The concept of marijuana, cannabis, hemp or pot has taken a new dimension in recent times. Several news articles, news reports and public discuss forums is replete with activities and conversations surrounding the drug. The same rave is operative in the financial markets across North America, the research circles and the corporate consumer and activist circles.
No doubt, cannabis has truly taken center stage.The recent legalization for recreational use of the herb in Canada has further strengthened the call for its legalization in the United States.
Cannabis holds great promise for the medical and financial sectors of the economy but that discussion would be left for another day. Today, we will be examining the different varieties of cannabis, and the meaning of the “delta” tag in lab testing.
Background
The herb marijuana, freely grown is indigenous to central and south Asia. Although it is unknown when its psychoactive effects were first discovered, but over centuries and cultures, cannabis has been used as a drug to treat ailments and is recreational used for several others.
There are several naturally occurring compounds in the cannabis flower but the main compounds that have shown usefulness are Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) and CBD depending on the variant of cannabis that is being tested.
Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) is a naturally occurring compound in cannabis which when it gets heated, changes to THC; the active form that gives the high that most users who smoke the herb derive. The THC content in the herb can only be activated and determined when cannabis is heated up by smoking, cooking or vaping.
CBD, CBN and CBG although not having any psychoactive effects like its THC counterpart, offer great medicinal value to patients.
Research has shown clear use cases and proven efficacies of these derivatives in the treatment of ailments such as acute seizures, sleep disorders etc. and themanagement of terminal conditions including cancers.
ΔTHC and THC
When you hear of cannabis, particularly in testing, you often hear of THC and CBD values, but what you often don’t hear of is the Δ (delta) equivalent of the THC composition of the herb or product under testing.
The Δ (delta) sign in lab testing for THC tells the wet value of THC potency of the herb or product that is being tested. Because THC is only released when heat is applied to cannabis, cannabis products such as edibles are likely to post incorrect THC values when not properly tested. With wrong testing, the wet form of THC value which is the ΔTHC value will not be taken into account.
Depending on the lab, the analysis machine might use one of two separation methods: gas chromatography (GC) or liquid chromatography (LC).
With LC (heat at room temperature) method of testing, the ΔTHC is retained while with GC (Very high heat values) method of testing; CO2 is released, leaving only the THC value.
The legal question
Why is it legal to sell products with higher than 3.5% THC as long as ΔTHC is 0?
The answer is quite simple. ΔTHC represents the raw form of THC. The main psychoactive ingredient that is responsible for most of the misdemeanor that has been attributed to the use of cannabis.
Small amount of THC is allowed to act as a driver for CBD where needed but a combination of both and in quantities higher than the prescribed 3.5% value, may have counterproductive effects on the patient.
At Mary Jane’s CBD and Vape shop, we are leading promoters of the efficacy of cannabis across North America.
Amongst our many firsts, we have recently broken new strides by becoming the first CBD & Vape business to open a CBD infused coffee bar at our stores in Savannah, GA and Asheville, NC.
At our stores at these locations, we serve some of the very best CBD Infused Coffee Lattee, CBD Infused Cappuccino, and CBD Infused Americano. That’s not all; we also sell CBD consumable products such as gummies, cbd oil, cbd -ejuices etc.
We have the best CBD products on the market, hop into any of our stores (you can find the address below).
Savannah Store
302 West Victory Drive, Savannah, GA 31405
Phone: 912-349-7666