Cannabis concentrates takes many forms and names – Shatter, Wax, Honeycomb, Crumble, Budder, and others. However, Cannabis Shatter has caught the fancy of cannabis enthusiasts for not only its captivating colour, consistency and above all for the heavy hit it delivers, even at very low doses.

You may also like: Top 5 CBD Oil Products in Canada in 2021

Guys new to Cannabis or Marijuana may be curious to know why people are gravitating towards cannabis concentrates, especially for cannabis shatter concentrate. The reputation of cannabis shatter may be due to its popularity amongst party goers, pop starts and celebrities as a party drug. But Cannabis Shatter concentrates is also getting attention from the medical fraternity. There are other names by which cannabis users refer to cannabis shatter concentrates – pull and snap, taffy, snap n pull, marijuana wax, dab, amber and wax butter are few being used when referring to cannabis shatter. 

What is so special about cannabis shatter that it scores well and above the standard joint. The current reputation of cannabis shatter is that it is consumed by serious cannabis users. Well, it is true. Cannabis shatter is meant for serious, conscious, well informed cannabis users.

Very early on, we must put it clearly that cannabis shatter must be consumed with care. This is purely due to fact that it contains high amount of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

What is THC and why it is important to know it

THC is tetrahydrocannabinol – a cannabinol present in the Cannabis plant. It is important to know that THC is the psychoactive chemical responsible for the reputation of cannabis causing a high. So, when you consume cannabis in any form including cannabis shatter concentrate, it is THC that gives you the high.

A cannabis plant has about 25-30% THC in it. Cannabis Shatter being a concentrate, contains concentrated amount of THC in it. Cannabis shatter extracted contains about 80-90% THC when extracted as concentrate from cannabis plants. Well, as you can understand that 80-90% of THC is a seriously high quantity of THC to handle. So, it is advised that one must practice caution while consuming cannabis shatter concentrate or any other cannabis concentrate.

Do know the Cannabinoids!

Cannabis Shatter with upto 90% THC content requires application of wisdom to consuming it. Therefore, it is imperative that you make an informed decision to consuming Cannabis shatter. In light of this, it pays to know the chemical composition of a cannabis plant.

 All Cannabis plants contain many chemicals. These chemicals are called cannabinoids. Tetrahydrocannabinol THC and Cannabidiol (CBD) are the two main cannabinoids present in the plant.

CBD is the non-psychoactive chemical while as discussed above THC is the psychoactive chemical responsible for causing the high. CBD has an anti-anxiety and anti-seizure effect. THC has an anti-nausea, anti-inflammatory, and analgesic effect.

What is a Cannabis Shatter concentrate?

Cannabis Shatter is a cannabis extract, produced by a highly evolved distillation and extraction process. The result is cannabis shatter concentrate. The nature and type of Cannabis shatter concentrate extracted depends on the combination of cannabis plant and solvents selected for cannabis extraction.

The extraction process, which is a complex process undertaken by professionals in a professional lab set up results in extracting cannabis plant’s essential oils. The oil so extracted contains cannabinoids, terpenes and other chemical compounds present in the cultivars selected. 

The resinous compound extracted is golden translucent cannabis concentrate, which when breaks shatters like a crystal or glass, hence the name Cannabis Shatter.

 How do you recognize Cannabis Shatter Concentrate?

Cannabis Shatter lives up to its name. It is crystal-like in appearance and brittle. If dropped to the ground, the concentrate breaks or shatters like a crystal or glass. For those of you who fancy science, it is interesting to know the structure of cannabis shatter concentrate. A molecular examination reveals that the molecules in a cannabis shatter extract are arranged in clear organized parallel rows. It explains the glassy sheet like appearance and its property as a brittle substance.

You can also recognize it by colour. It comes in different hues and shades of golden yellow depending upon different strains and cultivars of cannabis used for extraction purpose.

How to consume Cannabis Shatter Concentrate?

The most popular way to consume Cannabis Shatter concentrate is smoking. However, smoking it by rolling it in a cigarette or rolling it to a leaf is not possible due to its physical and chemical nature. Therefore, dabbing is the most common, easy, and ideal way to smoke cannabis shatter concentrate.

Dabbing as we know requires a dab rig.

Dabbing cannabis shatter concentrate is both intensive and expensive process. As I mentioned it involves a proper dab rig, which has what it takes.

Cannabis shatter dabbing involves intense heating of the nail of dab rig with a blow torch. The nail is required to be heated at a temperature of 500-600 degrees Fahrenheit. Then using a heat-proof dabber, cannabis shatter concentrate is applied to the nail. It causes instant vaporization of the concentrate. The vapour filtered through the water chamber (if the rig has one) is inhaled. Please note temperature is the key to dabbing concentrates. Consuming cannabis shatter concentrate at undesirable temperatures will most likely produce undesirable experiences.

For those looking for greater ease with dabbing can use e-nails, which removes the need for the use of a handheld blow torch.

Shatter smoking or shatter dabbing through dab rigs involves the process of decarboxylation (Decarboxylation is a chemical reaction that removes a carboxyl group and releases carbon dioxide (CO2). It is a much cleaner way of cannabis consumption. Hence, much preferred by cannabis connoisseurs.

Shatter dabbing results in quick and hard hitting high. A single whip of shatter concentrate is more intense than smoking a full joint. This calls for another word of caution. Please start low and go slow with shatter concentrate.

Why and how does cannabis shatter concentrate affect our body and mind?

You would be amazed to know that interestingly our body produce chemicals similar in their chemical composition to the chemical composition of naturally occurring cannabinoids in a cannabis plant. The cannabinoids produced by human body indigenously are called endocannabinoids. Our body has a complex cell-receptor and signalling system influenced by these endocannabinoids and they control and regulate many functions of our body. This interesting system is called Endocannabinoid System.

 As explained above the human Endocannabinoid system has receptors for cannabinoids. Now when we consume cannabis, cannabinoids present in the plant or cannabis extract interact with the cannabinoid receptors present in our Endocannabinoid system affecting our different systems.

Various physical and psychological effects of cannabinoids on our body and mind have been reported and clinically observed too. It effects pain, anxiety, appetite, motor skills, memory, sleep and many other. The different systems affected by Cannabis consumption include digestive system, circulatory systems, central nervous system, respiratory system, and immune system.    

The reason for such an elaborate explanation is to drive home the point that THC, the psychoactive chemical affects our body and mind. Therefore, the dosing is very important. You are strongly advised to know and understand the chemical composition of the concentrate before consuming it and be also in the know of the effects it can cause to your body and mind. Afterall, everyone must have good experiences. Mind your doses to avoid bitter and harmful experiences.   

Do note that Cannabis Shatter Concentrate contains about 80-90% THC.

Cannabis shatter is one of the most potent of all cannabis concentrates. The additional filtration process adopted into the shatter extraction process filters out the fats, terpenes, and other chemicals from the plant. Generally, Cannabis Shatter is extracted to contain obscenely high amount of THC.   

What side effects of cannabis shatter consumption should I expect?

Now that we know that THC content in cannabis shatter concentrate is extremely high, so it goes without saying that extreme precaution needs to be practiced. Even though overdoses are not fatal but, it can lead to utterly unpleasant experiences such as paranoia, hallucinations, psychosis, and deep anxiety.

It is best to start with micro doses. Increase your doses, gradually over a period of time.  

What potential risks of dabbing cannabis shatter should I be aware of?

The process of extraction and distillation of cannabis shatter is extremely complicated. Therefore, consuming cannabis shatter is paved with its own set of risks.

The quality of cannabis shatter is the outcome of cultivars selected and the extraction process deployed. Always buy from reputed dispensaries possessing approved and licensed lab set up and the experts of science of cannabis extraction. Consuming cannabis concentrate with impurities and contaminants pose a danger to physical and mental health.

Every person must take into account their body composition. Cannabis affects different people differently, because, every person has different body composition. There is lack of information on the effects of a particular strength of a dose on a particular body type composition (height and weight). So, consuming shatter concentrate is a highly individual learning experience. Each individual need to discover their own specific doses. So, begin with very low doses. Maintain a journal. Consult a doctor. Learn and enjoy. 

Is Cannabis shatter concentrate good, despite its negative image?