I stumbled upon Delta 8 back in October - tried what I thought was a CBD cartridge from a local glass shop and was promptly floored by the feeling. It felt too similar to a normal D9 cart, so I checked the label and saw it was actually Delta 8. After some research online (mostly on reddit lol), I came to find out a lot of what's already been discussed in this thread. Things like how Delta 8 has a milder effect than Delta 9, had fewer of the negative effects associated with Delta 9, and how the industry is new and relatively unregulated compared to the medical cannabis industry. In my experience, the reduction of negative effects has been real (ie. both during use [lethargy, anxiety, short-term memory loss, poor focus] and next day effects [irritability, brain fog, poor recall from during use]). It's been enough to convert me to primarily using Delta 8 and saving Delta 9 for weekly or less frequent use.
After looking around extensively online, I came across a Delta 8 company called 3chi which seemed pretty legit from what I've read. I learned they'd been around since the beginning of Delta 8 being a thing, and iirc, played a big part in the rapid growth and commercialization of the Delta 8 industry. What sold me though, was their extensive testing of their product (
https://www.3chi.com/delta-8-lab-testing-results/). It seems like they test all of their products regularly and publicize the results for cannabinoid profiles, terpene profiles, heavy metals, mycotoxins, pesticides, solvents, and pathogens.
Their cartridges have been my go-to lately. I had some fun trying their different "strains" - they offer a bunch, each differentiated by unique terpene profiles. For me, each "strain" actually does produce a noticeably different effect, and really drove home for me how big a role terpenes play in the effects we experience with cannabis. I actually liked them so much I bought an oz of D8 distillate and some terpenes to make my own carts - made it even cheaper in the long run!
My recommendations for cartridge strains are: Snowman (sooo good), Blue Dream, God's Gift, Pineapple Express. They also have carts with "focused blends" that include other cannabinoids in ratios tailored for different effects. I haven't tried any besides "Comfortably Numb", which includes a good portion of CBN which is amazing right before bedtime.
