THCA flower offers a wide range of medicinal and recreational benefits to users. Just like you will guess from the name, it contains THCA. THCA, short for tetrahydrocannabinol acid, is a naturally occurring cannabinoid abundant in the raw cannabis plant. It doesn’t have psychoactive effects. However, THCA flower is a precursor to THC – tetrahydrocannabinol. In fact, ninety percent of THC in the cannabis plant starts as THCA.
THCA cannot fit into the cannabinoid receptors, particularly the CB1, so it doesn’t get someone high. This is due to the shape of the THCA molecule. However, it undergoes decarboxylation to become THC. the active component of the cannabis plant. While THCA doesn’t have an intoxicating effect, it still offers different medicinal benefits to the body.
Benefits of the THCA Flower
Here are a few benefits that users can enjoy from the THCA plant.
Anti-inflammatory Benefits
THCA offers anti-inflammatory properties which can help users to ease inflammation and anti-inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic pain, Crohn’s disease, and many more. It can also reduce the production of prostaglandins in the human body. Prostaglandin is a chemical compound in the body that causes inflammatory reactions.
Neuroprotective Benefits
A 2017 study has shown that THCA offers neuroprotective, or brain-protective benefits to users. It makes it useful for the prevention and treatment of neurodegenerative conditions such as sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease.
Anti-emetic Benefits
THCA flower is effective against nausea and vomiting. It can block the neurotransmitters which send information about nausea to the brain. Doing this can prevent a person from feeling nausea and vomiting. It can also increase appetite by increasing the production of ghrelin, a hormone that causes a person to feel hungry and eat more.
Anti-cancerous Benefits
THCA has proven effective in slowing down or causing the death of cancer cells. It can help patients to manage the side effects of chemotherapy including pain headaches, nausea, vomiting, and appetite loss.
Anti-obesity Benefits
THCA is helpful in managing adiposity, which is the state of being fat, It can also reduce diet-induced diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver disease. A 2020 study showed that THCA significantly reduced fat mass and body weight gain. It also reduces glucose intolerance and insulin resistance.
How To Use THCA Flower
There are different ways to use THCA flowers. For starters, you can eat them raw, juice them up, or even add them to smoothies. If you want to enjoy your THCA flowers without any intoxicating effects, these are the best ways to do it. These methods will help provide medicinal benefits without getting you high. But if you want to convert them to THC, get high, and enjoy the buzz, here are a few ways to do it.
Drying
If you expose THCA flowers to THC to heat or light for an extended period, the THCA molecules will slowly convert to THC. The THCA flower will also convert to THC if you leave it at room temperature for a long time.
Smoking
Smoking is one of the most common ways users Decarboxylation can also occur rapidly if you smoke THCA flowers. Applying heat rapidly to THCA flowers will convert the THCA to THC. Not all the THCA will transform into THC, but you will enjoy the intoxicating feel
Vaporizing
Vaporizing is more efficient than smoking at decarboxylating the THCA flower. It used low heat and gradually increasing the heat until the maximum amount of THCA is converted to THC.
About the Author/s
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.
