Following the success of delta 8 THC as a legal alternative to the more controlled availability of delta 9 THC, the cannabis industry has looked to other lesser-known cannabinoids to compete in the diverse cannabis market. One of the newest and most promising is hexahydrocannabinol, usually shortened to HHC.
What is HHC?
HHC is a THC component long known to science, but until recently not often discussed by cannabis users. HHC is a minor cannabinoid; it occurs naturally in cannabis, but in quantities too small to make extraction cost-effective. As commercial production of HHC is just starting, it is not yet widely known.
Most cannabinoids can be converted to other cannabinoids by altering the chemistry of the molecules. Like delta 8 THC and delta 10 THC, commercial HHC is made from CBD derived from hemp in a laboratory through chemical processes. HHC has one major legal advantage over delta 8 and delta 10: it is not called THC.
How is HHC produced?
HHC was discovered in the 1940s by chemist Roger Adams. He created HHC by adding hydrogen to the THC molecule and modifying its physical properties. The process, called hydrogenation, is first described in a 1947 patent document.
Hydrogenation alters the delta 9 THC structure by replacing a double bond with two hydrogen atoms, which changes its molecular weight and also makes it more stable. According to Mark Scialdone, chemist and scientific director of BR Brands, hydrogenation improves “stability and resistance to thermo-oxidative degradation” – meaning HHC has a longer shelf life and is less prone to damage from UV light and heat.
HHC effect? Does it have side effects?
This is a bit complicated. Although HHC is not technically a THC, it produces similar effects – if you use it enough. When produced in the laboratory, a batch of HHC is a mixture of active and inactive HHC molecules. Active HHC binds well to your body’s cannabinoid receptors; the others do not.
Manufacturers haven’t yet figured out a cost-effective way to separate the high-potency HHC from its low-potency twin, so commercial HHC – which is a combination of the two forms – may be foolish for the buyer. But HHC has notable effects. User reports generally describe high HHC levels as somewhere between delta 8 and delta 9 THC.
Almost everything we know about the effects and side effects of HHC is anecdotal. That said, users report the same set of side effects known to delta 9 THC users: anxiety and paranoia, dry mouth, dry and red eyes, hunger and insomnia.
Will HHC show up on a drug test?
It turns out that HHC cannot break down in the body in the same way as THC. Unlike the delta 8, delta 9 and delta 10 forms of THC, there is some evidence that HHC does not metabolise to 11-hydroxy-THC, which is the breakdown substance that many drug panels test for.
But this has not been studied and is not certain. So far, he doesn’t know for sure that HHC won’t leave evidence of use in blood, urine or hair. If your employer tests for drug use, we suggest you do not risk your job by using HHC.
On the anectodal, human-tested side, HHC consumption will trigger detectors in drug tests for THC.
Does HHC have medical benefits?
HHC has not been widely studied, unlike more abundant cannabinoids such as delta 9 THC or CBD, but there has been promising research. A 2011 study showed that some synthetic hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) analogues “potently inhibit breast cancer cell-induced angiogenesis and tumour growth”. Japanese researchers published a paper in 2007 describing HHC’s impressive ability to block pain in mice. But it’s probably too early to say whether HHC is promising as a therapeutic drug.
