What Does Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) Do To You?

Learn what Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) does to you from an expert's perspective. Find out how it affects your mood and cognition and how it compares to Delta 8 and Delta 9 THC.

What Does Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) Do To You?

Most people report that Hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) gradually increases their mood and stimulates increased activity more than other THC products. While it can cause cognition and mental space to change, it doesn't completely exceed your ability to maintain control. When a dose of HHC is taken, a high similar to that of THC occurs, but with a general sense of relaxation, such as the high that some users experience with Delta 8 THC. HHC users often experience a euphoric “high”.

There are no studies to demonstrate whether HHC metabolites are detected by drug screening tests or if they are responsible for causing false positive results. The effects of HHC have been reported to be very similar to the effects of Delta 8 THC and Delta 9 THC. In addition to a slight plastic flavor, my own experience with the company's HHC vaping carts was equally enjoyable. As with other cannabinoids, the recent increase in interest in HHC does not match comprehensive studies on its safety and effects; much of the information available on HHC is speculative.

HHC is a hydrogenated form of THC, which breaks the chemical double bond structure of THC and replaces it with hydrogen, forming HHC, but the effects and potency of the cannabinoid remain essentially unchanged. If you're a relatively experienced user of one or the other, taking a similar or slightly lower dose of HHC would be a good starting point. However, HHC does not occur naturally in substantial quantities, so several chemical processes are needed to obtain usable quantities. A preliminary study conducted with animal test subjects showed that HHC is metabolized to 8-alpha-hydroxy-HHC and 8beta-hydroxy-HHC, both similar to THC-COOH.

Like delta-8, delta-10 THC and other related cannabinoids, there are a lot of questions about what HHC is, its legal status, where it comes from, and more. Because hydrogenation uses a chemical substance to alter the natural molecular weight and geometry of THC, HHC is now considered semi-synthetic. Therefore, all commercially available HHC is obtained by synthetic methods in the laboratory, mainly by converting THC. A major problem is that manufacturers have not yet discovered a cost-effective way to separate the high-power HHC from its low-power twin.