One of the most staggering things about cannabis today is the sheer variety of forms it comes in. While many users stick to the tried-and-tested indica, sativa, and hybrid strains of weed, you can get an even more powerful high by using cannabis concentrates. Popular concentrates include shatter, wax, and hash, but three which often get confused are resin, live resin, and rosin.
Cannabis concentrates are products made using various extraction processes to take the most potent parts of the plant and turn them into all kinds of unique forms. For instance, Hash is a hard, brick-like concentrate whereas shatter is thin and glass-like. Resin, live resin, and rosin are among the many kinds of cannabis concentrates you can find on the market today. Yet despite their similar names, the three products differ quite significantly.
Whereas resin can be found all over cannabis plants and extracted using basic methods (including simply using your hands), live resin is a completely different kind of extract which takes some technical equipment to make. Rosin is another alternative which is made using a fairly simple extraction process, yet it looks and acts very differently to Resin. So resin vs. live resin vs. rosin: what’s the difference? Here’s an in-depth guide to these three fascinating cannabis concentrates, how to get them, and which one you should use.
What is Resin?
You can find resin in many forms, but it generally refers to the sticky, brown substance you find on the outside of cannabis flower. Resin comes from the trichomes of marijuana- the parts which produce most of the THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids of cannabis. As such, when Resin is extracted you’re left with the most potent part of the plant and using resin on its own will result in a stronger high.
Resin can be extracted and used in many ways. You can extract resin yourself simply by rubbing your hands across your weed and compressing the resin together. However, usually, more complex extraction methods are used to extract Resin. Resin is often compressed to create Hash, although it can also be used in other ways.
Cannabis plants actually produce resin as an evolutionary defense mechanism. It helps to deter pests and shields them from UV light. Coincidentally, the resinous trichomes produced by cannabis plants are also responsible for both the psychoactive effects and medical benefits of cannabis, making cannabis resin very sought after.
Although you’ll get the effects of resin by smoking or vaping cannabis, some people prefer to separate it from the rest of the flower for a highly concentrated product. Some users also collect kief- the dusty resin particles which fall from your weed when you grind it. Using this can also result in highly-concentrated THC effects.
How to Get Resin
Resin is one of the easiest cannabis extracts to get. You can even extract resin yourself simply using your hands. Just hold weed in your hands and roll it and the sticky resin will naturally rub off onto your hands. You can then take this resin and compress it together with your hands to create small balls of hash, although it’ll be weaker in quality than properly manufactured hash.
It can also be extracted by rubbing large amounts of weed over a fine mesh. The resin will fall through and can then be used to create hash or other resin-based products. For the best kinds of hash, more complex extraction processes are used, often using extra equipment. For instance, Dry Ice Hash is made using dry ice, buckets, and bubble bags to separate the resin from the rest of the plant matter.
It’s also fairly easy to collect resin with a grinder. The more you grind weed, the more you’ll be left with little dust-like resin particles in the bottom of your grinder. These particles are known as kief, and you can use them by sprinkling them into a joint or bowl or pressing them together to create small lumps of hash.
Users who want high-quality resin can also buy hash online. Hash is a cannabis concentrate made with resin that’s particularly easy to use as you can burn it and crumble it into a joint or bowl. Some stores even sell products such as raw kief for users to add an extra kick of concentrated THC to their products.
What is Live Resin?
While Live Resin is a product based on resin, the two products differ quite significantly. Live Resin is the name for a type of cannabis concentrate extracted using specialist lab equipment to leave you with a potent, sticky substance. Live Resin is more similar in appearance to products like shatter and wax than resin itself.
Live Resin is often extracted from freshly frozen marijuana plants using solvents. While other solvent-based extracts often lose much of the terpenoid profile of cannabis, Live Resin retains all of the trichomes and cannabinoids, resulting in a potent and flavorful cannabis extract that is becoming increasingly popular.
Due to the complex extraction process, Live Resin is also harder to come by, and some users may confuse resin or rosin for live resin. However, those who get their hands on Live Resin will be impressed by its highly-concentrated nature. Live Resin is soft and pliable in its texture, making it very easy to scoop up for use in a dab rig, bong or even to mix into a joint.
Live Resin usually looks soft, amber, and sugary. It’s usually more expensive than other cannabis concentrates as it’s harder to make, but it offers some of the most powerful psychoactive effects and medical benefits.
How to Get Live Resin
Live Resin is difficult to make, often involving expensive lab equipment. As such, you won’t be able to make high-quality Live Resin at home. Additionally, due to its nature, it’s somewhat rarer and harder to find than other cannabis extracts. However, you can still find many strains of Live Resin in various cannabis stores and online.
BudExpressNow.ca offers high-quality Live Resin extracts available for delivery across every province and territory in Canada. While these may cost more per gram than your average weed strains, they’re much stronger, and only a small amount is needed for an intense high.
Osuka Extracts Blue Dream Live Resin will give you the amazing effects of Blue Dream in full-force. Blue Dream is a sativa-dominant hybrid known for its ability to boost your mood and creativity while also giving you a relaxing, all-over body high. It can also help with all kinds of medical issues such as chronic pain, anxiety, ADHD, migraines, stress, depression, and more.
Quantum Extracts Ghost Train Haze Live Resin is another sativa-dominant hybrid with strong effects. It’ll give you a sensational burst of cerebral stimulation, making you happy and giggly. It also heightens your senses and makes every activity seem more exciting. Coming in clean, pure, Live Resin form, this product will hit you hard and beginners are advised to use only a small amount.
What is Rosin?
Some people might hear the term “Rosin” and mistakenly think it’s the same as either Resin or Live Resin. However, Rosin refers to a type of extraction process used to make potent cannabis extracts which look similar to shatter. While Live Resin is made using frozen plant material, Rosin involves using extra-high heat to extract the resin and THC from the rest of the plant.
The resulting product from using the Rosin extraction process is an amber substance similar to extracts such as shatter and budder. However, the process is quite different from the solvent-based extraction processes used to make most concentrates.
Making marijuana rosin involves a solventless technique where marijuana is exposed to high heat and pressure to separate the resin from the rest of the plant. It’s often seen as an alternative way to make shatter without the need to purge the finished product of residual solvents.
High-quality rosin is usually made using specialist equipment. However, there are some easy ways to make it. Since all that it takes is a high amount of heat and pressure, users can even use this extraction process at home using household tools such as a hair straightener.
How to Get Rosin
It’s easy enough for anyone to make Rosin at home. All you need is a hair straightener, some parchment paper, a collection tool, and gloves to protect your hands from the heat. The process only takes a few minutes.
Wrap up some nugs of weed in the parchment paper and fold it. Now, put it between your hair straighteners and press down hard. Within a couple of minutes, you’ll hear the buds sizzling. Once it begins to smell, you can release the hair straightener. When you open up the parchment paper, you’ll be left with an oily substance. You can then collect this and keep it in a jar container.
It’s one of the easiest kinds of concentrates to create at home, although you can also purchase rosin products. Some cannabis stores sell marijuana rosin to refer to concentrates that have been made using this heat-based extraction process.
Alternatively, you can also buy various strains of shatter. Although shatter is generally made using more complex extraction processes, it’s a high-quality concentrate that’s very similar in its form and effects.
Resin vs. Live Resin vs. Rosin: Which Should You Use?
All three of these extracts are great to use. All of them will give you intense effects in a compressed and easy-to-use form. Which one is best to use largely depends on what you prefer, although you should try out all three.
Resin is the easiest to collect yourself, especially as you can simply roll it up in your hands or collect kief from your grinder. You can squeeze resin into hash or add it to a joint, bowl, vape pen or dab rig for a powerful hit. Resin is less potent than Live Resin or Rosin, but still a great product to use.
Live Resin is generally the most powerful of the three. However, due to the complex extraction process used to make it, it’s also harder to come by. Fortunately, you can buy Live Resin online, but it’ll usually cost you a fair bit. It’s ideal for users who want extra intense THC effects.
Rosin is an alternative to Shatter that’s very easy to make yourself. Just wrap some weed up in parchment paper, press it between a hair straightener, and you’ll have some potent marijuana rosin to add to a joint or bowl or use in a dab rig. It may not be quite as hard-hitting as Live Resin, but it’s perfect for users who want a hard-hitting concentrate they can make at home.
Other Cannabis Concentrates
If you’re looking for an alternative to the three R’s, there are many other kinds of cannabis concentrates to check out. All of these offer highly potent effects in a unique form. You can use them either with a dab rig, a vaporizer designed for use with concentrates or, in some cases, even just sprinkle them into a joint or bowl with some weed to add a powerful kick of THC.
Here are a few of the most popular kinds of cannabis concentrates you can buy right now.
Shatter – Shatter is one of the most common kinds of concentrates you’ll find, as well as one of the most popular. Shatter comes in amber, glass-like form. As the name suggests, it’s easy to shatter into small pieces for use with a dab rig or dab pen. Shatter delivers high levels of THC, making for a very powerful high whichever way you use it.
Budder – Budder is another kind of cannabis concentrate made with an extraction process which involves dousing weed in solvents. The result is a moist concentrate that’s softer and stickier than shatter. Budder is easy to scoop up and use in all kinds of ways, making it another popular cannabis concentrate, especially for users who like to dab.
Hash – Hash is a cannabis concentrate that’s made by compressing large amounts of the resin from cannabis. It comes in a solid, brick-like form, although lighting it will quickly make hash crumble apart. Hash can easily be sprinkled into a joint due to its crumbly nature. It comes in various types, with some of the most common being Afghani Hash, Lebanese Hash, and Mercedes Hash.
Tincture – Tincture isn’t your typical cannabis concentrate. It’s not fit for dabbing or for use in a joint, but rather it’s a liquid product which you use by applying it under your tongue and holding it there for a couple of minutes. It’s an oil-based extract which can be absorbed into your body quickly for potent, long-lasting effects. It’s quickly become one of the most popular smokeless ways to consume THC.
