Cannabis concentrates or extracts is a generic term for a variety of products that are generated when cannabis flowers are processed into a concentrated form. These products can come in liquid or solid form, such as cannabis oil, hash, vape cartridge liquid, shatter, wax, kief, tinctures, and are either ingested or inhaled.

The process for creating extracts varies depending on the intended finished product, but the basic goal is to isolate and remove the cannabinoids and terpenes. During the concentration process, dried or fresh cannabis plants can be sifted; exposed to heat or extreme cold, gas (such as carbon dioxide), a solvent, another oil or a combination of these; or further refined using ethanol. Cannabis extracts, or concentrates, can provide a smoke-free alternative to consuming dried cannabis.

How Do Cannabis Concentrates Work Inside Your Body?

The form of extract and method of consumption plays a big role in the way the cannabis extracts enter your body. When cannabinoids in the cannabis extracts are ingested, it can produce effects that are similar to those experienced when cannabis flower is smoked or vaped; however the effects may be delayed due to digestion, which can take from 30 minutes up to four hours or more. When cannabis extracts are inhaled such as by dabbing or vaping, the tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is absorbed by the blood in the lungs and moves quickly to the brain, producing an almost immediate effect, possibly within minutes.

How Long Does the Effects Last?

The duration of potential effects also depend on how the cannabis extract is consumed. If it’s inhaled, effects can last one to three hours, or longer. When extract is ingested, effects can be felt for up to 12 hours. The timing of the onset and duration of effects vary from person to person. The intensity and longevity of the effects produced by cannabis extracts depend on many factors, such as your weight and sex, how much food you’ve eaten that day and your metabolic rate, mental and physical health, age, personality and even genetics.

How Are Extracts Different from Other Types of Cannabis?

The main difference between extracts and other forms of cannabis is in their potential to contain much higher concentrations of cannabinoids than the raw plant. For example, extracts can have up to 90% THC, while dried flower typically contains 1% to 30% THC. Unlike smoking dried cannabis, which can produce effects within minutes, ingesting cannabis extracts can delay the onset of effects, from 30 minutes to four hours or more. This delay is because the tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and other cannabinoids enter the body through the digestive tract, where they are absorbed into the bloodstream and travel to the liver where they are metabolized and released back into the bloodstream. These active ingredients then enter the brain and the rest of the central nervous system, potentially producing an effect.

How are Cannabis Concentrates Consumed?

Electronic Vaporizers or Dab rigs are the two most common ways to consume cannabis concentrates. Handheld vapes and desktop vaporizers are often compatible with both dry herb and Cannabis concentrates like shatter or wax. Small amounts of cannabis concentrates, known as “dabs” can also be vaporized using a glass water pipe called a “dab rig.” Dab rigs use a heated “nail” to vaporize the hash oil at the optimal temperature (315-450°F) for the purest flavor, and smoothest hit. These vaporization methods without combustion give you the cleanest hits without producing the harmful smoke produced by burning the plant material.

Solvent Based Cannabis Concentrates vs. Solventless Concentrates

Cannabis concentrates are made by extracting the highly potent cannabis oils (trichomes, THC, terpenes and other cannabinoids) directly from the marijuana plant. The process of extraction varies from method to method. Solvent-based methods involve dissolving the trichomes of the plant using chemicals like butane, CO2, or ethanol. The resulting mixture is heated to evaporate any remaining solvent leaving behind the pure hash oil. Solventless methods use agitation or heat to manually separate the trichomes from the plant matter producing a highly concentrated product that is 100% Cannabis.