The first of two Delta 8 carts rolled into the city on Wednesday morning. The other cart joined the queue around 9am. Both are rolling out to various locations across New York City, including Brooklyn and Staten Island.
Delta is the name of the company that has been growing marijuana for over 20 years, and they have their own line of cannabis products called these delta-8 THC vape cartridges (or “8” as some people call them).
Each cart contains eight strains, which means each cart contains 24 different strains. Each strain contains different amounts of cannabinoids such as CBD, CBG, THCA, and THC, all of which have varying effects depending on your needs. For example, one might contain more CBD than THC, while another will be higher in THC content. Some can even contain both at different levels.
So why is this cart called Delta 8 when it only contains 8 strains? Well, Delta 8 has created its own proprietary blend of these strains. They’re calling this blend “Haze 8,” and it contains the following cannabinoids: CBD, CBG, THC, CBDA, THCV, CBN, and THCa. You’ll notice that there are no TCHC or THCVA listed because those are also part of Haze 8.
Delta 8 CEO Scott Geller explained this proprietary blend to me during our interview for my podcast:
“We’ve been testing all of these strains for many months now, and we’ve found an ideal balance between all of the components. We’ve worked with these particular strains for the past four years to perfect these blends.”
It sounds like Delta 8 is using science to create their product, and they claim it’s the most effective way to treat patients who have chronic pain. That said, I’m still concerned about how safe it is to use this product, especially since it has so few strains compared to what you typically find in a dispensary. In fact, the majority of Delta 8’s strains are high in THC.
I spoke with Dr. Michael Moskowitz, a well-known medical doctor in New York City and owner of the Brooklyn Center for Cannabis Medicine. He told me he thinks this new product could be incredibly beneficial for patients dealing with chronic pain, and he’s excited to see where it goes next. However, he does have some concerns.
“If you think about patients suffering from chronic pain, they often do not respond to conventional medicine. The reason is that traditional medicines tend to address symptoms rather than the cause of the problem,” he explains. “This new product seems to be addressing that directly by targeting specific cannabinoid receptors in the brain. If you look at the components of this product, it’s almost entirely composed of cannabinoids that target those same receptors.”
Dr. Moskowitz says Delta 8’s approach could potentially help millions of people deal with their chronic pain. But he believes this product should be tested on humans before being released to the public, something that has yet to happen. When asked about this, Delta 8 did say that it plans to conduct clinical trials on both recreational and medicinal cannabis.
So what exactly is Delta 8 THC? Here’s a brief explanation:
“Delta 8 THC is a unique hybrid of cannabis plants that was bred specifically to produce a balanced concentration of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other compounds. Delta 8 THC is derived from a cannabis plant that naturally produces high amounts of Cannabidiol (CBD) and low amounts of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). This hybridization allows us to maximize the benefits of CBD while minimizing the negative side effects associated with high concentrations of THC.”
Basically, Delta 8 is taking a low-THC strain and enhancing it with a high CBD strain. So if you were looking for a strain with minimal THC and maximum CBD, you’d get a better result with Delta 8 THC.
In addition to the two carts that arrived in New York City today, Delta 8 is planning to roll out more carts throughout the state. And they hope to eventually sell these carts at major retailers such as CVS, Duane Reade, and Wawa.
