How to Make and Use Rosin

‍If you're a part of the medical marijuana community, chances are you've heard of rosin at some point or another. You may have heard that it's an extract that is highly potent, exceptionally pure, and relatively easy to make at home. If you're interested in making your own solventless marijuana concentrates, then you're in the right place. Let's get to it.

What is Rosin?

Rosin is a marijuana concentrate that has become increasingly popular in the medical marijuana community. Essentially, rosin refers to a sticky resin that you get from adding pressure and heat to cannabis that results in small batches of hash oil.

You can quickly and easily make your own rosin at home with a hair straightener (set at the lowest heat setting) and a few other household items.

How is Rosin Used?

Rosin is an extract that is very similar to shatter. As such, it can be consumed in the same way, using dab rigs or vaporizers. A dab rig is a specific type of water pipe made for consuming extracts like rosin. They resemble bongs or water pipes used to smoke flower, but instead of a glass bowl or pipe, dab rigs use a flat bowl that's called a "nail."

Dabbing rosin is no different than any other extract. You first must flash heat the nail with a butane torch, and then allow it to cool slightly. The rosin is then touched to the cooled, but still-hot nail, producing a vapor that can be inhaled.

Taking a dab may be difficult for those with little experience doing so. Dabs are incredibly potent, and you will find it's much more intense than smoking flower. You may find that you need some practice in finding the right size dab for you, along with cooling the nail properly. Nonetheless, you're bound to figure out your particular dab rig after a few rounds of trial and error.

How to Make Rosin

Unlike other forms of extracts like shatter or hash oil, rosin is a solventless extract. This means that it can be produced without the need for a solvent like butane. Marijuana concentrates like shatter are extracted from the cannabis flower using one of these solvents, which separates the marijuana oils and cannabinoid compounds from the cannabis plant matter.

Rosin, on the other hand, can be extracted with nothing else besides heat and pressure. As such, it can easily be made at home using nothing more than a hair straightener or a more professional rosin press like the one pictured above.

Ingredients:

• Flat iron, heat/rosin press or hair straightener (use the lowest heat setting)
• Non-stick parchment paper
• Scraper to collect rosin (i.e. a razor blade)

Steps:

• Fold quality bud inside a 4” x  8” square of non-stick parchment paper.
• Place the parchment paper with the bud in the jaws of a hair straightener.
• Apply heat and pressure at the lowest setting for 4 to 7 seconds.
• Remove the bud from the parchment and collect the resin with the scraping tool.

That's it! Easy as making pie. Easier actually.

The rosin is best stored in an airtight container in a cool room.

Warnings & Dangers

Before you go about making or acquiring your own rosin, be sure to do your due diligence on your local marijuana laws. Many states have not legalized or decriminalized marijuana, whether it be for medicinal use or recreational. Others require residents to be medically licensed by the state board of health before they can use marijuana. Always be mindful of the marijuana laws in your local jurisdiction regarding marijuana in your area, as rosin may be considered an illegal substance.

Nevertheless, rosin may be the most feasible marijuana extract for you to produce yourself. Because it can be extracted through solventless means, it's an incredibly safe concentrate to make at home and leaves no added contaminants in your final product.

If you decide that you really like the final product after you've experimented a bit, you may want to consider investing in a rosin press. Most have different temperature options and can produce much higher pressure. This will produce far more concentrate from the same amount of flower, saving you money in the long run. Personal rosin presses can be found for as little as $200.

How to Find and Buy Rosin

Of course, if you don't like the messiness of producing rosin yourself, you can find rosin at almost any legal dispensary in the state. Rosin has quickly become a very popular marijuana extract because of its potency and purity.

Remember that marijuana may only be medicinally legal in your state. You may need a medical marijuana license to purchase rosin as a result. If that does happen to be the case, NuggMD has you covered. Using our state-of-the-art telemedicine platform, you can virtually meet with a licensed marijuana doctor in your state and receive your medical marijuana recommendation in no time. So what's the holdup? Sign up today!