Can You Smoke Cannabis Resin?

Every smoker, at one point or the other, has smoked cannabis residue, even though many don’t like admitting it. It’s most common when a smoker runs out of bud and can’t get more almost immediately. So what happens next? You just decide to smoke the leftovers in your pipe, at least until you restock your shelf with fresh cannabis products. But should you smoke weed resin at all?

What is Marijuana Resin?

Marijuana resins are basically the byproducts/leftovers of your heated herbs that remain in your smoking tool. The leftovers build up to form tar and black gunk over time in the chamber of your vaporizer or at the bottom of your water pipe as you continue to use the unit.

If you let the residue continue to build up, then it will clog the air path of your pipe. So it’s best to clean your unit now and then. Some smokers do regular maintenance on their pipes while others prefer to clean theirs once in two weeks or monthly. The bottom line is, if you use your pipe for a long time without washing, it becomes hard to clean. It also loses efficiency over time.

Does it Contain THC

It is quite difficult to determine the exact potency of Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in resin. However, since residue are byproducts, they contain a lesser amount of THC than the real stuff.

Can you get High from Smoking Resin?

Although resin still contains some THC, it won’t get you as high as the actual herbs. You will have to smoke a lot to get high. And of course, that is not advisable because it is a very awful and unhealthy way to get high. Inhaling smoke at a high heat can lead to Benzene poisoning.

Dangers of Smoking Weed Residue

Aside from being gross, marijuana resin is generally not safe to smoke. Some of the problems associated with smoking cannabis leftovers which include:

Harmful to your health

Generally, while smoking is not good for the respiratory system, inhaling resin is far worse and can do more harm to your health. It is made up of not just tar alone but also a mixture of ash and carbons. So there’s no argument on how bad smoking residue can be for your health. However, note that this doesn’t mean that those who occasionally smoke weed residue will suffer major health issues. The point is that you will face severe problems when you smoke resins compared to smoking actual herbs over the same period of time.

Irritation

Smoking irritates the throat and lungs, and that’s one of the reasons why most people opt in for vaporizers . It helps you get cool, pure vapors from their buds. However, if you smoke resins, you’d be burning tar and ash, so expect a much harsher and darker smoke. This can further cause severe irritation to your throat.

Short High

Since resins still contain some percentage of THC, there is a chance that some people can get high from smoking it, especially since they are experiencing carbon monoxide intake. But they don’t usually remain high for long which obviously isn’t worth the risks. It is a short lived high that can often lead to other problems. It’s honestly better to be not high than to be smoking resin from cannabis.

Headaches

Headaches usually accompany the short highs from smoking residues. Once the highness starts fading, you begin to experience pains around the back and middle of your head.

Different Ways to Smoke it?

Despite being bad for our body, some people still find pleasure in smoking resin. If you are one of them and probably wondering the best way to do so, here are some recommendations.

Joint

This method is quite harsh. The slow-burning rate of resin coupled with the stiffness will reduce the air flow of your joint. This means you will hardly get good smoke when you light up the joint. You may have to light up the joint several times while taking hits.

Vaporizer

You can use your vaporizer to vape leftovers. However, it could ruin your device as you may need to vape at extremely high temperatures before the resin can produce thick vapors. Beware that your herbal chamber will definitely get gunky and full of tar. As you heat up the chamber, this will decrease over time but you will be getting hints of residue taste in your vapor. If you are vaping because you’re a medical marijuana patient, I do not suggest it. Vaping is mean’t to be a safer alternative so it can be counter intuitive.

Pipe

This is the best way to smoke resin. Scrape the leftovers and roll them into a small resin ball, put in the pipe, and smoke. However, there’s no need for scraping if the bowl already has a lot of residue. I recommend using a water filtration system like a bong or bubbler to help cool the smoke.

How to Scrape Resin

How you scrape resins from your smoking tool depends on the type of pipe you have. Since they differ, you have to apply some creativity while scraping off the resin.  But keep in mind that it is a messy process so try as much as possible to avoid the residue from touching your clothes or skin. If it does, removing the stain comes with a lot of stress. Here are a few tools you can use to scrape out resin.

Bobby Pin or hairpin: This is a type of metal or plastic hairpin that women use to hold their hair in place. This pin allows you to bend it to form different shapes. Bobby pins are great for scraping as they let you remove the build up around curve areas with ease.

Lighter: Another great way to scrape off the resin is to dry hit the pipe a couple of time. This heats the leftovers and makes them sticky and easier for you to remove, although the smell will be nasty.

Parchment Pape:  Since scraping resin can mess your surface, you need a non-stick disposable paper to collect the leftovers from your pipe.

Smoker multi-tool: Although it is not necessary to have this around, it’s cool for scraping out resins from bowls.

Note: Only scrape your metal and glass pipes. Avoid scraping plastic pipes as you could ruin them.

How to Clean Your Pipe

As mentioned earlier, it is necessary to clean and maintain your water pipe from time to time. Cleaning your pipe regularly will reduce the amount of resin buildup. So what is the best way to clean your pipe? There are two major ways – the cleaning formula method and homemade method.

With Formula

These are already made pipe cleaning products that help to remove resin from your smoking tools. Each cleaning formula is designed for a specific material type such as glass, metal, silicone, and acrylic. Ensure that you get the right product for your pipe, but all the formulas are pretty easy to use.

The first thing is to pour the formula inside your pipe, then clog all openings and shake very well for about three minutes. Empty the pipe and rinse with warm water. Allow the pipe to dry completely before using it again.

Without Formula (salt and isopropyl)

If you prefer homemade cleansers for your pipe, then combining salt and isopropyl alcohol of 99% (for best results. 90% will do the job too) will give you a sparkling new pipe. If you have bulk resins in your pipe, you would want to scrape them out first using any of the tools mentioned earlier. Once you have done that, you will need a plastic ziplock bag.

Put the pipe in the bag and pour in the iso. Add a tablespoon of sea salt, shake and let it soak for 2 hours.  The salt acts as an abrasive, and it helps to loosen up the resin. Although I have seen some people who used rice in place of salt, it doesn’t really do a great job. Salt generally works best with iso than rice.

After soaking for two hours, shake the bag for about 5 minutes to remove any stubborn resin that’s still hanging in the pipe. Empty the bag and remove the pipe for inspection. It should be clean by now, but if it’s not, you may want to repeat the process or just remove the remaining resin with a cotton swab.

Once you are satisfied with the outcome, give your pipe a final wash with warm, soapy water. Rinse with clean, warm water and allow to dry before you start using it again.

Conclusion

I recommend you clean your pipe every week to avoid bulky build up. It doesn’t really take much time to clean.  You just need to soak your pipe in iso for about five minutes once a week to keep it sparkling clean. But do not use this weekly method for wooden pipes; instead, you can scrub your pipe with a toothbrush soaked in iso to remove the leftovers.