Where to Find THC Oil & How its Different from CBD Oil

THC is dominating the market. Once confined to niche markets and circles, THC and THC oil products are quickly becoming the choice for many looking to both relax and medicate. 

Found in a variety of cannabis products including edibles, tinctures and topicals, THC oil is present almost everywhere. Its versatile nature and strong potency have made it an important ingredient within the cannabis community.

Due to THC oil’s huge popularity, it’s essential to understand the differences between the different kinds of THC oil products to discover the one that works best for you. 

Here’s what THC oil is, its benefits, and how it stacks up against CBD oil! 

What is THC Oil?

The term THC or cannabis oil may seem a tad vague, and we can see why. It is used in several different contexts to describe various cannabis products. 

In short, cannabis oil is an extract made by extracting certain compounds found inside marijuana and imbuing it within an oil.

Some of the confusion rests on specifying whether we are talking about cannabis oil used as an ingredient or cannabis oils (concentrates) made for consumers.  

This distinction will be more evident as we explore butane hash oil (BHO), vape carts, and infused topicals. These products differ from the standard cannabis oil that is used orally. 

Butane Hash Oil (BHO)

Butane hash oil (BHO) is a thick substance that ranges from bright yellow to dark brown. 

The term describes a cannabis extract made using butane as the solvent. BHO is primarily used as an intermediary on the way to other cannabis concentrates. 

For example, cannabis concentrates like shatter, budder, and wax are all examples of butane hash oil extracts. 

Vaporizer Distillate Cartridges

Vape carts are convenient sources of THC meant for vaping. You can attach them to a battery and inhale the odourless vapour produced. 

Inside the cartridge, you’ll find THC oil. This type of cannabis oil is generally made by combining THC distillate and terpenes. The combination of ingredients is designed to make a potent cannabis oil capable of being vaporized easily.

THC distillate is often referred to as a THC oil product due to its runny texture and consistency. However, distillate is far more potent than the THC oil used to infuse edibles. 

THC Topicals

The final category of products, infused topicals, are made using cannabis oil. 

Generally speaking, topicals may be infused using BHO or THC distillate. Check the product ingredients to determine what type of THC oil has been used to create your topical.

THC Oil vs. CBD Oil

Now that we understand the different types of cannabis oil products, there is another critical distinction. That is the difference between THC and CBD oil. 

Cannabis users may find either version in the various product forms discussed above. But, the similarities end there. CBD and THC are both cannabinoids made by the cannabis plant, but they impact human bodies in significantly different ways.

Generally speaking, THC oil is made using cannabis plants. CBD oil, on the other hand, is often derived from hemp plants. These hemp plants must contain less than 0.3% THC by law. 

Whether you go with THC – CBD oil depends on what benefits you are seeking and your needs.

Here’re some of the benefits of specific cannabinoids to know about.

Benefits of THC oil

THC is psychoactive. In other words, it produces a high. This high does impair basic cognitive and motor functions. 

Consumers take advantage of these effects of THC recreationally and medically. On the recreational side, relaxation, sensory enhancement, and euphoria are common aims.

On the medical side, there are numerous diseases, conditions, and symptoms managed by cannabis oil. While there are too many to discuss here today, we’ll see a few. 

Rigorous research has found high-quality evidence supporting THC to manage spasticity, chronic pain, neuropathic pain. Persistent pain is a massive burden on society and a terrible stressor in our daily lives. Many patients take advantage of the delayed and consistent release provided by THC oil.

CBD Oil Benefits

CBD is non-impairing and does not produce a high. Consumers often describe it as a mild stimulant, more akin to coffee or nicotine. 

Some of the common reasons consumers use CBD oil (or hemp oil) include sleep promotion and alleviation of anxiety. 

Furthermore, CBD has shown some very promising preclinical evidence around inflammation. CBD oil is commonly used to provide sustained relief from inflammation-related symptoms like stiffness and discomfort.

How Long Does THC Oil Stay in Your System?

Oral formulations of THC take longer to produce effects, but these effects generally last longer. 

With smoking or vaping, THC compounds enter directly into the bloodstream via the lungs. This immediate effect starts and stops with the act of smoking/vaping. 

While smoking or vaping can produce effects in minutes, THC oil must first move through the digestive system. The result is the same: these THC compounds travel through your digestive tract and make their way to your bloodstream.

In the liver, the THC is metabolized into a different compound called 11-Hydroxy-THC. This compound is similar to THC but is able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier more quickly, leading to more potent, long-lasting effects. 

The effects sharply peak at around 45-minutes to an hour. They then quickly fade over the next few hours. In other words, going from smoking to high to sober can take 3-4 hours (possibly more, depending on your tolerance).

On the other hand, with THC oil, it takes longer for the compounds to be absorbed. Furthermore, absorption continues over a period of time. 

In other words, the effects take longer to start, and they gradually increase over a longer period than smoking. It may take an hour for you to feel the first effects. 

These effects can last for several hours, perfect for a more balanced and sustained effect. Overall, going from cannabis oil to high to sober can last 8+ hours (up to 24-48 hours in some cases).

Keep this in mind when dosing your THC oil. Do not take a second dose after waiting for 10-minutes. You may end up making the mistake many people make with infused edibles – overdoing it and experiencing a green out. 

Consuming too much THC oil can result in excessive effects that take much longer to subside than after smoking/vaping cannabis. 

Novice consumers of cannabis oil who consume too much may find themselves feeling side effects in the longer-range described above (24 hours or more).

THC Drug Testing

So far, the conversation has focused on the high produced by- and perceived effects of consuming THC. We must clarify that asking ‘how long does THC oil stay in your system” requires a vastly different answer regarding drug testing.

When testing the blood, evidence suggests cannabis oil is detectable for at least 2-7 days. Of course, the length depends on the heaviness and duration of usage. These researchers only tested for seve