What is Cannabis Shatter and Wax?

One of the biggest things in the cannabis world right now are extracts and dabs. If you go to any Cannabis Cup-type event you'll be inundated with the many various types and consistencies of marijuana concentrates. Innovations in extraction techniques have led to new forms of concentrates, propelling their popularity in cannabis culture. Concentrates have become so popular in fact, that it's not uncommon to hear people asking whether 7/10 ( the annual celebration of smoking dabs) is the new 4/20.

If you are new to cannabis concentrates, all the lingo can seem confusing at first: wax, shatter, budder, dabs...the list goes on. It can all seem dizzying and unapproachable.

However, that doesn't have to be the case. Many of these products have been around for a long time, used by medical patients who need an extra amount of THC or by recreational users who enjoy the purity and clean high that you get from concentrated cannabis. If you're a cannabis user who's ready to try something new, or a medical user who might benefit from medicine that packs a higher punch of THC, then concentrates might be for you.

What are concentrates?

At their most basic level, cannabis concentrates are just the finished product by which the psychoactive components in cannabis - THC, CBD and other substances - are separated from the plant matter and concentrated to increase their potency. There are extraction methods that utilize physical techniques, while other methods utilize chemical solvents to extract cannabinoids - but either way, the result is a concentrated form of cannabis in which the THC percentage can be upwards of 75%. In this article we will take a look at some of the most common concentrates as they increase in potency.

Proto-concentrates: Kief and Hash

Kief

If you have a grinder with a little screw-on basin at the bottom which catches all the golden-yellow, pollen-like dust that separates from the buds as they are ground, then you technically have a concentrate. This is called Kief and it is the most rudimentary form of cannabis concentrate, and it's a good place to start if you are experimenting with concentrates. Many people like to add a pinch of kief on top of a pipe or bong bowl, or sprinkle it on a joint. Some people even smoke pure-kief bowls. It may not be the easiest way to smoke a concentrate, nor is it exactly going to be the cleanest, but it will offer a boost to the potency of your marijuana.

Potency range: 20-40% THC.