The well-known non-psychoactive compounds THCa and CBD can be extracted from hemp and cannabis plants. THCa and CBD are used widely in medicinal purposes and both have almost similar structure. However, THCa acts as a precursor for psychoactive THC and provides the effect of being ‘high’ while CBD doesn't show similar properties.
By the end of this article, you will know THCa vs CBD benefits & key differences. The more you research, you will learn that both of these compounds provide unique properties and pharmaceutical effects. And so, you will know which one you need to use for your distinct medicinal or psychological needs.

What Are the Benefits of THCa and CBD?
Before discussing the benefits of THCa and CBD, let's discuss their sources and chemical properties to understand their function in the human body.
What is THCa?
THCa, full form-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, stays inactive to produce any psychoactive effect until it comes to contact with heat. In the raw form it produces therapeutic benefits to consumers. So, if you do not want the ‘high’ you can just consume it without smoking a joint or heat it up with butter.
For example, Thca flower north Carolina will not make you feel like you are stoned after consuming it. You may add the flower to cold salad or smoothies by sprinkle the flower after grounding will help you reduce inflammation and pain. The THCa oil extracted from flowers or leaves are also available in the market.
What is CBD?
Full form of CBD is Cannabidiol and it is commonly found in hemp and cannabis plants. The best fact about CBD is it can produce the relaxing effect without causing you the buzz or nausea. CBD oil is highly used in treating epilepsy, insomnia and reduces anxiety. It works by interacting with the cannabinoid receptors throughout your body. Therefore, the tiny CBD molecules will naturally bind with the cannabinoid receptors of your body which helps to produce only pharmacological effects, erasing the chances of creating a buzz in your head.
All you need to do is learn how to make chocolate pumpkin brownies and add CBD oil in it to get the therapeutic effects.
Continue reading to learn more about the benefits of THCa vs CBD in below sections.
Potential Benefits of THCA vs CBD
You can consider THCa and CBD as compounds that can provide you with both medicinal benefits and recreational properties depending on how you are planning to consume it. The therapeutic benefits are provided below:
- Neuroprotective effects & Pain relief:
There have been animal studies that provide evidence that THCa and CBDA is capable of protecting brain cell damage or nerve degeneration. The mechanism of action of THCa and CBD is that it can cross the blood brain barrier (BBB) and works on brain cells. Although the study is progressing in animal models only, there is plenty of potential for both of these compounds to be used in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
Nevertheless, both CBD and THCa are capable of producing analgesic effects that can help you relieve pain caused by arthritis, fibromyalgia, sclerosis, and neuropathic pain. However, these effects are often condition specific and not applicable for many people.
- Antiemetic effects:
Since research is going on to find out more and more therapeutic effects of cannabinoids, it was found by scientists that both THCa and CBD exerts some of the antiemetic effects. Specially, in cases of patients undergoing chemotherapy or other cancer treatments, THCa and CBD have shown significant impact to reduce the feeling of nausea and vomiting caused by the treatment and medications.
Moreover, THCA may help you treat eating disorders by limiting the hormone leptin. In CINV condition chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting), THCa helps the patients big time by working on eating disorders.
- Anti-inflammatory effects:
If you are suffering from pain and inflammation as a result of arthritis, allergy, abdominal pain or cramping, joint pain, IBD (inflammatory bowel disease), consuming THC and CBD may give you relief. Both of these cannabinoids are capable of decreasing the levels of MIP-1 (macrophage inflammatory protein), Interleukin-8, and TNF-alpha. All these proteins are responsible for expressing the inflammation in your body. Thus when the cannabinoids reduce the levels of these protein molecules, it decreases the feeling of being in pain and inflammation.
- Controlling Seizure:
Until now it was only a theory that THCa and CBD can control seizure. However, scientists and researchers now have evidence that there are possibilities of using THCa and CBD as a treatment method of controlling seizures. However, researchers have found positive results in mice models and it needs more research in depth to have THCa and CBD as a prescription drug to control seizures.
In some cases, people have recommended THCa and CBD oil to reduce the number of seizure occurrences. So, if you are suffering from recurring seizures, you can always give the cannabinoids a try and observe if it can help you recover and relax.
What Are the Key Differences Between THCa and CBD?
Although CBD and THCa have similar effects, it is important for the users to know the differences between them so that you can get the maximum benefit. It is also crucial for the users who want to consume cannabinoids for therapeutic benefits because if they fail to choose the right one, you'd rather end up feeling dizzy, feel anxious and high instead of getting relief from pain or relaxation.
The key differences are:
- Legal availability:
Both THCa and CBD can be found from Cannabis plants. However, THCa when heated up can turn into THC which is considered as narcotics and restricted in many countries. Whereas, CBD doesnt turn into a psychoactive compound even though you heat it up. Therefore, before you purchase CBD or THCa, you must know the percentage of THCa in the plant or flower you are purchasing.
In the USA, it is recommended to purchase CBD with not more than 0.3% THC as it is the legal jurisdiction.
- Stability state
While purchasing cannabinoids, you must consider the stability state of CBD and THCa. Since THCa can undergo decarboxylation even due to the environmental conditions for example heat, air or light, it is not stable. If you buy THCa for medicinal purposes and it converts to THC, you will get the medicinal effect.
On the other hand, CBD is stable in the factors mentioned above. You can buy CBD for similar disorders and can consume it until it finishes. The potency will not lower for CBD. Therefore, in case of stability, you should pick CBD instead of THCa.
- Consider your goal:
Instead of consuming cannabinoids as psychoactive drugs, you will find it affecting your health in a positive way when you choose it as a natural wellness product. In that case, you need to figure out what goal you want to achieve. You should find good quality CBD when your goal is to get restful and relaxing sleep at night.
Again, you should go for THCa at the time when you want to boost your immune response. THCa also helps in recovering an upset stomach. Nevertheless, you must consider the timing of effect for both CBD and THCa. THCa is not as readily bioavailable in your body’s circulatory system as CBD. If you want a rapid-acting natural remedy for inflammation, CBD is the best option.
- Consider side effects:
There is hardly any substance in this world that has zero side effects. Among THCa and CBD, you should also pick the less harmful one. As you are already aware of the fact that THCa can turn to THC, THC can make you feel drowsy, you may feel paranoia, anxiety and even negative psychiatric effects. Although it will provide you an euphoric feeling and stimulate your appetite it can also affect your lungs if you smoke it in a joint or in vape.
At the same time, CBD oil is available in the market and you can consume it with food, cakes, salad or desserts. Overall, it is said that CBD is well tolerated and even in larger dosage than THCa.
Conclusion:
We are hoping that this article on THCa vs CBD benefits & key differences will help you understand more about which one to pick for your medicinal needs. When you want only the medicinal benefits of relief from pain and relaxation, you should choose CBD and on the other hand you need to choose THCa when you are craving for a psychoactive effect for relieving stress.
Furthermore, you need to research more on how to intake these compounds to get the maximum benefits. If you are someone who is suffering from fat metabolism issues, taking edibles will not provide you with much effect. Again, try to avoid smoking weed if you are trying to detoxify your lungs. In any case, you must go for trial and error technique to find out which method is serving you with more benefits.
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