What Is Cannabis Resin?

Concentrates

There are various ways to enjoy cannabis. There’s the traditional method of smoking using pipes, bongs, or roll-ups; consuming edibles, and smoking resin. Resin is a concentrated form of cannabis and is very much worth trying.

What Is Cannabis Resin?

Cannabis resin is a light to dark brown, sticky substance found on the trichomes of a cannabis plant. Trichomes appear on flowers and sugar leaves of mature female plants. These trichomes produce all of the medical efficacy and psychoactive effects of marijuana. Resin is considered the most valuable part of the plant and delivers the majority of the psychoactive compound THC. Products containing resin are called concentrates.

How Is Resin Made?

How resin is made varies depending on the type of resin. Techniques range from simple application of pressure and heat to complex processes requiring expensive lab equipment and trained technicians. Live resin is made by flash-freezing the cannabis plant immediately after harvest, ensuring that all of the compounds don’t have any chance to deteriorate. The extraction process is meant to remove as many of the impurities, namely fats and lipids, as possible from the product.

Different Types Of Cannabis Resins

The first major distinction to be made when it comes to different types of resin is whether it’s purely just resin or if it’s live resin. Typical resin is the substance left behind after using a pipe or bong a few times without cleaning your tools. It has very little THC and cannabinoids, and is generally only smoked out of pure desperation. Live resin is a concentrate which is high in terpenes and other cannabis material. Terpenes are what give cannabis its full-bodied aroma. Cannabis users who enjoy strong aroma and the medical efficacy of terpenes tend to prefer live resin. Other types include:

• Hash: a euphoria-inducing concentrate that has been used for decades. Made by separating trichome crystals before rolling it into a ball or pressing it into a brick.
• Butane Hash Oil (BHO): one of the most popular forms of cannabis concentrate, though very expensive and dangerous to manufacture. Highly potent with a fast onset, most often used in dabs. Made by removing fatty trichome resin glands from the cannabis plants using butane.
• Rosin: concentrate in which the dried and cured flowers of the plant are pressed under a combination of heat and pressure to release THC-rich resin. Some dispensaries even offer rosin presses to press your own after purchasing, or you can even use a hair straightener at home.
• CO2 Oil: concentrate derived from resin that’s been extracted from a plant by using a solvent. Incredibly expensive and dangerous process.

These types also come in different forms. These forms are: saps, shatters, crumbles, butters, distillates, kief, ice water extract, and dry sift. Consistency, viscosity, and clarity are all different based on how they were extracted.

Different Types Smoke Differently

Smoking simple resin, those leftovers from a dirty bong or pipe, will be a much harsher, less palatable smoke than live resin or resin produced by any other means. The quality of the plant that the resin is extracted from will determine the quality of the resulting resin and the smoke. The best way to be sure that you get the best smoke is to invest in high-quality cannabis plants to extract from, or to purchase high-quality cannabis resin concentrate.

How To Store Resin?

Cannabis resin will begin to dry out when exposed to the air. It is important to keep it in an airtight container in a cool environment. For long-term storage, a refrigerator would be the ideal place to keep it. If you’re only storing short-term, any darker place that is room temperature or less would work fine. The container that the resin is stored in will depend on the form it takes. Resin shatter, for example, shouldn’t be stored in glass jars, as it can be difficult to get out again. Live resin sauce or butter, on the other hand, are perfect to store in glass jars. Aside from glass jars, cannabis resin can also be stored in plastic jars, silicone jars, or even just parchment paper.

How Long Does Cannabis Resin Last?

The shelf life of cannabis concentrates depends on various things, like the quality of the original plant and how the resin is then packaged and stored. Based on these factors, some may keep their quality indefinitely, and others may lose their quality very quickly. Storing shatter resin in parchment paper on the kitchen table will most likely decrease its potential shelf-life tremendously. But storing that same product in a plastic jar in the refrigerator will allow for its enjoyment for significantly longer.

Get Cannabis Resin From Pure Oasis

Our budtenders at Pure Oasis are experienced with and highly conversant in matters relating to cannabis resin. Contact us or stop in to the shop today to learn more about this product, and experience it for yourself.