What Are Dabs?

Dabs are an oil-based weed concentrate made by separating the resin, or trichomes from all the leftover material from cannabis (stems, leaves etc.)

There are a number of ways to create concentrates, such as the use of butane.  We refer to them as concentrates due to their elevated potency due to the removal of most plant matter.  The result? A cleaner and far more potent high.

There are many different kinds of dabs. One is “shatter” which is given its name for having the consistency of glass.  So similar is shatter to glass that it will actually break, or “shatter” if pressure is applied.

“Budder” has a lighter colour and thicker consistency, almost resembling a cross between butter and cookie dough.

“Wax”, also referred to as crumble, will easily break up in your fingers and has a consistency that resembles the inside of a cleaning sponge.

“Live Resin” is a newer form of dab that is made by freezing fresh plants rather than cutting and drying them.

“C02 Oil” is a dab that is used in e-liquid vaporizers and is normally sold at dispensaries in manufactured cartridges.

While becoming most popular over the last couple of years, dabs have been around for easily a decade. Concentrates are becoming highly popular at weed dispensaries as dabbing is considered a cleaner method of ingesting cannabis compared to smoking it dry.

Cannabis users take dabs by heating the nail part of a device called a “rig”. Once the nail is hot enough, the user dabs the concentrate on the nail. The dab then becomes vaporized allowing the user to inhale as they would a normal bong hit.

Users dabbing for the first time should proceed with caution. Andrew Sorkin, the owner of Circanna cannabis processing arehouse, says “A lot of dabs that people get the first time are too big, so start small.”

Dabs come with their share of safety concerns. Using a heated torch on breakable glass can be risky business. Mix that with doubly potent intoxication and a lot can go wrong. Users should educate themselves as much as possible on the creation and ingestion of dabs before jumping in with both feet.

A study published in 2014 also showed that regular dabbers built up a far higher THC tolerance than did their traditional weed-smoking counterparts. One of the big downsides to this is experiencing far worse withdrawal symptoms should the users decide to abstain from cannabis suddenly. On the plus side, due to its potent nature dabbing offers powerful medicine to sufferers of chronic pain or extreme nausea.

The amount of flowers one would have to smoke to achieve the same medicinal effect is simply unfeasible. The usefulness of dabs from a medicinal perspective only provide more evidence for widespread legalization. Indeed, it is positive features like these that have lead the cannabis community to embrace dabs, even creating new categories for “best concentrates and extractions” at events like the Cannabis Cup. Despite costing more (between $100-200 per rig) and having a more involved preparation process, cannabis afficionados everywhere are swearing by dabs.