Medical marijuana patients often prioritize high-quality products made with clean production processes. They’re also on the lookout for maximum therapeutic potential with higher-THC products to help manage their symptoms and side effects of their conditions.
Among the options out there that check both these boxes are solventless concentrates. These concentrates and extracts are made in a unique way that leaves behind nothing but the good stuff. This makes them a popular choice for patients for a reason. This guide covers the basics of solventless concentrates and what you can expect to find on your next visit to Vytal Options.
Solventless Concentrates: The Basics
Solventless concentrates are medical marijuana concentrates and extracts made without the use of solvents like butane or ethanol. They generally contain higher levels of terpenes and contain zero residual solvents, since none were used in production. The result is a high-quality, potent, flavorful experience that resembles that of the flower strain used to make the extract.
Solvents, including hydrocarbons like butane and propane or the alcohol ethanol, are often used to separate cannabinoids and terpenes from medical marijuana plant material to produce extracts. Butane Hash Oil (BHO), for example, which is processed into extracts like budder and crumble, is made by way of hydrocarbon extraction.
This is not so with solventless concentrates, which are made by alternative methods that don’t rely on the use of any type of solvent. Some solventless concentrates are extracts — concentrates like medical marijuana oil, where compounds like cannabinoids and terpenes are separated from the medical marijuana plant material — but not all of them.
Types of Solventless Concentrates
Chances are you’ve encountered solventless concentrates in a dispensary already. These are some common solventless concentrates you can expect to see:
- Hash. Hash is made through a process known as “mechanical separation,” in which medical marijuana flower is sifted through a screen to separate the resin glands (known as “trichomes”) from the plant material. The trichomes are then collected and pressed into bricks of hash, a potent, solid, concentrate.
- Bubble hash. Bubble hash is made by way of ice water extraction. In this process, medical marijuana plants are submerged in near-freezing water, which makes trichomes stiff and brittle. The mixture is then agitated, causing the trichomes to break off from the plant. The water is then drained through a series of mesh screens, separating the trichomes from the plant material and capturing them for collection. The collected trichomes are pressed together and allowed to dry into bubble hash.
- Rosin. Rosin is an extract made by placing hash, bubble hash, or medical marijuana flower into a device called a rosin press. The rosin press involves using two heated plates to squeeze medical marijuana and extract a thick, potent oil — that’s the rosin.
- Temple balls. Temple balls are a type of hash that’s hand-rolled into spheres. Due to their dense, compressed form, temple balls excel at preserving complex terpene profiles, which contribute to their characteristic flavors and aromas. These concentrates are notable for their extended shelf life, enhanced potency, and ability to maintain a broader spectrum of cannabinoids compared to many other medical marijuana products.
Who should try solventless concentrates?
Solventless concentrates are a great choice for a few types of medical marijuana patients.
Patients looking to experience terpenes
Patients who prioritize terpene content, either for flavor or the potential therapeutic effects specific terpenes offer, should consider solventless concentrates. This method excels at leaving these often fragile compounds intact. They tend to appear in solventless concentrates in similar proportions as in the flower strain from which they’re made. That provides patients with a reliable experience similar to the strains they already know, just in a more potent form.
Patients who want to experience the full spectrum of the plant
Patients who prefer a broad- or full-spectrum product that contains as many compounds found in the original strain as possible should opt for solventless concentrates.
The nature of solventless extraction methods means more cannabinoids and terpenes are retained in solventless concentrates than other varieties. So, if you find a complex blend of these compounds is ideal for you and you want to maximize the amount of even minor cannabinoids and monoterpenes (which are generally the first to be lost in other extraction processes), solventless concentrates may be for you.
Patients who want to avoid solvents
Patients who want to avoid even low levels of residual solvents in their concentrates should also choose solventless concentrates.
Keep in mind that all medical marijuana products must undergo testing for residual solvents before they’re sold. High levels of residual solvents will not be present in the products you buy. That being said, there are still some patients who prefer solventless concentrates and find the experience to be smoother and less irritating.
How are solventless concentrates made?
Solventless concentrates are made through a variety of methods. The method used depends on the type of concentrate a manufacturer is producing. Here’s a quick overview of some of the most popular methods used to create solventless medical marijuana products today.
Rubbing
Perhaps the simplest method, this is performed by simply rubbing or shaking medical marijuana over a screen to separate out the fine, powdery trichome/plant material blend known as kief. Kief is more potent than medical marijuana flower, but not as refined as dry sift, which is used to make hash.
Many grinders that patients use to break down their flower contain screens to catch ground flower and allow kief to pass through. This allows patients to collect their own simple concentrate!
Sieving
Sieving is a more meticulous process than rubbing and is used to capture dry sift, a collection of trichomes separated from the plant material. Sieving is performed by agitating medical marijuana over a series of increasingly fine mesh screens. Some producers even employ static electricity to remove the smallest bits of plant material that make it through, leaving behind a very potent pile of trichomes. Dry sift can be consumed directly or pressed into hash.
Ice water extraction
As described above, ice water extraction uses near-freezing water to separate trichomes from plant material. Just like with sieving, the solution passes through a series of mesh screen bags, capturing the trichomes while filtering out the plant material and water. The trichomes are then scraped together and allowed to dry into bricks of bubble hash. Bubble hash is a potent, airy version of its counterpart made with dry sift.
Rosin press
Rosin presses are used to create rosin as described earlier in this guide. To get more specific, the plates are heated to between 170°F and 220°F. Then, they are pressed together at high pressures; most rosin presses range in capability from 300 to 1,000 psi. As the medical marijuana product is squeezed and heated, the rosin emerges from it as a thick oil. It’s an extract like oil, budder, or crumble without any of the solvents used to make those other products.
Solventless Concentrates at Vytal Options
If solventless concentrates sound like just what you need, Vytal Options has you covered. Our line of Solventless by Vytal products focuses on potency, flavor, and unadulterated quality. You can expect to find solventless concentrate-infused flower, temple balls, live rosin, and live rosin cartridges when you visit a Vytal Options dispensary, including some of the following popular strains.
Solventless by Vytal Black Maple #22 Live Rosin
For instant relaxation of your mind and body, Black Maple #22 Live Rosin from Solventless by Vytal may have just what you need. This indica cultivar may help you zone out, feel at ease, and drift into sleep. With over 81% THC content and the terpenes limonene, caryophyllene, and myrcene, a sedative experience may be on the way.
Shop Solventless by Vytal Black Maple #22 Live Rosin
Solventless by Vytal Grape Googly Moogly Live Rosin Disposable
You may feel all your muscle tension release with Grape Googly Moogly, an indica cultivar with pinene, ocimene, and myrcene in its terpene profile. The Grape Googly Moogly live resin disposable may help you relax after a busy workday, sink into an engrossing book, or enjoy your most easygoing hobbies. Expect THC content of nearly 77% — enough for a blissful experience.
Shop Solventless by Vytal Grape Googly Moogly Live Rosin Disposable
Solventless by Vytal JOMO Infused Ground Flower
With THC content of nearly 46%, JOMO Infused Ground Flower blends the potency of concentrates with the familiarity of cannabis flower. This indica cultivar is ideal for end-of-day consumption given its likely heady, spacey effects of intense comfort and relaxation. Limonene, caryophyllene, and myrcene make up the terpene profile, potentially accounting for this cultivar’s association with strong sedation.
Shop Solventless by Vytal JOMO Infused Ground Flower
Solventless by Vytal Banana Shack Live Rosin Cartridge
If you prefer cartridges to extracts, this Banana Shack live rosin cartridge from Solventless by Vytal is a great choice. It contains nearly 80% THC content and terpenes like limonene, myrcene, and beta caryophyllene lead the way. You may have a calm, happy, and relaxing experience that won’t leave you feeling groggy or drowsy.
Shop Solventless by Vytal Banana Shack Live Rosin Cartridge
Vytal Solventless Legacy Chem Gem Temple Ball
These Chem Gem temple balls, a Solventless by Vytal Legacy product, offer a potent concentrate containing 65% THC content along with elevated levels of limonene. The result is a happy, energizing experience that’s likely to get ideas flowing.
Shop Vytal Solventless Legacy Chem Gem Temple Ball
Shop Vytal Options for top quality solventless extracts
If you’re ready to give solventless concentrates a go, swing by one of Vytal Options’ Pennsylvania dispensaries to try some of the best solventless extract in the Keystone State. Or, if you’re looking for something different altogether, talk with one of our Vytal Options associates or pharmacists to learn more about all the products we carry and how they may help support your wellness journey.
