Curious about what delta-8 is and how it works? Wondering what delta 8 effects and benefits you can expect?
While you may or may not have already heard about delta-8 THC, you may not realize what all of its benefits are. Delta-8 THC is more than a one-trick pony and offers a myriad of benefits and effects that you’ll want to make sure you know about.
If you want to learn more about delta-8, read on. Below is our complete guide to the effects and benefits of delta-8 THC.
Understanding Delta-8 THC
It’s important to have a basic understanding of what delta-8 THC is before diving in and learning about its specific effects.
Delta-8 THC is one of the many cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant. Delta-8 is much milder compared to the most well-known and studied cannabinoid in the cannabis plant, delta-9. While the two have similarities, there are a lot of differences between Delta-8 and Delta-9, and they have unique properties and benefits.
Delta-8 is a version of THC and is the fourth most studied cannabinoid. While delta-9 remains illegal in many places, delta-8 is currently legal at the federal level. State laws vary, however. You’ll want to dig a little deeper to find out what the legality of delta-8 is in your area.
As more is learned about this cannabinoid, more and more evidence is linking it to potential benefits that can help people in a variety of different ways. While more research is needed, there is a lot that is pointing to the potential benefits of delta-8 and its use.
Feelings and Sensations
If you’re curious about delta 8 THC, one of the first things you may want to know is how it makes you feel.
As mentioned above, delta-8 THC is a much less potent version of delta-9 THC. However, it will likely still have a significant effect on the way you feel if you use it.
Delta-8 provides those who use it a very calm feeling as well as a greater sense of focus and clarity. Particularly when compared to the stronger effects of delta-9 THC, delta-8 THC is far less likely to put you out of commission or to significantly alter your state of mind.
While you’ll feel calm and relaxed when using delta-8 THC, you’ll probably still be fully equipped to get any normal daily tasks done without any setbacks. The calm and mellow feelings that you’ll get from delta-8 THC are noticeable, but they likely won’t impact your judgment or productivity in a big way.
Delta-8 THC does more than simply relaxing your body. It relaxes your mind as well and may give you a feeling of contentment and happiness. In addition to these calming sensations, you’ll also likely feel an increase in appetite when using delta-8 THC.
First Time vs Experienced Users
The effects felt from the use of delta-8 THC will vary from person to person. However, there is particularly a contrast between first-time users of THC and those who have already used marijuana or THC before.
The feeling you’ll get from delta-8 THC may seem a bit more powerful to you if you’ve only ever used CBD or never taken a psychoactive drug such as marijuana.
If you have experience with delta-9 THC, on the other hand, then you may find that the feeling you get with delta-8 THC is particularly mild. However, some people who use delta-8 THC feel like the high is similar to what you’ll get from delta-9, but without the added fogginess or anxiety that often comes with it.
Benefits of Delta-8
So now that you know a bit about how delta-8 makes you feel, you may be wondering what its benefits are. Here are a few of the potential benefits of delta-8 THC.
1. May Improve Brain Health
One of the possible benefits of delta-8 is that it can help to improve cognitive function and the health of the brain.
The use of delta-8 THC leads to the production of a neurotransmitter known as acetylcholine. This neurotransmitter does a lot for the brain and contributes to the health of memory, cognition, and neuroplasticity functions.
It’s also worth noting that a declining presence of acetylcholine is also associated with Alzheimer’s disease. While more research is needed, the signs so far suggest that the brain benefits of delta-8 are pretty significant.
2. Reduces Pain and Inflammation
Another benefit of delta-8 is that it has analgesic and pain relief properties. Delta-8 can serve as a tool to help manage pain, particularly pain that is either neuropathic or inflammatory in nature.
Delta-8 THC has been applied topically to great effect and seems to have an effect on CB1 receptors, helping to reduce inflammation and offer pain relief to those who use it.
While results can vary for different people and types of pain, results are promising. Delta-8 seems like a good potential option for those who suffer from chronic pain and inflammation.
3. Eliminates Nausea
Research has shown that delta 8 may also be able to ease nausea and vomiting due to its antiemetic properties.
One 1995 study showed that 8 pediatric cancer patients successfully used delta-8 to reduce symptoms of nausea related to their cancer treatment.
In addition to this, the 8 patients had essentially no side effects as a result of its usage. The THC did a great job of helping during the process of chemotherapy over the course of 480 treatments.
4. Stimulates the Appetite
Another top reason to consider using delta-8 is that it can stimulate the appetite. For those who need to increase their appetite and eat more, delta-8 can help encourage the body to do so.
A 2004 study with rodents showed that low doses of delta-8 did a great job of stimulating the appetite. It offered a 22% increase in food intake when contrasted with a control group.
While delta-9 THC is already well-known as an appetite stimulant, there is some evidence that points to delta-8 being even more effective for the same purpose.
5. Reduces Anxiety Due to Anxiolytic Effects
One of the top benefits of delta-8 that has been noted is its ability to reduce anxiety.
Delta-8 binds to CB1 receptors to help with pain relief, but it also connects to CB2 receptors as well. This means that it can help with the management of both pain and anxiety.
Delta-8 has anxiolytic properties that can help to enable relaxing feelings in a user and can reduce the onset of anxiety and its symptoms. For sufferers of anxiety, delta-8 may prove to be a good solution that is in line with other solutions such as CBD oil and delta-9 THC.
6. Less Severe Psychotropic Effects
A great benefit in and of itself, one of the top advantages of delta-8 is that it offers many of the same positive properties as delta-9 THC, but with a reduced amount of psychotropic effects.
For people who want to experience the benefits that THC has to offer without the psychotropic effects, delta-8 is a much better option than delta-9. Delta-8 tends to offer the best of both worlds, offering some of the main benefits of both CBD oil and delta-9 THC with minimal side effects.
7. Uncertain Potential For Addiction Treatment
While this particular benefit has yet to be studied significantly, there are signs that point towards delta-8 products being well-suited as an addiction treatment. It’s believed by researchers that cannabidiol can help to treat drug addictions and can help manage the parts of the brain involved with addiction.
While more research needs to be performed to come to a clear answer on whether it will be an effective addiction treatment, the limited research is promising. The research seems to suggest that the use of delta-8 THC might be useful in the treatment of drug addictions, such as opioid addiction and other severe drug addictions.
8. May Help Fight Cancer
While delta-8 can help with nausea and vomiting associated with cancer treatments, there is some indication that delta-8 can directly impact cancer growth as well.
One study with mice found that tumor sizes were reduced with the help of treatment of delta-8 THC for 20 days and that survival times rose up as a result of its use. Other studies have also shown the potential benefits of THC in helping with cancer as well. This is true for delta-9 THC and CBD but also seems like it may be the case for delta-8 THC as well.
Negative Side Effects of Delta-8
While there are many potential benefits of delta 8 THC, it’s worth noting that there are potential negative side effects as well. Different people can react differently to its use.
You’ll of course want to consider the pros and cons of delta-8 before you decide if it will be right for you or not. Here are a few potential side effects you’ll want to be aware of.
Dry Mouth
- Dry Mouth: One of the potential negative effects of using delta 8 is that it can temporarily cause dry mouth while it’s active. To combat this effect, you’ll want to ensure you drink plenty of water while using delta 8.
- Dry Eyes: In addition to causing dry mouth, delta-8 THC can also lead to dry eyes as well. Like with dry mouth, however, this is only a temporary effect that will only last while the cannabinoid remains active. Fortunately, eye drops can help to add moisture to your eyes and reduce the discomfort you may end up feeling.
- Drowsiness: Using delta-8 THC also has the potential to cause drowsiness and general grogginess. This could include brain fog, lightheadedness, and fatigue. While this likely won’t be an issue if the dosage is small, if taking a larger dose, it may be more noticeable.
- Diarrhea: In some cases, delta-8 THC use can lead to diarrhea as well. However, this isn’t the case for everyone who takes delta-8, so it may be nothing to worry about.
- Psychoactive: It’s worth noting that while some people enjoy the psychoactive aspect of delta-8, others use it to experience the other benefits listed above. While delta-8 is milder than delta-9, those who use it can still experience temporary highs which lead to feelings of anxiety or that interfere with cognitive processes. For some people, this can be too much to handle.
- Failed Drug Tests: It’s also important to realize that delta-8 is a federally legal version of THC, unlike delta-9. However, when it comes to drug tests, using delta-8 can still lead to a failed result. Drug tests don’t test for specific types of THC, but all of them at once. This means, that you may not want to take delta-8 if you know you may be required to pass a drug test for your job or for another reason.
- Interference With Everyday Life and Work: Although delta-8 is much milder than delta-9, it can still interfere with everyday responsibilities. Using delta-8 THC can reduce your ability to use your body and mind, and as a result, you may find that you’re unable to perform job or family duties as required of you. It’s better to use delta-8 THC only when you know you’ll have the time and space set aside to do it.
Considering Delta 8 Effects and Benefits
If you’re wondering if using delta-8 might be right for you, you should take some time to digest all of the information listed above. While there still needs to be a lot more research to know for sure, it seems that delta 8 effects and benefits are pretty profound and are well worth paying attention to.
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