Pure, potent, and unmistakably gorgeous. THCa diamonds are a marvel of modern hashmaking—an extraordinary feast for the eyes with a heady treat inside, waiting to be unlocked. Diamonds offer the promise of pure THC that’s sure to boost potency when added to any cannabis concoction. But how does non-psychoactive THCa deliver a powerhouse helping of psychoactive THC? And how do you get the most out of THCa diamonds as a consumer?
THCa diamonds are an incredibly versatile weed product, best consumed in careful, deliberate combinations with other forms of whole-plant cannabis. And while there are plenty of THC-heavy products out there to get you high, West Coast Cure is all about capturing the pure, molecular goodness of the plant and delivering it in a vibrant, accessible form. To help you get the most out of THCa diamonds, here’s a quick guide to how they’re made, what you can expect from them, and how we utilize them in our diamond-infused joints.
What Are THCa Diamonds?
You may have heard of “THC diamonds” in 420-friendly circles or while shopping at your local dispensary. It’s a synonymous term for THCa diamonds, which convert into pure THC when lit.
Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCa) is the acidic form of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary intoxicating cannabinoid found in weed. The molecular difference between these two cannabinoids is an extra carboxyl group that blocks THCa from binding to the receptors in your body that kick off the cannabis high. In its resting state, THCa is non-psychoactive, which means it wouldn’t get you high if you consumed it raw.
THCa diamonds are crystalline structures that form under precise heat and pressure conditions, separating THCa from the other cannabinoids and terpenes in a cannabis extract. During the crystallization process, the THCa molecules chemically bond to each other, crashing and forming into large “diamonds”, nicknamed for their comparable texture and color, while the rest of extract forms a sauce. Our THCa diamonds are 91-92% pure, representing one of the purest, most potent forms of cannabis available for consumption.
Decarboxylation: How THCa Converts into THC
There’s a reason you never hear about anyone getting high from eating raw cannabis: Raw THCa does not fully bind to CB1 endocannabinoid receptors. The acid carboxyl group needs to be freed from THCa for THC to bind to these receptors and trigger the heady effects we love. Decarboxylation is a critical step serving as the on-switch for weed—activating compounds for the desired effect through heat application over time.
So when do you decarb your weed and how? Depends on what and how you’re toking. For example, when you smoke or vape cannabis, you’re decarbing bud at the moment of combustion, activating all the THC upon inhale. THCa diamonds can also be vaporized or “dabbed” in a dab or e-rig, activating the moment you drop them in your heated nail or banger. But since your digestive system “lacks” the level of heat needed to decarb THCa, the rosin we use to make edibles is put through a proprietary, “low and slow” “decarbing” process, carefully activating THC without burning off other viable cannabinoids and terpenes.
How We Make THCa Diamonds
Every extract we make at West Coast Cure begins with the farmer. To make our THCa Diamonds, we start with full-term, whole plants from award-winning Emerald Triangle Farms. Once the buds are harvested, we freeze them to lock in all the volatile terpenes and flavonoids that can evaporate when the plant is dried and cured. Next, we make an ice water hash – soaking the plant material in ice water and agitating the mixture to separate all those cannabinoid and terpene-rich trichome glands. Once we’ve thoroughly sifted the mixture through mesh bags of varying micron screen sizes, we let it dry and collect the hash. Then we press it into rosin, making sure the conditions are just right for capturing every available terpene. Finally, we cold cure our rosin into a badder, the starting material for our THCa Diamonds and the sauce that goes with them.
Cannabis concentrates take many forms and consistencies, depending on how they’re cured and processed. We cold cure our rosin into a badder, which then serves as the starting material for “diamond mining,” the process of separating THCa crystals from the rest of the extract through carefully timed heat and pressure. The final step is to bring the full flavored sauce together with the THCa diamonds in a ratio we determined to be the most optimal for your senses—resulting in an exceptionally flavorful and high potency product.
How to Consume THCa Diamonds
The main benefits of THCa diamonds are purity and versatility. For seasoned recreational consumers and cannabis patients alike, THCa diamonds offer direct, unfettered access to THC’s heady effects.
For the most part, THCa diamonds are best consumed in tandem with other cannabis products. We combine our diamonds with a rich terpene sauce derived from our concentrates to create a pure product that delivers the full molecular goodness of the plant—an experience you’ll never get from consuming THC alone. The best way to get the full connoisseur’s experience is to drop our Diamonds in your dab or e-rig. THCa diamonds can also be effectively laced in a joint or sprinkled over a bowl to boost potency while still contributing to the well-rounded effects of whole-plant cannabis.
Get Your Diamonds from Jefferey
At West Coast Cure, we focus on concentrates that actually deliver the full spectrum of the plant’s compounds, straight from the source and as free from chemical intervention as possible. And though we work with solventless hash as much as we can, live resin is a more accessible concentrate we can produce at a much larger scale – all while preserving the plant’s tasty terpenes and flavonoids for a full spectrum of effects and flavors. In addition to larger scale production, occasionally when we come across cultivars that are so fire but don’t yield as well under solventless extraction methods, we opt for top-tier solvent-based processes to better capture the essence of those unique terpenes and cannabinoids.
Our signature live resin diamonds are carefully formed under highly specified conditions to deliver one of the purest forms of cannabis consumption available—potent and totally free of residual solvent.
Live resin diamonds have become an essential ingredient of infused joints. Most infused pre-rolls today are rolled with kief, bubble hash, wax, THCa diamonds, or terpenes — usually in a combination of two, three, or more of these products in a single joint.
The intention behind a diamond-infused pre-roll is to boost potency and enhance the flavor of craft cannabis in a widely accessible package. Unfortunately, not all infused joints are crafted with the TLC they deserve, resulting in a mad rush of sub-par products in the market.
That’s where Jefferey comes in.
You know Jefferey—the coolest bloke on the block, bringing a bit of this and a bit of that to every occasion. Carefully mixed with high-quality crushed THCa diamonds that convert to pure, active THC when lit, and finished off with a dash of all-natural terpenes, Jefferey offers a truly superior, potent, whole-plant experience you won’t find in other infused pre-rolls currently available.
At West Coast Cure, we believe THC potency is best experienced as part of the nuanced, multidimensional high that only a full spectrum of the plant’s precious compounds provide. When you smoke THCa diamonds in the Jefferey, you get maximum hits of THC and everything else we love about cannabis. You get the whole package.