Cannabis concentrates come in a variety of forms, but they all have one thing in common: July 10th is their unofficial holiday (710 spells “oil” on a calculator when you flip it upside down). Concentrates are well known for packing quite the punch when used and for this reason, can cause a lot of patients to pause when it comes to trying them.

These reservations are rightly deserved, as consuming large amounts of THC for a novice user could cause someone to have a no-so-pleasant experience, but they shouldn’t deter patients from experimenting with the various concentrates their dispensary may offer.

When looking to add cannabis concentrates to your medical regimen, there are a variety of ways you can integrate the two. A very easy method for those patients who already smoke dry flower would be topping bowls with kief and/or wrapping/sealing joints with wax. These methods are ideal for those who are looking to experiment with concentrates first, as it enables you to consume the concentrates without purchasing extra equipment. Outside of using concentrates to enhance your flower, you have the option of creating edibles or just smoking them using specialty smoking devices.

With the way that concentrates are created, the availability of the multitude of cannabinoids and terpenes reduces severely. The more purified your concentrate, the less of these other compounds you’ll see. Extraction from the cannabis plants tends to focus solely on THC preservation, which isn’t ideal when trying to medicate with whole plant medicine. It’s the synergy of the plant’s thousands of compounds that make it the medicinal powerhouse that it is.

That’s not to say there isn’t a time and place for more pure extracts. The further your purify your compounds, the more prominent they become and the more potent your product will be. For extreme pain, nausea, or panic attacks this is highly advantageous as THC has been proven to positively affect these symptoms, and vaping or dabbing these concentrates will deliver relief quickly. However, when ingesting higher amounts of THC to treat these symptoms, one must remember the psychoactive effects of THC. The higher the percentage, the more likely you are to have a very intense trip. It is for this reason, that we caution our patients to start slowly when they begin using concentrates.

Buying premade concentrates is currently the easiest method for Arkansas medical marijuana patients to acquire these products, though there is the option to create them yourself at home. You can purchase your own press to make concentrates in-home or find any number of recipes for creating cannabis-infused foods and drinks.

If you’ve tried concentrates before, which one is your favorite and why?