Consuming Cannabis Concentrates: Tips, Techniques, and Temps

Cannabis concentrates made their way onto the scene not long ago and, to many people, they are still quite a new way of consuming our favorite plant. There are loads of individuals out there that enjoy cannabis concentrates regularly. As legalization progresses across the nation and more Americans than ever before show support of its legalization, more people are deciding to give cannabis concentrates a try. If you’re not familiar with cannabis concentrates or extracts as they are sometimes referred to, let’s take a quick look at what they are, what they do, and the different ways to consume them. Even if you are familiar with cannabis concentrates, you may find some interesting points in the information below.

What Are Cannabis Concentrates and How Are They Made?

Cannabis concentrates are the concentrated extracted phytocannabinoids from the cannabis plant. The extraction process typically involves utilizing a solvent such as butane, alcohol, or CO2, however, there are methods that do not require solvents. There are many different methods for creating cannabis concentrates. Some of the simplest are alcohol extraction and BHO extraction. Alcohol extraction is commonly used when creating cannabis tinctures. Tinctures are also concentrated forms of cannabis. Unlike dabs, tinctures are taken orally and often contain a full spectrum of cannabinoids, vitamins, minerals, and even chlorophyll from the plant. Dabs, on the other hand, do not contain all of this. In many instances, the extraction process from the cannabis plant pulls CBD and THC while damaging other essential cannabinoids. There are ways around this but typically, concentrates tests very high in THC or CBD and very low if even detectable levels of other cannabinoids. The average cannabis concentrate runs between 50 to 90% THC or higher.

Tips for Consuming Cannabis Concentrates

When it comes to consuming cannabis concentrates, vaping them, or dabbing them are the most popular consumption methods. You can utilize electronic vaping devices to vape cannabis concentrates off of coils. Or, you can vape cannabis concentrates in the form of powerful vape cartridges. Another way is to use a dab rig. This requires a torch or e-nail to heat your banger or nail. That’s just the basics of it. Next, when it comes to consuming cannabis concentrates it is important to learn how to temp them to your liking. If you consume cannabis concentrates at too hot of a temperature, it can be a very unpleasant experience. The results produced can be very harsh, burning the throat and causing a severe coughing fit that can last for an undisclosed amount of time. This can be extremely painful for individuals. Not only does it completely ruin the experience of cannabis concentrates, but it can certainly damage the lungs.

Starting off low and slow is the best advice. Gradually increase the temperature and heat until you find your comfort zone. If you are using a torch to heat a banger or nail, this means waiting for specific amounts of time after you finish heating before applying the concentrates. E-nails are a great way to help control the precise heat at which you dab. Another great way to consume concentrates when dabbing is via a cold start dab. This is the act of placing a small amount of concentrates inside of a clean banger that has a directional carb cap. Simply heat the banger for about 10 seconds and hit your dab rig like normal. Only this time, be ready for a potent terpene-infused hit of cannabis concentrates that might change how you dab forever. They also have electronic dabbing devices on the market that avoid the use of torches that provide variant levels of heating and ease of use.

Concentrated Capsules – Vaping and Dabbing Isn’t the Only Way

Besides cannabis tinctures, vaping, and dabbing cannabis concentrates, you can also take them in the form of capsules. You can decarb cannabis concentrates and infuse them with MCT, avocado, or other oils to act as a carrier. As an example, when I decarb a gram of dabs at home, which tests around 90%, I end up with roughly 900 mg of activated THC oil. I can add as little or as much MCT oil to my concentrates while decarbing which will ultimately determine my capsules’ strength. On average, a 10 mL syringe of decarbed activated THC oil made from cannabis concentrates averages me 12 capsules averaging 80 to 100 mg of THC per 00-sized veggie capsules. I like to call them chill pills. Please note that this is a robust potency typically reserved for regular consumers and would be entirely too strong for a beginner. By merely increasing the amount of MCT oil, though, I could easily make capsules that were 5 mg if I chose to.

Just be thankful that the science behind cannabis has advanced to give us safe ways to consume things such as cannabis concentrates. When cannabis concentrates first started making their way onto the scene, those who enjoyed them will often refer to the process as ‘hot knifing’. This involved placing a knife directly on a burner of a stove and dabbing off said knife. As you can imagine, this was probably the source of many injuries.

Why Consumers and Patients are Choosing Concentrates

Cannabis concentrates have increased in popularity because of the results they produce. Individuals suffering from severe chronic pain, anxiety, depression, or a multitude of other symptoms or conditions find the compounds in cannabis to be extremely beneficial. Cannabis concentrates are said to be great at helping deliver fast results.

If someone is smoking a joint of cannabis that tests 20% THC, that means they are getting 200 mg of THC per gram. Assuming they rolled a 1 g joint and are smoking it by themselves, half of it on average will burn up into the air, meaning they only intake around 100 mg of THC at the most. In retrospect, one hit of a dab in comparison could be like smoking an entire joint by yourself, sometimes even two or more.

The best advice I have when it comes to different ways to consume cannabis concentrates is to remember to take it low and slow. Start with the lowest temperature you can dab at and go upwards from there until you find the perfect temperature for you. If you dab using one technique and set of tools and do not enjoy the experience, I highly suggest trying again at a different temp or using a different device as the results can drastically vary.