This part will get a little technical. If it gets too dense, feel free to skip to the additional sections below.
As a cannabinoid, Delta 8 has a similar chemical makeup to THC and CBD. However, the small differences among these molecules are what give them unique properties.
It helps to imagine THC first. THC is a molecule made up of three rings made of carbon atoms. Most of these carbon atoms share a single covalent bond with one another, one of the strongest atomic bonds known. A single covalent bond means two adjacent atoms share two electrons between their nuclei (the heavy centers of atoms).
Some atoms can share more than two electrons, though. When two atoms share two pairs of electrons or four electrons total, they possess what’s called a double bond.
Delta 9-THC contains a specific atomic double-bond on one side of one of its rings. Delta 8 is almost chemically identical to Delta 9 except this double-bond is shared one atom over toward the other side of the ring. The position of this double-bond alters the molecule’s properties. Delta 8 is psychoactive, but its effects are less intense compared to Delta 9-THC.
Now imagine the three-ringed THC molecule again, except there’s a break between two atoms along the central ring. That break will cause the molecule to become two twisting rings attached by a string of carbon atoms between them. This twisting, two-ringed version of THC is CBD. CBD’s similarities to Delta 8 and THC allow it to interact with our body’s CB receptors, but it does so differently than Delta 8 or THC. Whereas Delta 8 and THC bind to the CB1 receptors in our nerves, spine, and brain, CBD binds to our CB2 receptors found on immune cells and in the spleen.
Cannabinoids, terpenes, and other cannabis compounds work together in our bodies through something called the entourage effect. Check out Steve’s Goods Full Spectrum products, made from hemp whole-plant oils rather than individual cannabinoid isolates, for a more thorough entourage effect.