Best Ways To Use Rosin
Viviane Schute
Cannabis enthusiast and student of the art of solventless extraction
While dabbing might be the preferred and predominant way that most rosineers enjoy rosin, it’s not the only way to use our favorite solventless cannabis concentrate. Medicating with cannabis rosin isn’t limited to dropping globs, and there are several ways to get creative with your consumption.
If it’s time to shake up your routine, consider a few of the best ways to use rosin and give them a try. Whether you like to smoke it or eat it, you can find some great ways to take an old friend for a new spin.
Dab It
When it comes to consuming rosin, dabbing is the mainstay for most rosin heads. Dabbing involves dropping a small glob of rosin onto a heated nail or other surface, and inhaling the resulting vapor into the lungs. Dabbing requires some sort of apparatus, or dab rig, to vaporize the rosin and allow for inhalation. There are several types of dab rigs on the market, from full size glass rigs to small electronic vape pens.
Dabbing allows you to capture the true essence of the cannabis plant, enjoying all the flavors of high terpene content combined with the effect of potent levels of cannabinoids. Dabbing rosin is the full spectrum experience that’s hard to beat, but it also has its downsides.
Dab rigs can be a hassle to travel with, and heating a nail can have its drawbacks (especially if you’re using a torch). Also, massive hits of vaporized rosin has the potential to become taxing on the lungs.
Here are a few different ways to dab rosin:
Traditional dab rig with torch - Usually made of borosilicate glass, dab rigs are composed of a base/chamber, mouthpiece, downstem, and nail/banger. Normally the nail/banger is heated with a torch to 600-700 degrees Fahrenheit.
Enail - Electronic nails let you avoid using a torch to heat the nail/banger of your rig. Enails use electricity and a heating element to bring a nail/banger to the correct temperature for dabbing. Enails can generally be integrated into existing rigs and can make a convenient upgrade if you’re used to using a torch.
Vape pens and mobile electronic rigs - Similar to enails, pens and mobile electronic rigs have internal heating elements that bring integrated nails, coils, or bangers to the correct temperatures for dabbing. They are convenient but don’t offer the customization or full temperature control in the same way other rigs can.
Eat It
Give your lungs a break! Aside from helping clear out your lungs from regular dabbing, eating rosin lets you experience the medicating effects of cannabis in a different way. Often a longer-lasting and more intensely indisputable experience, eating rosin-infused foods is an excellent alternative to smoking.
Additionally, cannabinoids that are vaporized and inhaled versus eaten reach our endocannabinoid systems through different mechanisms, meaning that both the onset and full effect of the rosin will feel different between the two methods.
In other words, taking a dab of rosin will give you a different high than eating the same amount. Some people prefer the deeply therapeutic effect of eating rosin-infused foods, over the quick hit and headlong stimulation of a dab.
Before infusing foods with rosin, you’ll need to decarboxylate it, which is a simple process of heating rosin to transform the cannabinoids into a form our bodies can use most effectively. Through decarboxylation, cannabinoid molecules eliminate a carboxylic acid group and are transformed into a non acid molecule that can properly bind with our bodies’ endocannabinoid systems.
Rosin should be heated between 225 and 250 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 to 90 minutes. As a rule of thumb, the higher the temperature the less time it takes to decarb the rosin.
Once the rosin is decarboxylated, there’s a world of culinary cannabis exploration that opens up before you. It’s already in its psychoactive state and good to go, so add it to any sort of food. You can melt it into butter or oil for cooking, mix it with gelatin to make gummies, or melt it into sauces to pair with pasta.
Enhance with It
Adding rosin to smoked cannabis increases potency and flavor for a multilayered sensory adventure, enhancing the smoking experience. Use rosin to spice up some cannabis flowers with the added punch of a concentrate.
Take a small bit of rosin and roll it over parchment paper, creating a skinny, worm-like roll. Take this long thread of rosin and wrap it around a joint or blunt. As the joint is smoked, the rosin will vaporize and you’ll inhale that along with the cannabis smoke.
You can also take small bits of rosin and sprinkle it on top of cannabis flowers in a pipe or bong.
Swallow It
Making rosin capsules lets you easily swallow rosin for accurate, consistent, and discreet dosing. Easy to transport and consume, rosin capsules offer a convenient and effective alternative to smoking or eating rosin.
In the same way as you’d prepare rosin for edibles, decarboxylating rosin is the necessary first step of making rosin capsules.
You can learn all about rosin capsules and how to make them here.
Bonus Tip
Use rosin to make Moon Rocks! Moon Rocks are somewhat of a specialty cannabis creation that can definitely help take you beyond your earth-bound worries. Including three different forms of cannabis, Moon Rocks make for a fun alternative way to enjoy your rosin.
Learn more about Moon Rocks and how to make them with rosin here.
Conclusion
Although dabbing seems to stand head and shoulders above other ways to consume rosin, it’s definitely not the only way to enjoy this supremely pure and potent cannabis concentrate. So put down the torch from time to time and try some other ways to medicate with rosin. Your trusty dab rig will still love you!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What's the best way to use rosin?
Most people dab rosin, but there is no best way for everyone, it's whatever you prefer!
What's the healthiest way to consume rosin?
For the sake of your lungs, eating rosin after it's been decarboxylated is probably healthier overall.
Do you have to decarb rosin to eat it?
Yes, to get the full effect it's important to decarboxylate rosin before infusing it or baking it into other foods.
What is the easiest way to use rosin?
Making vape cartridges with your rosin is probably the most convenient way to inhale it, while MCT Oil caps with rosin are the most convenient way to eat it.
What is a dab rig?
A dab rig is a glass apparatus that looks and functions like a water bong but made specifically for consuming cannabis concentrates like rosin.
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