What Is a Cannabis Concentrate?
“CONCENTRATE” IS BECOMING an increasingly vague word in the cannabis industry. It could refer to the wax you vaporize, the tincture under your tongue, or the orally administered THC-free cannabis oil that’s changing attitudes toward cannabis everywhere. The future of cannabis is steering toward these potent concentrated forms, especially as the therapeutic potential of nonsmoking methods is realized by the public.
Under the umbrella of cannabis concentrates falls any product procured through an extraction process. Solvents (e.g., butane, CO2, ethanol) strip compounds from the cannabis plant, leaving behind a product with cannabinoids packed in every drop. Some types of extracts test as high as 80 percent in THC, while others are rich in nonpsychoactive compounds like CBD and deliver an altogether “high-less” experience.
This list of cannabis concentrates is by no means exhaustive, but it will introduce you to some of the most common extracts found in today’s legal cannabis market.
Hash
One of the oldest players in the cannabis game is hash, a concentrate made by compression of the plant’s resin. The powdery kief that coats your cannabis flowers can be collected and pressed together to form hash, or solvents like ice water or ethanol may be used to more effectively strip the plant of their cannabinoid-loaded crystals. Though not as potent as BHO (see below) and other cannabis concentrates, hash remains a staple of cannabis culture around the world.
HASH HISTORY
Butane Hash Oil (BHO)
BHO, or butane hash oil, is an extremely potent concentrate popularly consumed via dabbing and other vaporization methods. Cannabinoids are drawn out of the plant through butane extraction, which leaves behind a substance that will either maintain its sticky consistency or harden up, resulting in a syrupy oil, crumbly “wax,” or a glasslike “shatter.” Because its THC content stretches up to 80 percent, BHO is a popular remedy for chronic pain and other intractable symptoms. Always be sure that your oil is lab-tested for purity, as improperly purged BHO may contain traces of butane.
CO2 Oil
Hot on the market is CO2 oil, a concentrate made possible by expensive botanical extractors that use pressure and carbon dioxide to separate out plant material. This method, called supercritical fluid extraction, is one of the most effective ways of reducing cannabis to its essential compounds. The amber oil it produces can be vaporized in a variety of ways, one of the most popular being portable vaporizer pens. Among the industry’s best sellers are disposable cartridges containing CO2 oil and a medical-grade solvent called polypropylene glycol, which gives the oil its liquid consistency.
Rosin
Rosin refers to an extraction process that utilizes a combination of heat and pressure to nearly instantaneously squeeze resinous sap from your initial starting material. The term “rosin” originated from the product used to lubricate violin bows. With cannabis, this method is incredibly versatile in that it can either be used with flowers or to clean up hash and kief into a full-melt hash oil. The result is a translucent, sappy, and sometimes shatterlike product.
RICK SIMPSON OIL (RSO)
Tinctures
Up until its prohibition in 1937, tinctures were the most common form of cannabis medicine in the United States. A tincture is a liquid concentrate procured through alcohol extraction, which pulls out many of the plant’s beneficial cannabinoids. A few drops under the tongue may be a sufficient dose, but patients can safely apply more as needed. Tinctures, which are now available in a variety of flavors, are a great way for patients to medicate without having to smoke.
What’s the Difference between Cannabis Oil, Shatter, and Wax?
Shatter, wax, honeycomb, oil, crumble, sap, budder, pull-and-snap… these are some of the descriptive nicknames cannabis extracts have earned through their popularity, prevalence, and diversification. If you’ve heard any of those words before, they were likely used to describe BHO (butane hash oil), CO2 oil, or similar hydrocarbon extracts. But what’s the difference between oil, shatter, and wax? You may find that in the end, they’re not so different after all.
“Cannabis oil” is a generalized term used to describe shatter, wax, RSO, and many other types of cannabis extracts. For now, we’re going to jump into the two most common types of oils used for dabbing: shatter and wax, two extracts whose differences are pretty superficial.
WHAT IS SHATTER?
Shatter, with its flawless amber-colored glasslike transparency, has a reputation for being the purest and cleanest type of extract. But translucence isn’t necessarily the telltale sign of quality—the consistency and texture of oil comes down to different factors entirely.
The reason shatter comes out perfectly clear has to do with the molecules that, if left undisturbed, form a glasslike appearance. Heat, moisture, and high terpene contents can also affect the texture, turning oils into a runnier substance that resembles syrup (hence the nickname “sap”). Oil with a consistency that falls somewhere between glassy shatter and viscous sap is often referred to as “pull-and-snap.”
WHAT IS WAX?
Cannabis wax refers to the softer, opaque oils that have lost their transparency after extraction. Unlike those of transparent oils, the molecules of cannabis wax crystallize as a result of agitation. Light can’t travel through irregular molecular densities, and that refraction leaves us with a solid, nontransparent oil.
Just as transparent oils span the spectrum between shatter and sap, wax can also take on different consistencies based on heat, moisture, and the texture of the oil before it is purged (the process in which residual solvents are removed from the product). Runny oils with more moisture tend to form gooey waxes (“budder”), while the harder ones are likely to take on a soft, brittle texture known as crumble or honeycomb. The term “wax” can be used to describe all of these softer, solid textures.