Live Resin Vs. Live Rosin Vs. Distillate: What’s the Difference?
It’s no secret that there is a lot to navigate in the world of cannabis. CBD, THC, flower, distillate, live resin, rosin…it can all get quite confusing.
At Juana, our goal is to make sure we are providing the best education possible to set you up for success in caring for yourself in a holistic and heart-centered way.
Live resin, rosin, and distillate, while they all sound very different, they all have one essential thing in common: they are all cannabis extracts. Now that we have established a baseline, let’s get into the fundamental differences between these cannabis extracts.
What is Live Resin?
One of the main differences between cannabis extracts happens during the processing of the cannabis itself. For example, when you buy raw cannabis flower from the dispensary, it undergoes a drying and curing process post-harvest. Instead of being dried, live resin is made from fresh or ‘live’ (uncured) cannabis or from cannabis that is immediately frozen after harvest.
Most commonly, live resin is made by flash-freezing freshly harvested cannabis and extracting the plant’s chemical profile using a solvent. Flash-freezing preserves the flower in its prime to get the most high-quality extraction. After going through the extraction phase using a solvent such as butane or carbon dioxide, live resin is then decarboxylated to activate the cannabinoids, and it’s ready to go.
Live resin gets its name from the fact that it is made from “live” or fresh cannabis flower. Because live resin is essentially a crude extraction, it has significantly more of the original chemical compounds found in raw flower than, say, a distillate. Live resin contains terpenes, flavonoids, and a full spectrum of cannabinoids. This can both create a more well-rounded psychoactive experience while also providing the utmost medicinal benefit. The combination of terpenes, cannabinoids, and flavonoids is known to be highly more medicinal and therapeutic than any isolated cannabis compound. This is known as the ‘Entourage Effect.’
The Entourage Effect is a scientific phenomenon describing the therapeutic synergy between terpenes, cannabinoids, flavonoids, and phytonutrients. Studies have shown that cannabis, in its rawest form, whether in flower or an extraction like live resin, is significantly more therapeutic in terms of alleviating pain and inflammation and relieving stress. This is because the terpenes, cannabinoids, and other phytonutrients work together in synergy within the cannabis plant to maintain homeostasis. Thus, they do the same thing in our bodies. For example, CBD can offset some of the side effects of THC, like anxiety, appetite increase, etc.
Furthermore, taking a product like a live resin or another full-spectrum product increases the medicinal quality of the cannabis product and also makes the psychoactive experience way more enjoyable. Live resin can be found in many different viscosities and forms. Generally, it is a dark yellow or brownish sticky substance often marketed as shatter, butter, badder, live sap, etc.
What is Live Rosin?
Among cannabis extractions, live rosin is one of the rarer extracts to come across. It is highly sought after and viewed as one of the ‘purest’ forms of cannabis concentrates out there. Similarly to live resin, live rosin is also produced from fresh or ‘live’ cannabis flower that has not undergone a curing process. However, the main difference between the two is that live rosin is solventless, meaning it is not extracted using a chemical solvent. Instead, it is typically made using heat or compression. Live rosin is made from fresh flower, hash, or kief. Because the production process is more labor intensive, it typically produces a smaller yield than live resin or distillate. This is part of what makes it so rare to come by.
One method of making live rosin is through a process that makes Bubble Hash. This process involves putting fresh cannabis plant matter (flower) into an ice bath, followed by filtering it through various mesh micron bags, refining the material, and isolating the THC-filled trichomes. The remaining leftover material from this process is known as Bubble Hash. After the hash is dried, it is put through a compression process using heat and pressure. The combined heat and pressure create the raw, potent, full-spectrum live rosin. What you’re left with is an all-natural extraction that still contains the terpenes, cannabinoids, flavonoids, and other medicinal compounds that make for the most potent raw cannabis concentrate on the market. Aromatic and chock full of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other highly medicinal compounds, live rosin is one of the best extractions to use in the formulation of edibles.
Cannabis products that are made with live rosin provide an unmatched level of depth and dimension that makes it a favorite among cannabis connoisseurs.
What is Distillate?
Finally, distillate is a cannabis concentrate that is made when a specific cannabinoid like THC or CBD is extracted and isolated from other plant compounds. When you go to buy a vape or edibles, it is most commonly made with distillate.
Distillate is one of the most common cannabis extractions on the market. This is due to its potency, concentration, and versatility. The production process is similar to live resin. However, the end product is typically an isolated cannabinoid, and it is usually stripped of the other medicinal components found in live resin or rosin, such as terpenes, other cannabinoids, etc.
One of the main differences in the production of distillate, as it compares to live resin or live rosin, is that in order to make distillate, you use dried and cured cannabis flower, as opposed to using fresh ‘live’ flower. The dried cannabis flower is then put through a process of distillation. This process vaporizes crude cannabis oil and uses extremely high heat or a chemical solvent to separate the cannabinoids from other plant compounds. The result is an almost translucent, odorless, and essentially tasteless viscous liquid commonly used for vaping and edibles.
Distillate can be extremely potent, however, only to a certain extent. This is because isolated cannabinoids are not nearly as medicinal as a full spectrum extraction such as a live resin or live rosin due to the Entourage Effect, as we mentioned earlier. Studies show that the combination of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other phytonutrients is far more therapeutic than any cannabinoid on its own…
An example of this is the presence of terpenes in the cannabis plant. Terpenes are the aromatic and volatile compounds in cannabis that give the flower its scent and flavor profile. Terpenes don’t just occur in cannabis. On the contrary, terpenes are found all throughout the natural world and are essentially essential oils. Ever purchased a lavender essential oil? Peppermint? Tea tree essential oil? Walked through a pine forest and felt instantly relaxed yet revitalized at the same time? You have terpenes to thank for that!
Not only do terpenes provide an aromatic experience, but they are also highly medicinal, both on their own and as a counterpart to cannabinoids.
Different cannabis strains have varying terpene profiles, which both impact the effect and the aromatics. Strains high in Linalool (the terpene present in lavender that accounts for both the intoxicating scent and the relaxing effect) tend to be more relaxing. Strains high in Linalool are great for helping with sleep and anxiety.
Since most distillates remove terpenes through the distillation process, sometimes isolated terpenes are added to distillates to try and mimic the effect that they have when naturally occurring in a cannabis strain. Likewise, other cannabinoids are sometimes added to distillate for a more therapeutic effect.
Distillate Vs. Rosin Vs. Resin
Ultimately, there are some core similarities between these cannabis extractions but also key differences. While it can be particularly confusing since these three cannabis products are very similar, our goal is to ensure that you are able to make the most informed decision in getting the cannabis that you need!
While live rosin is harder to come by, it is generally more medicinal since it is created without a solvent and has a symphony of cannabinoids, terpenes, and phytonutrients.
Live resin is more common to come by and shares some of the benefits of the entourage effect that you can find in live rosin. While live resin is often made using a solvent, many products out there are cleaner than others. Some live resin products are made so that the solvent is completely removed in the production process, thus creating a cleaner, more therapeutic option.
Distillate is a more accessible option due to its widespread use and availability. Additionally, it is typically more potent as it is a hyper concentration of one or two cannabinoids instead of a crude, raw, full-spectrum product. However, there are distillate products out there that have terpenes and other cannabinoids added in order to make a more medicinal product.
If you want the most therapeutic option for inflammation, pain, or stress, opt for a full-spectrum product that will maximize the entourage effect, like a live resin or rosin over a distillate.
We hope this article was useful in helping you to determine which cannabis product is best suited for your needs!