Of the 200 aromatic molecule varieties called terpenes that may manifest in a particular example of the cannabis herb, none is better at repairing bones and promoting their growth than delta-3 carene (also called alpha-carene or simply carene).

Beginning in the 1960s, researchers began to note the medicinal efficacy of phytochemicals from plants such as cannabis. Among these chemicals are cannabinoids (the most famous examples are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), terpenes (such as myrcene and pinene) and flavonoids.

Terpenes were first believed simply to convey a sometimes pungent aroma in plants like cannabis. From an evolutionary perspective, these molecules serve the purpose of protecting the cannabis plant from pests and predators, many of which find these chemicals offensive or toxic.

The Details of Delta-3 Carene

Delta-3 carene conveys a sweet, pungent scent composed of citrus, cypress, pine and wood. It is produced by plants other than cannabis, including rosemary, pine trees and cedar trees. Delta-3 carene is utilized by the cosmetics industry as a fragrance and is employed as an insect repellent at the industrial level (it is a natural constituent of turpentine).

Regarding medicinal efficacy, the terpene provides significant qualities to combat systemic inflammation, repair diseased and damaged bones and is said to promote mental focus and concentration. Strains of cannabis rich in the delta-3 carene have been found to benefit those with arthritis, fibromyalgia and even Alzheimer’s disease. This terpene is found most commonly in strains of cannabis, including AK-47, Arjan’s Ultra Haze, Jack Herer, OG Kush and Super Lemon Haze, among others.

Beyond the repair of bones, the terpene is unique due to its power to draw out liquids (one of its chief applications within the cosmetics industry). This drying effect makes it a candidate for use as an antihistamine and in products targeting excessive menstruation or mucus production. This quality is also responsible for anecdotal reports of dry mouth (cottonmouth) and red-eye among cannabis smokers and vapers.

The Research

Research has revealed the medicinal efficacy of terpenes such as delta 3 carene since the 1980s. A 1989 study entitled “Comparative Study of Different Essential Oils of Bupleurum Gibraltaricum Lamarck” that was published in the journal Europe PMC investigated the anti-inflammatory properties of delta-3 carene, concluding “the essential oil of the Cázulas Mountains population was most active against acute inflammation owing to its high delta-3 carene content.”

A 2007 study entitled “Low Concentration of 3‐carene Stimulates the Differentiation of Mouse Osteoblastic MC3T3‐E1 Subclone 4 Cells” published in the journal Phytotherapy Research tested 89 natural compounds for their ability to maintain bone repair, deal with bone disease and promote overall healthy bones.

Concluded the study’s researchers, “Further studies are needed to determine the precise mechanism, but the anabolic activity of 3‐carene in bone metabolism suggested that the use of natural additives to the diet, including essential oils, could have a beneficial effect on bone health.”

Originally published on https://cannabisaficionado.com.

The post Delta-3 Carene: The Terpene That Promotes Healthy Bones (& Dry Mouth) appeared first on Cannabis Now.

When the weather begins to change, it’s common for cold symptoms to start to pop up. It usually starts with a bit of congestion and little sneezing before blossoming into a full-blown mess of running or stuffy noses, high fevers, headaches and a sore throat. It can be difficult to avoid catching a cold, especially once it starts going around. It can easily spread through saliva (by sharing a drink or kissing), skin-to-skin contact (handshakes or hugs) and even through the air if someone with the virus coughs or sneezes without properly covering their mouth.

Thankfully, most people can recover from a cold in just a couple weeks with their own at-home or over-the-counter treatments. In the meantime, you can also include cannabis to help with managing symptoms. If you’re heavily congested, dealing with a sore throat or trying to avoid coughing, smoking is probably not the best option for improving your symptoms. In fact, it could exacerbate them and make you feel worse. For people who feel like they need to smoke out of preference or habit, vaping is the way to go. It will be easier on your lungs and will most likely not make you cough if you’re intentional about taking gentle, slows pulls.

You can experiment with different terpenes like pinene which can act as a powerful expectorant and antimicrobial that can improve airflow functioning in the lungs. Just look for strains that have a high pinene content to help ease respiratory issues. Just remember that during this time it is not a good idea to share any paraphernalia with another person, so you’ll need a pipe or vape that is exclusively for your own personal use during this time until your symptoms completely subside.

If necessary, you can skip smoking and vaping altogether and go for pre-packaged edibles or cannabis-infused foods and drinks made at home. Soups and hot drinks are helpful as the weather cools down and there are lots of great recipes like vegetable soup with medicated garlic croutons, kief-infused chicken soup and cannabis-infused bone broth. You can also try making your own cannabis tea made with roots and stems or make canna-honey to add to herbal tea. Tinctures are an easy way to medicate as well by taking a dose underneath your tongue or adding it to tea, soup or something else. Don’t forget that edibles will take longer to feel the effects than smoking or vaping so be patient and don’t over do it in hopes of feeling better faster.

Some people find it unpleasant to feel high when they’re under the weather, so microdosing or CBD strains and products would be a good idea. For aches and pains, a topical or infused bath salts can help you feel better. Detox baths with Epsom salt and essential oils like peppermint and eucalyptus can help speed up your recovery and the added benefits of cannabis can reduce discomfort in your body so that you can rest and relax. You can also try rubbing an infused topical into any tense areas for some relief. Some studies have shown that cannabis can help reduce inflammation, which can be helpful if you’re experiencing uncomfortable nasal pressure or throat pain, so with topicals you can still experience some of the benefits without getting any kind of buzz at all.

Keep in mind that cannabis won’t help to make your cold go away but can help you feel a little better while you recover. Whether you decide to treat your cold naturally or with over-the-counter treatments from your local drugstore, remember to pay attention to how you feel, observe your symptoms and visit a doctor if needed.

TELL US, have you ever used cannabis to support you while kicking a cold?

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Cannabis operators embracing the functional THC movement may break the cycle of THC addiction.

Can ‘functional THC’ move cannabis past the potency race? is a post from: MJBizDaily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

President Donald Trump signed a spending measure Nov. 12, funding federal operations through January and ending the longest government shutdown in US history after 43 days. The Senate had approved the measure the previous day, with seven Democrats crossing party lines to reach the needed 60-vote majority. They were won over by a Republican pledge to revisit the question of subsidies for Obamacare in December.

However, a sideshow to the fight over the Affordable Care Act is causing outrage in the hemp industry—and among farmers in hemp-producing states like Kentucky. A last-minute provision added to the spending bill will effectively ban all hemp-derived THC products.  

The Dreaded ‘Loophole’

This concerns what has been derided as a “loophole” in the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized the production of industrial hemp in the United States. The Farm Bill kept the federal ban on cannabis and cannabis products with more than 0.3% Delta-9 THC—and on Delta-9 THC itself, whether derived from hemp or “marijuana.” However, in a measure intended to legalize the CBD market, it allowed extraction and sale of cannabinoids other than Delta-9 THC, if derived from hemp. 

This had an unanticipated effect. In the wake of the 2018 law, an industry suddenly boomed around hemp-derived cannabinoid products—and not just CBD but psychoactive THC. Particularly at issue was Delta-8 THC, an isomer of Delta-9, which behaves much the same way in the human organism. Products containing Delta-8 were suddenly available in convenience stores, gas stations and truck stops coast to coast.  

A backlash also quickly emerged. Critics argued that because the industry was essentially using a subterfuge to skirt the law, these new products were basically unregulated. 

The new law contains a provision added to Agriculture Department funding that restricts hemp and hemp-derived products to those containing low concentrations of all THC—not just Delta-9 THC. It is to take effect on Nov. 12, 2026, one year from the date of signing. 

The new provision “prevents the unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp-based or hemp-derived products, including Delta-8, from being sold online, in gas stations, and corner stores, while preserving non-intoxicating CBD and industrial hemp products,” reads a Senate Appropriations Committee summary.  

Media reports warn of an “extinction-level event” for the hemp industry when the provision kicks in. 

Bluegrass Senators at Odds

Kentucky’s Republican Sen. Rand Paul pushed an amendment to strip the provision from the bill, but this failed in a 76-24 vote. And his principal opponent was fellow Bluegrass State GOP senator, Mitch McConnell—who had championed the 2018 Farm Bill as then-majority leader of the Senate. 

The Louisville Courier-Journal quoted Kentucky farmers fearing that the new law could be a “death sentence.” 

The move is also meeting with pushback in Texas, where the GOP-dominated political establishment is divided over an effort to ban Delta-8 at the state level. Officials with the Texas chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars told Waco’s KWTX that many vets use hemp-derived THC products to treat PTSD and other ailments related to their service. 

“What in the world just happened last night?” Thus responded Mitch Fuller, legislative chair for Texas VFW, after the Congressional logjam broke. Fuller had successfully lobbied Gov. Greg Abbott to veto the Delta-8 ban in the statehouse earlier this year.  

Abbott’s big rival on the question in his own administration was Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who had pushed for the state ban and enthused in a tweet about the federal one after it passed: “As part of the resolution, consumable, highly intoxicating hemp-derived THC is essentially banned in America. Farmers are protected to produce industrial products. CBD and CBG are still legal. However, Delta-8, Delta-10, and candies, snacks, and gummies with high dosages of intoxicating THC are all banned. Hemp-derived Delta-9 will only be allowed to be sold in very low, non-intoxicating dosages.” (This is a reference to the 0.3% cap, well below the threshold for any psychoactive effect.)

Mitch Fuller retorted: “Of course, safety is important, of course children not having access to this is important. But let’s not use a chain-saw approach to this, let’s use a scalpel approach to it, and regulate it.”

The VFW chapter said they will use the year before the ban takes effect to organize pressure to have it reversed.

Industry Voices Sound Alarm 

The hemp and cannabis industries are, predictably, distressed over the new measure. Adam Stettner, CEO of financial lender FundCanna, said in a statement: “Banning intoxicating hemp through a government funding bill isn’t policymaking; it’s panic disguised as progress. You can’t erase a $28 billion market or the millions of consumers who already exist. You can only decide whether those dollars flow through legal, regulated channels or into the shadows. You’re kidding yourself if you think consumers will stop buying hemp beverages, gummies or wellness products because Congress flipped a switch.” 

Stettner raised the specter of backsliding toward prohibition: “Dismantling compliant supply chains won’t make these products disappear; it will make them untraceable, untaxed and unsafe. What we need isn’t a ban, it’s balance and logic. If lawmakers want safer products and clearer rules, they need to regulate, not eradicate. The responsible path forward is to regulate hemp like we do alcohol or caffeine at the federal level, with age limits, testing and labeling. Inserting a blanket prohibition by sneaking it into a budget deal won’t work; prohibition never works.”

Thomas Winstanley, executive vice president of infused products purveyor Edibles.com, emphasized the ironic role of the former Senate majority leader, who has announced that he will retire next year.

“Mitch McConnell has once again proven himself the architect of the law of unintended consequences,” Winstanley said. “When he introduced the 2018 Farm Bill, it was celebrated as a lifeline for America’s farmers—a rare bipartisan achievement that gave rural communities a new cash crop and built a thriving, homegrown industry. What no one expected was that it would also ignite a $28 billion consumer market, create over 300,000 American jobs, and form a domestic supply chain rooted in U.S. agriculture and innovation. That was the first unintended consequence, a positive one. Today, history repeats itself, but this time, the fallout will be devastating. By attaching a sweeping hemp restriction to the government spending bill, McConnell has chosen to end his career by crippling the very industry he created.”

He too pledged to use the one-year grace period to organize resistance: “Farmers, brands, and consumers, once fragmented, are now mobilizing together to defend what they’ve built and to finally push for the federal framework the hemp industry has long demanded.”

The post New Legislation Bans Hemp-Derived THC appeared first on Cannabis Now.

Cannabis can be tasted and appreciated like fine wine and the idea is gaining momentum nationwide. Over in the global ganja epicenter of California, encouraging people to blind test cannabis is nearly standardized. 

Local chef, entrepreneur and industry veteran Chip Moore, 36, is the founder of the 4 and 20 Blackbirds collective and has been treating its members to the blind tasting concept — wherein participants don’t learn strain names before sampling, followed by discussion about the key characteristics of tastes, smells and effects.

In the hippy hamlet of Fairfax north of San Francisco, the newly formed Herba Buena collective, whose co-founder Alicia Rose comes from the wine industry, incorporated blind wine-style tastings as well. 

Alicia said the “effusiveness of the aromas” should guide aficionados through the tasting process. She’ll often make collective members smell a jar of Herba Buena’s ultra-organic cannabis before revealing the strain. “I like them to smell and experience the flower before identifying it,” she says.

It’s not a totally surprising development. The San Francisco Chronicle mentioned treating cannabis like wine as far back as 2007 and magazine The Clever Root — a farm-to-table foodie publication backed by the wine industry — has included an entire column devoted to cannabis. The magazine Marijuana Business Daily now publishes the results of blind taste tests in each issue.

As cannabis continues to be normalized and elevated through taste-testing events like these, industry leaders are wise to borrow from the wine and food culture, further illustrating how cannabis can offer as much of a connoisseur experience as wine or fine chocolate.

How to Conduct Your Own Blind Smell & Taste Test

1. When you blind test weed, make it blind. “The main difference is that when someone knows the strain they are tasting they have already categorized how it’s supposed to smell and taste based on their previous experience with that strain,” said Moore.

2. Pick rare strains. Don’t choose popular favorites like Sour Diesel or OG Kush — aficionados can identify their signature lemonhead or pine-sol funk aromas in one whiff, and the results lead to sample bias.

3. Pre-roll some joints. Unlike wine, cannabis strains can be identified visually from across a room, rendering moot the whole point of the blind taste. “I want to challenge the participants to use their senses,” says Moore, “particularly smell to reach past their preconceived notions and really get to know the bud they are smoking.”

4. Take a “dry hit.” Draw on an unlit joint to taste its terpenes at room temperature. A dry toke reveals a lot about the quality of the herb. It should have a clean herbal taste without any sharp salty notes which can indicate the presence of unflushed fertilizers.

5. Fire it up, but no bogarting. “I tell them to start off slow, not take one of those big, ‘I’m not going to get this joint back’ hits,” laughs Moore.

6. Write down your notes. Privately record initial impressions and share joints to taste how the joint changes as it smokes. As leading cannabis judge Swami of Swami Select says, “Each joint is a journey and each tells its own story, how well it was flushed, whether it’s indoor or sungrown, this kind of things.”

7. Use coffee beans as a palette cleanser. Coffee beans help refresh noses over-exposed to the onslaught of cannabis terpenes and smoke.

8. No spoilers. As the joint burns, Moore asks folks to continue to record their observations, but don’t shout out what they think the strain is. It creates expectation bias. 

9. Don’t overdo it. Wine tasters spit out the wine. Smokers just need to go slow. “The purpose is not to get so high they forgot what they’re doing,” says Moore with a chuckle.

10. Guess the strain. Write down your last impressions, along with any possible guesses as to what the strain is. Discuss.

11. Repeat. The best way to elevate your cannabis critiquing is to keep practicing.

TELL US, how do you choose your cannabis?

Originally published in Issue 21 of Cannabis Now. LEARN MORE

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One of the most challenging aspects of cannabis consumption is determining how specific strains will affect each individual. This is largely because everyone’s endocannabinoid system is unique, leading to varying interactions with cannabis. For instance, one strain might induce drowsiness in one person while sparking creativity in another. Traditionally, cannabis consumers classified strains based on […]

The post Understanding Terpenes and the Effects of Cannabis Strains on the Body appeared first on The Weed Blog.

Tennessee leaders are again putting forth a bill that would regulate hemp-derived cannabinoids like delta-8 and delta-10 THC, after a previous attempt failed last year. Some hemp advocates applauded the bill, while others would rather simply legalize cannabis, naturally rich in delta-9 THC.

State House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) and Sen. Richard Briggs, (R-Knoxville) introduced a bill on Tuesday to regulate products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids, such as delta-8 and delta-10 THC—his second attempt to do so.

House Bill 403 would tax and regulate cannabinoids derived from hemp via what some describe as synthetic processes. Typically products with delta-8 THC are marketed as being somewhat psychoactive, with effects weaker but similar to delta-9 THC.

“Delta-8 is a legal substance that can be sold and packaged in the form of candy or gummies; it often has a very high concentration of THC,” Rep. Lamberth stated. “There are no regulations and no legitimate way for anyone to know exactly what they are buying. Nothing in our current law prohibits a child from purchasing delta-8.”

The bill would ban the sale of hemp-derived cannabinoid products to people under the age of 21; adds a 5% additional sales tax to any product sold at a store; and create a licensing, quality testing, regulatory and enforcement process through the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.

“We need to regulate this because the horse is out of the barn,” Sen. Briggs said. “This stuff is everywhere, and we can’t put that genie back in the bottle.”

What is Delta-8 THC?

The idea is that hemp-derived CBD can be converted to other compounds, frequently being marketed as psychoactive. This doesn’t mesh with the general U.S. definition of hemp, bred specifically to not be psychoactive.

Delta-8 THC occurs naturally, but only in trace amounts: According to Chemical & Engineering News, cannabis plants naturally contain just 0.1% delta-8 THC or less—though some plants contain as much as 1%. Jeffrey Raber, cofounder and CEO of the Werc Shop told C&E News that there isn’t enough delta-8 THC found naturally in hemp to be economical for extraction.

But hemp growers in the state are supportive of the bill despite some suspicion about emerging hemp-derived cannabinoids. “We support anything that doesn’t put burdensome regulations on the industry,” Kelley Hess, executive director of the Tennessee Growers Coalition, said.

While hemp growers may support delta-8 products, others do not.

Artists such as Margo Price support legalization, but don’t support hemp-derived cannabinoid products in Tennessee. Opponents don’t like the way certain cannabinoids are extracted from hemp, which usually means altering the CBD molecule, which is found in hemp in larger amounts, using natural solvents and acids.

Attempt to Regulate Delta-8 Last Year

While some states moved to restrict hemp-derived cannabinoids, such as Utah, Tennessee would be taking a much different approach by regulating it instead.

Rep. Lamberth sponsored an earlier attempt to regulate delta-8 THC and similar compounds. Some Tennessee lawmakers and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said that by regulating delta-8, the state would be legitimizing the industry. 

House Bill 1927, which was introduced previously, would regulate delta-8 by making it illegal in most cases outside trace-level concentrations. The bill was amended in April 2022 to be more specific to include other hemp-derived THCs such as delta-9 and 10 and the derivative hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), but exclude non-THC hemp cannabinoids such as CBD.

Tennessee is one of 11 non-green states that hasn’t legalized, regulated, or decriminalized cannabis in some form. 

The post Tennessee Bill Would Regulate the Sale of Delta-8 THC appeared first on High Times.