How to Read a THCA Lab Report
Lab reports can tell you everything you might want to know about the quality and safety of a cannabis product. That’s only if you’re able to find the product’s lab report, though.
It’s just as important to find and read lab reports for THCA products as it is for any other hemp product you might buy online. Reputable cannabis companies make their lab reports easy to find, and they choose full-panel testing provided by independent national cannabis labs.
Finding a THCA lab report for a product you want to try is just the beginning. You’ll also need to be able to make sense of what you find — that’s the main focus of this guide on how to read a lab report for a THCA-rich cannabis product.
What is THCA?
Tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) is the direct chemical precursor to THC. This means it's the substance that turns into THC, but it’s different enough from THC to be considered a separate cannabinoid altogether.
When heated or otherwise subjected to oxidative stress, THCA becomes THC and offers all the effects you’d expect from this intoxicating cannabinoid. Prior to converting into THC, however, THCA remains considered “hemp” instead of “marijuana.”
What kinds of THCA products are there?
The main categories of THCA products currently available online are THCA flower, THCA vapes, and THCA edibles like gummies. Let’s learn a bit more about each product type:
THCA flower
The simplest and most original THCA product, THCA flower consists of cannabis sativa buds that contain high concentrations of THCA and less than 0.3% THC. In almost every way, THCA flower is identical to the THC buds you know and love. The only difference is their ultra-low THC content — a side issue that disappears the moment you spark up and inhale.
THCA vapes
THCA vapes have become massively popular to their extreme portability and equally extreme effects. Vapes containing THCA become even more potent when they’re boosted with live resin terpenes, which enhance the entourage effect and make THCA vapes taste amazing.
THCA pre-rolls
THCA pre-rolls take the guesswork out of rolling your own and remove a barrier between you and getting high. Offering all the potency of THCA flower without any of the mess or difficulty, THCA pre-rolls are ideal for smoking on your own or sharing with friends.
Other THCA products
Since it has essentially the same effects as CBD prior to conversion, THCA isn’t usually included in edibles. You might find THCA in other products designed for inhalation, though, such as blunts.
How to find THCA lab reports
Take a moment to think about which type of THCA you might like to try first, and then start the process of tracking down its lab report by visiting the company’s website. Most online THCA sellers publish lab report information prominently on each product page. It’s also just as acceptable to keep all lab reports together on a single page.
There’s a simple two-step process to use every time you’re on the hunt for THCA lab reports. You look:
1. On the product itself
In many cases, there’s a QR code somewhere on the labeling for a THCA product. This QR code almost always leads to either the product page for the product in question or directly to its lab report.
2. In the product’s online information
Sometimes, a link to a THCA product’s lab report will be provided on the product page itself. Otherwise, one solid approach is searching for “[insert brand name here] lab reports” on Google. The first result should be the brand’s official lab report database.
What’s in a THCA lab report?
To get the maximum amount of value out of a THCA lab report, you’ll need to learn how to read it properly. There are quite a few components of every cannabis lab report, and understanding what each percentage and decimal means is the key to picking the right THCA product for your needs. Let’s take a look at all the different measurements you’ll find in a complete THCA lab report:
Total cannabinoids
The “total cannabinoids” in a THCA product is the entire percentage of an overall sample consisting of cannabinoids. This percentage is usually placed somewhere prominent on the lab report PDF sheet. It’s often represented in bold and is featured in a table that also includes concentrations of individual cannabinoids.
Total THCA
The total amount of THCA in a THCA-rich cannabis product is usually found relatively far down in the table of cannabinoids. It might be listed as either “tetrahydrocannabinolic acid” or “delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinolic acid.” This percentage will be at least somewhat smaller than the total cannabinoid percentage in the product.
Total THC
Either right above or below the total THCA on a cannabis lab report should be the total THC it contains. In a THCA product, this percentage should be at or below 0.3%, the federally mandated cutoff for industrial hemp.
Terpene concentrations
Complete cannabis lab reports don’t only tell potential customers about cannabinoid concentrations. They also provide information on the terpenes (if any) that are included in the cannabis product. Terpenes are usually listed separately from cannabinoids, and they’re often denoted by their full chemical names.
Pesticide, mycotoxin, and other contaminant screenings
In addition to knowing what’s in your THCA product, you’ll also want to know what it doesn’t contain. Pesticides, mycotoxins, and heavy metals are the most common contaminants that find their way into cannabis products, and all three can be very dangerous to your health. Contaminant screening results are usually listed after cannabinoids and terpenes in THCA lab reports.
Why THCA lab reports are important
The cannabis industry may now seem completely normalized, but that’s an illusion. Cannabis — and even hemp — companies still struggle to find adequate banking services, for instance, and cannabinoids continue to exist in a no-man’s land of regulatory confusion preventing proper consumer protections from coming into place.
That’s all to say it’s up to a hemp or cannabis producer to provide adequate information on its products to customers. The government won’t force us to do it, but it’s still our obligation to our customers to provide full and complete data representing both the safety and purity of our THCA cannabis products.
With lab reports, you can say with surety exactly how much THCA your product contains, ensuring an ideal dose. You can also rest easy knowing the THCA products you’re consuming aren’t carrying along with them dangerous toxins that have no place in cannabis to begin with.
Demand that your THCA products come accompanied by lab reports, and ensure for yourself that those lab reports and thorough and come from a respected lab. It’s your duty as a consumer to select the right THCA products for your needs, and you’ll be able to do so by using the information included in a THCA lab report.
How to find Secret Nature THCA lab reports
Secret Nature lab reports are all conveniently located on a central page. To find the lab test results for your particular Secret Nature product, simply start typing the product’s name into the “Search” bar located at the top of the page.
There’s another way to navigate to your Secret Nature THCA product’s lab report — assuming you have the product in hand and a phone handy. Simply pull up your phone’s camera app and scan the QR code located somewhere on your Secret Nature product’s labeling. You’ll be brought directly to that product’s lab report page.
