Last time we talked a bit about the various ways that cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD) and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) become extracted from the cannabis plant and prepared for use in final products. Now that we have considered the different ways that cannabis can be extracted and purified we can look at what that means in terms of the products offered.
Product Types, The Smokables
While there are many ways to consume cannabis, the most popular still is inhalation. This would include flower, concentrates and vape pens. Flower is the timeless classic of the group. Concentrates and vape pens are the new craze.
Concentrates are also the form with the most jargon associated with it. Concentrates include: bubble hash, kief, shatter, crumble, distillate, terp sauce, wax, rosin and more. Bubble hash, kief, rosin and distillate were all previously mentioned when talking about the extraction techniques that lead to these products.
The only thing really needed to be elaborated on here is that distillate may either have the terpenes reintroduced back into the product or not depending on the manufacturer. Vape pens and cartridges are also made with distillate. In vape pens the terpenes will be added in to give flavor. It is important to note that the terpenes used in vape pens are not always the same as the ones removed during distillation. Oftentimes vape cartridge producers will use specific isolated terpenes to create their own flavor blends.
Shatter
That still leads to a lot of confusing jargon to sift through. We’ll start with shatter. Shatter when properly done will set up in such a way as to be a lightly colored transparent solid at room temperature. It should be similar to stained glass in that you should be able to see the colors while also being able to look through it. In practice this can be difficult to achieve and many products sold as shatter will be a bit tacky to the touch at room temperature. This shouldn’t be considered as a bad thing however as there are many factors that affect how solidly the shatter will set up including the strain itself. One important note however is that shatter typically sets up best if it has been winterized during the extraction step.
Wax, Crumble, and Budder
Wax is also very common in dispensaries. With wax there was typically a hyrdrocarbon extraction performed with no further workup steps. The consistency of the wax comes from agitating the extract as the solvent is being removed. The process of agitating the extract is a key difference between attempting to make shatter and attempting to make wax.
Oftentimes wax will be labeled as either BHO wax or PHO wax. The difference here is simply which hydrocarbon solvent was used for the extraction. BHO uses butane, a four carbon hydrocarbon solvent while PHO uses propane, a three carbon hydrocarbon solvent. This is also an appropriate place to discuss crumble and budder as well.
The differences between wax, crumble and budder concentrates are based on the consistency of the final product. As mentioned, wax is made with a hydrocarbon extraction that gets agitated. The amount of agitation as well as the temperature that the wax is kept at while the solvent is being removed will affect the final consistency. Other strain specific things such as the terpenes present in the extract will also affect the final consistency. It is the slight differences in consistency that leads to these different terms but in practical applications they are the same and choosing one over the others comes down to preference and not quality.
Diamonds
Diamonds and terp sauce are closely enough related to discuss them both together. We have seen that diamonds are a crystal of the THCA molecule that formed during the removal of solvent following the extraction. Some labs will do this in a way that removes the terpenes at the same time leaving crystals that resemble diamonds. Some labs however will not remove the terpenes as part of the process. This leads to small THCA crystals sitting in liquid terpenes. This is known as terp sauce.
Due to the purity of the products, diamonds and terp sauce are two of the highest quality smokable cannabis products on the market. Some prefer the terpenes being present to enhance the taste while others prefer the higher purity of the THCA diamonds. Even though the THCA diamonds will have a higher purity, the THCA crystals in the terp sauce are the same and it is the inclusion of the terpenes that reduces the purity not an actual decrease in quality.
Product Types, The Others
Aside from the smokable products, the other more common cannabis products include: capsules, edibles, tinctures, beverages and topical products. All of these will start with a concentrate product as the source of cannabinoids rather than using raw cannabis flower to make the products. For some the concentrate can be used as is and for some it will need to be modified in some way. Going back to our understanding of extraction, cannabinoids are greasy lipids that dissolve well in oils but not in water. Products that are oil based will not need to have the cannabinoids modified first while products that are water based will. We will start with the oil based products.
Tinctures, Capsules, Lotions and Topicals
Tinctures, capsules and topical products are all oil based. There is an exception here for lotions which are water based but still fall under the topical products category. Lotions themselves however are an emulsion which have an oil phase dissolved in the water phase. Without going into details on how emulsions are created I will point out that emulsions are another thing that is common in the kitchen. Mayonnaise, vinaigrette dressing and milk are also emulsions in which there are oil and water components mixed together. The fact that lotions are emulsions also means that despite being water based, the cannabinoid extract can be added to the other oils in the lotion without being modified, or it can be modified as discussed later to dissolve into the water phase of the lotion first.
Topicals
For other topical products (and lotions that have the cannabinoids dissolved in the oils) the process for infusion is quite simple. The cannabinoid concentrates are dissolved in an oil that is part of the formulation for the topical. When all of the topical ingredients are added (most if not all of them are oil based) the cannabinoids mix throughout the batch of topical infusing the topical product.
The benefit of topical products is that they can be applied externally to joints or muscles that are sore. Another benefit of topical products is that THC containing products can be used in a way as to provide therapeutic relief without the associated psychoactive effect due to the limited absorption into the blood supply through the skin. The limited absorption into the blood supply does not prevent the cannabinoids from working at the applied location however.
Capsules
The process of mixing of the capsules is done in a similar way. The cannabinoid extract is dissolved in a carrier oil such as coconut oil. With capsules they can either then be filled much like many of the dietary supplements that you may have in your vitamin cabinet, or they can be made using expensive equipment that forms a cellulose based shell around the oils. The second method is similar to those Advil softgels that you may have taken for a headache or joint pain at some point. The benefit of capsules is that they are extremely discreet and easy to take. It is also a good way to monitor dosage as each capsule has a labeled dosage of cannabinoids.
Tinctures
The process of making tinctures starts in a similar way as the processes for capsules and topicals. The cannabis concentrate is dissolved in a liquid carrier. The most common carrier oil for tinctures is fractionated coconut oil. It is widely used because the concentrate will dissolve easily in the coconut oil plus the coconut oil is clear, mostly tasteless and it is a healthy oil. This means that manufacturers can add their coconut oil, cannabis concentrate, and any desired flavorings, stir it up real well and put it in a bottle with ease.
Another solvent that gets used is a mixture of vegetable glycerine and ethanol. A small amount of ethanol is used to dissolve the cannabinoids first, this can then be added to vegetable glycerine. Glycerine itself is too polar to dissolve the cannabinoids but the ethanol has both polar and nonpolar portions of the molecule. This allows the nonpolar portions to interact with the cannabinoids while the polar portions interact with the glycerine. It should be noted here that this is similar to what occurs in the making of an emulsion.
Edibles and Beverages
Edibles and beverages are also very common in the market these days. Beverages are more complicated because they typically require more equipment than edibles. They are more straightforward in the sense that all beverages are water based however.
Some edibles such as brownies use oil. As such they can be made in much the same way as the oil based products. You dissolve the concentrate in the oil and add it to the recipe. Once you have everything mixed together you bake, eat and let the medicine work. One big drawback to edibles however is that they are difficult to accurately dose. The same edible taken on an empty stomach will undergo a different level of digestion than if taken with other food. Additionally the first pass metabolism that takes place on edibles can convert the cannabinoids into metabolites and alter the effect. Because of this it is best to have a small snack with edibles, preferably something with healthy fats like avocado.
Beverages and foods that don’t use oil in the mix such as gummies, will need the cannabinoids to be made water soluble first. There are two main ways of doing this currently. The first is that cannabinoids can be affixed to a sugar molecule. The sugar molecules are very polar which allows the cannabinoids to be used in water soluble products.
There is another method that is rapidly gaining traction in the industry with many proclaiming it to be the best method. That method is liposomal encapsulation. In this process the cannabinoids are turned into nanoparticles that then get encapsulated by a phospholipid bilayer. The phospholipid bilayer that encapsulates the nanoparticles of cannabinoids is very similar to the phospholipid bilayer membranes of cells. As such the encapsulated vesicles allow for the cannabinoids to be used in water soluble food and beverage products.
So… Which Product Should I Buy?
By now you have no doubt noticed that a lot of information has been covered. But at no time was it made really clear which product is the best for YOU. Isn’t that so frustrating?!?! The truth is that I can tell you plenty about cannabis and the products made from it. But I can’t tell you anything about you. I don’t know what your reasons for turning to cannabis are. I don’t know how you feel about the psychoactive properties of THC. I also don’t know how you feel most comfortable consuming your cannabis products.
Maybe you are someone that has never consumed any type of cannabis product and are worried about the psychoactive effects of THC. Perhaps you’ve heard that THC products are great for pain but you don’t want to feel high. If that’s you then a topical product applied to the source of pain may be the best product for you. Or maybe you don’t want to be rubbing something on your joints every time they hurt. Maybe you would prefer taking a tablet once a day. In this case it may be that a CBD capsule better suits your needs.
There is also the possibility that you are desiring the psychoactive effect and you are looking to replace smoking cigarettes with cannabis. If that’s you then finding the right vape pen might be your best option.
Before making your next cannabis product purchase ask yourself a few questions. Are the psychoactive properties of THC a concern for you? Are they desired by you? What is the reason that you are looking to use cannabis products? How would you feel most comfortable consuming your cannabis products? The answers to these questions coupled with the information found here should point you in the right direction. It may ultimately take some time and product experimentation to decide which products and brands best fit your needs as well as your lifestyle. But hopefully just knowing more about the products themselves will help you to find the best products for your selfcare needs.