What You Need to Know About Decarboxylation

Decarboxylation, which is an essential action in enjoying cannabis flowers
and edibles, is a process in which carbon dioxide (CO2) leaves a stable
molecule and floats off as a gas. Atoms in a molecule can be thought of
like billiard balls, with each one having a size, weight, and exact
position. As these atoms float away, the substance left behind will become
lighter, like a dry towel being lighter than that same towel soaking wet.
The idea is that as the CO2 leaves, the weight left behind is reduced.

Decarboxylation typically occurs by heating, but can also be caused by
exposure to certain frequencies of light, and certain substances like
molecular oxygen in the air.

If the weight of the molecule before and after its decarboxylation is
known, then a percent of mass lost in decarboxylation can be calculated. If
the CO2 contributes 10 percent of the weight of a molecule, than 90 percent
of the mass remains after decarboxylation. This would mean that
continuously heating 100 grams of this substance would eventually yield 90
grams of the decarboxylated substance, as the remaining 10 grams represent
the weight of CO2 which gassed off.
*How Does Decarboxylation Affect Cannabinoids?*

Decarboxylation of cannabinoids and cannabis products is very crucial to
understanding the power of cannabis as medicine. The cannabis plant only
has the ability to produce cannabinoid acids, like THCA, and THC is only
created by decarboxylation outside the plant. This decarboxylation is
usually done by fire when smoking, or by baking in edibles. Most
cannabinoids lose approximately 87.7 percent of their mass upon
decarboxylation. This means that if you had 100 grams of crystalline
isolate of a cannabinoid acid, such as THCA, after decarboxylation you
would have 87.7 grams left of THC.

This is important for people decarboxylating their cannabinoids themselves,
such as producers of cannabis-infused edible products and hash oil producer
that wish to sell decarboxylated oil. This is also important for
advertisers of raw cannabis products such as cured cannabis flower, who
must either report the value of the cannabinoid acid directly observed by
the testing lab, use the theoretical conversion, or display both.

This labeling issue with raw flower is not as easy as it seems at first
glance. Let’s consider a typical example of THC-dominant cannabis. The lab
will test the flower and find 26 percent THCA and 3 percent THC. This is
because some of the cannabinoid acids produced by the plant are
decarboxylated by air and sun before harvesting and curing. The smaller the
amount of THC observed directly by the lab typically indicates that the
cultivator has submitted fresh cannabis that has been protected from light
and exposure. A very high THC content indicates that the cannabis flower is
not as fresh and been more exposed.

Now the dispensary has to either advertise two numbers, 26 percent and 3
percent, or advertise one theoretically calculated number, 25.8 percent, or
both. Both allow the patient to access the greatest amount of information
and be the best informed, while also reducing liability on the cannabis
business involved in label making.

Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a well-known cannabinoid for being the
primary intoxicant and euphoriant of cannabis. THC is also one of the most
practical and safe treatments for neuropathic, chronic, and other types of
pain. THC is effective in addressing both the immunological and symptom
component of multiple sclerosis (MS).

Despite the fact that THCA is not an intoxicant, it is a powerful medicine.
THCA is one of the strongest anti-inflammatory agents in cannabis. Smokers
receive very little to none of this cannabinoid, due to its decomposition
in the smoking process. THCA is an anti-inflammatory agent, and according
to one study, a more powerful neuroprotective agent than THC. THCA is a
powerful COX-1 and COX-2 antagonist, similar to aspirin and ibuprofen, but
with far less toxicity to the liver.

The effects of THCA and THC reflect the diversity of action on the human
body a cannabinoid and its precursor acid can have. The other cannabinoids,
CBD, CBG, CBC, and THCV all have acid forms which have distinct effects on
human health.

*Cannabidiol* (CBD) has been shown to be an effective medicine for people suffering
from anxiety. What CBD has also been shown to be effective at fighting is
breast cancer cells. Many of these studies find that CBD promotes
apoptosis, or cell suicide, in breast cancer cells while leaving the
healthy cells unaffected.

*Cannabidiolic acid* (CBDA) is CBD’s acid precursor from raw cannabis
flower. CBDA has also been shown to fight human breast cancer, but in a
different way. Whereas CBD causes apoptosis in breast cancer cells, CBDA
has been shown to slow or stop metastasis of breast cancer cells by arresting
their motility, or ability to move throughout the body. This evidence would
indicate that a breast cancer patient may want to talk to their doctor
about dual CBD/CBDA therapy, taking both decarboxylated CBD and raw CBDA
together.

*Cannabigerol* (CBG) has been shown to have some potent anti-inflammatory
properties that are particularly applicable in inflammatory bowel disease
(IBS). Additionally, CBG has been shown to have some properties not known
among many other cannabinoids, such as an ability to interact with human
adrenal receptors and serotonin receptors. Currently, more studies need to
be done on cannabigerolic acid (CBGA) in isolation from CBG to get an
understanding what, if any, difference there are between the cannabinoid
and its precursor acid on human health.

It is important to note that the mass loss is not a conversion rate. Mass
loss assumes that all of a substance will decarboxylate and calculates how
the mass will change. An accurate answer must account for how much of the
cannabinoid will decarboxylate. Studies indicate that 30-70 percent of
cannabinoids undergo decarboxylation under standard smoking conditions.
This is why our calculations are only a theoretical maximum, and are not a
result with the same standing as those directly observed in the plant. This
is also why it can be very important to label your theoretical calculations
as such, and provide all original values provided by lab results, as a
means of reducing liability upon your business.

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