Concentrate 101: What is Cured Resin? | Concentrates

As the legal cannabis industry continues to grow and advance, we've seen the options for what the industry has to offer absolutely explode. One of the main areas of growth has been among cannabis concentrates. We've seen cannabis concentrates sales up by nearly 40 percent last year, with vape products, wax, crumble, and, of course, resin. There are a whole bunch of resins to choose from, however. Today, we wanted to highlight cured resin. Many people have heard of live resin by now, but have you heard of cured resin?

In this article, we're going to break down what exactly cured resin is, how it's made, and what to expect when using it. We'll go in-depth on the debate of cured resin vs. live resin, weigh in on the topic of what's better, cured or live resin, and paint a fuller picture of how and why this cannabis concentrate is gaining steam among consumers and flying off dispensary shelves.

So without too much further delay, let's get right into it!

What is Cured Resin?

So first things first. What the heck is cured resin in the first place? Basically, it's a firm glass-like cannabis concentrate made from, as its name would suggest, cured and dried cannabis flower. From there, that cannabis material is boiled down to a powerful, potent concentrate by using a solvent solution to get rid of the organic aspects of that cured cannabis, leaving behind the THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids.

This process creates an incredibly potent cannabis product, likely between 60-80 percent pure THC, that can get users incredibly high from only small portions. So, before you go out and grab some cured resin of your own, be aware that the answers to questions like "does live resin get you high," and is cured resin strong" are both resounding yes's.

What Does Cured Resin Look Like?

Typically, a cured resin has an amber color and a glassy, shatter-like appearance. It's usually broken up into little shards and vaporized via a dab rig, a glass water pipe crafted specifically for consuming cannabis concentrates. While other forms of cannabis concentrate are often soft, waxy, or malleable, the cured resin is almost like hard candy in its appearance. That's why so many use the terms live resin and shatter interchangeably. Like other forms of concentrates, cured resin THC levels are incredibly high. A little bit goes a long way, which is why it's so expensive at your local dispensary.

Is Cured Resin Good?

While it's true that the measure of good is subjective, depending on who that cannabis user is, their tolerance level, and a few other factors, it's impossible to argue that cured resin and cannabis concentrates generally don't provide a hefty bang for your buck. Not only are they more potent than the cannabis flower they're made from, often by 2 to 3 times, but you need to use less of the product itself to get the effects.

So if you're looking for a high THC product or something that's the best value for your money, concentrate like cured resin is a good choice. However, if you're looking for something milder and less THC intensive, you should avoid concentrates in general and opt for something else.

How Cured Resin Compares to Other Concentrates

Now that we've gotten the basics of what cured resin is, how it's made, and what to consider before picking some up, let's do some active comparison between cured resin and some other forms of widely-used cannabis concentrates. In this case, we'll compare cured resin to wax and live resin to see how it stacks up!

Cured Resin vs. Wax

As we mentioned before, some key ways concentrates like cured resin and wax differ from one another. Firstly, they clearly differ in appearance. As we mentioned before, cured resin comes in a glassy, hard, shatterable form, while the wax is more soft, malleable, and even granular like sugar at times. Another key difference is in the experience of the high itself.

Wax-style concentrates are often regarded as being more aromatic than something like cured resin, which might be the thing to put it over the top for some concentrate enthusiasts out there. Both are about the same in terms of potency, so that won't be the deciding factor.

All and all, it's really about preference here. Do you prefer a more glassy, harder texture or a softer, often more aromatic one? That will be the deciding factor in the battle between these two.

Cured Resin vs. Live Resin

The core difference between these two potent cannabis concentrates lies in their preparation. While cured resin, as we talked about before, is created from dried, cured buds from the cannabis plant, live resin takes a different approach.

Live resin is made from fresh, still-living cannabis plants, usually flash-frozen shortly after harvest to persevere freshness and cannabinoid profiles. Many argue that this fresh process produces the best quality concentration on the other side, tasting better and maintaining its cannabinoid profile more than cured resin, which allows the cannabinoids time to change and develop throughout the curing process.

Really, however, it's down to preference again. The cannabinoid profiles here are pretty much the same, with live resin perhaps beating out cured resin slightly in the THC department. It comes down to what that particular user prefers when getting their concentrates and taking their dabs.

The Bottom Line

With the legal cannabis industry growing the way it is currently, we expect to see concentrates take center stage more and more. They offer a massive dose of cannabinoids in a small package, are cost-effective for consumers, and are simple and easy to make. Products like cured resin are clearly the way of the future for the legal cannabis industry as a whole, as more and more consumers shift away from their standard joints and blunts and pick-up dab rigs of their own!

If you want to pick up some cured resin to try, head over to the Where's Weed site and check the menu of a local dispensary near you!