Cannabinoid With Potential of Being 30 Times More Potent Than THC Discovered

By Syakir Roslan  •  in News
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A cannabinoid dubbed ‘THCP’ has recently been discovered out of Italy and gained relative notoriety online since its discovery. THCP or tetrahydrocannabiphorol, was discovered alongside another compound dubbed ‘CBDP’ which researchers describe as the ‘cousin’ of another popular compound found in cannabis; CBD.

In a report published last December by Nature, researchers examine the properties of THCP and highlight the importance in carrying out a ‘comprehensive chemical profiling of a medicinal cannabis variety’ as well as calling for an investigation to study the ‘pharmacological activity’ of lesser known phytocannabinoids.

Before grabbing your papers, blunt wraps and other utensils to finish off your ‘stock’ as a means of ushering in the future, it is not confirmed that this new cannabinoid will be more potent, just has the potential to be. Moreover, it’s still unconfirmed if THCP demonstrates any psychoactive effects in humans just yet.

source: Dana Foundation

Now that we’ve established that THCP (allegedly) won’t get you mind-numbingly blazed, you might be wondering how this new discovery would benefit medicine and science as a whole.

According to CNN regarding the Nature publication:

“CBD has mostly been the focus of studies on the health benefits of cannabis, but because THCP appears to show stronger binding abilities and potency, the authors think there is potential for health benefits.”

As for the compound’s potential abilities:

“The findings could enable the production of cannabis extracts for targeted physical effects; more testing with the study’s methods could further the discovery and identification of new compounds.”

source: The Scientist

The aforementioned binding abilities in these compounds is what allows the medicine they are used in to be extremely potent and effective. To simplify, the more binding links a compound has, the easier it would be to manipulate thus in turn allowing for the possibility of stronger and more potent medicines.

To put things into perspective, a regular THC compound has five binding links while THCP has shown seven in recent studies.

For now, it would be highly irresponsible to assume that a new form of super weed will be wreaking reefer madness upon the world. Like any other recent discovery, its best for those of us at home to let the people in lab coats tweak out the formula and officially proclaim to the world that THCP is 420 friendly medically and scientifically beneficial to society before jumping to any conclusions.

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