What is Wax? We Learn the Answer From This Orlando Marijuana Dispensary

Whether you’re a regular cannabis user or a pot newbie, chances are you’ve heard the term “wax” getting thrown around over the last few years. Maybe you’ve been curious about what wax is, but too afraid to ask. No worries - we’ve got your back. We checked in with some of our friends at this Orlando marijuana dispensary to explain once and for all: what is wax?

Answering the Burning Question: What is Wax?

Cannabis wax goes by a multitude of names, including “dabs,” “hash oil,” “shatter,” “badder,” and countless others. Ultimately, the term can refer to any type of cannabis concentrate made using a solvent. Common solvents include butane, alcohol, and carbon dioxide.

To make wax, extractors spray cannabis flower with their solvent (a process known as “blasting”) and collect the leftover residue. This process separates the parts of weed that get you high - namely, cannabinoids and terpenes - from plant matter. Then, extractors purge the solvent from the resulting slurry using a combination of pressure and temperature to evaporate it away.

What’s left over is a translucent golden goo that can take several forms. Depending on variables like temperature and whether the extractor whipped their concentrate, wax can be a grainy solid, viscous fluid, or something in between.

Why Choose Wax?

Wax enthusiasts choose this medium for a variety of reasons. However, foremost among them is potency.

Wax has a significantly higher potency than flower does. Typically, wax contains at least 80 percent THC. High-end wax can easily reach 90 percent THC or more. That’s three times more powerful than even the most elite strains of flower. As a result, smoking wax gets you significantly higher than smoking flower does.

In addition, some cannabis enthusiasts consider wax to be “cleaner” than flower since it contains no plant matter. Health experts assert that using wax is no healthier than smoking flower, though.

How to Smoke Wax

“Smoking wax” is a bit misleading. More often than not, you don’t actually smoke wax. Instead, you vaporize it.

What’s the difference? With smoking, you directly ignite cannabis flower with an open flame. As a result, you don’t just inhale cannabinoids and terpenes. In addition, you’re inhaling burning plant matter, also known as “tar.”

In contrast, vaporizing wax never involves touching it with an open flame. Instead, you heat up a surface (usually a glass or metal bowl called a “nail”). Then, you inhale the resulting vapor, tar-free. You can easily smoke wax from either a specialized bong called a dab rig or a type of vaporizer designed specifically for wax.

That’s not to say you can’t smoke wax. You could mix it with flower and roll it up into a joint or blunt. This is less common than vaporizing, though.

Where’s the Wax? Choose This Orlando Marijuana Dispensary

Want to take the deep dive down the weed wax rabbithole? The first thing you’ll need is some quality concentrate. Luckily, if you’re in the Orlando area, premium wax is one stop away. Drop in and visit our favorite Orlando marijuana dispensary to browse their peerless selection of concentrates, flower, and more.