Cannabis Concentrates: What Is Live Resin?

Technological development plays a very important role in modern cannabis cultivation. Growing lights are getting more efficient, innovative fertilization solutions help to optimize yields, and breeders are doing an excellent job in creating strains that are specifically tailored to individual needs. Even the ways concentrates are produced are benefiting from the march forward in science and technology. As we begin to understand more about cannabis and its traits, we are discovering new and interesting methods to get the most out of our bud. This article provides information about one such new and interesting form of concentrate: Live resin.

LIVE RESIN, TERPENES AND HIGH-TECH

There are many different ways to extract the desired components of cannabis. When it comes to concentrates, butane hash-oil (BHO) is the most common form. Live resin is actually a form of BHO, but more of a connoisseur grade that focuses on maintaining a strong and pure flavour profile. While the production process of BHO is relatively simple, producing live resin is a lot more complex.

Live resin is produced in a very similar fashion to BHO, but with fresh, flash frozen bud, as opposed to bud that has been dried and cured. The cryogenic freezing of fresh and non-dried cannabis blossoms helps to extract a wider range of cannabinoids and terpenes, but it requires very specialist equipment.

LIVE RESIN: A SUPERIOR FLAVOUR PROFILE

Most home-growers know how important the drying and curing process is. The aromatic package has to develop slowly over time. The production of high-quality cannabis can be quite similar to the production of good wine or cheese. The ripening process is extremely important for the smell and taste of the final product.

Even if the curing process is perfectly managed, up to 55-60% of the essential oils, also known as terpenes, can be lost. By taking freshly harvested bud as the input factor for the production of live resin, and immediately shock freezing it, terpenes and cannabinoids don’t have the chance to degrade. This is the biggest difference to other forms of concentrates, which normally use dried and cured buds to start with.

From a technical perspective, live resin is still a form of BHO that is produced by exposing buds to butane. Live resin can also be produced via CO2 extraction, though. After extraction, the material is purged of impurities using a vacuum oven that employs lower temperatures for a few hours.

As live resin contains more terpenes, it has a sappy, rather liquid-like quality. One could say that live resin is not as stable, or rigid, as BHO products like shatter or glass. However, the aroma and taste are far superior to other forms of concentrates, and can be astonishing. This is logical in a way, when a few grams of live resin are able to capture the full spectrum of aromas from a freshly harvested plant.

THE DISADVANTAGES OF LIVE RESIN

There are very few disadvantages to live resin – the unadulterated flavour it is able to capture makes it truly top shelf stuff. However, as mentioned earlier, the production process of live resin is rather complex, and laboratory equipment is needed. Cryogenic freezing often uses liquid nitrogen with temperatures being low as -196 °C. Experimenting with liquid nitrogen in your garage or basement can obviously involve risks. Live resin productions is better suited to experts that have access to the right equipment and a lab.

Because the process of producing live resin is rather time-consuming and complex, it often comes with a relatively high prices for consumers. The high cost of live resin also has to do with its high potency. Cannabis users that have little or no experience with concentrates have to be careful. The THC values of live resin vary between 65-95%, making it a perfect concentrate for medicinal users or recreational dabbing.

THE POTENTIAL BENEFITS OF LIVE RESIN AND OTHER CONCENTRATES

Live resin provides the option to intake large amounts of THC, and other cannabinoids, in one single inhale. This way, negative health effects due to smoking can be decreased. This can be very beneficial for patients who use cannabis for chronic pain or nausea - who rely on a fast relief and don’t want to smoke constantly. The potent effect could also have implications for people using cannabis to help alleviate other medical conditions, such as chemotherapy side effects, epilepsy, migraines, and pretty much anything else people have decided to use cannabis for.

In addition to all this, scientific research is pointing towards the direction that terpenes are not only responsible for aromas and flavours, but work together with cannabinoids in order to provide the desired medicinal effects. This could make live resin an important concentrate of the future.

Finding live resin in Europe will be a tough challenge for medicinal and recreational cannabis users. Unfortunately, there is no working legal framework for the production of cannabis-based concentrates. This makes it hard for companies and investors to take part in the worldwide development of medicinal cannabis. Any live resin found will have been illegally produced, making it a rare and expensive commodity.

It seems to be the sad reality of the 21st century that seriously sick patients need to move to a country where governments decided that it is legal for them to use this plant, in order to treat their health problems. It’s time to have a reasonable and fact-based discussion of how we want to treat cannabis, as a society, and as a European Union that acts in the best interest of its people and states.

THE BEST STRAINS FOR MAKING LIVE RESIN

Now that you know what makes live resin so desirable, it’s time to make your own! Any cannabis strain can get the job done, but there’s a few that stand out as really great candidates. You’ll want to use the stickiest buds possible from strains that offer high levels of THC and mind-blowing terpene profiles.

We’ve found the three strains below to be unrivalled when it comes to crafting live resin.

ROYAL GORILLA

Royal Gorilla is a superb strain to make live resin with. This beast features a perfect split of 50% indica genetics and 50% sativa, and induces a brutally psychoactive high. Her flowers ooze a viscous resin containing 27% THC. A single hit of this live resin will leave you baked for hours to come. The cultivar induces a warming and cerebral high that elevates the mood and tackles pain. Royal Gorilla also produces a pungent terpene profile that provides tastes of earthiness and pine. High levels of the terpene myrcene add a pleasant touch of sedation.

Royal Gorilla

Royal Gorilla

	Sour Dubb x Chem Sis x Chocolate Diesel
	500 - 550 gr/m2
	90 - 160 cm
	8 - 10 weeks
	THC: 27%

	Sativa 50% Indica 50%
	550 - 600 gr/plant
	130 - 170 cm
	Middle of October
	Calming, Clear

Buy Royal Gorilla

WHITE WIDOW

White Widow is known all throughout the cannabis world. This feisty sativa produces an energetic effect that travels directly to the head. The stimulating effect seems to boost cognitive function, not to mention mood. Enjoy this live resin the next time you need to do some problem solving or introspection. Its ability to encourage abstract thought and out-of-the-box ideas will give you a different angle on the situation. Her flowers contain a THC content of 19% and earthy terpenes.

White Widow

White Widow

	White Widow S1
	450 - 500 gr/m2
	60 - 100 cm
	8 - 10 weeks
	THC: 19%

	Sativa 50% Indica 50%
	550 - 600 gr/plant
	150 - 190 cm
	Early October
	Powerful , Stoned

Buy White Widow

FRUIT SPIRIT

Fruit Spirit is the end result of an experimental breeding project. The goal was to create a strain bursting with fruity flavour. And indeed, her aromatic flowers emanate mesmerising aromas of tropical fruits. The terpene profile behind these scents also provides delicious notes of sweetness and blueberry. Fruit Spirit catalyses a slightly sativa-dominant high that increases alertness and conjures the giggles. The live resin extracted from these flowers will be some of the tastiest you’ll ever get to enjoy.

Fruit Spirit

Fruit Spirit

	Blueberry x White Widow
	375 - 425 gr/m2
	80 - 120 cm
	9 - 10 weeks
	THC: 18%

	Sativa 30% Indica 70%
	475 - 525 gr/plant
	175 - 220 cm
	Early October
	Clear

Buy Fruit Spirit

DisclaimerExtracts, concentrates, and oils used for dabbing are among the strongest cannabis products available. Proceed with caution when using substances high in THC. Start with low doses and slowly increase over time to build up a tolerance to the compound.

Remember: Set and Setting will help you deal with various situations.

Stay Cultivated.