All About THC

THC is something that you probably heard about because of the effects it gives you when you smoke weed. However, this is something that offers a lot of benefits, and this is something that is one of the most prevalent cannabinoids out there. While it isn’t seen in hemp plants sometimes, this is something that is still really potent, and s responsible for the sensation of feeling high, and is why it’s not legal in a lot of places. 

Typically, the properties of this are usually used for recreational reasons, but this is something that also has medicinal benefits too, and this works together with CBD in order to create what’s called the entourage effect, which is synergy between the flavonoids, cannabinoids, and terpenes, which help to modulate and control the different properties of this. There are also therapeutic benefits of THC that are studied, and something that will help with the extensive knowledge, e and is something that offers plenty of vital reactions and functions to this, making It systematic to study. 

Synthesis 

This is something that works with the cannabinoids in the body and their receptors.  This works with the terpene phenols, which share similar compounds, which are called terpenes along with phenols. The origin of these cannabinoids is found through olivetolic acid, a phenol, and also a compound named geranyl pyrophosphate, which after it reacts with CBGA, it then creates the precursor to the chemical THC, and other chemicals too. 

Tis was first found by Yechiel Gaoni and Dr. Raphael Mehoulan in Israel back in 1964. This was discovered in Lebanese Hash.  THCA is basically created from the THCA enzyme synthase along with CBGA, which is something that’s also found in CBCA, CBDA, and THCA, and this is basically converted through synthases, and then, it creates THCA.  When it’s heated up, it’s then turned into a not an acid, so it loses the A, and it loses that carboxyl attached to this, which is what gives it this psychoactive element. This is also found when certain temperatures are hit during some periods of time. this is also why when you smoke it, it make you feel high, but not when you say,, eat a piece of cannabis. 

There are also compounds called delta-8, which is basically a similar type of isomer to delta-9. It also has the same formula, but there is a small change to this in the positioning of this, especially in where the double bond occurs, and this means that it has certain kinds of other properties, especially psychoactive results. 

Why does cannabis create THC though? Well, this is considered a means of defense against those that try to harm it, and also protects it from the UVB rays of the sun, and also protects itself from microbes, especially bacteria. It may also be used as well to protect itself from other fungi too, although the UVB and pest protection are the common reasons. 

The UVB explanation is definitely a plausible one since it does grow well in places that get a ton of sun, and when it hits that high point, it does need some protection, so the trichomes will secret the substances needed. 

It does cause a lot of different benefits to the body though. For example, it can help with altering the cerebral cortex and memory, help stimulate appetite, help with the brain stem and control vomiting and pain, and so much more. it also offers euphoric feelings as well, and it can be something that a lot of people do enjoy with this compound, and the benefits it has too.

How to Avoid Cannabis Plant Stretching

Cannabis plant stretching is basically the growing vertically of cannabis plants during the early flowering stages, which is seen in a lot of sativa and sativa dominant hybrid plants. This is something that usually is seen during your third or the fourth week, and some may even grow a bit longer. 

This is something a lot of cultivars try to avoid all the time, since this can definitely cause issues with growing in certain media, but also makes the plants spindly and tall, reduces production, and they will then outgrow the area, and their buds will start to be airy in terms of growth, so it’ll spoil all of the plants that are there, and also will not create a good, even canopy, and you won’t be able to get the most efficient growth possible. 

It's a nightmare when this happens, and you’ll then have to adjust your entire space for flowering to accommodate all of this, and it may cause a harvest, but it’s usually worthless. How do you fix this though? How do you keep this reasonable, especially during those first few weeks, so that they don’t do that. 

First, consider genetics. 

You want to choose ones that are good for your space to grow.  Indica plants will not stretch as much, with the exception of the OG Kush, which is a stretchy cultivar, since this is something that has specific genetics to this. 

Choose ones with a shorter  veg period 

This may seem obvious, but if you want to make sure that your plants don’t stretch, you’ll want to choose one that has a veg period that’s a little bit longer.  Those that have an 18/6 schedule, and then moved to a 12/12, it will start to flower.  You want to go for shorter vegetative periods, since this offers more room int eh ten to go upwards, so that you don’t have to worry about the plant stretching as much. 

Think about Temperature 

Usually, most growers will use HPS lamps when flowering, since they are a part of the warm light levels of colors, which means that they’re more red, and they mimic autumnal light colors in order to help with flowering. 

However, this does also induce the action of stretching in many cannabis cultivars. You should try to continue to use metal halide kinds of lamps to help with vegetative growth over the next couple weeks of flowering. You should try to go for blue light spectrums, to help with better internode spaces, and also to reduce stretching while also keeping the plants at logical height levels. Usually, after a few weeks of the 12/12 types of lighting, you want to then change the MH to HPS in order to continue the correct flowering. You can also use LED lamps of a variable spectrum to save you a bit of headache as well. 

Look at temperatures 

Finally, you want to make sure that you are not giving them too cold of a temperature.  You want to try to make sure that the growing temperature isn’t too much between daytime and nighttime. This is because it will cause the plant to create gibberellin, which means that it will stretch a lot more. 

Usually, research says that the stretching takes place mostly in the first couple hours of the morning, so if you reduce the temperature a little bit for a few hours during daybreak, and also reduce it just a little bit at night, it can help with this. It can also be fixed with cold dump to help keep things cold and stop the stretch.