Product Review: The iLava Delta8 Vape Line

By the ACM staff: Destinee Blanco, Kurt Browning, Virgil Hunter, Anthony Petersen, Larissa Ybarra, and Mikel Weisser

Here at the Arizona Cannabis Monthly, one of our favorite parts of working with Arizona’s cannabis community is getting to experience the some of amazing products the industry is constantly creating. We love the wide variety of products that keep coming out and want you to know about them as they are happening. SO—

The ACM staff put out a request for companies to submit their products to us for review. The first people to step up were the iLava team out of Tucson. Already loved for their iLava Touch topical gels and standard vapes, the company is rolling out a whole new line of vape cartridges with an intriguing difference—one less molecule.

Many of us know that the most active psychoactive ingredient in cannabis is known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. What some of us did not realize is that standard THC has a close molecular cousin that is also common in cannabis: Delta 8 THC, also known as Δ8. Though it is not as psychoactive as THC, according to the National Cancer Institute, Delta 8 THC (Δ8) has powerful
“antiemetic, anxiolytic, appetite-stimulating, analgesic, and neuroprotective properties” and is known to provide that sense of well-being people commonly refer to as “a body high.” Usually a plant’s percentage of (Δ8) is comparatively low, but with latest developments in extraction technology, Delta 8 THC distillate products are now possible. Lucky for AZ, the iLava team has decided to embrace Δ8 with their new product line. Lucky for us, we got to test and review five of the flavors.

On the whole, the full one-gram CCell cartridges fit on almost all batteries and come with a distinctive ceramic white mouthpiece that both feels good on the teeth and draws well. Like ILava’s other vape products, their Δ8 cannabis oil contains no residual solvents, polyethylene glycol, propylene glycol, MCT oil, or vegetable glycerin. Our ACM team experienced no dizzying head rushes, though we huffed and puffed on all five flavors for the better part of an hour. Instead, we felt warm and cozy as we debated the relative merits of the different flavors. Uniformly we were impressed with the clear color of the pure Δ8 oil. Each cartridge’s taste is light, clear, clean, and smooth with none of the over-terpenated flavors found in some vapes. After an afternoon of “research,” our staffers with AMMA cards put even more time into the project and each took a cartridge home for intense testing.

Here are their results:

Destinee Blanco: Watermelon (Indica): “The high is definitely not as intense as a regular pen hit. One hit cured my pain but did not make me feel stoned. The cartridge hits smoothly, has a perfumy, yet pleasant earthy smell. It leaves you with an almost a warm feeling, a very slight head-high and no arthritis pain or anxiety. I thought it was pretty energizing for an indica.”

Larissa Ybarra: Pineapple Express (Hybrid): “The most important thing I’d say about this product is that the flavor actually tastes like Pineapple Express. It’s not too strong of terpene, so it’s a smooth smoke, though the aftertaste was unusual. It did feel pretty sativa-dominated for a hybrid and was a bit harsh in the throat.”

Kurt Browning: Mimosa (hybrid): “The cartridge was nice and full. It was clean tasting and did not leak. It also didn’t make me sneeze, so it wasn’t over-terpenated. The effects were very mild and didn’t last very long.”

Virgil Hunter: Super Sour Diesel (Sativa): “I appreciated the solid packaging and the quality of the cartridge. I got a good pull each time. It was a relaxing experience, with none of the nasty chemical taste you get in some vapes.”

Anthony Petersen: Clementine (Sativa): “The iLava cartridge has some of the cleanest and clear concentrate that I’ve had the pleasure of consuming. The flavor has a subtle and very natural hint of citrus. Medicating with iLava’s is a premium experience.”

If your company would like your products to be spotlighted in our monthly product review, simply send an email to mikel@arizonacannabismonthly.com and we can make it happen.