What Are THC Concentrates?
THC concentrates come in various shapes, sizes and forms. There are tinctures, wax and various other forms of THC concentrate. The one most people think of when hearing the word concentrates is the type you “dab.” A dab is a single serving of hash oil typically vaporized on a hot nail. We’ll go over everything you need to know about the various forms of concentrated THC oil.
THC concentrates are any cannabis products that have a high concentration of the cannabinoid. The THC needs to be extracted from cannabis flowers or trim. There are several different methods of extraction that come in many different forms.
Kief
Before there were so many different forms of THC concentrate, there was just kief. To most cannabis consumers, kief is the powdery material found at the bottom of most four-piece grinders. Ideally, kief should be purely trichome heads. So it is unlikely that the material at the bottom of a grinder would be considered pure kief. Applying heat and pressure to kief will turn it into hash.
Hash
Since hash is compressed resin glands, it will be easier to consume more THC at once with hash than with kief. High-quality hash is considered a full melt extract because it will melt like any other concentrated THC oil while low-quality hash will burn.
If you don’t want to wait for the kief at the bottom of your grinder to pile up, there are other ways to make hash. Ice wax and dry sift which are two ways to extract trichomes without solvents or a grinder. Ice wax is made with the help of dry ice or a bucket of ice water and bubble bags with micron screens. Dry sift is made by sifting cannabis through several screens to separate the trichomes from the rest of the plant.
Tinctures
Cannabis tinctures are a concentrated THC oil that offer one of the easiest ways to enjoy the benefits of cannabis. Without the cannabis, a tincture is any medicine made by dissolving a drug in alcohol.
There are two main ways to consume tinctures. The first is by dropping it directly into the mouth and swallowing. With this method, the effects of THC will come on slower like they do with edibles. While it won’t work as fast as smoking, it is easier to consume than the process involved with smoking or vaporizing. Another feature tinctures share with edibles is the fact that cannabis needs decarboxylation to activate all of the THC in the tincture.
The other way to consume a tincture is the sublingual method which involves dropping the tincture directly to the underside of your tongue. Most people prefer it because the effects will kick in sooner than wit
CO2
CO2 oil is a commercial method of making concentrated THC oil. Using a Supercritical CO2 machine, extractors are able to separate the various components of cannabis from each other such as cannabinoids and terpenes. The consistency of CO2 oils tends to be less viscous than other forms of cannabis concentrates. As a result, most CO2 oil is loaded into vape pens for easy use on-the-go.
According to research from the University of Leiden in Holland, THC is the least soluble cannabinoid in supercritical CO2. CBG, CBD and CBN all had a higher solubility. So if you’re looking for oils with mostly concentrated THC, other techniques may do a better job.
BHO
Butane Hash Oil or BHO is one of the most common forms of concentrated thc oil. BHO is known for both high terpene and cannabinoid contents. In fact, we found BHO tested highest for terpenes at several of our Cannabis Cup competitions. BHO comes in many different forms depending on the extraction techniques used. The consistency can be oil, wax, crumble, shatter, THCa crystalline, sauce, budder or something else.
Distillate
Cannabis distillates typically come pre-filled in THC cartridges or in syringes for easy dosing. Distillates take CO2 or butane concentrates to new levels. Short-path distillation is used to turn crude oils into distillates. According to Root Science, CO2 oil that tested between 70 to 85 percent THC could be brought up to 99.85 percent cannabinoid content after distillation.
Rosin
For the longest time, kief and hash were the only forms of THC concentrate that didn’t require solvents for extraction. Then, rosin came into popularity after people realized it was a cheap, easy and non-explosive way to make dabs at home.
Low heat and pressure are applied to cannabis until oils are squeezed out. After concentrated THC oil has cooled, it can be collected with a metal or glass tool and dabbed. The rosin technique can also be used to refine full melt dry sifts and ice wax into an oil instead of a powdery consistency. When dry sift is made with freshly-frozen cannabis and then rosin pressed, live rosin is made.
Rick Simpson Oil
Rick Simpson Oil is one of the simplest ways to make a THC concentrate with equipment you can find at home. The beauty of Rick Simpson Oil is that it is easy to make at home and it can be used orally, sublingually, topically and inhaled. Rick Simpson Oil is high in cannabinoids like THC but terpenes are destroyed during the alcohol-extraction process.
Final Hit: What Are THC Concentrates?
As you can see, THC can be concentrated into several different forms because there are many extraction methods. The best THC concentrate for you will depend on what you’re looking for. If you want the highest THC percentage, distillates are your best bet. If you’re not into smoking or inhaling cannabis, you’re better off with tinctures. Fans of terpenes will want to try high-quality BHO or CO2 extracts. If you’re into high terpenes and cannabinoids without the solvents, full melts or live rosin are the way to go.
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