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Part of the greatness of cannabis is just how many ways you can consume it. Got loose flower? Smoke a joint! Oil? Make cannabis-infused coconut oil for all future cooking! Your options are virtually endless.
One of the lesser-known but still popular mediums is live resin. Filled with almost pure THC, it’s extremely potent. But, there has been some debate about live resin. Specifically, is live resin safe to use?
In the spirit of safe cannabis consumption, we’re going to look at live resin, what it is, and what you might have to look out for next time you buy a batch. Without further ado, let’s get into live resin!
Cannabis plants, when harvested or touched, leave behind a sticky residue. This is called resin and is produced by the trichomes on cannabis flowers. It’s these trichomes that hold THC, the psychoactive ingredient that gets humans high.
When the resin is collected, it’s just normal cannabis resin.
Live resin is what you get when you refine the cannabis resin through an extraction method. Depending on your dispensary, the live resin is then turned into shatter, crumble, sauce, or wax. For more information, read this guide on the differences between shatter, wax, and crumble.
Resin is a highly refined version of cannabis trichomes. Because it’s so refined, its potency is through the roof. But why do people think it’s dangerous?
Cannabis, like any psychoactive product, you must take it with care. Even though cannabis isn’t addictive, you can consume too much. The primary concern with live resin, though, stems from its difficult and dangerous extraction process.
Live resin is safe to consume, provided the extraction process is done right. To properly extract live resin from cannabis resin, cannabis is frozen straight after harvest for a day to a day and a half.
From there, the resin is extracted using hydrocarbon chemicals like butane and propane. After washing the cannabis in the chemicals, the extract is processed using heat to produce live resin.
If non-professionals decide to make live resin, there are multiple ways in which they put themselves in danger.
Not only is making live resin dangerous—chemicals and high heat are a dangerous combination—but failing to purge and extract the hydrocarbons from the resin properly puts your health at risk.
In short, live resin is not dangerous. It’s only dangerous when you try to DIY the process or buy from a dispensary that doesn’t use the proper procedures and has quality controls in place.
A key factor in keeping live resin safe for consumption is quality control and product testing.
Without proper testing, dispensaries risk accidentally poisoning their consumers.
Testing is especially important for highly refined cannabis products like live resin. During its manufacturing cycle, live resin is exposed to a lot of chemicals. There is nothing inherently wrong with using chemicals during production. It’s what helps dispensaries make the products we all know and love.
What is dangerous is not tracking and testing the cannabis products to ensure all the extraction and purging were completely successful. It’s then that customers could inadvertently consume a dangerous chemical.
It’s also why making live resin at home isn’t a good idea. Established dispensaries work with labs and professionals who rigorously test live resin before it gets to consumers.
There is only one way to ensure you consume safe, high-quality live resin. Buy live resin (and other cannabis products) from a dispensary you can trust.
If you’re not sure whether their products are safe, ask them about their quality control and testing procedures. Don’t be shy. A dispensary with excellent controls will be more than happy to share.
Ideally, the dispensary should have a good relationship with a lab that regularly does comprehensive testing.
Another way to ensure you’re only buying the best products is to check reviews.
The internet is a great way to gather information about a brand and your cannabis dispensary is no different. Read online reviews and narrow your search to live resin. If people are having adverse reactions to the company’s live resin, it’s safe to say it’s a product you don’t want.
Live resin is extremely potent. It’s a very refined version of cannabis, which means you are consuming almost pure THC.
If you’re an experienced smoker looking for a powerful high, it’s awesome. The potency is exceptional and resin comes in a variety of textures. Whether you’re dabbing or vaping, you can mold live resin to your liking.
On the flip side of this great potency are potential health concerns.
As mentioned above, live resin is fine if you’re an experienced cannabis user. You likely know your stuff and your tolerance. You know what too much looks like.
As a beginner, this can be difficult. Especially because live resin potency is so hard to gauge. Unless you’re familiar with THC, potency, and how intense a high can be, you might be tempted to dab more than you should.
Another health concern with live resin is the mental effects. “Normal” potency products are fine for most people. But super high potency products like live resin can be dangerous if you struggle with depression and anxiety.
Worsening mental states, heart palpitations, nausea, hallucination – these are all symptoms of overconsumption. If you’re a beginner or you’re struggling with your mental health, we suggest being cautious with live resin.
You can, of course, enjoy live resin. Just take it slow and listen to your body.
To understand what makes live resin different from other concentrates, we must look at terpenes.
Terpenes are flavonoids that naturally occur in nature, and dozens of terpenes occur in cannabis. Besides giving weed strains their signature flavors, they also affect your high. Some make people calm, while others make people happy.
Terpenes also work with cannabis in what is called the entourage effect, where terpenes encourage a better, more complete high.
Live resin, when harvested, is frozen for almost 2 days. This is unlike other cannabis and concentrates, which are dried and cured.
By flash freezing the cannabis after harvest, growers prevent terpene degradation. By preserving the terpene profile, the live resin concentrate retains all its potency. The result is a full-body high that feels unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.
With big rewards comes risk. Luckily, you can mitigate the risk of live resin by being responsible and always ticking these boxes.
First, buy only the highest quality live resin.
Buy from a dispensary you can trust. Ask the dispensary how they extract their live resin concentrate and what quality controls they have in place to ensure their products are safe. If they don’t want to tell you, give them a skip.
Trusted dispensaries, like Embarc, are open about cannabis production because being transparent keeps people safe.
Also, read reviews. Use review sites like Google and Yelp. Or use forums like Reddit and Quora to gauge how people reacted to a certain brands’ live resin.
We can’t stress this enough: take it slow. The biggest selling point to live resin is its potency.
If you’re a beginner, take the minimum dose – not more than a grain of rice worth. Get a feel for how it makes your body feel. As you get used to the feeling and build tolerance, you can slowly up your dosage.
There are a lot of ways to consume live resin. If you know any long-time smokers, they can probably offer a few unique consumption methods. Otherwise, dabbing, vaping, and eating live resin is very popular.
Enjoying cannabis and exploring different consumption methods can be enjoyable, but it’s important to prioritize safety. DIY methods, like producing live resin at home, can pose risks.
While perfectly safe if extracted by a professional, making live resin at home puts you at risk of consuming harmful chemicals. Plus, the potency of live resin might be overwhelming, especially for beginners or individuals with anxiety and depression.
Thankfully, with responsible use and sticking to safety guidelines outlined in this guide, you can enjoy live resin without concerns
For quality controlled cannabis live resin and cannabis you can trust, visit your nearest Embarc location today!
