All About THCP

If you’ve been hearing a bit about THCP, here’s your go-to guide!

‍

Quick facts about THCP:

• THCP is a cannabinoid that has a similar structure to THC.
• It is psychotropic.
• It is more potent than THC.
• It is naturally occurring.
• It was first isolated by scientists in 2019.

‍

(Fair warning: you’ll sometimes see this denoted as THCP, THC-P, THC P – but don’t worry, these are all the same molecule. The official scientific notation is THCP.)

‍

What is THC P?

What is THC-P? THC-P is a “derivative” or variation on regular old THC. It stands for Δ9-Tetrahydrocannabiphorol. (The triangle is the Greek letter delta, which you will sometimes see spelled out for you.)

‍

Like THC, THCP is found naturally occurring in cannabis. Except while we’ve known about THC for a long time, THCP was only recently discovered for the first time in 2019.

‍

Like THC, THCP also has psychoactive properties. That’s because it binds to the same receptor in your brain, which is called the CB1 receptor.

‍

However, because of a small difference in the molecular structure, THCP actually binds with much higher potency compared to THC.

‍

This higher potency is of interest because of the many therapeutic effects of THC that are currently being researched. It could also help us to account for some of the unexplained effects of different strains of cannabis. In particular, it could help explain why strains of cannabis with equivalent doses of THC can have drastically different effects.

‍

THCP vs THC

Quick recap: THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is sometimes written as delta-9-THC. This is the major psychotropic component of cannabis – in other words, it’s the compound that’s responsible for getting you high. Here’s a picture of what the molecule looks like:

‍

The overall structure of the molecule is what allows it to bind to the CB1 receptor in your brain and make you high. That is why compounds with similar structures “fit inside” the same receptors to exert similar biological effects. Think about a lock and a key model.

‍

For now, ignore all the hexagons on the left, and check out the zig-zagging line on the right. This line represents a carbon chain, also called an alkyl group. For THC, this chain is 5 carbons long.

‍

There are other derivatives, or variations, of THC that can have shorter or longer chain lengths. Some of these variations are naturally occurring, and have been isolated in certain varieties of cannabis. Others have only been synthesized, or made in a lab. There may be more naturally occurring derivatives that scientists haven’t discovered yet.

‍

If the carbon chain on a THC derivative is less than 3 carbons long, then the molecule won’t bind to the CB1 receptor. That means it won’t have any psychoactivity. The THC derivative with 3 carbons is called tetrahydrocannabivarin, or THCV.

After that, the longer the chain length, the higher the potency of the molecule. This is true all the way up to 8 carbons, after which the potency starts to decrease again.

‍

For example, there’s a molecule called Δ9 -tetrahydrocannabutol (Δ9 -THCB) that was previously isolated in cannabis that has a 4-carbon chain. That’s one carbon less than THC, and is slightly less potent.

‍

So where does THCP fall into all of this?

‍

THCP looks exactly like the THC molecule, except that instead of 5 carbons, it has 7. In fact, it is the first ever derivative with a carbon chain length of more than 5 carbons to be isolated in cannabis.

‍

That is why it is significantly more potent than THC.

‍

Where Does THCP Come From?

In 2019, Italian researchers isolated THCP from a variety of medical cannabis. That means that it was naturally occurring in this particular variety of cannabis. The researchers were able to separate it out as a single molecule, and confirm its identity using a known standard that they synthesized themselves in the lab.

‍

The variety of medical cannabis that they used was probably chosen because it has slightly higher concentrations of THCP compared to other varieties, which made the experiment easier to perform. However, THCP is probably present in multiple different varieties of cannabis and hemp.

‍

Keep in mind that all cannabinoids are naturally occurring only in their carboxylated form, and THCP is no exception. Like regular THC, THCP occurs in its acidified form, and must be heated in order to produce a psychoactive effect. Like THC, you can use a THCP vape or THCP gummies, depending on your preference. The vape provides the heating element to release the psychoactive compound. The gummies are pre-processed to create the psychoactive version.

‍

The fact that THCP is naturally occurring is significant for two reasons. First of all, the presence of THCP could explain some of the effects of cannabis that are not explainable by the concentration of THC alone. For example, certain strains can be more potent than other strains, even though they have the same amount of THC. This all ties into the entourage effect – the idea that other cannabinoids and terpenoids present in cannabis contribute synergistically to the overall experience.

‍

The second reason is a legal reason, which we’ll cover in the next section.

‍

Is THC-P Legal?

The fact that THCP is naturally occurring is important for legal reasons. There’s a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill, which preserves the legal status of most THC derivatives that can be derived from hemp.

‍

The 2018 Farm Bill differentiates between cannabis and hemp, even though they are technically the same plant. In this legal act, hemp is defined as cannabis plants having a concentration of less than 0.3% THC. Hemp and its derivatives are legal under federal law, whereas cannabis is a Schedule I drug.

‍

Hemp-derived can mean that the compound is extracted from hemp, and it can also mean that it is derived from a different compound found in hemp. For example, the non-psychoactive cannabinoid CBD, which is abundant in hemp, is easily converted into a psychotropic cannabinoid.

‍

These hemp derived psychotropics fall into the legal loophole, being either isolated naturally, or semi-synthetic.

‍

Alternatively, if a cannabinoid is synthesized from scratch, then it is a full-fledged synthetic cannabinoid. These are highly regulated and illegal.

‍

For now, THCP still falls into the legal loophole of hemp-derived psychotropic cannabinoids.

‍

Other THC Derivatives

So, what other derivatives fall into this legal loophole? If you’re looking to diversify your cannabis portfolio, you’re in the right place, because there are several. Some of these include:

‍

• ‍Delta-8 THC
• ‍Delta-10 THC
• ‍HHC (hexahydrocannabinol)
• ‍THCV (tetrahydrocannabivarin)

‍

Of these, THCV is the one that falls into the same category as THCP. While THCV has 2 fewer carbons compared to regular THC, THCP has 2 extra carbons. That means that THCV is considerably less potent than THC, but THCP is considerably more potent. Both are psychotropic, because they interact with the CB1 receptor, but to varying degrees.

‍

Delta-8 and Delta-10-THC are different kinds of THC derivatives. Remember, a more exact name for THC is delta-9-THC. The number following the delta has nothing to do with the carbon tail trailing the molecule. In fact, all of these molecules have the same 5-carbon chain. Instead, the number after the delta refers to the placement of a double bond in the molecule. For example, here’s a picture showing the difference between delta-8-THC and delta-9-THC. The difference is subtle, but if you look closely, you’ll notice that the double bond in the uppermost ring has shifted.

‍

‍

Both of these compounds are psychotropic. Compared to delta-9-THC, delta-8-THC has a slightly lower affinity for CB1, but a similar affinity for CB2. As a result, many users report that they experience fewer negative effects (like anxiety and paranoia) from delta-8.

‍

Delta-10 falls into the same category as delta-8, but this time the double bond starts at carbon 10. HHC is yet another “semi-synthetic” psychotropic cannabinoid. The potency of HHC is anecdotally thought to fall somewhere between delta-8 and delta-9-THC.

Where to Buy THC P

Green Dragon supplies a carefully curated selection of THCP products, which you can explore here. If you have additional questions about THCP, semi-synthetic cannabinoids, or any of our products, please feel free to contact us for a free consultation.