Information about HHC

Update 22.03.2023

As of 03/23/2023, production and trafficking of HHC are no longer allowed in Austria, but possession and consumption remain unpunished.

The Austrian Ministry of Health has included HHC in the ordinance on new psychoactive substances. The reason given for this decision is that no short- or long-term health effects are yet known about the cannabinoid HHC. This regulation is to remain in force until there is sufficient knowledge about health consequences.

More information about HHC can be found in our blog article “What is HHC?“.

FAQs

• What is HHC?

  HHC stands for hexahydrocannabinol and is a naturally occurring cannabinoid of the hemp plant. HHC was discovered in the 1940s by chemist Roger Adams. 

• What is the effect of HHC?

  Everyone reacts differently. It is better to be patient and try a small amount the first time you use it. Warda has tested Premium High and shares their experiences and the effect of HHC in the article “HHC effect – we have tested the CBD and THC alternative”.

• How to check the quality of HHC?

  This can only be done in the laboratory. Several factors are important here: 

  • On the one hand, as with all new substances, it is important that there is no toxicity.   

  • On the other hand, two variants always occur in HHC, the R and S variants. Only the R variant is interesting for us. Therefore, the right ratio of S and R is important.

  • Impurities with cadmium, arsenic, lead and mercury are excluded with an ICP-MS.

• Is HHC legal to buy?

  The Austrian Ministry of Health has included HHC in the Ordinance on New Psychoactive Substances. This means that production as well as trade with HHC is prohibited in Austria, consumption and possession remain exempt from punishment. This regulation is to remain in force until there is sufficient evidence on health consequences.

• Is HHC safe?

  In addition to a cannabinoid analysis, our HHC is examined even more closely. The HHC is tested for common solvents and heavy metals in every batch. For this, we have conducted tests on cells to check the safety. Conclusion: CBD, HHC and THC are exactly equally safe.

  It should be added here that we can only speak of the extract we use. Since HHC can be produced in different ways, it is necessary to test each HHC separately. We have had a report done entitled “Physiological-toxicological and structural differences of HHC, the naturally occurring cannabinoids and the synthetic cannabinoids (cannabinoid mimetics)”. 

  A quote from the abstract: “Although no information on the receptor affinity of HHC is described in the literature, it can be assumed that both its Ki values and its toxicity are significantly lower compared to the known natural cannabinoids and especially to the non-structurally related cannabinoid mimetics. This is very likely true for its metabolites as well.” Furthermore, it can be assumed that in the case of hexahydrocannabinol, in addition to the higher stability of the molecule and the generally reduced toxicity, the neurotoxicity as a result of the hydrogenation of the effective centers is to be assessed as similarly weak as in substances with a similar structure of the cannabinoid series.