THCA – Diamond Sauce

Nope. It’s not synthetic. We promise. Unlike the Spice or K2 of years past, Delta 8 is a natural component of raw cannabis, just found in very small amounts. That’s right; if you’ve ever partaken of raw cannabis flower in a recreationally legal state, you’ve consumed Delta 8 THC. You just didn’t realize it. Cannabis contains a whole spectrum of different compounds, including a host of different THCs. The one we are most familiar with is Delta 9, the compound we traditionally associate with getting “high.” However, when hemp is grown for CBD extraction, those THC compounds still exist, just in much smaller quantities. Luckily though, we don’t just have the technology to extract CBD from hemp flower, we can also extract and amplify other compounds too, things like CBG, CBN, Delta 8 THC, Delta 10 THC, and many others. Delta 8 THC was the first of these compounds to go to market, where it has boomed in popularity. So, does Delta 8 give you the same “high?” The short answer is: kind of. Delta 8 THC is a psychoactive compound, so it does produce a cannabis high. That’s right. As of 2022, unless you live in one of the states where Delta 8 is currently banned you can exchange your legal tender for a non-synthetic product that will get you “stoned.” That being said, it’s a little different than the traditional Delta 9 THC high. Many consumers refer to it “diet weed” or “canna-lite.” Though Delta 8 does produce a psychoactive high, it’s reported to be less intense than traditional cannabis. Most tell us that it’s less cerebral and seemingly most celebrated for its body effects. Our users describe Delta 8 as indica-like, and they also tell us that they are less likely to experience anxiety and paranoia than they would during traditional cannabis experiences. If reading this has made you at all curious to try it yourself, we are happy to oblige. We believe that anyone, from a cannabis novice to bonafide expert, can gain something from this particular cannabis analog. Our advice, as always, is to begin with a product that’s easy to dose and to give yourself plenty of time and opportunity to experiment slowly. Though cannabis has never killed anyone, a too-potent high can be a very uncomfortable ordeal. Just remember: you can always take more. Keep in mind that Delta 8 is a THC compound and will typically cause a positive result on drug screenings.

Delta 9 THC is the cannabis compound that users are most familiar with. This is the most common THC compound found in the cannabis plant. If you were to remove some flower from a cannabis plant in the wild and smoke it, you would be experiencing a whole spectrum of THC influence, but mostly, you’d be feeling Delta 9. Potently psychoactive, Delta 9 THC, when plucked off of the branch of a plant, remains federally illegal, and state illegal for a large part of the country. However, much like Delta 8, Delta 9 can be extracted and amplified from hemp flower, allowing for the creation of a legal THC compound identical to the one found in “wild” plants. If you’ve ever tried raw cannabis before, you’re likely familiar with its effects, and even though ours is derived from hemp, the Delta 9 experience remains virtually indistinguishable. Fans of our D9 products tell us to expect a more cerebral experience than that offered by D8, engaging the mind and body in equal measure. It is also more “psychedelic” in nature, offering, for many customers, trippier body sensations, enhanced visual perception, and greater degrees of introspection. For a lot of users however, this can also come with higher degrees of anxiety and paranoia, so a slow approach is always recommended when exploring Delta 9. Also, our Delta 9 THC is still THC, and despite its hemp-derived origin, will still, most likely, cause a positive result on a THC screening

This is a term that is getting tossed out more and more, especially when in context with cannabis use, but what does this buzzword mean really? It turns out, it might mean something very important. The endocannabinoid system, simply put, is a system of bodily function, similar to the skeletal and muscular systems that we all learned about in school. Scientific experiments conducted in the 1990s to explore the effects of THC on the body revealed sets of previously unexplored receptors, connected to the function of almost every major system in the body. And that’s not just human bodies. The endocannabinoid system (ECS) exists in all mammalian systems and has for millions of years! These receptors (CB1, CB2, and others) have an effect on our sleep, reproductive cycles, inflammatory response, immune function, pain processing, mood, memory, metabolism, and so much more. This system, which interacts with all of the other major body systems, helps to maintain homeostasis. Our body produces enzymes that help to regulate this system, but there are external enzymes that we can utilize to activate this bodily balancing act too. So why does this matter to a cannabis user? Well, THC and CBD are both phytocannabinoids, which interact with the CB1 and CB2 receptors of the endocannabinoid system, which can boost the efficiencies of the body’s major systems. This may explain why so many cannabis users experience such a wide myriad of reported positive effects after use. And that’s really just the tip of the iceberg. The endocannabinoid system is under a lot of investigation as are cannabis compounds and their greater impact on our health. While it’s too early to state definitively exactly to what extent the exploration of this system may allow us to live better lives, the future is certainly promising.

Hemp-derived is a term that gets thrown around a lot in the cannabis industry, but it is one of the most important terms to understand. As of this writing, the cannabis plant is not recreationally legal in all 50 states. However, there is a class of cannabis plant that is federally legal: hemp. The hemp plant has seen a significant amount of industrial use throughout the course of human history. In fact, it was one of the first plants to be spun into fiber for clothing some 50,000 years ago. You can find hemp in foods, clothing, rope, plastics, building materials, cosmetics, and much much more. Hemp plants have been selectively bred for low levels of THC-A and Delta 9 THC which are the compounds that, when they occur in large quantities through breeding, make cannabis plants federally illegal above 0.3% by weight in a finished product. Despite the fact that hemp has been line bred against high levels of these cannabinoids, those compounds do still exist within the hemp plant, just in very small quantities. Luckily, the scientific processes exist that allow us to extract and amplify these compounds for use in our products. The best part? Because these extracted compounds originated from the hemp plant, they are 100% federally legal. It’s not uncommon to wonder if that makes these products synthetic, and the answer is generally considered to be no. We are not artificially creating compounds to mislead consumers or create a “cannabis-like” effect, just taking advantage of what nature has given us in allowing us to develop products tailored for niche uses.

Though the FDA hasn’t approved the use of hemp-derived cannabis products, there has been a reasonable amount of beta-testing done since they debuted and so far so good. Since these are not synthetic compounds we’re working with, we can reasonably expect similar safety concerns associated with traditional cannabis, and there aren’t many. We are happy to remind our customers that no one has ever died as a result of cannabis use and we can almost guarantee that you won’t be the first. Some users can experience some overwhelming psychosomatic responses with THC products, but the best way to avoid this is to always start out small and give yourself plenty of time for the products to take effect. It is also important to make sure that you are purchasing from a reputable company that is using a laboratory to perform its extractions, and using a third party lab to test the authenticity of their products. As a regulatory frame does not yet exist for Delta 8, these few precautions will ensure that you are getting a genuine product that is formulated in a way that’s safe for consumption.