Which Is Better: Cannabis Flower or Concentrate?
Written by Chris Weatherall on Oct 26, 2022
Whether you’re new or an experienced cannabis user, you may be wondering which method will work best, flower or concentrate. It’s important to understand the differences between the two. That way, you can better understand the potency and onset time of each method.
Cannabis Flower vs Concentrate
First, it’s important to take a look at the health benefits and potential hazards of each method of cannabis consumption. If you’re wondering which is better for you, flower or concentrate, the benefits and drawbacks are of special concern.
Benefits of Cannabis Flower
The practice of smoking cannabis flower has a long history to stand on, as flower has been used throughout human history in medicine, recreation, and ritual. It was the most commonly available and therefore most-used form of cannabis consumption, and for that reason has a great many adherents the world over. You’ll find that many people prefer flower simply for the comfort and tradition this proven method brings them.
One benefit flower may have over some types of concentrate is the entourage effect. This can be described as the idea that cannabis offers more benefits to the user when all its most essential compounds are working together. While the makers of concentrates filter out excess plant matter, fats, and other lipids, cannabis flower contains these compounds plus the desirable terpenes and cannabinoids. However, keep in mind that premium, full-spectrum cannabis compounds do exist.
Benefits of Concentrates
Filtering out excess cannabis plant matter does have specific benefits, however, such as ensuring accurate and consistent dosing of the desirable cannabinoids and terpenes. Concentrating cannabis compounds also helps reduce the number of doses needed per day and can give the patient relief for longer periods.
Concentrates by nature are more potent than the flower, and can provide benefits beyond controlled dosing. The experience of using concentrates often feels cleaner and smoother for users. In addition, the wide variety of available concentrates provides more options than flower generally does.
General Drawbacks of Cannabis Flower
Smoking cannabis flower, whether via a joint, blunt, hand pipe, bong, or similar, can cause similar issues as smoking tobacco. Combustion releases smoke that can feel harsh to the consumer. For some with certain health conditions, lung irritation can be an undesirable side effect of smoking flower.
General Drawbacks of Concentrate
Concentrate can be added to cannabis flower, vaped, dabbed, or even consumed as a tincture. Though there is no risk of lung irritation with tinctures and concentrate hits are often cleaner than those from cannabis flower, research is still ongoing regarding the risks of inhaling concentrate vapor.
The extraction process for concentrates removes plant material and isolates only the terpenes and cannabinoids you need, like THC and CBD. However, the concentration process can also introduce other solvents and compounds. In addition, there are fewer regulations put in place for clean extract solvents in concentrate manufacturing. Make sure your cannabis concentrates are high-quality concentrates purchased from a licensed dispensary like Kind Meds.
Differences Between Cannabis Flower and Concentrate
Now that we’ve addressed the general benefits and drawbacks of flower and concentrate, it’s important to discover how the differences between these two products can make them more or less desirable for a consumer like you. There are several major differences to consider between flower and concentrate, from their use, effects, and flavors to their availability at your dispensary.
Potency
Do concentrates get you higher than cannabis flower? In a way, they do, because they’re more potent in smaller doses—hence, why they’re called concentrates. Cannabis concentrates are a concentrated source of the cannabinoids and terpenes that produce the euphoria, relaxation, and other components of the cannabis “high” to cannabis users. Generally, the potency of cannabis flower ranges anywhere from around 10% to 25% THC. The potency of a concentrate, on the other hand, often falls into the 50-90% range, though the higher end of the scale is usually occupied for more expensive, reserve extracts.
Those higher potencies can be off-putting to new users, because dosing becomes much more important, especially as you travel up the potency range. If you have little experience with concentrates or have a limited tolerance to THC, consider sticking with a low dose.
Methods of Consumption
Cannabis offers a variety of consumption methods. While it’s true that cannabis flower boasts a vast array of strains, consistency remains in the available ways to use the strain of your choice. Users can expect a familiar, reliable experience every time they smoke flower, regardless of the way they choose to smoke it.
Hand pipes, bongs, joints, blunts, and more offer comfort and a predictable onset of effects depending on the strain. However, many users find smoking less than desirable because it is not very discreet. You can also make edible treats with decarboxylated flower, though their effects are less predictable.
Concentrates refers to an even wider array of products, which can open up a whole new world to the cannabis consumer. Concentrates are often classified by texture, and this is where words like shatter, crumble, wax, sap, honeycomb, and oil come into play. Concentrate names can also refer to the method of extraction. Many concentrates are extracted by using a solvent like alcohol or CO2. Extraction through water, such as hash, or extraction through heat, like rosin, can be good solvent-less solutions for those who don’t know how alcohol, CO2, or hydrocarbon extracts might affect them.
Vaping
These are useful beginner options, as they can often be consumed in the same manner as cannabis flower. Hash can be rolled into a joint and smoked. Oils can be added to vape pens, made into capsules, mixed into foods, or even consumed directly. Oils offer a smoke-free alternative, and a discreet method of ingesting cannabis. These simple methods offer high potency with ease of use, and are often fairly discreet.
Dabbing
Dabbing involves applying butane hash oil cannabis extracts of a variety of textures (shatter, budder, wax, honeycomb, and more) to a hot glass piece. The resulting vapors are inhaled through what’s known as a dab rig. This method allows the user to inhale vapor potent in terpenes and cannabinoids. However, it can seem less accessible to new users due to the equipment needed.
Tinctures
Tinctures are a liquid extract that is dropped under the tongue. Cannabis compounds enter the bloodstream via the capillary network that resides under the tongue. These cannabis concentrates can take effect more quickly on your body than an digestible oil, but are usually not as potent as other concentrate forms.
Other Differences in Concentrates Versus Flower
Flavor
The aroma and taste of cannabis comes primarily from the terpenes it contains, but these compounds are fragile and volatile. Terpenes are sensitive to heat, making them hard to preserve during several types of extraction methods. For that reason, concentrates often lose some of their flavor and aroma during the extraction process. This can mean that cannabis flower is often more flavorful than concentrates of the same strain.
However, many concentrate creators reintroduce the original terpenes and other flavors into extracts at the end of the process. Many users find these concentrates can be even more flavorful than the flower it came from. This process can also result in an elevated terpene load and enhanced effects.
Price
While cannabis concentrate costs more per gram, it’s important to take the potency into account. In essence, you’ll need to factor in the doses you’ll receive from a gram of concentrate versus a gram of flower.
Should You Choose Cannabis Concentrate or Flower?
So, are cannabis concentrates or cannabis flower right for you? Since the price points of these two products are similar, it all comes down to your preferences. If you are looking for a discreet, lung-friendly, fast-acting, potent method of cannabis consumption—and you’re willing to take it slow and experiment a bit to find the right dose for you—many of the cannabis concentrates mentioned are a wonderful option.
If you’re looking for the familiarity, predictable onset time, and well-documented effects of cannabis flower, you may want to stick with smoking—especially if you enjoy the social aspect that often comes with flower use.
If you can’t make up your mind between concentrates and flower then you’ll just have to come check us out and dabble in both options….. Getting the BEST of both worlds before making a final decision is always a solid game plan. To learn more and see our selection of high-quality cannabis products check out our online dispensary menu and be sure to subscribe to our email list to receive notifications of our new cannabis deals.
