"I bought Crystalline THC-A, but not sure how to consume it. I do not want any psychoactive qualities. I only want it for pain. Is THCA a better pain reliever than THC? Every once in a while someone will swear by THCA as the real future of cannabis of medicine, but I’m also told that it is still very hard to come by. Is it better for pain than CBD?"
We have had success using a product we carry called Cannamin. It is a raw plant in pill form. Several of our patients have significantly reduced their neuropathy with this product. It is non-psycho active. I would also look into CBD tinctures, either straight or with a 4:1 ratio with thc. Click on our site for more information.
dneice
I have very Bad Back Problems I’ve been on many different meds. to No avail. Surgery is out of the question for me personally I’ve been seeking help as well as relief where do I go from here if any one can help. You can go to my Facebook page as well @
Kesi GranDaddy Azikiwe Falls Sr.,, look forward to listen to anyone with a Good Answer
grandaddy574
The short answer is: it depends. What type of pain are you experiencing? What cannabinoids have you been using in the past? As a general rule as an MD, I always have some healthy skepticism is any item is touted as "miraculous". Please refer to some of my past posts/ answers. What I am personally telling patients is that cannabinoid profiles are extremely personal and one has to try different items to optimize symptom mgmt.. This philosophy of trying different products also has another advantage in that it prevents physiologic tolerance to any specific cannabinoid. When it comes to pain mgmt, what I have been taught years ago still applies; it is always better if one has a multi-modal response and treatment plan to the pain, regardless if it’s Lumbago (lower back pain) or jt pain or fibromyalgia. Please continue to discuss these issues with your MD. And please write back if you have any further questions!
drpark
The big issues THCA is known to tackle are inflammation and nausea/vomiting. Consumed directly as THCA, with no heat, excessive exposure to light or oxygen, the compound will cause no psychoactive high.
The big ticket item for THCA right now is inflammation. Brands like Sweet Releaf are using THCA as a significant percentage of their formula to combat pain and swelling.
You will find a cannabist, from time to time, who swear by one thing or another, however we are lucky that one plant can produce them all and that we can draw from multiple sources to combat our issues. We dont have to get caught in a binary decision here. The real future of cannabis is to use both THCA and CBD to combat inflammation together!
ryan
Yes whole plant cannabis preparations seem to be more useful than individual isolated cannabinoids. THCA has been shown to have anti-inflammatory properties.
andrewvanmd
THCa is the nonpsychoactive precursor to THC. When dried and/or heated, it decarboxylates into THC. You will most likely find higher levels of it in fresh flower. I don’t believe enough is known about it to say that it is better than CBD for treating pain. A patient’s response to cannabis is very individual and what might benefit one patient might not be the treatment of choice for another. In fact, there are some patients who, for genetic reasons, just do not respond to CBD. There is some excitement, however, about THCa with regard to the treatment of intractable seizures. To date, I have personal knowledge of one pediatric patient whose seizures did not respond at all to CBD but completely resolved with THCa.
drfrye
ฮ9-THCA is the biological precursor to ฮ9-THC, the primary active constituent responsible for the psychoactive and medicinal properties of marijuana. However, ฮ9-THCA itself is not psychoactive. During drying or under intense heat, ฮ9-THCA is decarboxylated to form ฮ9-THC (Starks, 1977).
ฮ9-THCA possesses anti-inflammatory and anti-neurodegenerative properties. ฮ9-THCA inhibits cyclooxygenase 1 (COX-1) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2), in human colon cell cultures (Ruhaak et. al., 2011). COX-1 and COX-2 are both enzymes involved in inflammation. ฮ9-THCA has also been shown to decrease the amount of oxidative stress caused by mitochondrial impairment, a major mechanism in neural degeneration, in mouse mesencephalic cell cultures (Moldzio et al., 2012).
drpinto
There isn’t alot of literature available about THCA, but what is known is that it has a very strong anti-inflammatory effect and since inflammatory conditions are often very painful, reducing the inflammation will also reduce the pain. We have had numerous patients report that topical cream used directly on the painful condition (like swelling, gout, diabetic leg pain, bruises or sprains) can bring down the swelling and reduce the pain at the same time.
THCA combined with THC in a topical cream helps patients avoid the psychoactive side effects felt when smoking or eating THC. Depending on what condition you are trying to treat, topicals may or may not be appropriate, meaning deep internal pain won’t be reached as easily with topicals as conditions closer to the skin, like bruising or arthritic hands or swollen ankles to name a few. It is always worth a try to see what actually works for the condition you are treating.
didi
So, let’s talk about what it is you purchased, because this is a relatively new product to the market. THC-A crystalline is from the hash family and it is about 99.9% THCA in terms of purity. This makes it the strongest form of THC on the market today, for better or worse. In other words this is one of the purest states in crystal form. Some claim that it is this pure form that allows the seriously ill to find relief from debilitating illnesses and severe chronic pain.
Before THC becomes THC it starts out as THC-A. THC-A only becomes psychoactive once it is heated and it converts to psychoactive THC. This pure crystalline form of THC-A does not contain terpenes or other cannabinoid profiles known for the plant itself. Some choose to add a dab with a high terpene profile or a ‘high terpene extract’ to add to the overall effect.
To use your THC-A you would vaporize as you would with a wax or a concentrate. When you vaporize, it would create a very intense high, as it is 99.9% THC. For heavy consumers, this may work for them but for an average or moderate consumer this would be a very intense and possibly uncomfortable experience. Some say that it provides a very intense yet ‘clear feeling’ experience.
To answer your question, you can ingest your THCA orally. Again, because it has not been heated you are ingesting pure THCA which is not psychoactive. It will not impair you mentally. How you go about doing this and the dose, I would suggest you contact Guild Extracts as they are the main producers of this product and can offer guidance.
The other alternative is CBD Crystalline which is a non psychoactive cannabinoid. As there is not THCA in this even when vaped it would not be psychoactive.
I hope this helps!
pamelahadfield
In addition to being non-psychoactive, the acidic form of THC and CBD may offer enhanced anti-inflammatory, anti-seizure, anti-spasmodic, and anti-prolific properties. For most patients, the whole point of using THCa is to reap the medicinal benefits of THC without getting stoned. Heating it mitigates all that. It doesn’t seem to make sense to pay for the extraction of THCa, then to heat it when you can just use THC. To use THCa, merely place a very small amount (grain of rice) under your tongue and let it dissolve. Hold it there for 80 seconds, then swallow. You will then be able to benefit from it’s medicinal properties without mental impairment. Increase in small increments (one grain of rice at a time) as needed to achieve the pain relieving response you are looking for. You can also juice raw cannabis and benefit from it’s THCa content. Also keep in mind that CBD and THC are more effective when working together at treating pain than either one alone. You might consider using the two cannabinoids (CBD or CBDa and THCa) at the same time.
drfrye
THCA is showing a lot of promise for peripheral neuropathy. No high, less inflammation. Contact a Wellness Consultant at Octavia Wellness, www.octaviawellness.com to discuss our high quality THCA tinctures.
lauriel
Hello!
THCA crystals are an interesting product!
The link below has bit of general info about THCA. Scroll down to see the most popular usage methods. It also recommends against smoking, since heating will change THCA into THC through decarboxylation. You said you don’t want any psychoactive activities, so heating the THCA will turn it into psychoactive THC.
Now on a more fun note, I found a recipe for a THCA-infused smoothie that tastes great!Iit calls for THCA oil, you can read about it here:
https://www.hellomd.com/articles/diy-recipe-consuming-thca-naturally
atkanesh
Hi there!
For info on CBD with heat, you’ve definitely come to the right place! CBD decarboxylates at 240 degrees F. You don’t necessarily have to buy a special decarboxylation machine either, most people just use their oven.
Decarboxylation, as you may already know, also happens when you smoke cannabis flower and also just when heat is applied. CBD products you can buy, like CBD gummies, for example are already decarbed, and the process also happens during the over time during curing process.
We just published a brand new article on the subject!
atkanesh
