If you haven’t heard about THCA diamond, don’t feel out of the loop. For now, the relatively new cannabis concentrate seems about as rare as its geological counterpart.

Diamond began showing up in the Arizona medical-marijuana market around mid-2017. Only three labs in Arizona produce the “super concentrate:” Tru|med’s Drip Oils + Extracts, Item 9 Labs, and MPX.

THCA is THC acid. It’s a precursor to THC sometimes used in topicals and other concentrate forms and doesn’t produce the same psychoactive effects as THC. Cannabis doesn’t start making THC until its THCA is exposed to heat, like sunlight or the flame from a lighter.

The idea behind pure THCA concentrate is that it gives patients the option to inhale nearly pure THC. Most concentrates, like shatter and vape pen oil, hover in the 70 to 90 percent THC range.