Following the wild success of delta 8 THC as a legal alternative to the more controlled availability of delta 9 THC, the cannabis industry has sought other less-known cannabinoids to compete in the diverse cannabis marketplace. One of the newest and most promising is hexahydrocannabinol, usually shortened to HHC.
HHC is a THC relative long known to science, but until recently not often discussed by cannabis users. HHC is a minor cannabinoid; it occurs naturally in cannabis, but in amounts too small to make extraction cost-effective. Since commercial production of HHC is just getting off the ground, it’s still not widely known.
Most cannabinoids can be converted to other cannabinoids by altering the chemistry of the molecules. Like delta 8 THC and delta 10 THC, commercial HHC is made from hemp-derived CBD in a lab through chemical processes. HHC has one major legal advantage over delta 8 and delta 10: it isn’t called THC.
HHC was discovered in the 1940s by chemist Roger Adams. He created HHC by adding hydrogen to the THC molecule and altering its physical properties. The process, called hydrogenation, is first described in a 1947 patent document.
Hydrogenation modifies the structure of delta 9 THC by replacing a double bond with two hydrogen atoms, which changes its molecular weight and also makes it more stable. According to Mark Scialdone, a chemist and BR Brands Chief Science Officer, hydrogenation improves “stability and resistance to thermo-oxidative breakdown”—which means HHC has a longer shelf life and is less prone to damage caused by UV light and heat.
This is kind of tricky. Although HHC isn’t technically a THC, it does produce similar effects—if you use enough of it. When it’s produced in the lab, an HHC batch is a mix of active and inactive HHC molecules. The active HHC binds well with your body’s cannabinoid receptors; the others don’t.
Manufacturers haven’t yet figured out a cost-effective way to separate high-potency HHC from its low-potency twin, so commercial HHC—which is a mix of the two forms—may be something of a crapshoot for the buyer. But HHC does have noticeable effects. Reports from users generally describe the HHC high as being somewhere between delta 8 and delta 9 THC.
Pretty much everything we know about HHC’s effects and side effects is anecdotal. That said, users report the same set of side effects familiar to delta 9 THC users: anxiety and paranoia, dry mouth, dry and red eyes, hunger, and insomnia.
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It appears that HHC may not break down in the body in the same way as THC. Unlike the delta 8, delta 9, and delta 10 forms of THC, there is some evidence that HHC doesn’t metabolize into 11-hydroxy-THC, which is the breakdown substance many drug panels test for.
But that hasn’t been studied and isn’t certain. So far, no one knows for sure that HHC won’t leave evidence of use in your blood, urine or hair. If your employer tests for drug use, we suggest you not risk your job by using HHC.
HHC hasn’t been widely studied, unlike more abundant cannabinoids like delta 9 THC or CBD, but there has been some promising research. A 2011 study showed that some synthetic analogs of hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) “strongly inhibited breast cancer cell-induced angiogenesis and tumor growth.” Japanese researchers published a paper in 2007 describing HHC’s impressive pain-blocking capability in mice. But it is probably too early to say whether HHC has great promise as a therapeutic drug.
Congress made the hemp plant and all its derivatives federally legal in the 2018 Farm Bill—as long as the plant or anything made from it contains less than 0.3 percent delta 9 THC.
Even though HHC is found naturally in the cannabis plant, commercial HHC is made by hydrogenating hemp-derived cannabinoids under pressure with a catalyst like palladium. Scientists at the National Cannabis Industry Association call the result a “semi-synthetic” cannabis compound.
In May 2022, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed that delta 8 THC was legal under the Farm Bill hemp definition, and that all other compounds and derivatives of hemp are also legal, as long as they don’t contain more than the legal maximum 0.3 percent delta 9 THC. That apparently makes HHC a legal hemp product, and offers protection for manufacturers and sellers of HHC (and delta 8 and delta 10 THC, and THCP), although some attorneys note that other federal courts could reach different conclusions.
However, HHC could still be banned by individual states. This is likely if HHC becomes popular enough that it threatens sales in the legal cannabis market, as we’ve seen happen with delta 8 THC.
Reportedly, only one U.S. manufacturer produces HHC and offers it wholesale. We aren’t sure that’s true, but it’s a fact that not many companies are producing it. Consequently, only a handful of companies are offering HHC at retail, and they haven’t been doing it for long.
A quick Google search brought up about a dozen online retailers offering a variety of HHC products. Most sellers offer vape carts filled with HHC oil, and many have gummies. Less common but definitely available are disposable HHC vapes, tinctures for oral consumption, and concentrates for dabbing. At least one company sells “HHC flower”—which is hemp flower coated or infused with HHC.
If HHC remains legally viable, and especially if it becomes less expensive to manufacture high-potency HHC, this promising cannabinoid will become more available in the diverse cannabis marketplace.
I told my husband I wanted to try CBD because my boss tried it and her evening sleep was solid and not restless. He brought home some orange flavored gummies. So we each ate one. I then read the bottle and was like, “what is HHC?” He said it’s the same thing. We both got so lit! Like writing this I’m so frickin’ high! I had to research what the heck I’m on! And this page came up. I am not a weed smoker. And although I first felt so relaxed and happy, and my body pain subsided, I slowly… Read more »
Best and most accurate review. Ever. xD
I’ve just read this after trying HHC for the first time as a regular THC smoker & I HAVE to know if you woke up on time for work! 😂😂
so good experience,I want have a try…
Minor point but your THC figure actually looks like THC-P with 7 carbon side chain instead of 5. great article!
Thank you for catching that! It’s been edited.
Oops, you’re right. Thanks!
I think you wrote a really great article. I just heard about this cannabinoid myself and I’m very curious to see how it’s commercial life develops. I know at least one company is starting to also manufacture his compound. However as a lab owner I am faced with now with the challenge of trying to pre-care of this as a certified reference material from a reliable third party laboratory. I would also like to add just briefly that hydrogenation is very non-selective and that it will hydrogenated anything that can be hydrogenated. Which is probably great if you have a… Read more »
I need to test negative. If I smoke this HHC will I test positive?
HHC will probably have urine metabolites that cross react on immunoassay / dipstick tests, but mass spec confirmation should see the difference, it’s molecular weight differs (by two hydrogens) and may also have different fragmentation patterns
From the article you’re commenting on: “So far, no one knows for sure that HHC won’t leave evidence of use in your blood, urine or hair. If your employer tests for drug use, we suggest you not risk your job by using HHC.”
Why doesn’t anybody out of all these articles, just go test it out yourself!? Get clean, buy a few different urine test kits, then test it yourself to at least confirm the urinalysis test anyways! So simple, just need proper testing with only HHC, no delta-8, etc.
The answer is literally so simple to find, that it blows my mind that nobody can confirm this answer with anything other than speculation.
An individual test on one person isn’t enough to draw broad conclusions from.
All marijuana products, regardless if from hemp or not, can cause you to fail a drug test, it is more dependent on the test, rather than the type you consume, because all marijuana products, including hemp products, have some small amount of delta 9 thc no matter what, as we have not found a 100% pure way of removing it entirely, this is why hemp products are only required to be below a certain amount of thc, not entirely devoid of thc. So, depending on the test you are given, all THC and Hemp products can and will make you… Read more »
This article was written when HHC first came out. It’s most definitely been tested by some of us here, including the author.
I would put it differently: presuming the standard test really is for 10-hydroxylated canabanoids, then using HHC should not come up positive as it can’t form readily (each of delta-8,9, and 10 have a double bond set up where a hydroxyl can come in, but HHC doesn’t. So I put it like this: the worse (least specific) the test, the worse you are, while midrange tests are more likely to miss HHC and blood tests done, say for forensic use are definitely going to catch everything, though they’ll show it as HHC.
If it’s legal, per se, why are they testing A.
Because many businesses have policies against employee cannabis use. Legal or not, drug use can be a condition of employment.
Oui tu sera positif au test urinaire ! J’ai testé.
Translation: Yes you will be positive in the urine test! I tested.
I used to smoke pot all of the time. Then I quit for 30 years. Then I had HHC it’s so intuitive..It lasts a long time. It’s great.