If you’re a fan of concentrates, there might have been a time when you were searching an unfamiliar town wondering, “where can I get weed wax?” It’s pretty easy to find wax – also known as shatter or butane hash oil (BHO) – in a dispensary these days, but they’re not always open for business!

Fortunately, it’s not that hard to make this stuff on your own. If you’ve ever wondered how to make medical marijuana wax then you’re reading the right article, because we’re going to give you a guide to some of the most popular ways of how to make wax dabs.

What are THC dabs?

Some people think that dabs are a different form of weed, which I’ve seen in the form of people asking, “what is the drug wax made of?” or simply referring to wax or shatter as, “drug wax.” This paints a negative image of this medicinal product in certain people’s minds.

Weed wax, or THC dabs, are a highly concentrated form of cannabis extract that comes in the form of a resin. There are no other drugs involved and it’s essentially the same thing as smoking a large amount of marijuana, with the main difference being that it’s generally smoked using a specialized device known as a dab rig.

Waxing, or smoking wax,  is very potent and can be upward of 90% THC. Considering that the strongest strains of marijuana generally max out around 25%, it’s easy to see the intense difference in potency between bud and weed wax.

Smoking weed wax, which is also sometimes referred to as dabbing weed, taking dabs, or simply dabbing, is quickly becoming one of the most popular ways to consume THC.

How do you dab weed?

Dabbing is generally done with a device that’s known as a dab rig. This looks a lot different than anything else that’s used to smoke weed, and usually requires that you use a butane torch or some other device that can provide extreme heat like a stove.

The dab rig is usually made of glass and filters the dab through water, like a bong or water pipe. There is a secondary piece that’s known as the nail. The nail is a piece of glass, titanium, or quartz most often.

You put the pot wax on the rig and heat up the nail using the blowtorch or whatever other instrument you are using to provide heat. Once the nail becomes bright red, you press it down on the dab and inhale the vapors through the rig. This will deliver a huge hit of THC, filtered through the water.

Why is dabbing weed so popular?

There are a lot of reasons that dabbing has become so popular in recent years. There are a number of reasons for this.

  • Dabbing allows you to ingest an incredibly high amount of THC or CBD quite quickly. This can be ideal for medical patients who require high doses of medical cannabis for acute conditions who don’t like to be medicated unless they have to.
  • People who make wax enjoy the quality of the yield. You can get a much better yield making shatter than you would making hash, with a 20% yield being average for people who are making shatter. Of this, pure THC makes up about 80% of it.
  • Some people find smoking weed wax to be easier on the lungs than just smoking ample amounts of cannabis. It’s relatively easy for professionals easy to remove impurities like cellulose or irritants when you’re making shatter, and you’re largely left with isolated THC.
  • It’s economical. A single dab is enough THC as you would smoke in several joints, and you can buy grams of shatter for much cheaper than you would be able to buy an ounce of weed.
  • You can make it yourself. It’s pretty easy to figure out how to make pot wax, so even people who don’t like going out to the dispensary to stock up can figure it out for themselves.
  • When ingesting such high doses of THC, the effects can become more pronounced than they would be consuming it any other way.
  • Shatter is a lot easier to store than large amounts of bud and can be easily traveled with.

However, as with anything, it’s just as important to understand the cons of dabbing as it is to understand the pros. There are reasons that not everyone chooses to consume their THC by taking dabs, and these are some of them:

  • Making your own shatter can be considered dangerous by some. While it’s relatively safe if you’re doing it in a well-prepared environment with the right equipment, it can still be cumbersome or scary for someone who’s never used a butane torch to try and make their own shatter. A lot of people have blown up their kitchens trying to make dabs.
  • There is some possibility that there will be harmful residues left over in your shatter. If you don’t know how to evaporate it properly or are getting it from a source that’s not very reliable, you may end up ingesting harmful compounds. This is another reason that the process can be dangerous for amateurs.
  • Dabbing has brought some negative attention to the cannabis community because it’s seen as being a bit hardcore. Trying to explain a dab rig to an investor can be a bit difficult at times.
  • Dabbing requires a blowtorch. Some people have them sitting around, and some people don’t, but either way they’ll take up a fair amount of space.

Is Dabbing Safe?

There are some things to be cautious of when you are dabbing wax. If you don’t want to make a mistake, it’s important to keep these things in mind so you can avoid injury.

  1. You are going to be dealing with a powerful butane torch. Take extra caution to make sure that you’re using it properly and that it’s completely turned off. Don’t use it near anything flammable and make sure you have a window cracked.
  2. Be cautious about the amount of marijuana dabs you smoke and the amount of THC you are consuming. Many people find that their tolerance skyrockets when they begin using dabs which can make other forms of THC ineffective. This can also make someone more dependent on cannabis, medicinally or otherwise.
  3. Some types of shatter can contain solvents or other residual products. These can irritate the lungs and make the experience less comfortable. Make sure you purchase high quality stuff.

As long as you make sure to regulate your usage, you shouldn’t have to worry about any serious health consequences from smoking dabs. If you are at the point where you need to be medicated all the time, you might want to consider switching to or continuing to use edibles.

How to make dab wax

There are quite a few different ways that you can make cannabis wax. We’re going to outline the best of these methods and tell you the tools you’ll need to successfully make shatter with each method. We’ll also outline the pros and cons of each so you can decide which will be best for you.

1. Make rosin

The rosin method, also known as Rosin-Tech, is a simple way of producing weed wax that involves a minimal residue of solvents. It can be done by anyone, not just professionals, and it’s one of the best ways for beginners wondering how to make wax from weed.

All you need is some parchment paper, a razorblade, some cannabis (not ground up) or hash, a flat iron or a hair straightener with a temperature gauge, a scale, and some oven mitts – unless you want to get burned.

Take a couple grams of weed and break it up into four pieces. Don’t break it up for this particular method of making wax. Heat your flat iron up to 330 degrees and fold your parchment paper in half with the weed in the middle.

Press the nugget in between the flat iron for a few seconds. You should see the resin make a stain – move around and keep pressing the bud in 3 second increments. You should get a couple solid stains of wax which you can then scrape away with your razor blade.

Pros:

  • This is a very simple process that many people can do with equipment that they probably have laying around.
  • It’s not a very time consuming method and can give you some wax quite quickly
  • If you are the type of person who only needs to dose themselves with wax once in a while, this can be a great way to do it. You won’t end up with surplus and you can make it easily whenever you need it.

Cons:

  • It’s quite difficult to make a big yield with this particular method
  • If you need a lot of cannabis wax then you won’t want to use the rosin method.

2. Using solvents like butane

This is what professionals do. You’ll require a bit more equipment: for this recipe we’ll use an ounce of weed, a butane canister, a pyrex dish, a double boiler on an electric range, an extraction tube (easily found at dispensaries or head shops) a piece of parchment paper, a razorblade, and a single stage vacuum pump at 3cfm.

Grind up your pot and stick it in the extraction tube. Then, flush it with butane. Make sure that you do it outside so the fumes aren’t confined indoors. Once the container is filled, evaporate it all with a double boiler.

Now, use the vacuum pump to eliminate any residual butane and you’ll be left with butane hash oil, shatter, or weed wax, depending on what you call it. You can scrape this off with your razor blade or something else.

Pros:

  • Can be done on large amounts of cannabis to yield large amounts of weed wax
  • Good for people who run dispensaries or are involved in the cannabis industry

Cons:

  • Should only be done by professionals.
  • You’ll likely need to get some equipment unless you’re already involved in the industry
  • Can be dangerous. There’s a risk of explosions and you might leave unhealthy impurities in your end product if you’re not careful.

In conclusion

Weed wax is a very concentrated form of cannabis that has a wide range of medicinal benefits. Some people prefer it because it delivers a high dosage of cannabis very quickly, but others are skeptical because of the potential dangers that smoking marijuana dabs can cause.

Either way, this concentrated form of weed resin can be very useful for people who need relief from a wide range of symptoms. Hopefully you’ve learned something from this article and good luck making your own weed wax!

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