Diet Weed: Eyes are on THC-V

At this point in the game, any school child could tell you all about THC and CBD: The darlings of the cannabis industry. But there are hundreds of cannabinoids in marijuana that are still complete mysteries to scientists. Researchers have been looking at cannabis compounds like CBG (which may treat depression and a number of inflammatory diseases), CBN (may treat insomnia), delta-8 THC and a handful of others as they try to unravel the riddle of how cannabis works on the human body.

In recent months, there’s been some buzz around THC-V, the so-called “diet” weed—largely because it reportedly suppresses appetite while increasing focus and energy.

This might sound strange, considering weed’s reputation for kickstarting the munchies, but users report that strains with higher-than-average THC-V concentrations are less likely to send them on snack binges.

There are also a number of strains designated as sativas that have higher levels of THC-V, which may have a lot to do with the idea that sativas produce a more euphoric and focused high than indicas.

According to the little research that has been done, THC-V is theorized to suppress appetite in animal test subjects by blocking CB1 receptors in the endocannabinoid system, which are known to stimulate appetite.

In a 2009 study published in the British Journal of Pharmacology, mice were given acute doses of

THC-V, and they stopped eating. The effect lasted for up to eight hours, but was continuous when the drug was administered for four consecutive days.

A 2015 study published in the International Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology revealed that the relationship between THC-V and appetite is complicated. This study used human participants and fMRI to analyze reward and aversion responses.

According to the researchers, participants dosed with THC-V had an increase in aversion to rotten strawberries, but they also had an increase in reward response to chocolate. These stimuli allowed the scientists to see how those areas of participants’ brains responded. It meant that the part of the brain that made them averse to food was more active than usual, but their reward systems were still functioning — even more than usual.

So the jury’s still out on whether THC-V will help users fight the urge to eat another piece of cake. But signs are good that high THC-V strains won’t likely cause the munchies.

Meanwhile, there are a few other potential health benefits that researchers have tied to the cannabinoid. It seems to play a role in cannabis’ treatment for Parkinson’s disease, psychosis, inflammation, pain and epilepsy.

And there are tons of anecdotal claims out there pointing to THC-V as a key cannabinoid in treating panic attacks, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes among other conditions.

But while we wait for more research to come in, it’s easy enough to find strains that contain higher levels of THC-V and set up our own experiments at home.