Dabbing is a new way of consuming cannabis and refers to the process of inhaling the vapor produced when heating the surface where the concentrate will heat up, but in order to do this, you’ll need a dab rig. Dabbing is a cleaner way of consuming concentrates, it basically consists of vaporizing your extracts and you only need a bong, a nail, and a torch! As you’re probably aware, placing dried flowers into a bong, pipe, or blunt and lighting them on fire involves combustion. This process, which takes place at high temperatures, gives rise to a series of byproducts that aren’t good for human health. In contrast, because vaporization takes place at lower temps, it specifically targets the desirable phytochemicals, without volatilization of other molecules that are recreated and released during combustion.
Not only is it easier on the throat and lungs, but it tastes better too. If joints and bongs are small mallets, then dabs are sledgehammers! They deliver extremely high concentrations of cannabinoids and terpenes into the lung at once, meaning it takes much less to feel the same effects. Instead of smoking an entire joint of mid-strength weed, you can simply hit up a small dab instead. Plus, they’ll satisfy you if your tolerance has reached the point where normal buds fail to get the job done.
1. WHAT IS A DAB RIG?
A dab rig is very similar to a bong used to vaporize cannabis concentrates, a dab rig filters the concentrates vapor through water and requires a nail or “banger” that is heated to hold the dabs and evaporate it. As you can see in the video below, our team had a small dab session at the 2019 edition of Spannabis, here you can see how a dab rig works and how to properly dab!
Dabs are basically any type of extract that can be smoked by placing it on a hot surface (nail, banger, or bowl), these dabs are basically budder, shatter, wax, or any other extraction that has a high THC concentration, these products are much more stronger than regular cannabis, for example, extractions can contain up to 90% THC while buds have about 10-15%.
There are several ways to make dabs but most of the methods are quite expensive, so if you cannot buy them at your local dispensary, you can learn how to make dabs with a hair straightener and other materials you probably have at home.
2. SMOKING VS DABBING
There are important differences between smoking and dabbing, now, there are right and wrong ways of dabbing but if you’re dabbing correctly you will be inhaling vapor instead of smoke like you would when smoking flower, this means that dabbing is a cleaner alternative.
Also, when dabbing, you’ll be consuming around 95% of the cannabinoids present while smoking flower you are only inhaling 12%, and inhaling smoke so you are actually hurting your lungs, similar to the risks of smoking tobacco and this can be damaging to your lungs over time.
3. WHAT ARE THE HIGHEST QUALITY DABS?
The start to the perfect dab is finding the most amazing concentrate! When you are looking through dispensary menus you will see so many concentrates that you can dab, it might be a little overwhelming. Here are a few tips to help you filter through the options at the store so you don't get stuck spending big bucks on some garbage concentrate.
ROSIN
Rosin might possibly be one of the harder concentrates to get your hands on in many markets. In places that have more established cannabis markets, you will find more options but in newer markets, it will be few and far between. The biggest difference you will see with rosin is that there are no solvents being used during the extraction process. The way rosin is extracted is by heat and a whole lot of pressure. The machines used for the extraction process are called rosin presses. It is as simple as it sounds, the machines have two hot metal plates that are heated to the desired temperature of the extractor. The flower is placed in between the metal plates and then is pressed for a few minutes until the flower starts to ooze out delicious rosin.
LIVE CONCENTRATES
When all else fails and you are not able to purchase any rosin then the next best concentrates would be any sort of live extract. Live extracts are made with fresh flowers that were flash-frozen before extraction. The reason for flash freezing the flower is to preserve all of the terpenes and cannabinoids inside of the flower. All live extracts will be significantly more flavorful and potent than any other concentrates on the market. Live concentrates are also extracted using Co2 which provides you with a cleaner and healthier alternative compared to other concentrates on the market.
4. PARTS OF A DAB RIG
Dabbing has become known lately due to the legalization of cannabis, especially in the US.
Nowadays dabbing is super popular among …