty years of cross pollination, gene splitting, carbon extracting. Just about every process that we knew about and invented a whole bunch of new shit along the way. Much like the population of our planet, our favorite skunky plant is a hodgepodge of species that grew in its place before. In today’s market the question is not what strain would you prefer. The real question is, “How would you like to feel?” Because of things like the “2018 Farmbill Act,” we have made more progress in discovering new compounds in the plant than ever before. And with those discoveries we now have an entirely new vocabulary of Minor Cannabinoids. Like I said, there is not going to be a test but that doesn’t mean that we can’t all learn together.
LET’S BREAK IT DOWN AS IF YOU WALKED INTO THE SHOP AND ASKED, “WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE WITH ALL THIS CBD AND DELTA STUFF?
CBD
Non-psychoactive, huge medicinal value, great for anti inflammation, stress, anxiety and sleep. (Minors within the CBD cell structure are going to include things like CBG, CBN, CBD-A) All of which have their own properties of targeting specific symptoms. “How do you want to feel?
What is the difference between Delta 8 & Delta 9 THC?
Delta 9 is just the actual name of plain old THC that your grandpappy would roll up. Its effects are psychoactive, can be sedative, or have you jumping out of your seat.
DELTA 8 THC
This is what we have in Texas or most other “non legal” states. D8 is THC extracted from the Hemp plant. And yes it is extremely psychoactive compared to CBD but it doesn’t leave you debating the existence of small aliens that live in your freezer to help keep your food cold. In fact, if you do about seven minutes of online research you will find a ton of articles that say things like. “All the fun of THC without the associated paranoia.” Effects are nice, not too cloudy, heavy on the shoulders but still very much able to function.
DELTA 10 THC
Yeah buddy, we are getting into the feels now. Psychoactive but for the person that is really looking for a strong Sativa, uplifting for out and about getting stuff done type vibes. Very head clear and easy on the body. If you’re the type that loves getting blasted. Then this one might not be the right one for you.
THC-P
Psychoactive all day every day. This minor cannabinoids are for the Indica lovers out there. I find THC-P to have a slight delay in effect. As well as being less harsh on the throat. Big side note. Somewhere, somehow some dumbass scientist was quoted saying that THC-P was 20 times as potent as regular THC. Not only is this misleading and untrue, I actually became 9% stupider after reading that.