Run a search online for THC-O and you’ll likely soon run into the claim that it is 3,4, maybe even 10 times stronger than Delta-8 (“Delta 8”) or even Delta-9 (“D9”) THC.  I’ll address the potency of THC-O vs Delta 8 shortly. Generally, when people search for “difference between Delta 8 and THC-O”, what they really mean is “what are the effects of these two things relative to the other?”  So potency is likely the main consideration for most people looking for information online.  But on the off chance you are more interested in the physical difference between the two, let’s take a quick look at just what THC-O is.

What is the physical difference between THC-O and Delta 8?

THC-O has been around a long time, actually, but it hasn’t really been circulating out in the world on store shelves until recent years.  THC-O comes from a hemp plant.  Or at least, compliant THC-O does.  Distillate is extracted from the hemp plant and then the CBD in the distillate is further processed into Delta 8.  From there, it’s very much a “don’t try this at home” thing as the conversion from Delta 8 into THC-O is a volatile, potentially explosive process.  Acetic anhydride (approved as a food additive by the FDA which gives it the “GRAS” label–generally regarded as safe) is added to create the THC-O.

If you did not study chemistry much like me, the relevant part of that paragraph is the FDA’s GRAS designation for the ingredient that turns Delta 8 into THC-O.  More likely you are looking for the answer to “how will THC-O make me feel?”  The answer to that doesn’t involve chemistry, but unfortunately, the “real” answer is also not simple.

There is just no getting around the fact that dosing cannabinoids is different for every person.  That’s not a wishy washy answer; it’s just the way it is.  I’d love to give you a concrete way to know what effect THC-O will have on you, but I’d be lying if I gave that kind of answer.  Having said that, THC-O is undoubtedly stronger than Delta 8 for most people.  Is it 3x or 6x stronger Delta 8 or D9?  That’s really up to you to decide because the answer is going to be the answer for you but maybe not for me.  And how do you determine what 3x more high or 6x more high is, anyway?  I know I have no idea.

What does THCO feel like?

I can say this:  just a couple days ago, I was at our production facility and grabbed what I thought was one of our 5-O Rings off a drying rack and ate half of it on my way out the door for my house a few minutes away.  Our 5-O Rings are called that because they have 25mg Delta 8 and 25mg THC-O and are Hawaiian Punch flavored–get it?  Hawaiian 5-O Rings.  Moving on….half of one of these rings is about as much as I want at one time and I usually eat less.  I have not built up a meaningful tolerance to edible forms of THC even after 5 years of making it. 

Anyway, it ended up hitting me way harder than I was expecting and I mentioned it on our team’s Slack.  My production manager replied that what I had eaten was in fact a “110 Proof” THC-O gummy, our strongest product with 110mg of THC-O.  We don’t currently sell it online.  On that note, I’ll mention that we are losing some market share locally to new players who are putting 300mg, even 500mg gummies out there, but we just aren’t going to do that.  We feel that 100mg (or 110mg in this case) in one candy is plenty.  If you want more than that, just eat 2 or 3.  I don’t want a “rookie” ending up passed out at a stoplight because they ate a gummy that would have lasted them a week (or more) if it was broken into smaller gummies.  We try to be as responsible as possible with this stuff at Delta Elev8–what you get is going to be what the label says you’re getting and we’re not going to go beyond the parameters we’ve put in place for the potency of our gummies.

So what did my half-gummy, 55mg dosage of THC-O feel like?  More than I wanted, for sure, but for me it was short of “I think I’m gonna freak out” territory.  At the same time, I was not capable of doing much more than watching a dumb Marky Mark/Kevin Hart Netflix movie for a good 3-4 hours.  If you’re asking yourself THC-O vs Delta 8, again, everyone reacts differently with cannabinoids, and going easy will keep yourself from.  

TL;DR: THC-O vs Delta 8

While it’s different for everyone, THC-O is likely going to hit you harder than Delta 8 but I am personally not so sure about D9.  If you are new to the world of edibles and/or THC-O, please remember the adage that “you can always eat more after your first dosage but you can’t eat less”.  Getting too much THC of any kind is not fun for me, anyway.  As much as I like a nice dosage, I am also not a fan of having to cancel half my day because I’ve become non-functional. THC-O vs Delta 8 may be an ongoing debate but regardless of preferences,  the outcome is the same.  Too much of anything can be well, just too much. Go easy the first couple times with any edible that’s new to you and choose a brand whose potency you feel you can count on to be reliable and you’ll figure out what’s right for you in short order. If you’re going to give it a try, our Delta 8 gummies and THC-O gummies are locally sourced, made with organic ingredients and mot importantly, made in the USA.