Zero: The ‘Sports Car of Cannabinoids’ In a Cartridge

It’s incredibly easy to find celebrities and brands trying to crack into the rapidly expanding cannabis market — there’s almost too many to count. But the truth is, a lot of the products being branded are nothing new, just the same (often low-quality) products most cannabis enthusiasts have been using already with a new name.

And the cartridge market, though populated with some notable standouts, is home to dozens of interchangeable, poorly constructed, cheap, plastic products — to say nothing of the actual cannabis concentrate inside.

So when yet another brand — this time it’s Suicide Girls, known for the “alternative pinup” aesthetic of its models — offers a line of cartridges (especially ones that don’t offer strain-specific oil) you might rightfully question what the quality will be like — but it’s excellent.

The first thing you’ll notice is the design of the cartridges is clean and modern and the construction is sturdy, thanks to the metal and glass materials used.

In an interview with The Potlander, Dominic Grech, head of sales at Suicide Girls Cannabis, said the choice to forego the (low) industry standard of plastic had multiple motivations.

“The industry has mostly used plastic, which we felt was a cheap and inferior product,” Grech said. “There are health concerns about vaping with plastic, so we chose to go with a more expensive, higher-end solution, which included using glass.”

But a great container only gets you so far; it’s what’s inside the cartridges — specifically the “Zero” cartridges — that really makes the SG cart line stand out among other branded cartridges.

The SG cart line includes three (CO2 extracted) offerings: Chill (and indica-based oil), Hustle (sativa-based) and Zero — a THCV hybrid-based oil.

THCV is a rare cannabinoid prized for its wide array of potent medicinal effects. Industry testing standard bearer, Steep Hill Labs, called THCV “the sports car of cannabinoids.”

From Steep Hill:

“THCV has been found to reduce or even block panic attacks and, as a result, can be highly effective in the management of PTSD and other mental disorders involving anxiety or stress…THCV has also been shown to reduce tremors associated with diseases such as Parkinson’s, along with ailments associated with motor control. There is also promising research demonstrating reduction of brain lesions associated with Parkinson’s. THCV also stimulates bone cell growth, and has potential in the treatment of osteoporosis and similar ailments; possibly even in the micro gravity of space, to combat the loss of bone mass.”

But there’s another effect of this unique cannabinoid that many people are interested in what Steep Hill calls its “strongly anorectic effects” — its appetite-killing ability.

While THC has been linked to appetite stimulation, THCV — which is mostly found in high concentration in African landrace satvias — has been shown to reduce appetite, inspiring some people to use strains high in the cannabinoid as a weight loss aid.

In a country that’s simultaneously experiencing an obesity epidemic and a renaissance of interest in cannabis — especially cartridges — you’d think there’d be several companies offering a THCV cartridge, but as of the time of publication, Zero seems to be the only widely-available option.

Grech said the interest in THCV’s slimming potential caught the attention of several SG models, who in turn caught the attention of the company’s cannabis division.

“We noticed a significant number of SuicideGirls smoking strains that were high in THCV,” Grech said, “and that is where we came up with the idea for Zero, a THCV-infused hybrid.”

This seems to be an example of an innovative product from an unexpected source.

TELL US, are you curious about THCV?