Happy 710 to CAC's Cannabis Connoisseurs
You most likely know about 420 right? For decades cannabis enthusiasts have been celebrating 420 with a good long toke. The origin story of 420 is a little hazy, pun intended, but it centers around the act of smoking marijuana, but do you know about 710?
7/10 is a holiday celebrating the consumption of cannabis oils and if you flip 10 upside down it spells the word OIL! Since around 2012 cannabis enthusiasts have been celebrating 710 OIL Day, and many have called it International Dab Day!
Cannabis oils and concentrates come in all different forms; from shatter and rosin to tinctures and vape oil. Cannabis concentrates have gained so much popularity in the past 5-10 years because the legalization of marijuana in Colorado made it possible for dispensaries to start creating these oils/concentrates safely and efficiently. Extracting at home is illegal and very risky business. Highly combustible and flammable solvents, such as propane or butane, are used to make concentrates like wax, isolate, distillate, etc. In a dispensary, these concentrates are heavily regulated and quality assurance is a necessity. Dabbing and consuming oils has not only become normalized but very popular in legalized states.
Consuming Concentrates
Dabbing
Dabbing is a form of consumption that combusts oils that usually have a much higher concentration of THC. Dabs or concentrates are heated to a very high temperature with a torch and then inhaled through a water pipe called a dab rig. Dab rigs are just like bongs, but with attachments made specifically for concentrates. A nail is the dab equivalent to a bowl and they come in many shapes, sizes and can be made of titanium, quartz or ceramic (There are also electric or e-nails that cut out the need for a torch). You may also need a dab tool, which is a ceramic, glass or metal tool that helps apply the concentrate to the nail, a carb cap, which helps regulate airflow by directing smoke through the rig more efficiently. And a silicone dab mat so that concentrates don’t stick to any surfaces.
Steps to dabbing with a rig:
Turn on your torch and place the flame on the nail or tip of your dab straw. Once it starts getting red hot take the torch off the nail and let it cool for about 30-45 seconds.
Place the concentrate (start out with the tip of a grain of rice, dabs are extremely concentrated) directly onto the nail with your dab tool. Take it slow.
Cover the nail with your carb cap and continue inhaling. Continue to take it slow!
Dab straws are another form of consuming dabs and are heated at the tip with a torch and placed near the oil itself and inhaled through the straw. Straws are simple and take up much less space than a dab rig or bong. There are also many kinds of vaporizing devices now that make it very simple for anyone to dab without the hassle or anxiety of using a torch. For example, dab pens like the Yocan, G Pen or Pax are vaporizers that you can place a dab in a little oven and concentrate heat to the right range of temperatures.
Above are some examples of concentrates used to dab. This and other pictures/resources like it can found at leafly.com
Vapes have gotten a bad rap in the past year because there were people buying black market cartridges and passing away due to the inhalation of toxic chemicals and additives that were put in the oils, such as PEG and vitamin E oil. In Massachusetts, governor Charlie Baker ordered a temporary ban on all vaping products and e-cigarettes which took effect on Sept. 24, 2019 and lasted into December 2019. This was to stop the sale and test all products from retail stores yet none of the deaths actually occurred due to legally sold products (i.e. from a dispensary as well as vape and e-cig retailers).
Dispensaries are very regulated and get tested by a third party laboratory that has to approve of every component in our distillate oils that go into our cartridges. There are no studies that show the long term effects of consuming vape cartridges but you won’t find a safer, more organic, and highly regulated product than from a dispensary. We always encourage you to do research and make an informed decision on whether vaping may be something you are interested in.
That all being said… vaporizers are a discrete and valuable form of consumption. All you need is a pen and cartridge and usually is as simple as knowing how to turn it on and take a hit. They are portable, can be affordable and there is no inhalation of burnt plant matter (unlike smoking). We, at CAC, pre fill our cartridges with our distillate or you can even “One Fill” an empty, reusable cartridge with our refill applicators, which are on sale today!
Our 710 Promotion!!!
For 710 OIL Day at CAC, we are doing a sale on our Litt, Cold Press, and Spiked One Fills starting Friday 7/10 and going through the weekend. Buy 1 fill for 5% off, buy 2 fills for 10% off, buy 3 fills for 15% off, buy 4+ fills for 20% off!
Check out our website and Instagram for more pictures, product descriptions and so much more! Our budtenders and managers are also always happy and ready to answer any questions you may have, so give us a call, put in an order and pay us a visit! Just don’t forget your face mask ;) Again, Happy 710!
Cheers!
Sources:
https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/how-to-dab-cannabis-concentrates
https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/guide-to-710
https://dutch-passion.com/en/blog/7-10-international-dab-day-celebrating-cannabis-oil-and-cannabis-concentrates-n912
https://www.leafly.com/news/strains-products/what-are-pre-filled-cannabis-oil-vape-cartridges
https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2019/11/27/vaping-ban-end-early-december/
Learn More About: The World’s Largest THCA Crystal!
We have received a number of questions from our patients and fans about our giant 221g THCA Crystal. We spoke with CAC’s Laboratory Director, Russ Draffen, to provide you with some answers! Russ led the lab in the growth of this Crystal, and the results speak for themselves.
Russ tells us that the Crystal has a purity of 99.99%. The benefit of isolating THC-A to such an extent is in the control that it gives the lab in creating subsequent formulations and products. The patients can know the exact percentage of THC-A in the products they get from our dispensary when the plant components are isolated with such specificity.
By the lab’s calculations, this crystal is equivalent to approximately 8,000 grams of flower, or 4,420 dabs - given that each dab is .05g of the crystal. However, in this state, it will not offer a high. THC-A must be heated in order to be converted to THC. Before that conversion, THC-A is non-psychoactive, so you can consume (or in one fan’s words, “lick”) this crystal, and you may experience the anti-inflammatory benefits of cannabinoids, but you will not experience a high. Many people who avoid psychoactive properties find this appealing, and they can consume THC-A by crushing crystals and dosing them into pills. Those who prefer a high may deliver it as a dab. Whichever way a patient chooses to deliver it, there is surely enough of this crystal to last a patient for a very long time.
The Crystal in its growing conditions. Source: Russ Draffen
It took two months for this Crystal to develop, and, according to Russ, our lab has the capability of putting it back under its growing conditions to allow it to continue growing if they so choose. (And perhaps they will...we will keep you posted.) At this size, the worth is difficult to put a ticket on. Each gram alone may be worth $90, so you would think that converts to about $20,000. However, a crystal grown to this size as one unified piece is worth a lot more than the sum of its parts.
Russ Draffen with the THCA Crystal, and his photos from the process. Source: Russ Draffen
So why did CAC’s lab decide to grow the world’s largest THC-A crystal? “When it started growing, I knew I was on to something, so I kept it going,” says Russ Draffen. The lab had the materials and the motivation to try something new, so why not give it a shot? “We knew that no one else was really doing it to this extent,” Russ adds.
We currently plan to display the THC-A Crystal in our dispensary in the coming months so that our patients may see it to believe it. Keep an eye on our social media for our Reveal Date Announcement!