What's live resin? Rosin? Can I smoke it?

A View of the Green Mountains in Vermont on a hazy day

What is live resin?

How is it made? Is resin different from rosin? Can I smoke it?

Live resin is typically made using a butane extraction process, whereas live rosin is solventless and typically made using a heat press (rosin press).

Cannabis is a powerful yet delicate plant. You can keep it simple and smoke the buds or flowers, but you can also extract oils, waxes, and other concentrates (like live resin or rosin) from the plant which can then either be smoked, vaped, or used to cook with. This process of extraction refines the plant, allowing for more control over specific cannabinoid concentrations within the end product.

So what is live resin? How is it extracted or made?

The process to make live resin starts with freshly harvested cannabis plants. Immediately after being chopped, plants are frozen to subcritical temperatures (WAY BELOW FREEZING temps). This locks in all of those “juices” that give your cannabis plant its smell and flavor profiles.

Flash-freezing the cannabis plant ensures protection of the trichomes and terpenes within them, completely bypassing the drying and curing processes. They are kept at these freezing temps throughout the extraction process. Typically live resin extraction takes place in a lab with professionals using a butane based extraction technique.

concentrated cannabis wax aka live resin

What does the process of extraction entail?

There are many extraction processes you can deploy, some processes include intense laboratories, equipment, and chemicals, while some processes only require an oven or a large heat press. Each process will result in a different end product, so it’s important to know more about these processes and what’s involved so that you can ask your budtender the right questions AND so that you know exactly what you’re consuming and how to consume it properly.

Why skip the drying and curing process to make live resin?

Because as your plants hang to dry, they naturally dry themselves. During that drying process, trichomes can be damaged from fluctuating temps and humidity levels. This means that you can actually lose a lot of natural aromas during the drying and curing process if it’s not done correctly.

Do I smoke live resin? What’s the best way to consume it?

The best way to consume live resin is by dabbing or vaping it, but you can also sprinkle some in your joints or throw some on top of a bowl. It’s typically a sticky, waxy substance that’s yellow-ish in color, so you’ll want a dab tool or something else to help you collect the concentrate.

That being said, one of the best parts about live resin is the flavors and smells which can be ruined if burned at too high of a temperature. Take your dabs at a low temperature and pull slowly to fully enjoy the spectrum of flavors and aromas.

How should I store live resin?

You definitely want to keep it cool. This is a waxy substance that can become more liquidy at higher temps, so to keep the consistency and quality, store it in your fridge or a cool, dark, dry place. It’s also worth getting a silicon container, as live resin tends to adhere to glass and other substances, making it difficult to use every last bit.

What’s live resin? Rosin? Can I smoke it?