1. A sticky insoluble organic compound secreted by plants. In cannabis plants, the resin contains the cannabinoids and terpenes. During the growth cycle, cannabis resin serves as a defense mechanism for the plant, developed to protect it from predators and pests.

2. The tar-like weed residue found in bongs, pipes, and other glass pieces after prolonged use without cleaning.

If you’ve ever wondered where the potent psychoactive effects of cannabis come from, look no further than weed resin. Weed resin is the sticky substance that you’ll notice whenever you touch your marijuana buds or look at the resin glands that grow all over your weed. Resin is grown from the crystal-like trichomes of weed where the cannabinoids and terpenes are produced.

The strength of each strain of weed often depends on how much resin it produces. Since the resin of weed is packed with THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids and terpenes, it’s often extracted to create powerful cannabis concentrates. Extracts such as Hash, Shatter, and Live Resin can often contain up to 80-90% THC, making them startlingly potent.

There are many ways to extract and use weed resin. For instance, it’s often extracted using solvents before being purged and formed into various types of cannabis concentrates. Resin can also be used as a cannabis concentrate by itself to enhance the effects of a joint or bowl. So how exactly is weed resin extracted and used? Here’s everything you need to know about weed resin.

Anyhow resin is the stuff that builds up in your pipes and bongs over time after using ‘em. Sometimes its called weed resin or pipe resin or just resin. Either way it’s nasty, sticky, icky stuff. This stuff is the exact opposite of live resin.

What is weed resin?

Weed resin refers to the sticky coating you’ll find on pretty much any strain of weed. Each strain of weed has different levels of resin, and buds with more resin usually give you stronger effects. This is because the resin is where the cannabinoids and terpenes of cannabis are produced.

Since it’s the THC in the resin of weed that gives you the psychoactive effects of cannabis, many cannabis growers breed plants specifically to grow more resin. When you smoke or vape weed, you’ll get the effects of the cannabinoids and terpenes grown in the resin. However, for extra-strong effects, the resin of weed is often extracted into more concentrated forms such as Hash and Shatter.

Resin comes from the trichomes of weed- the crystal-like resin glands that grow all over marijuana flowers. Many of these trichomes can be seen by the naked eye, although there are also smaller trichomes that require a microscope to be seen. The terms resin and trichomes are often used interchangeably.

The trichomes or resin of your buds can be used in many ways. In olden times, “charas” or finger hash was created by rolling weed between your hands before scraping the resin and compressing it into a ball of hash. Nowadays, there are much better ways to extract resin into all kinds of potent cannabis concentrates.

Resin from the Plant

You’ve probably noticed the tiny hairs that cover the cannabis plant, creating  a crystal-like sheen and sticky feel. These glandular hairs are called trichomes. These trichomes are held together with resin, which contains the cannabinoids, terpenes, and other compounds for which the cannabis plant is known. You can think of weed resin as the stuff that holds all the trichome-produced compounds together on the trichome head. 

 The cannabis plant produces resin primarily to deter pests. Weed resin is bitter and contains specific terpenes that repel certain pests. Linalool, for example, is a common terpene in cannabis that has several health benefits for humans and is also used as an ingredient in insecticides due to its pest-killing properties. Resin also protects the plant from overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays and helps it maintain optimal surface-level humidity so the plant doesn’t dry out. 

Resin from a Pipe

Resin is also the term used for the tar-like residue that smoked cannabis leaves behind in pipes. Cannabis combustion creates byproducts — mostly ash, tar, and carbon — that build up in smoking implements like pipes and bowls. 

Does smoking resin get you high?

Many people often ask; does smoking resin get you high? Yes, it will get you high. Here is some explanation. Resin contains some minute amounts of THC. Most THC in weed burns when you light it up, but there is always some residual THC that is trapped in the resin. From this explanation and experience, yes, smoking resin will get your high. Resin, however, does not have a pleasant taste and it will take you more resin to get the same high as the actual weed.

What is THC?

Smoking marijuana for recreational use most likely considers THC. Know more about THC including its effects on the body, uses, and how to get rid of it, if you need to.

You are probably very excited about resin getting you high; but there is something you should think about before smoking resin. Health issues to be specific. Smoking resin continuously over time will cause harm. Not that smoking anything will not cause problems, but resin will produce more significant problems.

Is smoking resin bad?

The answer is of course yes. Smoking resin is harmful to your health. Generally and inarguably, any form of smoking is not good for your respiratory system. As you probably know, resin merely is tar, some ash and burnt carbon that make resin more harmful than smoking the real buds. Hey, but a single hit on resin is not that harmful. Well, what other choice do you have on a desperate day? Here is the thing, do not make smoking resin a habit.

What are the risks or dangers of smoking cannabis resin?

Cannabis resin that’s been reclaimed is more than just pure resin. It also contains the harmful carbon byproducts of smoking, such as ash and tar.

When cannabis reclaim is smoked, it can have potentially harmful side effects.

Some of the side effects of smoking reclaimed cannabis resin may include:

• headache
• sore throat
• difficulty breathing

These side effects are primarily due to the fact that reclaimed cannabis resin is a much harsher product than pure cannabis preparations.

It requires a higher heat to burn, so it can irritate the lungs and throat upon exposure.

It also contains byproducts that aren’t found in traditional cannabis preparations, which can irritate the lining of the throat and lungs.

Most cannabis professionals don’t recommend smoking reclaimed cannabis resin, as the risks and dangers outweigh the benefits of the high.

How to scrape resin

So you’re desperate to get stoned. It’s cool. Many stoners have been there too. We ain’t here to judge. So the best way to scrape resin is to just go for it. Use a wooden skewer or paper clip—basically whatever you can find to help pull chunks of resin from your piece. You might want to heat the pipe or the tool you’re using to scrape resin. Heat loosens the resin and will help you extract it. However as it warms it gets stickier, stinkier and drippier—basically a whole lot messier. Avoid touching it or getting it on your clothes or the carpet. And bust out the iso alcohol while you’re at it to clean up everything when you’re done. You might want to grab a gum wrapper or wax paper to use to help collect your weed resin.

Paperclip or Bobby Pin

Any of the two clips will achieve the task. You want to bend the clips into a shape that allows you to scrape around the curves of your pipe with effortlessness.

Lighter

You might want to dry hit the pipe or the tool you are using to scrape resin. Dry heat softens the resins and makes it easy to extract. The downside to heating is that as the resin warms, it becomes stinky, sticky and drippy. Well, in short, it becomes messy. Just do your best to avoid the resin coming into contact with your hands, clothes or carpet. Heating will saturate the resin,and you have to allow it sometime to dry.

Parchment paper

Probably you wonder why you need one. Well, you need a non-stick disposable surface to collect your resin. You can also use a gum paper or even a wax paper. You just do not want to mess your surfaces.

Smoker multi-tool

You can get a smoker’s multi-tool that comes in handy for scrapping resin out of bowls. While it is not necessary, it is cool to have one around.

Weed resin precautions

Avoid scrapping plastic pipes. They break down with time, and you will undoubtedly end up smoking small pieces of plastic. Stay safe; only scrape from glass pipe or hard metal pipe.

Joint

Not a favorite method but still an option though. Unlike the actual bud, resin burns slower. Resin is also compact, so you will not have enough airflow through the joint. You will still get some amount of smoke but not enough.

Vaporizer

There are many resilient marijuana vaporizers and wax pens on the market. It will work to some extent but not quite recommendable especially because it will ruin your vaporizer. Resin leaves a funky smell or taste in your vape. Doing away with the smell from your vape can prove to be a challenge. Resin vaporizes at a much higher temperature than THC,so that implies you will need more heat.

Tea and other edibles

Some people claim to prepare resin tea – heat their pipe in water and used the infusion to make tea. A nasty taste! That’s the best compliment to the product. Let us be real; Resin is a waste product so with minimal THC. Tar is gross even in edible products. You will probably feel nausea after consuming resin teat or its edibles. Just avoid this.

Pipe

A favorite method and the best way to smoke resin. It is even best when you have a water filter (bong or a bubbler) to minimize the harshness of the smoke.

 How To Collect Kief From Your Weed

Many users take advantage of the resin from their marijuana buds by collecting the kief. Kief refers to the dust-like particles that break away from your buds when you grind your weed. These are made up of dried trichomes, and once you have a nice stash of kief, you can use it to enhance your joints and bowls or even make cannabis concentrates.

The easiest way to collect a stash of kief is to simply scrape it from your weed grinder. Every time you grind weed with a grinder, small pieces of kief break away from your buds. Eventually, you’ll end up with a big enough stash to use by itself.

It can take a while to collect kief with a regular two-piece grinder, especially since you’ll most likely empty your kief as you empty your weed. However, some grinders come with an extra chamber for kief collection. When you grind your weed, the kief will fall through a mesh and into a kief chamber. After a while of grinding, you’ll have an impressive stash of kief.

There are quicker ways to collect kief. For instance, you can sift your buds through a silkscreen until enough dried resin breaks away from the weed. Alternatively, you can also use a Pollen Box. Simply put your weed in the top of the box and shake it until you’ve collected enough kief. While these methods can be effective, they’re also time-consuming.

One of the best ways to collect a nice stash of kief is to use dry ice. This involves using special Dry Ice Extraction Bags- these bags are covered in a mesh that your kief falls through after being separated from the buds. You fill the extraction bag with your weed and dry ice and collect the kief that falls through.

Hashish

Hashish, or simply hash, is a solvent-free cannabis concentrate comprised of weed resin or trichome glands. Hash-making is an ancient art dating back thousands of years. It involves sifting a cannabis plant to harvest the resin glands, then compressing those glands under mild heat. 

Charas

Charas is a type of hash made by hand-rubbing the cannabis plant and rolling the collected resin into small balls. 

Dry Sift

Dry sift, also known as kief, is resin sifted from cannabis through a sieve. Dry sift can be pressed and heated to create hash. 

Pros of Collecting Resin

There are a number of weed resin uses, some more effective than others. When you separate resin from the cannabis plant, you’re essentially gathering all of the plant’s desirable compounds. Collecting resin from a cannabis plant is like customizing a feed to only show you things you want to see. . You’re separating the active compounds from the raw plant material, distilling the plant’s potency and effects. Concentrates made from resin glands are inherently more potent than flower, accounting for the meteoric rise of concentrates within the cannabis market. 

 With proper protection from outside elements — heat, humidity, light, and air — weed resin can have a long shelf life. Resin also naturally protects its own cannabinoids from oxygen, especially when pressed into hash,which causes the resin to darken. This dark brown color and opaqueness protect active compounds from ultraviolet (UV) light,  extending the product’s shelf life.

What Products Are Made From Resin?

Fresh resin is often extracted from cannabis buds to create powerful cannabis concentrates. The methods used to make these concentrates can vary, but they’re all packed with THC, meaning they can give you a very strong high even when you use a small amount. Here are some of the most popular cannabis extracts made with resin.

Hash – Hash is one of the most popular types of cannabis concentrates, as well as one of the easiest to make. Hash is usually made out of dried trichome particles (kief) that have been compressed to create a solid block of concentrated cannabis. There are different types of Hash, some of which involve more complicated creation processes. Whichever way, it’s a strong extract that you can crumble into pieces for use in a joint, bowl or vaporizer.

Shatter – Shatter is another popular cannabis extract but unlike the dark, crumbly form of Hash, Shatter is translucent, amber, and looks similar to glass. This concentrate will Shatter into pieces when snapped, hence the name. However, you can also burn it to make it soft and pliable, making it much easier to mix into joints or bows. It’s also great for vaping and dabbing.

Rosin – Rosin is a concentrate that’s made by applying heat and pressure to marijuana buds or kief. Many users make Rosin at home simply using a hair straightener and some cannabis wrapped in parchment paper. However, higher quantities can be made using a Rosin Press. Rosin looks similar to Shatter only it’s runnier and more oil-like.

Live Resin – Live Resin is one of the purest and strongest types of cannabis concentrates, as well as being one of the most difficult to make. Live Resin is made by flash-freezing cannabis buds directly after harvesting before undergoing an extraction and purging process. Live Resin is known for having high levels of THC and terpenes.

Smoking resin is a personal choice, but there are a few facts you should know before you do it.

Best way to smoke resin

The best way to smoke resin is to just dry hit the pipe. Don’t even bother scraping it. Sure you could scrape the shit out of your pipe, collect a fat resin ball and the plop it in your weed bowl to smoke it. Why go through the trouble when there’s resin already in the pipe. Hit your pipe like you’ve got stuff in the bowl, puff a few times and the resin will heat up and begin to smoke. It’s that simple. But be careful as the resin heats up fast and in return will heat your pipe quickly so don’t get burned.

Avoid rolling your resin ball into a snake and then using rolling paper to smoke it. It’s too thick and you won’t have any airflow. Resin and your vape pen do not go together. Well unless you want to taste funky resin for the rest of that device’s life. Resin vaporizes at a much higher temp than trichomes so you’re just going to make a mess.

If you do have a resin ball and a bong or some sort of water pipe that may be the best way to smoke resin. At least the water will filter out some of the harmful components. Also avoid making a tea or tincture or using weed resin in edibles. Weed resin, even though it has a minimal amount of THC is basically a nasty waste product.

Smoking weed resin is unhealthy and just plain nasty. But so is listening to Coldplay. You know people stranded in the desert without any other options will drinking pee to survive. So all we’re saying is there might be a time and a place for smoking resin. And we ain’t here to judge.

Cannabis resin or reclaim is the term often used to describe the sticky byproduct that can be found inside cannabis pipes or dab rigs.

This leftover substance is composed of cannabis resin, ash, and tar. Unlike fresh resin products like hashish and rosin, reclaimed cannabis resin is a harsh product that can irritate the throat and lungs.

Most professionals in the cannabis industry don’t recommend smoking cannabis resin, as it can have negative side effects.

At the end of the day, it’s best to just dispose of reclaimed cannabis resin and start fresh.