Cannabis concentrates, oils, and extracts

Cannabis concentrates, oils, and extracts offer many unique benefits that you won’t find from smoking flower. From easy, precise dosing to clean and refined flavours, concentrates focus on the ingredients in cannabis that matter most. This post is a summary of part one and two of the four part series from Leafly. We love using Leafly for strain related info and more!

Definition and types of concentrates

Cannabis oils, concentrates, and extracts—these all serve as umbrella terms under which sits a warehouse of different products: vape oil, hash, tinctures, dabs, CBD oil, and every other product dreamed up by cannabis chemists.

An oil, concentrate, or extract is any product derived from cannabis flower that is processed into a concentrated form. However, each type of cannabis oil is unique.

Smoking flower may be great, but not for everyone in all settings. There are many reasons to explore the many options—and medicines—offered in extract form:

  • You don’t have to smoke extracts. Most consumers choose to vaporize or ingest concentrates for a smoke-free dose.
  • Cannabis oils are efficient. It takes less product to achieve the desired experience.
  • Extracts are refined. Essential oils and cannabinoids are separated from plant material to create a smooth, clean* inhale when vaporized. *Use food grade ethanol to ensure your extracts are clean and safThus, w.
Cannabis concentrates with food grade ethanol

Here’s a brief list of broad extract types :

  • CBD oil refers to non-intoxicating products that are popularly used to treat a variety of medical conditions. It’s most commonly sold as a tincture or in capsule form.
  • THC oil refers to intoxicating oils that are also popularly used medically, but also deliver euphoric effects. THC-infused oils come in many forms, but the most popular are solids that can be vaporized (called dabs), tinctures, and capsules.
  • Ingestible oils refer to activated oil that you can consume with food/drinks or in capsule form.

Concentrate options

A concentrate can provide a euphoric high, gentle relaxation, or non-intoxicating symptom relief—it all depends on its ingredients.

  • High THC concentrates will provide a potent and euphoric high.
  • An equal mix of THC and CBD will provide a balanced and gentle high .
  • Therapeutic relief without the high can be found in a high-CBD, low-THC product.

Making sure you get what you are looking for at the right dose is easy with a tCheck. The most popular cannabis concentrates are listed below.

CBD oil

CBD oil is a cannabis concentrate abundant in the non-intoxicating compound cannabidiol (that’s the full name for CBD). Offering benefits without the smoke and high, consumers commonly reach for CBD oil when seeking relief from stress, anxiety, pain, inflammation, or another condition that may potentially be treated by CBD.

Kief

Look closely at your cannabis flower and you’ll see a dusting of crystal powder over every nook and cranny of the bud. This is called kief, and it’s created by the plant’s resin glands (called trichomes). Packed inside these tiny, sticky crystals is every reason we consume cannabis: THC, CBD, terpenes, and all the other compounds that harmonize to produce a strain’s effect.

Vape oil

One of the best starter items for the cannabis-curious is a portable pre-filled vape pen—a simple setup that requires just two things: a battery and an oil cartridge. Easy to use and dose, vaporizer pens deliver an adjustable dose of vapor with just the click of a button (simpler yet, some simply activate when it senses you inhaling).

You can make your own using The MagicalButter Machine and vegetable glycerin.

Rick Simpson Oil (RSO)

RSO is also referred to as FECO, THC oil or simply cannabis oil. In 2003, a man named Rick Simpson treated his skin cancer using a homemade cannabis remedy. The therapeutic compounds are drawn out of the plant by soaking the cannabis in pure naphtha or isopropyl alcohol. A dark liquid is left behind after the solvent fully evaporates.

Isopropyl alcohol and similar solvents that are not safe for consumption need to be removed completely to avoid poisoning. Thus, we recommend using a still to remove solvents, which also allows for the reuse of solvents. A safer and easier option is to use food grade ethanol with The MagicalButtter Machine to make a tincture first.

Tinctures

Tinctures were the most common form of cannabis medicine in the United States before prohibition. A tincture is a liquid concentrate procured through alcohol extraction, which pulls out many of the plant’s beneficial cannabinoids.

Ingestible oil capsules

With precisely defined dosages, ingestible cannabis oil capsules or pills allow you to consume cannabis as you would any herbal supplement. Filled with CBD, THC, or a combination of various cannabinoids, capsules can offer a predictable experience by providing specific measurements of whichever compound appeals to you. Make sure you get the right dose by using a tCheck to measure the potency of the product first.

Hash

With a history stretching back thousands of years, the tradition of hash (or hashish) remains alive and well. Traditional methods of hash making involve packing the plant’s resin to create compressed, smokable chunks that typically sport THC contents between 40-60%. For comparison, cannabis flowers generally express 15-25% THC.