Living resin extract is the future of cannabis
A recent report published by ArcView Research and BDS Analytics suggests that the concentrates market alone will reach nearly $8.5 billion by 2022. In 2018, concentrates accounted for nearly 27 % of all cannabis profits in the United States. These are impressive numbers - if interest in concentrates continues at this rate, they will be the dominant form of cannabis products within the next 3 - 5 years.
With cannabis concentrates gaining popularity and more and more people joining their use, we are starting to see more and more innovations in the field of cannabis concentrates. One of the most interesting ones that have emerged recently are living resin extracts - extracts from cannabis plants that are still alive.
What is live resin extract?
Live resin is extracted from living cannabis plants. It is produced from plants that have not been dried, crushed, cured or undergone any process that is 'lethal' to the plant. Cannabis plants can survive for a few hours after being separated from the roots, but dry out after harvesting. Live resin extracts come from fresh live plants. They contain high concentrations of terpenes, which preserve the strong scent of the plant. Traditional extracts from dried plants will lose up to 95% of their terpene profiles before the extraction process begins. This means that most of the original cannabis scent does not make it into the final extract. Live resin extraction delivers the highest terpene content of any extraction technique. These terpenes are important because they offer many inherent therapeutic benefits and give the extract its characteristic aroma.
Where do live resin extracts come from?
Although no one knows exactly where or when live resin extracts were invented, you can thank William "Kind Bill" Fenger for bringing them into the mainstream. Kind Bill a.k.a. "The Godfather of Live Resin Extracts" has been making cannabis extracts since the 1980s. He first came up with the idea of using fresh cannabis plants back in 2010 and has spent the last decade perfecting the art until the product we know today was created. Extraction from the live cannabis plant has been done by others - the usual method was to use freshly frozen flowers and extract using butane in an open system. This method works but is extremely dangerous as the butane can ignite and explode during the process. In addition, the yields were simply too low to really be taken into account. You lose a lot of cannabis in the process, and that ultimately means losing money, so commercial enterprises have largely ignored it.
In 2013, Kind Bill teamed up with a man named Giddy Up - the founder of cannabis extraction company EmoTek - to come up with a better way to commercialize live resin extracts. This process uses a device called OBE-Dos - it is a closed system with ultra-cooled cannabis flowersand butane. These units create ideal conditions for extracting resin from the live cannabis plant as a whole. This method is so efficient that it is finally economically viable to commercially produce extracts from live resin. Companies around the world are now purchasing their own OBE-Dos units or equivalent systems to start capitalizing on this new form of cannabis concentrates.
What do live resin extracts look like?
These concentrates look very similar to any other cannabis concentrate - the difference is in the smell and chemical profile. They often have a distinct golden colour due to the influence of pigments from the fresh plant resin before it has a chance to oxidise. Live resins also tend to have a waxy, sometimes slippery consistency. You can find live resin extracts in the form of waxes, shatters, dabs, and pre-filled vaporizer pens and refills. One of the key differences between live extracts and traditional concentrates is the way they change over time. While normal shatters and waxes retain their color and consistency, live resin extracts can evolve over time - starting with a nice texture, then becoming cloudy, and eventually developing a more subtle texture. This change occurs as the terpenes evaporate and the stability of the resin begins to break down.
You can use live resin extracts at all stages - but it is best consumed fresh. The shorter lifespan of live extracts is a side effect of being a high quality fresh extract.
Extracts of live resin from industrial hemp
The initial interest in live resin extracts came out of the recreational marijuana user space using high THC varieties. Today, you will find live resin extracts made from high CBD hemp varieties. Technical plants produce terpenes just like the others. These terpenes have a lot more to offer than just taste alone. In fact, many of them have their own therapeutic benefits. We expect to see great developments in the field of live hemp resin extracts in the coming years as people become more aware of the benefits of terpenes.
What are the benefits of live resin extracts?
1. Live resin extracts have a higher terpene profile
Live resin extracts are particularly rich in terpenes compared to other concentrates. This is because terpenes evaporate quickly after harvesting, drying and processing the plant. Only a fraction of the original terpene profile remains in the final product. Some experts assume that conventional resin extracts contain only about 5% of the original terpene profile. Live resin extracts contain up to 90% of the original terpene level in the plant. A key part of maintaining the terpene profile is a process that takes place at a lower temperature. Terpenes are volatile compounds - meaning they are small enough to evaporate at high temperatures. Even room temperature is enough to evaporate most terpenes - so true extraction from a living resin requires cooling the plant and solvent to very low temperatures.
2. Live resin extracts may contain higher concentrations of CBD and THC
A similar benefit of live resin extracts may also be shown for cannabinoids. When the plant is harvested, these compounds immediately begin to break down and change as the plant begins to die. This is also due to heat. One of the most important changes is the conversion of CBD and THC into a cannabinoid known as CBN (cannabinol). CBN is a much stronger sedative than CBD and gives the final concentrate a stronger 'couch potato' feeling. It also means less CBD in the final product than you may want.
3. Live resin extracts make it harder for companies to use bad cannabis
Using live plants for the extraction process gives the final product an aromatic profile almost identical to the fresh plant - making it easy to identify low-quality plant extracts right from the start. If the manufacturer doesn't use the best plants to produce the extract, you can smell it. This is not the case with isolates where all other compounds have been removed from the extract. Without a certificate of analysis, it is almost impossible to say anything about the quality of the cannabis used to produce the isolate. The vast majority of CBD products on the market are made from poor quality plants and have been produced simply by converting them into an isolate. The high quality material is raw flowers, full spectrum extracts and live resin extracts.
In addition, companies often add terpenes to their products to bring back the flavour and label them as broad-spectrum extracts. The problem is that these terpenes are often synthetic or come from plants other than cannabis. If you're buying a product made with a live resin extract, there's a much better chance you're buying a quality product.
How do live resin extracts compare to other types of products?
Most CBD products on the market are made using CBD isolate or broad spectrum extract. They work well, but it is very hard to determine the quality of these products by taste or appearance alone. In this regard, a laboratory test is needed to separate the good from the bad. Some companies produce full-spectrum extracts that retain part of the terpene profile of the plant. Full spectrum extracts are usually made using dried plants and therefore lack the full terpene profile. They have a similar taste and aroma to the fresh plant, but do not resemble what the live resin offers. With this type of extract it can be difficult to determine the quality of the source material.
Live resin extracts are the new "gold standard" for full spectrum extracts. They capture the entire phytochemical profile of the plant - including cannabinoids, terpenes and other phytochemicals. With these extracts, you can easily tell the quality of the initial cannabis by the colour, texture and smell of the extract.
Here is a brief breakdown of each product type:
1. Full-spectrum extracts
Currently, it is the closest thing to live resin extracts that we have available on the mainstream market. Full spectrum extracts preserve as much of the chemical profile contained in the cannabis as possible. The plants are first dried and treated with a curing process before going through this process, so that a large amount of terpenes are no longer present at the time of extraction.
Full spectrum extracts are used to make every type of product you can think of. You can find them in concentrate form, such as shatters or dabs, or mixed with other compounds to make oils, liquids, gummies or ointments.
2. CBD isolates (distillates)
This is by far the most common source of CBD on the market. It is produced by removing all other cannabinoids and terpenes from the extract -leaving pure CBD. It can be purchased as purified CBD crystals or combined with other ingredients to create all other CBD products. The problem with isolates is that you have no idea what the original state of the hemp used to make them was. Companies often sell the lowest quality leaves, clippings, flowers and even the stems of the plants to extraction labs that will create this extract from them. This is then sold to CBD companies around the world. They turn it into their products.
3. Broad spectrum extracts
Broad spectrum extracts are a combination of both of the above. They use a CBD distillate or isolate and combine it with other cannabinoids and terpenes to make the product more like a full-spectrum extract - with a few differences. There are clear advantages to this - for example, the ability to offer a product similar to full-spectrum products while ensuring that these products do not contain the psychoactive (and illegal) cannabinoid, THC.
However, this form of extraction has its drawbacks - many companies claim their products are "full-spectrum", but in reality they only use CBD isolates and a few added terpenes - often simple terpenes such as limonene or beta-caryophyllene, which are either synthetic or come from plants other than cannabis. It's misleading because a proper full-spectrum extract has up to a dozen or more cannabinoids and several hundred different terpenes - a radical difference.
Comparison of live resin extracts with other cannabis extraction techniques
|
Type of extract |
Benefits |
Disadvantages |
|
Extract of living resin |
- Contains the highest possible amount of terpenes - Incredibly strong flavour profile - The use of high quality plants cannot be faked. |
- On average more expensive than other types of extracts - Texture and taste may break down over time |
|
Full-spectrum extracts |
- Include a more complete phytochemical profile than isolates - Offers part of the original flavour profile of the unprocessed plant - Relatively cheap production |
- The flavour and terpene profile of the live resin extract is lacking - Can be masked by other terpenes to hide the use of low quality plants |
|
Broad spectrum extracts |
- Offers a cannabinoid profile similar to full-spectrum extracts, but does not guarantee a zero THC content - Usually cheaper than live resin extracts and full spectrum extracts |
- May contain synthetic terpenes and chemical additives - They are often marketed with misleading terminology |
|
CBD isolates (distillates) |
- Offers a very cheap source of CBD or other specific cannabinoids - Better for use with other supplements or medications |
- Other phytochemicals that support the effects of CBD and other cannabinoids are missing - Production often uses inferior, mouldy or contaminated plants |
Why the future of CBD is in live resin extracts
Most CBD products on the market are made from concentrates in one form or another, regardless of whether they are considered "full-spectrum" or "isolates". Companies either create their own extracts or buy them from someone else. They then mix them with a carrier oil or other ingredients to create an ointment or food. In the last few years, live resin extracts have taken a back seat. Most companies have simply ignored them due to their higher cost of production and shorter shelf life than other concentrates. But times are changing. As more people realize the benefits of live extracts in terms of taste and overall quality, this form of extracts will gain an important place in the market.
The key advantages of live resin extraction are the extremely high terpene content and the ideal cannabinoid profile. Live resin extracts yield better products overall, even compared to full-spectrum extracts, which are now generally considered the best option by consumers.
More importantly, live resin extracts require manufacturers to use only high-quality cannabis plants. You can't produce live resin extracts without premium starting material - you just can't. As time goes on and consumers become more aware of the benefits of live resin extracts over traditional extraction techniques, you can bet the market for this product will grow dramatically.
The biggest area in which this new form of extraction will go mainstream is in vaporizers and their cartridges. This is definitely an area worth continuing to monitor.
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