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Comment by bitxbitxbitcoin | Hacker News Reader

There is a lot of misinformation here.

THC-A is the acid form of Delta 9 THC. Marijuana has mostly THC-A that doesn’t turn into d9 thc until it is decarboxylated. Look at any test result COAs of marijuana to see what I am talking about.

THC-A hemp is just marijuana that isn’t considered marijuana until it is burnt. Hemp is just cannabis. It is all cannabis. The same cultivars are being used for THC-A hemp as medicinal and recreational. In fact, there is genetic bottlenecking going on.

As you said though, cutting early generally ensures that any cultivar doesn’t “test hot” for d9 THC. Besides sufficient heat, THC-A turns into d9THC through oxidation as well as UV exposure so the sun isn’t necessary. There is plenty of THC-A hemp flower being grown indoors too.

Happy to answer any further questions.

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You are mostly correct. But there are definitely common instances where hemp that is strain specific to be low in THC is sprayed with outside sourced thca. I have found this to be the case for most brands I see in texas, unfortunately. That and added synthetic terpenes imo bastardize the legal hemp industry as it is.

It's this exactly that turned me off, especially after a sales person misinformed me that their products where definitely not sprayed with anything, when the flower brand website itself told me otherwise.

Good point! The “THCa hemp flower” that is hemp flower sprayed with THCa distillate isomerized from CBDa distillate processed from hemp flowers is a distinct product from drug type cannabis flower being sold under the label of THCa hemp flower which is generally just the same old black market stuff with a new outlook on life and a note from a lawyer in the USPS box. Add in the botanically or synthetically derived terpenes and you have a recipe for a headache in my experience.

The thing is, those fake terps are being added to both types of THCa flower and regular products on actual legal markets.

> In fact, there is genetic bottlenecking going on.

Do you have more info about this? I've never seen this claim before (not saying you're wrong) and would love to learn more.

I have research in progress I can share with you. Reach out! Same username on Twitter.

Thanks, that's why I wish they delved into the topic further as I'm certainly no expert in chemistry or growing cannabis. When I meant "activated" delta 9, I meant decarb'd as you said. Not sure where I'm giving misinformation apart from that.

Would you say that vapes and edibles in this loophole inherently have to be sprayed with chemicals, due to how these inherently must be decarb'd, and due to the very low yield of other cannabinoids like Delta 8 in cannabis?

I would not say they inherently have to be sprayed. There are plenty of regenerative farmers - think the type of hippies that dont spray anything that isn’t organically derived - that take advantage of this loophole.

Spraying of chemicals could happen during the growth of the flower, or it could be spraying of flavorants and terpenes on a finished product, you’ll have to be more specific for me to answer further.

I think I get part of your question though. For vapes the loophole is that it can remain in acid form all the way up to the point it is shipped across the country and up til it is decarbed by the consumer hitting the vape.

Edibles would need to be decarbed but because of the loophole, you could have 10mg of straight decarbed d9THC in a regular sized cookie and per total weight of the product, it has less than .3% d9THC.

D8 distillate production is largely from a supply glut of cbd distillate which can be converted to d8 distillate OR d9 distillate with a process which has been widely publicized since 1971.

Can someone explain to me what the attraction is to THC-A, since it's not psychoactive? Is it because it is anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective?

It's psychoactive when it's decarboxylated (smoked, prepared as an edible). From what I can tell that turns it from Delta 9 THC-A to Delta 9 THC. I first went down this rabbit hole because I found what looked like normal flower in a smoke shop, and it does indeed get you high.

I've looked at the lab results for various medical/recreational products and even they tend to have a lot of THC-A, with THC hovering around or higher than the federal limit of 0.3%.

For instance, a quick look at a Chicago dispensary: https://www.sunnyside.shop/product/3439284

THC: 0.61%

THCA: 29.91%

Edit: Wild, ninja'd on a several hour late reply!

Not psychoactive until you heat it (vape or smoking it), then it decarbolyzes (sp?) to THC D9. That’s true even in dispensary grade and the reason you can just eat it directly and get high.

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