Terpene

Alpha-pinene

Say PIE-neen. Smells of pine needle, fresh, sharp. Studied in the lab or in animals.

Alpha-pinenesay PIE-neen

Studied in the lab or in animals

pine needle
fresh
sharp

Also in: pine resin, rosemary, basil
Boils at: 155 °CA vaporiser set above this temperature burns the terpene off before you taste it.

Older human work looked at opening the airways. In animal studies, the short-term memory interference caused by THC looks smaller when pinene is present.

At the counter

The folk claim that piney varieties leave the head clearer points the same direction as the animal data. That is as far as an honest sentence can go.

Cultivars carrying it

ACDC
Harlequin
Blue Dream
Jack Herer
Northern Lights
White Widow

Studied in the lab or in animals

The findings come from animals or test tubes, so they suggest a direction worth studying but do not tell you what will happen in a person.

Cultivars carrying it

6 cultivars list Alpha-pinene among the terpenes that usually test highest.

ACDCA dependable CBD cultivar with just enough THC to be felt a little, and often the second step after a patient starts on pure CBD.
HarlequinUsually tests near a 2-to-1 CBD-to-THC ratio, and it is one of the few cultivars whose ratio holds steady from grower to grower.
Blue DreamThe most dispensed cultivar of the past decade. Even-keeled, berry-sweet, and predictable, which is exactly why counters keep reaching for it.
Jack HererThe archetype of a clear-headed daytime cultivar, led by terpinolene with a piney edge.
Northern LightsPatients have used it as a sleep aid for forty years, which is about as close as folklore comes to a replicated result.
White WidowA 1990s classic that tests moderate by today's standards, which makes it gentler than most of the current menu.

Other terpenes

Myrcene
Limonene
Beta-caryophyllene
Linalool
Terpinolene
Humulene
Ocimene
Bisabolol
Nerolidol