SHATTER VS ROSIN: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

With so many different types of concentrates all with seemingly several nicknames, navigating through the options can be overwhelming or confusing for some. This will provide some basic knowledge about some different types of concentrates.

Let’s keep it simple – there are ultimately one of two main characteristics that all concentrates can be classified under: solvent free extracts and extracts that use solvents.

Solvents are liquids used to dissolve other substances. For cannabis concentrates, different types of solvents, such as butane, carbon dioxide, alcohol, propane or CO2, can be used to extract cannabinoids from flower to create a highly concentrated product.

Shatter, the most commonly recognized concentrate, uses butane for extraction. It’s also known as BHO (Butane Hash Oil). Once the THC and other cannabinoids are extracted by the butane, the dangerous process to evaporate the butane out of the remaining concentrate takes place. Some concentrate users have concerns that trace amounts of the solvent may be consumed when inhaling shatter or other solvent using extracts.

With a solventless concentrates, such as Rosin, cannabinoids are extracted with no chemicals, using only heat and pressure.

Rosin is the resulting concentrate when heat and pressure are applied to the cannabis plant.

One other difference between extracts that do or don’t use solvents is the texture.

While Shatter, which uses solvents for extraction, has a glass-like texture, solventless extracts such as Rosin are softer, more butter-like in texture. Some find that easier to handle. When pressed properly, Rosin often retains the colour, terpenes (flavour) and scent of the flower used for the extraction. Truly heavenly.

Both solvent and solventless extracts test between 60 and 90 percent THC, providing a much stronger high than regular cannabis flower.

So how do you use this stuff? Extracts, including Rosin, can all be inhaled in the same way, with a regular pipe, a dab rig or vaporizer.

Now that you’ve got the information, I’d highly recommend getting a little bit of both extracts; those that use solvents and solventless extracts. Dab them one after the other and we’re quite certain you’ll prefer one over the other. Can you guess which we prefer?

By EILEEN DAVIDSON