Introduction

I feel like this blog post is a little important, given how much incorrect information is currently being carried by even “trusted” sources like Leafly. I’ve seen Leafly perpetuate information such as “It’s three to five times more potent than Delta-9 THC” or “Your tolerance for THC-O is not impacted by your tolerance for Delta-9”. Neither of these statements are true, however. But they’re happily spread across the internet in even “respected” weed journalism outlets. That said, I’ve had a few months to interact with this new cannabinoid, and I figured I’d outline some of my own personal discoveries regarding this clearly misunderstood chemical.

Properties

Tolerance

One thing I noticed was the “brace for impact” warning I heeded originally when trying THC-O was wholly unnecessary. I am by no means a casual or light user of Delta-9 THC, and I quite importantly rely on it for sleep daily. It’s really keeping me going at this point, whereas before THC I was forced to rely on awful things like Ambien to get much needed sleep. I’ve consumed up to and including a hundred milligrams of THC per night in order to ensure I sleep uninterrupted through the night. This dose is admittedly very heavy, but is also entirely a result of years of tolerance. I’ve read that THC-O is orders of magnitude more potent than Delta-9, upwards of three to five times more potent. The edibles I’ve experimented with contain approximately fifty milligrams of THC-O. I’ve eaten eight of them, and all eight have felt like fairly bog standard fifty milligram Delta-9 THC edibles. The “three to five times potency” figure is entirely a figment, and honestly reminds me heavily of middle school kids jabbering on and on endlessly about how “high” they are from smoking oregano. That said, I can say with a modicum of confidence that THC-O is fully debunked as “not being affected by your THC tolerance”, because it fully is.

Potency

As mentioned in my previous statement, these fifty milligram edibles by no means felt like more than fifty milligrams of Delta-9. All claims of potency above and beyond Delta-9 are debunked here and how. It’s simply not so. It is worth mentioning, however, that it’s at least equally potent to Delta-9, which I think is notable in and of itself. Cannabinoids like HHC and Delta-8 are notoriously “underpowered” compared to their Delta-9 brethren, and I feel like THC-O really shines here. Rather than seeing this “three to five times more potent” figure debunking as a negative, I see it as a positive. Finally, a cannabinoid analog that’s actually worth using. Will it make you psychotic? Not at all, it’s not that damn powerful. Will it get you high? You bet your sweet ass it will. Can you expect it to get you high if you’ve absolutely wrecked your tolerance? Fuck no, but that’s not really the point here.

Duration

One thing I did notice, though, was that the duration of effect did seem to trail past THC somewhat. While the intensity of THC-O achieved parity with Delta-9, it did end up lasting about an hour to two hours longer on average. I notably consumed a fifty milligram THC-O edible the night before, I was still fairly stoned up until about noon the day after. I would say that this is the only area where THC-O ekes an advantage over Delta-9, assuming you have the time to spare.

Summary

Realistically, it’s a great way for people in “illegal” states to get their hands on real workable cannabinoids that may actually benefit them. One problem I think might prove challenging for the average weekend warrior to imbibe THC-O would be that it’s an acetate ester (an unnatural state) of THCA (the natural form of Delta-9, prior to decarboxylation). This could have health implications above and beyond what already may exist for Delta-9, and it may not have any benefit whatsoever to consumption, other than getting you very high. I would recommend against purchasing or using it. It might be fun to experiment with, but there is zero scientific data out there supporting the notion that using it even once is safe. People have been smoking weed for thousands of years. Even if you’re in an illegal state, I recommend you stick to the plant itself for the time being. These analogs coming out are not being manufactured at scale by chemists, but greasy marketing people who really don’t have any regulators to answer to. Stay safe. Grow your own if you can, and if you can’t- move to a legal state and buy from a dispensary. The labs that dispensary weed go through are an amazing resource to keep the population from smoking fungus or fertilizer alike, and you’ll be better off not taking them for granted.