THCA is considered non-psychoactive, meaning that you don't experience a “high” when you drink it. This is due to the fact that THCA does not bind to CB1 receptors, the receptors that have a high binding affinity for THC. THCA is short for tetrahydrocannabinol acid, a non-psychoactive cannabinoid. It is one of hundreds of chemical compounds in the marijuana plant.
THCA is the acidic form of THC, but unlike THC, it doesn't produce a euphoric effect.
Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid
(THCA) is the most abundant non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis. The health benefits of THCA are better absorbed by the body through a raw consumption method, such as cannabis juice. THCA works to relieve inflammation and pain and is an ideal cannabinoid for treating the symptoms of conditions such as arthritis and seizures.As mentioned above, THCA could have anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective and antiemetic properties. THCA isn't intoxicating (it won't get you high), which some may also consider a benefit. THCA is not psychoactive, it does not activate CB1 cannabinoid receptors in the brain. To produce psychoactive THC from THCA, it must be heated.
This can be done by smoking or vaporizing raw flowers, baking edibles, or heating cannabis in a process known as decarboxylation. When cannabis is smoked, it is estimated that more than 95% of THCA is converted to THC. If so, a cannabis smoker could inhale the small amount of remaining THCA, which could also have a therapeutic effect. THCA has neuroprotective (brain protection) effects, is a powerful anti-inflammatory, can delay cancer cells, stimulate appetite, reduce nausea and can help with seizure disorders.
Sulak also found that specific terpenes, together with THCA, in a given cannabis strain can contribute significantly to the antiepileptic effect. So how does THCA confer its effects? Through which biochemical channels does THCA act? The only receptor that THCA is known to bind powerfully to is TRPM8, the receptor that makes peppermint feel cold. Although THCA has no intoxicating effects, some consider fresh, raw, unheated cannabis to be a superfood. This loophole allows users to consume potent levels of THC when they smoke high-THCA hemp products that meet the requirements.
Russel Saneto described four case reports of patients who used THCA together with other treatments (conventional antiepileptic drugs and cannabis). The properties of THCA indicated by preclinical research may be relevant to future cannabinoid medicine, but they do not explain the remarkable results currently achieved by patients with low doses of THCA. However, THCA is more effective at minimizing inflammation than THC and may help people with seizure disorders. A study conducted by Rosenthaler and a group of Austrian scientists assumed that THCA has a higher binding affinity to the CB1 receptor than THC.
The most significant difference between THCA and THC is that THCA does not cause intoxicating effects due to its distinctive molecular structure. Unlike THC, neither THCA nor CBD bind well to the brain's cannabinoid receptors, so both are not psychoactive. If a cannabis plant stays under the warm sun for an extended period of time, its THCA molecules will slowly convert to THC. In a patient with Alzheimer's disease, THCA improved cognitive symptoms and allowed the patient to reduce the use of other drugs.
Because THCA has an extramolecular carboxylic ring, the cannabinoid cannot bind to receptors in the brain to generate the euphoric effect of THC. THCA can also have therapeutic effects by inhibiting the metabolic enzyme MAGL, which breaks down the endogenous cannabinoid 2-AG; this would result in higher levels of 2-AG, which activates CB1 and CB2 cannabinoid receptors in the brain and body.
