THC Diamonds: What They Are And How They’re Made
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If you’re in search of the purest, most potent cannabis experience, look no further than THC diamonds.
In this article, the experts at Honest Marijuana discuss this unique form of cannabis and give you a behind-the-scenes peek at how it’s made.
What Are THC Diamonds?
THC diamonds are a highly-concentrated form of cannabis that hold the potential to achieve 100% purity. That triple-digit number means that when you take one, you get nothing else but pure, unadulterated THC
So, if one of your favorite strong strains of marijuana tops out at 25% THC, just imagine what 100% will feel like. That’s the draw of THC diamonds.
But to really understand what makes these little gems unique, let’s start by examining what’s inside.
Cannabinoids
At their most basic, cannabinoids are chemical compounds just like water, sugar, and salt. Cannabinoids, though, do something that those common compounds can’t: interact with the cannabinoid receptors (CB1 and CB2) in your brain.
That’s what makes cannabinoids so famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) — they can produce some pretty cool effects on your body and brain.
Common cannabinoids include:
The most famous (or infamous) cannabinoid, however, is THC. But, and this may come as a shock, there’s no THC in THC diamonds (nor in that ounce of raw bud you purchased the other day), only the potential for THC if you handle it right.
THCA And THC
THC diamonds (and all cannabis products, for that matter) actually contain THCA (tetrahydrocannbinolic acid).
Think of THCA as the parent molecule of THC. Put THCA together with something else, and you get THC. We’ll discuss this in more detail in the Will THC Diamonds Get You High? section below.
THC — whose full scientific name is delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol — is the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. It’s the main reason why smoking a doobie gets you so high.
But THC does more than just take you on a nice trip. It also helps reduce nausea, suppress muscle spasms, relieve pain, and stimulate appetite.
That said, the medical effects of THC probably aren’t the reason you’re investigating THC diamonds. You’re likely looking for a stronger psychoactive response.
That’s where THC crystals and THC diamonds come in.
Crystals
Crystals are concentrated extracts much like isolate that contain as much pure cannabinoid as possible and very little else.
In fact, some crystals can contain up to 99.97% of a specific cannabinoid under the right circumstances. That’s a lot!
Needless to say, that would be quite an experience and you certainly wouldn’t need very much to experience the results you’re looking for.
So, while crystals can theoretically contain any of the many cannabis cannabinoids, most consumers will be on the hunt for one of the two main ones: CBD and THC.
The process of making THC crystals usually results in something that looks like snow or hard frost.
But, with even more work, you’ll get some extra-large crystals, which, in a world where size matters, are highly sought after as the pinnacle of the cannabis experience.
These large crystals are called diamonds.
Diamonds
So, after we collate all the information from the sections above, we’re left with this:
THC diamonds are concentrated crystal extracts of larger-than-usual size that contain THCA molecules in their natural state (which transform into THC when you add heat).
Like crystals, the real draw of THC diamonds is the fact that they are almost 100% pure THC.
They’ll certainly give you an experience unlike any other if you 1) can get your hands on some, and 2) use them correctly.
How Are THC Diamonds Made?
Before we get further into this section, we’re going to advise you NOT to try to make your own THC diamonds.
As you’ll see, it takes some pretty heavy-duty chemicals and fancy (read: expensive) lab equipment to make these ganja bad boys.
Production is better left to those with the knowledge and experience not to blow themselves up, suffocate themselves, or otherwise seriously harm their body.
We’ll describe the process in general, but if you really want to make your own THC diamonds, go back to school, earn a chemistry degree, and get hired by a lab where you can do everything safely and without risk of death.
You’ve been warned.
The Path To THC Diamonds
As with all cannabis products, making THC diamonds starts with growing a high-THC strain of marijuana like Sour Diesel, Blue Dream, or Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies (pick a strain, any strain).
When the cannabis plant reaches maturity, it’s harvested and subjected to some form of extraction. Extraction separates the cannabinoids, terpenes, trichomes, flavonoids, and other chemical goodies from the plant matter.
Common extraction methods include:
- Carbon dioxide (CO2)
- Ice water
- Butane
- Alcohol/ethanol
At the end of the extraction process, you’re left with a cannabis concentrate. Depending on the form in which you choose to keep the cannabis concentrate (e.g., solid, semi-solid, liquid), you can then make things like shatter, wax, oil, and tincture.
To continue on toward THC diamonds, the cannabis concentrate is then subjected to winterization which refines it even further. Winterization is just a fancy science term for cooling down a chemical substance in order to remove impurities.
So, in the case of THC diamonds, winterization removes excess waxes (fats and lipids) so you’re left with a purer substance.
Winterization, though, also removes the terpenes, trichomes, and flavonoids from the mix, so there’s a bit of tradeoff involved, because, without the terpenes, you get none of the delicious flavors that your zip of raw weed has to offer.
Actually, there’s a big debate raging around whole-plant cannabis vs. isolates (like THC diamonds) because the chemicals that are removed to produce the final product can have beneficial effects when taken together.
(For more about the entourage effect, its benefits, its importance, and how it applies to perishability, check our article Marijuana Perishability: The Importance Of Marijuana Preservation.)
As simple as all that sounds so far, it’s really not. While there are certain extraction methods that you can do at home, some come with the risk of explosion or chemical asphyxiation.
Even winterization is a bit more complicated than just storing your cannabis concentrate in the freezer for a few days. That’s why we recommend leaving it to the professionals and purchasing diamonds at your local dispensary.
Plus, we’re not done with the refining process yet!
The next step involves mixing the winterized extract with chemicals such as acetic acid, hexane, dichloromethane, chloroform, and something called Sephadex-LH20 (you can’t get those at your corner market).
The mixture is run through lab equipment (a rotary vessel or reactionary vessel) that uses pressure, motion, and heat to refine the concentrate even further.
To conclude the procedure, then, the solution is run through a process called chromatography which really only makes sense to chemists.
At the end, you’re left with a large chunk of solid crystal (a diamond) in which all of the THCA molecules are bonded together waiting for you to apply heat to unleash their full potential.
Will THC Diamonds Get You High?
Yes, THC diamonds will get you rip-roaring, hair-raising, mind-blowingly high…but only if you use them correctly.
Remember, THC diamonds contain THCA — a non-psychedelic cannabinoid. So, if you pop a handful of these little gems like Nerds (don’t do this), you probably won’t feel a thing (other than maybe a stomach ache).
To unlock the high inside the diamonds, you have to decarboxylate them. Decarboxylate (a.k.a. decarboxylation or decarb) is just a fancy, technical term for applying high heat.
So, if you’ve ever smoked a joint or blazed a bong, you’ve decarbed your weed.
The high heat from the lighter or torch breaks the bonds inside the THCA molecule and separates the THC from the A (the acid). When you inhale the resulting smoke (filled with lots of THC and very little A), the THC will get you high.
So, basically, you’re going to need to find a way to smoke your THC diamonds if you want to experience the extreme high within.
That said, when you do take it correctly (through decarboxylation), the high from THC diamonds feels bright, fresh, and energetic because you don’t get the interference from CBD or the effects of the terpenes. All you get is the THC.
Just be careful not to overdo it!
High-Quality Cannabis = High-Quality THC Diamonds
In many ways, THC diamonds are the holy grail of the weed world. But even this powerful form of cannabis is nothing without the most basic ingredient of all: high-quality bud.
Strain doesn’t play all that much of a role in the final experience because you’re just pulling all the THC out. The quality of the strain, however, does contribute to what you’ll end up feeling.
That’s why we recommend THC diamonds (and products of any kind, for that matter) made from the highest quality raw bud (headies or beasters) available. The end result will be much cleaner and the experience much purer.
It all comes down to this simple principle: Quality in equals quality out.
Plus, with a good quality, organic strain — like those grown at Honest Marijuana — you’ll need less of the final product to experience the same effects. A little goes a long way.
You may have to pay a bit more for products made with high-quality bud, but you’ll be much happier with how you feel when you use them.
Talk to the budtenders at your local dispensary and find out what products they recommend.
If you live in Colorado, find some products made with strains from Honest Marijuana and discover what the purest marijuana experience on the planet feels like. You won’t be sorry.
For more information on all things cannabis and to check out our 100-percent all-natural marijuana products, visit HonestMarijuana.com today.
The post THC Diamonds: What They Are And How They’re Made appeared first on Honest Marijuana.
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