What to do with Cannabis Trim

Cannabis trim is a term referring to all waste obtained after marijuana bud trimming. It increases the potency, flavour, and appearance of the buds. But Instead of disposing of the trims, they can instead be converted to useful products.

Trimming involves carefully separating leaves and other unwanted parts from the buds. It can either be done while wet or when dry depending on an individual’s choice. In the long run, they both serve the same purpose.

The cannabis trim mainly contains bigger “non-sugar” leaves and smaller “sugar” leaves. The smaller ones have more uses than the bigger ones, but both can be used to make products.

These leaves contain the active compounds present in the cannabis plant, though in small quantities. To some extent, they are capable of making someone feel high. Below are some of the best ways in which you can use the trims.

Skin Topicals

Cannabis topicals have a great impact on the skin. Research indicates that cannabis has the ability to deal with numerous skin conditions because it has the ability to penetrate the skin. As per 2020, topicals and creams have already gained tremendous popularity.

Using dried trims, they are ground into a fine powder, then mixed with essential oils to create topicals to apply in the body. Sometimes these are homemade, but there are also industrial topicals that have been made from cannabis trims.

The mixture typically requires up to four days before it is ready for use. After this, the mixture can be applied to any external part of the skin.

Hash

Hashish, which is commonly called Hash, is a traditional form of concentrate that can be easily made out of cannabis trim. This type of concentrate is strong enough to make someone get high.

To achieve this, trichomes need to be separated from the cannabis trims. Trichomes have higher levels of cannabinoids and other active compounds than the rest of the trims.

After separating the trichomes, a pollen press can be used to compress them to hash. The hash obtained from the trichomes is similar to any other hash, though the potency is slightly lower.

Edibles & Cannabutter

Trims can be involved in any recipe since THC is soluble in fats. Butter, milk or any other oil can work well.

When milk is used, the resulting solution is called cannamilk, which can be included in a range of recipes. The same process can be used to make cannabutter, infuse it with coconut or olive oil.

To successfully mix the two, the trim must be ground to help increase the surface area for cannabis oil to be drawn. The fine material is then added to melted butter or hot oil. After allowing the mixture to stand for a while, a strainer is used to strain and squeeze out all the oil. The oil or cannabutter can now be used in cooking or for other uses.

Trichomes contain psychoactive compounds like tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is responsible for individuals getting high. This is the more reason, any part with trichome should be preserved for use.

There is a second method of obtaining it using a pressure cooker. It helps to quickly and efficiently draw the oil. This should not be confused with cooking, but increasing temperatures to melt as much oil as possible.

Coconut oil or milk is mixed with the selected sugar leaves before heating them in a pressure cooker. After a few minutes the process is done to avoid overheating which may result in loss of potency.

Rosin

Rosin is a cannabis concentrate made without the use of any solvent. It is commonly called solventless hash oil. The potency of rosin equals that of other concentrates, but contains no solvent impurities.

The sugar leaves are mainly used for extracting rosin. Therefore, they should be carefully selected from the trim. A rosin press helps to draw out rosin.

Similarly, the trim can be turned to hash or kief before pressing it. This process offers higher yields as compared to direct pressing.

Kief

Kief is resinous or trichome glands of cannabis that contain high concentrations of THC. The process is simple, involving the sugar leaves in the trim. There are automatic bud trimmers that can do all this work.

In case there is no machine, a silkscreen can be used to collect the kief. Slowly rub the trims on the silkscreen and kief will be collected below. It is usually rich in THC, hence can be smoked directly or still can be used to make hash.

Juice

The fan leaves can be used to make juice and the process is relatively simple. They contain a few trichomes.

These leaves can be consumed like normal food. Only a blender is needed and maybe other ingredients. Before placing the leaves in a blender, increase the surface area by cutting them into small pieces. The juice obtained can be used like any other juice and can be mixed with other juices or added in vegetables.

Compost

If you’re not interested in extracting anything from the trim, it’s wise to compost them somewhere. This will turn them into manure to be used for growing other crops.

Research indicates that both small and large cannabis leaves obtained after trimming can be smoked directly, but they cannot get you high because of low active components like THC. All the above products can be used to compliment those obtained from buds.