exploring the possibility: can you eat live resin?

These days, people will try tons of different things with their cannabis plant products. The truth is we love to experiment and figure out just how versatile our products are. A common question we see is can you eat live resin. You’ve heard of edibles, right?

Well, it’s the same idea, but is it really effective? We know live resin is very potent and flavorful, so it only makes sense we would want to translate that flavor into snacks from time to time, right?

In this guide, we are going to explore the possibilities. We will talk about different live resin consumption methods, particularly whether or not you can eat live resin and how. Keep reading to learn more about it!

start at the beginning – what is live resin?

It only makes sense to start from the beginning and make sure you really understand what live resin is. This is a unique, natural, and very potent form of cannabis concentrate. It’s unique because rather than a drying or curing process to prep the plant at harvest, it is flash-frozen. The flash-frozen plant material maintains those fresh qualities for a full spectrum extract.

This means all of those exquisite terpenes and cannabinoids are retained and perfectly preserved in their fresh and natural state. Of course, then the flower goes through the extraction process to pull out the terpene content and cannabinoids. With live resin, a solvent-based extraction method is used. The results of these processes are a full spectrum experience with a well-rounded high and intensity. It’s potent, flavorful, and also versatile in nature.

This brings us to the possibility of eating live resin. Truth be told, most of us prefer dabbing or vaporizing for live resin. It’s just convenient and simple and you don’t have to worry so much about the details. You just need to know the cannabis flower strains and make sure you’re getting a good quality product. The pure flavors of live resin are inherent with a dab tool or vaping, and it’s a great, intense experience every time.

But what about eating it? To be quite frank, eating live resin is not ideal. You definitely don’t want to just ingest the resin by itself for the most part. It can be infused into things like edibles, but you also need to know that it won’t be the same unless it goes through a specialized process first.

so, can you eat live resin?

The short answer is you can technically eat live resin. There is nothing that says you can’t. However, there are some things you should know before you do. You should also know that it’s typically not ideal. Now, if you really want some edibles with live resin products, you could look for a company that decarboxylates the live resin to make edibles.

This process is what activates the THC. Otherwise, you may just be wasting the resin extraction. But we digress. The truth is that ingesting live resin in this type of cannabis concentrate form simply isn’t a very effective method of using it. It’s a complicated explanation, but we’re going to try to break it down for you.

cannabinoid and THC activation

Alright, what is your reason for using live resin? If you have vaped with it or smoked with it, then you know that it has some pretty intense effects. Whether you appreciate live resin for pain relief, therapeutic effects, or just to get high, it’s good for all of them. But in order for it to be effective with these things, the cannabinoids in the resin have to first be activated.

How do you activate them? It’s a chemical process called decarboxylation. When you put live resin into a vape or another product, the heat and vaporization are what help to make that happen. But when you just eat live resin, there is nothing to activate the cannabinoids. If you don’t care about getting high or making THCa into THC content, then it really doesn’t matter to you.

However, if you want the psychoactive effects or the high feeling, you need that decarboxylation process to happen. If you just infuse straight live resin into your edible of choice, it doesn’t activate the cannabinoids. This means you aren’t going to have the full spectrum experience you were likely after.

Now, can you activate it? Sure, if you know how to do so. There are also companies out there that take the extra steps to activate the THC and then infuse it into their edibles. These will be clearly labeled as live resin-infused products. Make sure you pay close attention to those details.

Where does that leave us? Basically, if you eat live resin, you likely aren’t activating the most popular properties of this concentrate.

bioavailability

We know these terms are all pretty scientific. After all, it’s science that makes live resin edible or not when you think about it.

This particular explanation has to do with the bioavailability in your system if you choose to orally partake of live resin cannabis products. What does it do to your body when you ingest it like this? Again, we’re looking at the cannabinoids, how they enter your system, and what effects that process has on your body.

When you eat live resin or consume it through resin gummies or something similar, it goes to your digestive system before it goes anywhere else. Most of the time, when we inhale or smoke these products, they can quickly enter our bloodstream from doing so, because of the activation process. When you ingest it, it goes into your digestive system and then remnants of it will make it to your bloodstream.

It’s a lot like taking vitamins and supplements if you can relate it to that concept. The bioavailability has to do with how the compounds actually are made available to your body after ingestion. Consuming in this manner heavily reduces the bioavailability. When it does make it to your bloodstream, it will be significantly altered and only a portion of those cannabinoids will ever even reach the body, which means you will likely experience far lessened effects. Plus, it will likely have delayed effects.

are there risks?

There are definitely risks. There are risks for literally everything out there. Does that mean you can’t do it? Nope. It just means you need to be aware of the risks and weigh the possibilities to make a fully informed decision.

We just want to say, that there are also risks for driving cars, vaping live resin, walking down the street, and going to sleep. Have you let those risks stop you from doing all the things?

Anyways, let’s talk about the potential adverse effects. The biggest risk is that you don’t know how well the producer purged their product. Since live resin is extracted using some sort of chemical solvent, you are potentially exposing yourself to those solvents or impurities left behind from extraction.

Butane and propane are the most common solvents and they can leave behind some pretty rough health effects. Butane is toxic so there is a lot of danger there.

If you do decide to eat live resin, make sure you have high-quality products. However, you should also know that there is still a risk of residual solvents and those could be harmful or dangerous. If there are residuals, they are likely minimal, but you just don’t know. The possibility of contamination is your most significant risk to be aware of.

alternative consumption options to consider

If you insist that you want to eat live resin, we highly recommend you find a producer that infuses edible products after decarboxylation. Otherwise, you may lose the robust terpene profile and cannabinoids. This will give you the desired effects that most people want from resin if you really want to ingest.

There are better and more effective ways to consume live resin, though. We highly recommend inhalation methods. Resin vapes work really well and there are live resin carts if you want something focused on that need. A dab tool and smoking both work fine, too.

However, if your purpose is to find alternatives to the more traditional methods and that is why you’re looking at ingestion, there are a couple more resin products, too. Baked goods and beverages work fine.

Use something where the live resin is going to get heated or cooked as it is more likely to activate those cannabinoids we mentioned. Remember it may have less potent effects or be delayed as far as overall effects.

Cannabis users could also combine live resin with something like coconut oil or olive oil and create a tincture or cannabis oil. You could purchase a tincture with live resin, too. Tinctures are often administered under the tongue so you get a quick effect. This may be a better option than eating it.

conclusion

Can you eat live resin? It is technically possible, but it’s not really the recommended way to use this concentrated oil. It simply is not as effective or potent when you choose to ingest it, but it is possible if you are aware of the options and the risks of doing so.

Explore a wide array of live resin options with turn. Check out the collections and find something that works great for you!