If you’re an avid weed smoker, or you’re new to it all, chances are that you’ve heard of cannabis oil. Cannabis oil is used for a number of different things, and is often smoked more than anything. It is sometimes used within edibles too, such as brownies, teas, and other cannabis based treats.
There are however, a few different types of cannabis oil on the market, and it can be tricky figuring out which is the best. Is there any difference between them all, or are they just the same?
Does one have a higher potency than the other? The most popular varieties of cannabis oil out there are distillates and full spectrum. So, if you’re stuck between these two, which one should you choose?
Below, we’re going to be taking a closer look at distillate and full spectrum cannabis oil, in order to determine some of the similarities and differences between the both of them. To find out more, simply keep reading below, as we take a closer look.
Are Distillate Edibles The Same As Full Spectrum?
For our first question, we’re going to be taking a closer look at distillate oil, and finding out if it’s the same as full spectrum. To find out more, keep reading below, as we take a closer look.
Full Spectrum
If you were curious, the full spectrum cannabis extract is known as being incredibly ‘pure’. It’s cannabis in its most natural form, and during the extraction process, very little refinement is applied.
You keep all of the goodness from the plant, without taking away any of the beneficial properties. This allows full spectrum cannabis oil to be considered a therapeutic tool.
Full spectrum cannabis oil isn’t distilled in any way, and this means that they’ll have a lot more plant matter in them. This means that the oil itself will appear far darker than other varieties.
Many people will use full spectrum oil in their vape cartridges, purely because this allows you to enjoy the oil in its full glory. You’ll be able to taste and appreciate the unique flavor of the oil, because it’s incredibly pure.
Full spectrum cannabis plants are known for being particularly good, because they create what is called, the ‘full entourage effect’.
For those of you who don’t know what this means, the full entourage effect is when several different benefits are provided after smoking or ingesting full spectrum oil.
Some of these benefits include longer and better sleep, reducing anxiety, helping with chronic pain, and helping to reduce the effects of inflammation.
This makes full spectrum cannabis oil an incredibly popular choice for edibles.
Distillate
Now that we’ve taken a look at full spectrum cannabis oil, we can move on to discuss the distillate variety. So, is there a big difference between these two different types of cannabis oil?
The simple answer is, yes, there are some key differences between full spectrum and distillate cannabis oil.
The main difference is in how both of these are produced, as we mentioned above, full spectrum is made using as little refinement as possible, whereas distillate is made using the maximum amounts of refinement.
Distillates are incredibly pure when they’re first extracted from the cannabis plant, and are boiled to get rid of any crude oils. After this, however, distillates are made into refined versions of oil, by adding in different flavors, and other extracts into the mix.
They’re not considered to be as strong as full spectrum oils.
What Is Better Distillate Or Full Spectrum?
So, this brings us to our next question, which is really better, distillate or full spectrum cannabis oil? Well, this depends on what you want from your oil. It’s hard to say because both have their unique properties and advantages.
We will say that full spectrum cannabis oil is far stronger than distillate, because it’s cannabis in its purest form, whereas distillate will usually have other items added to the mix such as flavors.
In terms of which of these oils you’d like to use for your edibles, you need to ask yourself what you want out of the extracts. So, for example, full spectrum extracts are considered to have a wide range of medicinal properties, such as relieving pain, and helping to improve sleep.
Distillate oil, on the other hand, tends to have far less medicinal properties because of the way in which it’s been extracted, and it also has other items such as flavorings added to the mix.
If you’re using these oils for edibles however, you might actually be drawn to distillates rather than full spectrum oil, purely because of these flavorings.
You can transform distillate cannabis oil into a wide range of different flavors, and this is highly appealing for those who are planning on using it for things such as baked goods.
Ultimately, one isn’t considered to be better than the other, they’re just different.
What Does Distillate Mean In Edibles?
In terms of edibles, distillate oil is very often used. Why, we hear you ask? Well, it’s because it’s incredibly inexpensive to purchase. Full spectrum oil, because it’s purer and contains more medicinal properties, tends to be a little more on the expensive side of things.
Distillate oil, however, is more reasonably priced, and is great for adding into baked goods. This is because when you initially purchase distillate oil, it won’t have any other flavors added to it.
This gives you a great deal of leeway, as you can then go ahead and add in your own flavorings. Whatever kind of treats you want to make using this cannabis oil, you can really go wild.
Things You Need To Make Your Own Edibles
Before making your own edibles, there are a few things that you’re going to need to take into consideration. We take a closer look at some of these below.
Consider Your Dosage
One of the key things you should pay attention to before making your own edibles, is to pay closer attention to the dosage that you’re using.
You want to make sure, especially if this is your first time, that you’re keeping a close eye on the amount of oil you’re applying to the mixture, as over intoxication is a very real and unpleasant process.
We recommend that you use an edible dosage calculator, which will help you to determine just how much you need. If you don’t have this at hand, then we’d recommend that you start out with a lower dose at first, then work your way up.
Use A Cannabis Calculator
This brings us on to our next point. Using a cannabis calculator is a smart way to make sure that you’re not accidentally adding in too much oil.
In a dosage calculation, you add in the amount of oil used, the specific percentages of the oil, and the amount of additional ingredients that you’re using.
This will tell you how many tablespoons of oil are in each serving of your bakes.
Find An Easy Recipe
If this is your first time making edibles, then the last thing you want to deal with is an incredibly elaborate recipe. Instead, you want to find one that you feel completely comfortable making.
This means choosing things that you’ve already made before.
Something that we’d recommend doing is purchasing a boxed mixture. Instead of overcomplicating things and making an elaborate cake, just grab a premixed brownie or cookie box mix.
This is one of the best ways to ensure that you make the experience as stress free and easy as possible.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, there is one key difference between distillate and full spectrum cannabis oil. The former is heavily refined, and is boiled down so that you just have the extract itself, so that you can then go ahead and add it to baked goods, or just add in your own flavors.
Full spectrum cannabis oil, on the other hand, is incredibly pure and barely refined at all. This means that it’s great for smoking, and appreciating the full range of flavors.
It also contains a lot more medicinal benefits, such as helping to improve sleep, helping with chronic pain, helping to reduce anxiety, and helping to reduce inflammation.
Hi, I’m Zack Finch and I work as a Budtender for a Health & Wellness center here, in sunny California. I have been using marijuana recreationally for around 6 years now, and have many a time enjoyed the benefit that weed has to offer.
Whether you’re looking for informational guides about edibles, vape oil, CBD, how to roll a cross joint, the best blunt wraps, anything you can think of, I’ll cover it here.
What are you waiting for? Become a bud buddy and dive in now!
