Can You Eat Dabs?
Dabs are super potent and great for an all-day high. But can you eat dabs and still get the results you are after?
The short answer is yes. But it’s important to know some will work, and some won’t.
I’ve been enjoying cannabis for the last decade and have racked up a handful of enlightening experiences eating dabs.
Curious to know which dabs will get you high and which ones to avoid eating? Keep reading to find out.
Key Summary
- Eating decarboxylated dabs like distillate, RSO, and CO2 oils can be a great option for a potent and long-lasting high.
- Eating dabs like budder, shatter, and hash that haven’t been decarbed will not get you high unless you decarb them before consumption.
- Dabs can be difficult to dose, start low and slow.
Can You Eat Dabs?
Yes, you can eat dabs and it will get you high. Very high. Concentrates are extremely potent cannabis products. Eating them in edible form can give you a powerhouse high that lasts all day.
But before you decide to use your nail like a spoon and eat raw dabs there are a few things you must know.
First, there are certain types of dabs you can eat, and certain ones you can’t. Distillate, RSO, full extract cannabis oil, and CO2 oils all have the green light.
Second, if you want to try eating any other types of concentrates you need to activate them first. That is because THC in dabs is still in its acidic form of THCA. It must be activated, through the process of decarboxylation, before it turns to THC and can get you high.
But concentrates like distillate, RSO, full extract cannabis oil, and CO2 oils are already decarboxylated. That’s why you can eat them and get high. But any other types of concentrates will need some prep to get the job done.
To activate concentrates containing THCA, they must be heated up. When you torch your dab and take a hit, you don’t have to think about this step. THCA is converted to THC when exposed to heat.
Adding raw cannabis
You can also use residual dabs to make reclaim edibles. Residual dabs are those left over from your dab rig. Collect the leftovers to use again when you make your next batch of edibles.
A decarboxylation machine is another option you can use to activate your dabs so you can eat them. This special device is designed to easily convert the acidic cannabinoids in cannabis into their ready-to-get-you-high counterparts.
Distillate
Distillate is one form of concentrate you can munch on to provide the intoxicating effects you’re after. Distillate is pure THC oil, meaning no terpenes or plant materials are left in the mix. Because of this, there isn’t a lot of the medicinal weed flavor.
Distillates are a great option for adding to edible recipes because they are typically highly potent and have no flavor if terpenes are not reintroduced at the end of the production process.
Rick Simpson Oil
Rick Simpson Oil (RSO) is a cannabis concentrate created by soaking cannabis flower in a solvent, such as alcohol, and then boiling the solvent off.
RSO is a highly potent, full-spectrum cannabis extract. It contains high levels of THC as well as other cannabinoids, terpenes, flavonoids, and other beneficial compounds.
Particularly popular with medical marijuana patients, RSO is often considered one of the most respected extracts on the market.
Full Extract Cannabis Oil
Full extract cannabis oil, or FECO, is a cannabis concentrate created by ethanol extraction.
It is similar to RSO as there are terpenes, cannabinoids, and other plant materials left in the final product. In fact, RSO and FECO are often mistaken for the same product. They’re both extremely thick and super potent.
The biggest difference between the two? RSO is made with isopropyl alcohol, while FECO is made with high-proof ethyl alcohol.
CO2 Oils
CO2 oil is any cannabis oil made by CO2 extraction. Shatter, honey oil, and crumble are all examples of CO2 oils.
CO2 oils where the starting material has been decarbed before the extraction process can be eaten. Others will need to be decarbed before consumption. But are probably better vaped or dabbed.
To eat CO2 oils, they must be mixed with a carrier oil like olive oil, butter, or coconut oil first. The amount of carrier oil added to the mixture will determine the potency.
My Experience Eating Dabs
Breaking from my traditional puff-and-pass routine, I took a dabventure and made some classic brownies to pair with the ice cream in my freezer.
Distillate was my concentrate of choice as I wanted some spacey brownies with minimal plant flavor. And I thought it would be the easiest to measure potency and serving sizes. With my trusty bong side eying me from the shelf I was confident that these brownies would turn out.
The tasty dessert was a pleasure to eat and initially hit with mild euphoria all through my body. But as time ticked by, I found myself on a stealthy high that continued to climb until I was blasted out of this world.
Bubbly excitement and tingly sensations mixed with subtle anxiety about the fact that I probably underestimated the dosing. Instead of a laid-back night I was in for a cosmic adventure I didn’t sign up for.
Overall, I would go adventuring again, but cautiously edge into outer space with smaller portions. Dosing on my own was way more difficult than I expected.
What Concentrates Can You Not Eat?
As mentioned above, some concentrates are not meant to be munched on. These are concentrates that still need to be decarbed
Shatter,
Budder and badder are other dabs you might not want to chow down on. This is because they’re made with a solvent-based extraction process and haven’t been decarbed. That means they won’t get you high unless you do the decarbing yourself first.
Hash is another concentrate that doesn’t come decarbed. Hash rosin may seem like a solid alternative as it is made with high heat and pressure, but it isn’t heated up long enough to decarb. Both hash and hash rosin must be decarbed before they’ll get you high.
Rosin is another concentrate not worth eating. It’s by pressing flower, ice water hash, or dry sift hash between heated metal plates. While the heat slighly decarbs the rosin, It absolutely must be fully decarbed after to experience a full range of effects, whether smoked on its own or used to create edibles.
Live resin is a quality concentrate created by extracting trichomes from fresh frozen cannabis plants. Sometimes referred to as the “champagne of cannabis concentrates,” live resin contains a higher terpene profile than other concentrates. But it’s designed to be dabbed or vaped, not eaten on its own as it isn’t decarbed.
