Terpenes vs Cannabinoids - Water Cure vs Air Curing

So I've searched quite a bit for answers, but there seems to be a lot of confusion about these topics. The osmotic pressure of water curing forces the terpenes (oil) to the surface, thus extracting from the bud, which is why the smell and taste diminishes (as I water cure my bud, I have witnessed this happening). The THC is not water soluble, but it does have a density lighter than water(it is a hydrophobic oil, so I guess it is lighter than water, but I'm not sure why the osmotic pressure does not force it to break off and float to the top, or if there is a certain pressure range where this happens), so it remains relatively unscathed from a water cure, and actually remains slightly higher in retention because air degrades thc at a slightly slower pace than resin.


So I know the terpenes get mostly removed in a water cure, but they also contain beneficial effects to the bud. I'm just not sure how much of an effect this actually is. I would like to know how much of an actual medical difference the terpenes add vs just pure THC and cannabinoids.


Also, I am under the impression that other cannabinoids such as CBN and CBD are not lost during a water cure, can anyone verify that it is just the terpenes?

Any light shed on this subject is appreciated.


TL;DR- typically, how much of cannabis' positive effects occur through terpenes? Since water curing removed most terpenes, is much physical effect really lost?

im sure someone knows this but i am unsure. good luck maybe post in anothe sub forum

cjack said:

So I've searched quite a bit for answers, but there seems to be a lot of confusion about these topics. The osmotic pressure of water curing forces the terpenes (oil) to the surface, thus extracting from the bud, which is why the smell and taste diminishes (as I water cure my bud, I have witnessed this happening). The THC is not water soluble, but it does have a density lighter than water(it is a hydrophobic oil, so I guess it is lighter than water, but I'm not sure why the osmotic pressure does not force it to break off and float to the top, or if there is a certain pressure range where this happens), so it remains relatively unscathed from a water cure, and actually remains slightly higher in retention because air degrades thc at a slightly slower pace than resin.


So I know the terpenes get mostly removed in a water cure, but they also contain beneficial effects to the bud. I'm just not sure how much of an effect this actually is. I would like to know how much of an actual medical difference the terpenes add vs just pure THC and cannabinoids.


Also, I am under the impression that other cannabinoids such as CBN and CBD are not lost during a water cure, can anyone verify that it is just the terpenes?

Any light shed on this subject is appreciated.


TL;DR- typically, how much of cannabis' positive effects occur through terpenes? Since water curing removed most terpenes, is much physical effect really lost?

Click to expand...

To start off with, the questions you're posing are not really questions we're able to fully answer at this point in time.
Not nearly enough research has gone into terpenes in relation to water curing.

It's correct that because THC and other cannabinoids & terpenoids are not entirely water soluble but research has shown that they might be slightly water soluble.
I do not have the link to said article but the evidence seems to support that some terpenoids and some cannabinoids might be slightly water soluble and thus explains why some of the specific oils might be 'extracted' into the water during a water cure.

You should not confuse this with potency.
Just because some cannabinoids and/or terpenoids are lost in water curing, it might not necessarily affect the potency of the water cured weed.


The reason why some substances might dissolve into the water instead of remaining intact is not really known yet, nor is the extent of the different substances known.
Obviously the scientific reason is whether the substance is water soluble or not.
With the amount of cannabinoids and terpenoids available in cannabis, we simply do not know.
I would say we might know 5% of particular substances properties in cannabis fully, and that's a optimistic percentage.

So to best answer the questions; the reason why THC does not break off is because it's a stronger substance with regards to solubility in water.
The research paper I referred to before suggests (if I remember correctly) that the precursor acids might be the soluble substances in the equation.
That is to say, THCA, CBDA etc. might all be water soluble to some extent and thus you actually do lose a lot of good substances in a water cure, however this is obviously not scientific facts yet, and we can only hope that some more research will be done in this particular area at some point.


Again your question regarding terpenes is hard to answer.
We don't really know the full extent of their effects on the other substances and how this affects the weed/high.
I would stipulate that not all the effects are lost, since water cured weed can be just as strong as normally cured weed.
But it's a stipulation and until we get more research on the subject it's just guesswork.
Whether or not medical properties are lost, I'd say we'd need a proper double blind study carried out by professionals & patients who know their cannabis and can tell minute differences in potency and effects to be able to answer that question fully.

Terpenoids and cannabinoids are not soluble in water (only very slightly, but not even noticeable). The only difference in why terpenes get extracted during a water cure is that terpenoids are liquid at room temp (just like olive oil). The melting point of THC is much higher than room temp, so it can remain in resinous form without being forced out by osmotic pressure followed by buoyancy.

At 21°C (70°F) the most volatile terpenoids start to evaporate, lending a pungent odor to the air.

At 31°C (87°F) the less volatile terpenoids start to evaporate, lending the air even more pungent odors.

At 39°C (102°F ) virtually all of the terpenoids undergo evaporation fairly rapidly.

At 50°C (122°F) THC-Acid decarboxylates as the water molecule held in the carbonate form evaporates. This activates the THC.

At 66°C (150°F) Cannabidiol (CBD) melts and starts to evaporate.

At 185°C (365°F) Cannibinol (CBN) boils.

At 200°C (392°F) THC boils. Clear vapor from a vaporizer.

This is also why drying bud in aa dehydrator is such a bad idea. Even @ the lowest setting (usually 85), even the low-volatility terpenoids will begin to evaporate, leaving your bud smelling like a bunch of raked leaves.