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photos by adobe firefly
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THCa Continues to Make Waves in The Cannabis Landscape BY RACHEL NELSON
THCa, which stands for tetrahydrocannabinoilic acid, is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid that is the precursor to the well-known psychoactive cannabinoid, THC. Through a process called decarboxylation, THCa converts to THC.
A
ccording to Wyatt Larew, founder of the Dallas-based cannabis brand Wyatt Purp, decarboxylation happens when the plant is exposed to light, heat and death. “The scientific definition of THCa is conventional cannabis that has not converted into THC yet,” he said. When live plants are tested, Larew said the THC content in the same plant will be higher four to six weeks post-harvest. “That’s because decomposition is decarboxylation,” he said. According to Larew, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency deems THCa flower legally compliant hemp flower because testing takes place before decarboxylation occurs. “All THCa flower is federally legal cannabis. There’s no difference in it other than the time of the testing,” Larew said. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture doesn’t regulate finished goods, and everything is done with a full chain of custody from the farm to the package. The testing was done while it was like that, and therefore all cannabis is technically federally legal. This has been legal since 2018, which means that every single cannabis arrest since 2018 is based off of constitutional fraud.” According to Larew, it gets dicey when Texas’ state crime labs test products that were purchased as legal THCa because they could have since decarboxylated Page 26 • www.TexasHempReporter.com
through the natural decomposition process. He also said certain testing methods use heat, which also causes decarboxylation. In a Feb. 14, 2023, letter regarding the legal status of THCa in smokable hemp, Rod Knight of Knight Law Group LLP acknowledges that there are dozens of forms of the THC molecule, including THCa, but only delta-9 THC is used to determine whether harvested hemp and hemp products are lawful under federal law. “The quantity and concentration of other THC isomers, and other cannabinoids and forms of THC, including THCa, are totally irrelevant with respect to the legal status of harvested hemp and hemp products,” the letter states.
Unlocking THCa’s Health Benefits While THCa does not cause psychoactive effects, research shows it offers some health benefits. According to Cresco Labs, one of the largest publicly traded, vertically integrated multistate cannabis companies in the U.S., THCa is beneficial for relieving inflammation and pain and is an ideal cannabinoid for relieving the symptoms of arthritis and seizures. It’s also an effective neuroprotectant, they say,
making it beneficial for the treatment of multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Because of decarboxylation, however, users must consume the plant in a certain way to reap the health benefits of THCa. When smoking cannabis, the heat converts THCa into THC, so it’s best to grind fresh flower into something edible. Arbors Wellness, a Michigan-based medical marijuana provisioning center, recommends sourcing a freshly made THCa extract or adding ground bud into a smoothie along with other superfoods like kale or avocado. “Some people even juice fresh palm leaves and sugar leaves right after harvest, but make sure your grower isn’t using chemical pesticides if you’re planning this,” the Arbors Wellness blog states.
Building a Natural Legal Cannabis Empire The Wyatt Purp brand has become a major player in the THCa landscape, and Larew said the company has experienced a 10,000% annual year-over-year growth rate since 2021. Up to this point, Larew has shipped his THCa flower to customers nationwide through his e-commerce store. However, he said a Wyatt Purp retail store is coming in the next couple of months. “We don’t have a location decided yet, but I’m just getting my ducks in a row and waiting to pull the trigger,” he said. Larew said his stores will not offer the typical smoke shop experience but will operate more like cannabis dispensaries in legal states. The locations will not sell nicotine products, and patrons will first check into a waiting room before going to the back to select from Wyatt Purp’s menu of all-natural, non-synthetic legal cannabis products — including THCa. Larew said he plans to open multiple Wyatt Purp stores, with the flagship brickand-mortar location planned for Dallas.
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Cannabis Meets Fine Dining
Chef Tavis Petersen Tours the U.S. Serving Infused Dinners at Luxury Air BnBs
BY RACHEL NELSON
Travis Petersen was a long-time professional in the oil and gas industry when his love of the culinary arts led him to sign up for a show called Masterchef Canada. He appeared in two episodes in 2016. “I had fun with that,” he said. Around that time, oil and gas hit a recession, and Petersen was laid off from his job. However, he received a severance package that allowed him to kick off a new career in cooking. He began doing chef popups,
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cooking lessons and meal prepping until October 2018, when his home country of Canada federally legalized cannabis for recreational use. That’s when Petersen hosted his first cannabis-infused pop-up dinner. He convert-
ed his house into a restaurant and served 150 people in four days. Since then, Petersen has served more than 15,000 people their first cannabis-infused meal, with 900 of those guests being first-time cannabis users. “A dinner party is a perfect introduction for people,” Petersen said. “If you were ever going to try cannabis, our dinner parties are the best way.” Safety is paramount to Petersen, and guests are dosed individually based on their tolerance level. “We don’t want to give people too much or not enough,” he said. “It’s about hitting that perfect medium and utilizing the terpenes to mold the experience they’re about to have. Everything is full spectrum, so we’re not using isolates.”
Launching Nomadic Nights in The US In 2021, Petersen relocated to Arizona, where he launched his latest business endeavor — Nomadic Nights. He travels around the U.S. hosting infused popup dinners in 29 cities where recreational cannabis use is legal. “I rent luxury Air BnBs and turn them into little popup restaurants,” he said. “It provides a dinner party experience for all the guests.” Guests have been known to enjoy menu items like 72-hour short ribs with a miso glaze and infused kimchi, or a mini croissant dessert cereal with infused matcha milk. “What’s really cool is we’ll have anywhere from 20 to 40 people at the dinners, and they’re all strangers sitting around the table,” Petersen said. “Looking at them, one might think, ‘Oh, those people have nothing in common.’ But at the end of the night, they’re exchanging numbers, they’re friends, and they’re planning to see each other again.”
Petersen said that although he didn’t originally set out to be a cannabis chef, watching these special connections unfold is what inspired him to take the idea full-time. He even published a cookbook titled “Introduction to Culinary Cannabis” that is available for purchase at www.thenomadcook.com/shop. “I thought this was going to be a niche fad,” he said. “The average age of my guests is 39, and they are 60% female. I couldn’t have been any more wrong about what the clientele was going to be, and that this is an actual cuisine that is here to stay.”
A Dedication to Safety In 2020, Petersen launched the first recognized Culinary Cannabis Certificate for Safety and Responsibility in Canada, which he said received a great deal of positive media attention. According to Petersen, people too often Google, “How do I make weed brownies?” Then, they make recipes that do not provide the correct dosing information, which can lead to bad experiences. Properly dosing cannabis-infused dishes is an art Petersen hopes to share with others. This year, he is turning his certification course into an online master class that will launch on April 20. Through it, he will teach the methods,
equipment and fundamentals necessary to serve infused meals safely and responsibly. “The ultimate goal of what I’m trying to achieve is that I want the next generation of chefs to be able to do this in a restaurant,” he said.
Last year, Nomadic Nights hosted 102 dinners in 11 months, and their calendar is filling up for 2024 as well. All dates and locations are announced on Petersen’s Instagram, @the_nomadcook
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