Its possible but 33% and above thc content does not dictate the quality of high you get from it unfortunately cos as many others im sure will tell you the other cannabinoids terpenes flavanoids and whatever else we aint discovered yet those shape and steer your experience hence why the entourage effect many talk about is a thing .
33% THC
- Thread starter Lastmanstandin31
- Start date
Yes you can possibly get above 30%. 35% total cannibinoids from all sources is considered the upper limit. THC is actually mostly THCA. Although, the % of THCA vs other THC molecules varies by plant. THCA turns to THC as you heat it, but it doesn't All turn into THC, there is actually a rather large loss during conversion. When the lab says total THC is 33% it's not as important as people think. If the vast majority of the THC in your bud is actually THCA then the total THC you can get out of the product is less than if you have a higher percentage of True THC or Delta 9. Let's say you have a bud that is 33% but it's all THCA which breaks down into only one third of that in regards to THC. Then you are really only looking at 11% AVAILABLE THC.
The percentage of THC that is actually available, after it's smoked, is what matters, not the total of all kinds of THC before smoking.
Not all THC is created equally.
The percentage of THC that is actually available, after it's smoked, is what matters, not the total of all kinds of THC before smoking.
Not all THC is created equally.
PJ Diaz
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure where you're coming up with that THCa to THC conversion of 33% to 11%, but it's more like a 10% differential (ie: 33% THCa = 30% THC).
There is no set rate for THCa to THC conversion. The answer is "it depends". Smoking is NOT the most efficient way to convert THCA to THC even vaping is more efficient. I've read estimates that range from as low as 20% conversion rate depending on how it's done. Sunlight I believe will convert about 20%. Weed like Acapulco Gold were "Gold" from the way they were cured in the sun which decarbed them. This is why when the scientists say weed back in the 60's was only 4% and at the same time people will claim that the bud back then got them more stoned. The fact is that most of the conversion had already taken place and the 4% was actually more like the equivalent of 12% or even more, again "it depends".
THCA will even break down into THC with no help at all, but it does so over time and VERY inefficiently. (eating absolutely fresh bud wont' get you high, eat old brickweed and it will. (That doesn't seam logical but it's true) I highly doubt there is actually a way to get a 90% conversion rates unless you are talking about absolutely ideal circumstances. Meaning it, would have to be perfectly fresh bud that's THCA hadn't already been converted by time or handling at lower efficiencies and remember the type of combustion matters too.
And I wasn't trying to say that it's a set conversion rate of 30%, I was simply using that % as a hypothetical so that people would understand the concept. THCA is not THC it won't get you high and how it's converted into THC matters A LOT more than people think.
What I'm saying is that even though a lab might show results as high as 35% there is no way to know how much of that will be available once it's been handled, gets a little older and after the loss to combustion. I think we all understand this to an extent without even thinking about it. We know that fresher weed gets us more stoned but why? It's because the THCA broke down inefficiently.
PJ Diaz
Well-Known Member
That's a lot of pontificating on your part. Please show me any scientific findings to support your assertion of a 20% to 30% conversion rate of THCa to THC. Maybe a 90% conversion rate is overestimating on my part, but 20 to 30%? Nah.
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insomnia65
Well-Known Member
This thread is meh
PJ Diaz
Well-Known Member
As is your post.
MyBallzItch
Well-Known Member
It is like the S1 of the quantum kush 38% thread.
Thanks for proving my point/ That's AT MOST 75%, take away degradation due to handling, sunlight, oxygen, etc. And where are you at? My point stands, a large amount of the THCA is NOT available, that matters a lot more than people think. If you want to know exactly how much THCA is converted to THC you have to take into account how it's handled during processing, how old it is, etc. etc. you don't take the Best Case Scenerio, which doesn't happen except with super fresh bud. So in reality it's AT BEST 75% MINUS other degradation. I'm not even sure exactly what it is you think you are arguing with me about. If it's the %, go back and read what I've said. I don't claim to know the exact amount of THCA that gets converted because "IT DEPENDS". If you want to say you were closer with your "guess" that's fine with me, I didn't claim to know the exact amount, you made a specific claim, I did not. I was simply using a hypothetical so that people could see that it's not a 1 to 1 ratio. If you took it to mean more than that, oh well.
PJ Diaz
Well-Known Member
I think at most it's 88%, but that specific calculation was more conservative than some other methods of calculation. As you pointed out it's not a static number, it's a variable %. I don't disagree with any of that, or the possibility of 75% perhaps being the upper limit. There's clearly still a lot we don't know about cannabinoids and their interactions.
I thought I was clear. I find your assertion of a 20% to 30% conversion of THCa to THC to be unsupported by the current science. I'm willing to be wrong, if you have something scientific to back up those numbers with.
Where did I make that claim? You made a specific claim, I did not. I told you more than once that I was using the % as a hypothetical? Do you not know what that means? I also used a specific example where the THCA could be as low as 20% after degredation. I was talking about how it's cured in the sun. Did you not understand that I was talking about more than how it's combusted but ALSO degradation? The very first thing I mention is the sun cured pot, so it should have been obvious that I was talking about both degredation and various ways that it's consumed. Vaping vs Smoking, edibles whatever, they all change how much THCA gets converted.
Again I'm not sure what you are arguing about, other than some wierd strawman that you built because you had to be "right", except your own data proved me right when you include degradation, which I clearly did from the start. You can continue to ignore that part of my post and pretend I said something else, but whatever. I'm done. Everyone else here gets my point, except apparently you.
insomnia65
Well-Known Member
What a minute this threads getting better just let me grab some popcorn.
Lastmanstandin31
Well-Known Member
When a weed post spirals out of control.
I do appreciate all the info and opinions. Thanks
I do appreciate all the info and opinions. Thanks
insomnia65
Well-Known Member
Those are the best threads.
Doug Dawson
Well-Known Member
Nothing like a heated debate, let those opinions flow brothers and sisters, lol.
I had some alien og from Caliva that was 33 or 34% good smoke. Also got some blue haze before that was 13% from blue belly farm thought it would be a joke but it was pretty and smelled good. Definitely not as as strong but wasn’t as weak as I expected. Used to dab a lot and the tcha isolate gets you high but doesn’t hit right compared to a terpy extract. Sorry if I’m off topic with the dabs.