Can You Eat Dabs? Are THC Concentrates Good For Eating?

Considered the most potent type of cannabis product, dabs have truly changed the world of weed. They get you out of this world high and taste absolutely amazing. 

One of the most common questions we hear from people who love cannabis is: “Can you eat dabs?” 

It’s a great question. And the answer just so happens to be yes. But you need to prepare your weed wax just right in order to get high. 

Here we’ll walk you through the process of everything you need to know about the process of turning the dabs you’d typically smoke into something that can be chewed up and swallowed. 

Check it out.

Can You Eat Dabs And Get High?

Yes, you can eat dabs and get high but there’s a little more to it than meets the eye.

Whether you’re a seasoned dabber or just starting out with these powerful cannabis products packed with THC, questions are bound to arise. 

One of the most common questions we hear from people who love cannabis extracts and concentrates is: “can you eat dabs?”  

And there’s a science to eating dabs. 

Don’t expect to just chow down on some dabs and get the same psychoactive effects as when you smoke cannabis flower or marijuana concentrates. It simply won’t work. 

Why? 

It’s very similar to smoking cannabis. You can’t just eat cannabis flower and get high. The same thing is true when it comes to dabs. Cannabinoids in dabs are still in their acidic state as cannabinoid acids. In order to get you high they must be transformed into their active counterparts.

If they’re not activated, they’ll pass right through your body without creating any of those groovy psychoactive effects dabs abundant in THC are famous for. Once activated, however, you can gobble them up and get high as a kite.

The most abundant cannabinoid acids in dabs are THC-A and CBD-A. When you expose dabs to high temperatures (like with a blowtorch or eNail), these cannabinoid acids are transformed into Delta 9 THC and CBD. 

So can consume dabs that have already been heated up and get high?  Well sure. This is known as reclaim dabs (which we’ll go into later). 

But if you want to eat fresh concentrates and get high, you’ll first need to decarb them in order to activate the cannabinoid acids. This will ensure your concentrates produce the intoxicating effects you’re interested in. 

What do we mean by decarb? 

Decarb is short for decarboxylate. Decarboxylation is a procedure that involves heating up your cannabis product (whether smoking marijuana or heating up your rig), so the cannabinoid acids can turn into the active cannabis cannabinoid compounds that will get you high.

Why Decarbing Matters

If you’re a seasoned cannabis consumer, you might already know why decarbing is so important. If you’re new to the wonderful world of weed, you might’ve never heard of decarbing cannabis.

Why is the decarboxylation thing so important? Because without it we don’t get high. Cannabis must be decarboxylated in order to produce any type of effect. 

So what exactly is this technical term of decarboxylation and why does it matter?

Simply put, decarboxylation is a chemical conversion procedure that turns cannabinoid acids into active cannabinoids. This is the only thing that allows us to get high when consuming cannabis, whether it’s flower or concentrates.  

The most abundant and well-known cannabinoid in cannabis is THC. This is the cannabis compound found in the marijuana plant responsible for producing a high. 

The second most abundant and popular cannabinoid is CBD. It’s found primarily in hemp and does not produce an intoxicating effect.

Both THC and CBD are cannabinoids that are first produced in cannabis plants as their acidic counterparts: THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) and CBDA (cannabidiolic acid). In fact, all cannabinoids start out in an acidic form. 

The “A” in THCA and CBDA stands for carboxylic acid. During the decarboxylation process, this acidic group is removed from the chemical structure of the cannabinoid and carbon dioxide is released.

Instant decarboxylation happens for most people when they light their stash or cannabis wax with a lighter, vaporizer, dab nail, or blowtorch. You can’t just chew up and swallow cannabis picked off a fresh marijuana plant and get high. 

The decarboxylation process can also be done by heating cannabis  in the oven on a baking sheet, which is typically what’s done when preparing cannabis to make canna butter. This option just takes a slower, longer period of time. 

You could also invest in a decarboxylation machine if you’re interested in making the most out of cannabinoid and terpene content. It can also save some time and simplify the whole decarbing procedure. 

So when asking “can you eat dabs,” the answer is a definite yes. But if you want to get high, you’ll need to decarb them first.

How To Eat Dabs

If you are determined to eat dabs, decarbing these highly potent concentrates is the first step you need to take.  

You can’t just buy dabs at the dispensary and pop them into your mouth. If you do this, you’ll only be disappointed. Not only will you not get high, you’ll waste a lot of money in the process.  

The good news? You can heat up your dabs and get super duper high  without even having to smoke them. 

After decarbing your cannabis concentrates, you can pop them in your mouth like candy and enjoy their potent effects. As previously mentioned, the cannabis cannabinoids just need to be activated first.

You could also include raw cannabis wax in an edible recipe where they will be decarbed when your goodies are baking in the oven. Making delish recipes that feature your marijuana wax as the star ingredient is an awesome way to create something stoney with amazing taste and flavor.

Here’s something else. 

If you’ve already finished smoking your cannabis concentrates in an oil rig, you can recycle the residual dabs and make reclaim edibles.

This method involves collecting and consuming the leftover decarboxylated dabs from your dab rig. This is a great option for getting high off your dabs twice. Talk about more bang for your buck! 

But there are some downsides to reclaim dabs. For example, you can’t really measure the THC levels in your reclaimed dabs. And they definitely don’t taste as fresh and quality as raw cannabis wax. 

If you smoke dabs in a dab rig and want to get more from your marijuana wax, however, then you can collect it and eat it later. 

Just keep in mind, reclaimed dabs are extremely potent and you should proceed with caution until you get used to what it feels like to eat dabs. Seriously. Be prepared to be real high if you’re considering consuming dabs.

Can you eat reclaimed dabs?

Can you eat dabs that have been reclaimed? 

You sure can. This is what we mentioned earlier about consuming dabs after you’ve already smoked them. 

If you want to consume dabs you’ve already smoked, you can just eat the reclaimed dabs without doing anything to them. That’s right. After they’ve been smoked, your dabs are like a gift that keeps on giving. 

Although the flavor won’t be on point, they’ll still get you high. Because of this, reclaim dabs may be more enjoyable if you take the time to mix them with a tasty recipe. 

There will be some differences between getting high with reclaimed dabs or other cannabis concentrates and dabbing wax for the first time. 

For example, the cannabinoid mix will be different as some of it will have been used when you dabbed it the first time. Reclaim dabs will be less potent than regular dabs, whether butane hash oil, honey oil, or other cannabis concentrates. 

But considering dabs are extremely potent in general, don’t doubt the potency of your cannabis wax just because you’ve already hit it once in your dab rig. While eating concentrates isn’t likely to send you to outer space, you’ll still get pretty darn high. 

Check it out.

Will Eating Reclaim Dabs Get You High?

Can you eat dabs that have been reclaimed? 

Yes. And eating reclaim dabs will most definitely get you high! 

Reclaim dabs will have much more THC in them than cannabis flower. So they can still be pretty powerful. 

One company actually looked deeper into this by testing what was in reclaim left in rigs. They tested four different samples of reclaim and discovered each smelled differently, had different consistency and contained different colors. 

They also found that there are “significant amounts of cannabinoids left in reclaim.” 

So can you eat dabs that have been reclaimed and still get high from this recycled weed wax? 

Absolutely. Technically as they’re decarbed, you can even snort THC concentrates if you so wish.

Here’s how it’s done.

Related Read: Homemade Dabs

Collecting Reclaim To Eat

Now you know that reclaim dabs can still get you high. So how exactly do you do it? What’s the process of collecting your reclaim to eat?  

Keep in mind that you can’t use alcohol or it will ruin your oil. 

Here’s how collecting cannabis reclaim done: 

Equipment You’ll Need:

• Well used dab rig, water pipe or oil rig with reclaim
• A dab torch
• Wax paper, parchment paper, or a cannabis wax storage jar
• Optional item: dab mat or silicone mat

Step-by-step Instructions For Collecting Reclaim: 

1. Take a look at your dab rig to determine the best way to get your reclaim out. There should be visible reclaim stuck to the inside walls of the rig. If you only see trace amounts then you probably need to try smoking more cannabis concentrates in it for a little longer to let the reclaim build up. 

If there’s enough reclaim ready to work with, first dump out the water and let your oil rig dry completely. You don’t want any water content left to mix with your reclaim, so be patient, let it get bone-dry and move on to step two. 

2. Reclaim is very, very sticky. Prepare a workspace that you don’t mind getting a little dirty. If you have a silicone dab mat you can use this. Set it on the countertop where you will be working and you are ready to go. Next, place a piece of wax paper over your workspace. 

3. Remove the banger and turn your dab rig completely upside down. The mouthpiece should be over the container or your wax paper.

Now, begin to slowly heat up the areas of your dab rig that have the visible reclaim hanging to it. Use your dab torch carefully and go slowly. You’re basically smoking it without smoking it. 

Hold the torch far away from the glass and never keep the point of the flame on a single area. Always keep it in motion to evenly spread out the heat. This is very important or you can vaporize your reclaim while you are trying to collect it, which will waste your entire collection of reclaim. 

You just want to warm up the marijuana wax enough to get it to slide easily out of your rig. You do not want to cook it. If it gets too hot the cannabinoids you are trying to recycle will burn off and your efforts will be wasted. 

Once you get your reclaim out, check the dab nail joint and downstem for any leftover buildup. 

4. Keep your mouthpiece directly over the jar while your reclaim heats up and starts to drip out. 

This will keep you from making a sticky mess and it will help you save every last drop of your cannabis wax reclaim. 

5. Once you have your reclaim collected, leave the wax paper or cannabis wax jar open on the table to cool off. Don’t wrap it or close it up before it has time to fully cool down. 

Once the reclaim is cooled it will solidify and be ready to use. 

This is a great time to give your dab rig a quick clean as there are no more dabs stuck inside of it. You can quickly do this with some isopropyl alcohol. 

After completing the above steps you can eat the reclaimed dabs you collected and consume delicious and fresh dabs hits of raw cannabis wax out of your oil rig again. It really is the best of both worlds.

Wrapping Up Eating Dabs

Can you eat dabs? 

Now you know the answer. Absolutely yes you can. 

And now that you know the process to ensure eating dabs will get you high,  you can start to enjoy fresh hits of cannabis wax  and then use it again to get high while eating dabs. 

Simply collect the leftover reclaim of your favorite cannabis concentrate from your rig and you have already decarboxylated dabs ready to go. 

You can also decarb fresh marijuana concentrates on your own and eat marijuana wax that will send you to the moon. 

There’s also the option of dosing your edibles with some delish dabs and making potent treats. 

When it comes to consuming dabs, the world of weed really is your oyster. Whether you eat dabs that’ve been decarboxylated or smoke your weed wax out of a rig and consume the reclaim, eating dabs is definitely doable.