THC-Null Hemp Cultivars & the Future of CBD Concentrates

CBD flower, hemp flower, low-THC cannabis, all names for Cannabis Sativa L. containing high CBD content and federally legal levels of Delta-9 THC.  Until recently, all hemp flower has contained THC.  But this is all about to change. 

New ‘THC-Null’ Hemp Cultivar Created

A collaboration between Texas A&M University’s AgriLife Research and Growing Together Research Inc. has resulted in what is thought to be the first ‘THC-null’ hemp cultivar.  This new cultivar produces 17-22% CBD and zero THC.  And by zero, they mean zero!

The team of researchers and bioengineers used RNA interface (RNAi) technology to silence the genetic pathway that produces THC in hemp plants.  We won’t pretend to know exactly what that means, but our interpretation is that these guys have managed to shut the THC gene off!

A company in Boulder, Colorado, Trilogene Seeds, reportedly began selling clones of the cultivar in spring of this year throughout the United States with international sales expected in the fall.  This means CBD flower growers, CBD retailers, and CBD flower consumers can all expect to see these ‘THC-null’ varieties of hemp popping up near the end of 2022!

What This Means for Sauce Warehouse

At Sauce Warehouse, we are extremely excited about this for obvious reasons.  CBD concentrates are extracted from hemp flower.  The THC content of hemp flower plays a major role in the collection of concentrates we’re able to offer. Remove the THC & our collection grows. 

To be clear we have nothing against the full spectrum CBD concentrates in our collection which contain THC, these absolutely have their place, and they are among our best sellers.  However, our long-term goal has always been THC free concentrates, but not the THC free concentrates that are currently available on the market today. 

The THC free CBD dabs you’ll find on the market today are fake 99.9% of the time, nothing more than terpenes mixed with CBD isolate.  We want to offer real, true-consistency, CBD concentrates that contain zero THC.  We’re talking THC free CBD live resin, THC free CBD wax, THC free CBD shatter… and of course, the holy grail… THC free CBD rosin! 

With the release of these new THC-null hemp strains, this just might be possible.

‘THC Free’

The term ‘THC free’ is thrown around a lot in the CBD and hemp world.  You often see this printed on CBD products and mentioned in product descriptions on CBD websites.  Unfortunately, it has become quite common to hear people working within the industry say ‘THC free’ when talking about CBD products containing less than 0.3% Delta-9 THC.  The reason this is so unfortunate is that even small amounts of Delta-9 THC under the federal legal limit of 0.3% can cause an intoxicating high in sensitive users or users with no tolerance. 

It's reckless and almost criminal in our opinion for companies to do this.  Many consumers of hemp and CBD products are trying to avoid THC.  If they purchase a pack of hemp cigarettes because they have ‘THC free’ and ‘non-Psychoactive’ printed on the packaging, they are going to have a horrible experience.  It seems like a lot of CBD companies just don’t really care.  They likely have the desire for their brand to appear compliant at the forefront of their minds while the perspective of their customer is completely ignored.

THC free hemp flower though, could change all of this.  CBD companies will no longer have to sweep that 0-0.3% Delta-9 THC content under the rug for products they wish were THC free.  Additionally, the line between zero THC and full spectrum CBD products will be much more defined and consumers will likely be able to rely on product labels a bit more in the future compared to the past. 

Things will also change for growers and really anyone who purchases hemp seeds.  In the past, seeds for high CBD hemp cultivars were often sold as ‘THC-free’ despite the 0-0.3% Delta-9 THC content and the low levels of THCa that usually come along with Delta-9 being present.  Now, ‘THC-free’ will really mean, THC-free.  That is something that has been long overdue in the hemp & CBD world for quite some time. 

The Future of CBD Concentrates

As we previously mentioned, hemp flower containing 0% THC will be a huge game changer for the future of CBD concentrates.  Until Sauce Warehouse was created, real hemp extracts were hard to find and if you were able to find them the options were probably quite limited.  This is, for the most part, due to the issue of compliance. 

When you search the internet for CBD concentrates, you are going to come across vendors selling all sorts of stuff.  At first, if you don’t know any better, you are going to think you are looking at actual concentrates that are high in CBD.  What you may not realize though is that these vendors are simply mixing terpenes and CBD isolate, and in some cases CBD distillate, in order to produce ‘imitation concentrates’.  These mixes are then sold as ‘CBD shatter’, ‘CBD wax’, or other popular types of concentrates.  These concentrates are cheap, easy to make, and because they only contain CBD isolate, the vendors do not have to worry about THC compliance. 

Real CBD concentrates and real hemp extracts on the other hand are a totally different story.  Because these concentrates are extracted from hemp flower itself, they contain concentrated amounts of whatever cannabinoids were present in the flower.  For example, if hemp flower containing 0.1% Delta-9 THC is pressed to create rosin, the rosin itself will usually contain triple the amount of Delta-9 THC at least!  This issue makes it difficult to bring rosin and hydrocarbon extracts to the legal market, and therefore fake CBD concentrates have been much more prevalent than real, true-consistency, full spectrum CBD concentrates.

Now that THC-null hemp cultivars are a reality, the future of CBD concentrates is looking brighter.  Being able to extract concentrates from hemp flower that contains zero THC has so many positive implications. 

Benefits of THC Free, True-Consistency, Hemp Extracts

• Natural Cannabis/Hemp Terpene & Cannabinoid Profiles Minus Undesirable Effects. Users that are sensitive to THC or wish to avoid THC for whatever reason will finally be able to enjoy real cannabis concentrates without getting anxious, paranoid, high, or experiencing whatever it is they do not like about THC. 

• Satisfying High-THC Substitute. Daily users of high-THC cannabis that seek out CBD concentrates as an aid in quitting or taking a tolerance break will no longer have to put up with fake CBD concentrates that never taste like the real deal cannabis concentrates that they are used to.  They will simply be able to substitute their regular high-THC dabs with zero THC concentrates that contain all the other cannabinoids & terpenes their body is used to, minus the THC.

• Cannabinoid Specific Extracts. Without the THC content muddying the waters so to speak, processors and extraction artists will have so much more room to let their creative juices flow (pun intended).  Once more of these THC-null strains are available with varying cannabinoid profiles, processors will be able to create more concentrates tailored to specific cannabinoids. 

• More Variety. Because of the THC content present in hemp flower, processors and extraction artists encounter a 50/50 gamble.  They either take the financial risk of losing their entire investment if the extract is ‘hot’ (contains illegal levels of THC), or they play it safe and miss out on creating innovative new extracts.  If they can source strictly THC-free hemp flower, they will no longer be forced to take this gamble and every run of flower will result in a compliant extract that can be sold on the legal market. 

• Global Availability. International consumers of CBD extracts are to benefit as well.  Many countries across the globe have zero issue with CBD on its own, and only set limits on or completely ban THC itself.  With THC out of the picture, Sauce Warehouse will be able to provide quality CBD concentrates to concentrate connoisseurs everywhere.

Conclusion

These are only a few of the benefits that THC-null hemp strains will bring to the world of CBD concentrates.  Not only will our little niche within the enormous CBD industry benefit, but the entire industry will likely be much better off now that THC free hemp strains are becoming available.  Growers will no longer have to worry about losing an entire crop, processors won’t have to worry about losing their investment on extraction material, and consumers won’t have to worry as much about the THC content of their CBD products. 

For a while now it has been those seeking an intoxicating experience who have benefited from the hemp industry and the many loopholes that have allowed numerous intoxicating cannabinoids to be sold on the legal market.  But it looks like those seeking a less intoxicating experience will finally get what they’ve been looking for – a whole plant cannabis experience minus the THC. 

All of us at Sauce Warehouse could not be more optimistic about the future of CBD concentrates.  Our goal since our inception has been zero THC, true-consistency, hemp extracts.  Finally, it appears that our goal is in sight!