Cannabis Extracts and Quality Control
What are cannabis extracts?
Cannabis extract is an umbrella term given to cannabinoids such as THC, CBD, CBN, and more to be extracted from the cannabis plants. Extracting cannabis compounds make these extracts much more versatile. The science behind these extracts is by extricating one of the many cannabinoids, extractors can produce cannabis products such as wax, concentrated vaporizer cartridges, wax/dab pens, dab oils, and much more.
Is there a difference between extracts and oils?
Cannabis oils are essences that are pressed and compounded with other essential oils to create a consumable experience for the desired cannabinoid. Many of these infused essential oils include additional oils. Some of these oils can include sunflower seed oil, almond oil, soy-based oils, and more.
Types of cannabis oils
There is a variety of cannabis oils that are available to patients in a number of markets.
THC oil
THC oil is created from the psychoactive cannabis compound Tetrahydrocannabinol, which is socially referred to as THC. This is the compound liable for getting consumers high. The flexibility of THC oils grant for the production of concentrates such as dab oil concentrates, wax, and tinctures.
CBD oil
CBD oil is a type of oil that has been crafted from the non-psychoactive cannabis compound Cannabidiol commonly known as CBD. This cannabis compound will not get you high but presents a slew of medicinal effects. Recently, CBD has been legalized in virtually all 50 states. CBD oil can be purchased in capsule form as well as in the form of a tincture.
Vaporizer cartridges
Vaporize cartridges, sometimes referred to as ‘vape carts,’ are cartridges prefilled with a particular cannabis extract. They often resemble the form of cartridge pen dabs, wax concentrate cartridges, pot wax pens, and others. Since these types of cartridges need to be heated properly, they are often paired with a battery and atomizer. This is essentially the ‘vape juice’ of the types of oils.
Understanding cannabis concentrate
Cannabis concentrates are cannabis compounds such as THC and CBD that are highly concentrated through fragile (and seldom dangerous) methods. This included cannabis commodities such as hash, tinctures, shatter, wax, and many other forms.
Types of Concentrates
Hash
Hash is a cannabis concentrate that is pressed to produce the most THC and trichomes possible to create a euphoric psychoactive effect.
Shatter
Shatter, also known as wax or dabs, are concentrated with the help of a solvent such as butane to create a beautiful golden byproduct meant to produce strong psychoactive effects.
Tinctures
Tinctures are infused cannabis concentrates that are fused with an ingestible solution such as alcohol. Tinctures are often applied orally and under the tongue.
The importance of quality control in cannabis extracts
Creating cannabis extracts is a very delicate process. Sometimes, harmful substances are used to make a variety of cannabis concentrates. This is where the importance of quality control comes into play. Quality control is responsible for ensuring cannabis extracts meet the strict standards of compliance as outlined by their jurisdiction of every cannabis market. The quality control department is imperative to protecting not only the consumer, but ensuring the integrity of the cannabis market is upheld with quality and consistent product. However, there have been a handful of companies that have been caught distributing products that have not cleared quality control. Most of the time these defective cannabis products make their way to black markets to be sold to the unsuspecting consumer. These illicit products often contain very harmful additives such as pesticides and excess mineral oils. In fact, these defective products were directly linked to the increased hospitalization associated with vaping in 2019. Competent quality control and proper business ethics would have surely curbed the spike in hospitalizations associated with illicit vape carts.