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While the Arkansas medical marijuana program has been in full swing for two years now, the cannabis market in the Natural State still has some catching up to do. There are only a handful of dispensaries allowed in the state, the quality of the curing process has been less than desirable lately, and the state insists on charging patients with additional taxes that do not benefit the MMJ infrastructure.
These are small bumps in the road on the way to the well-oiled machines we see from other states where medical marijuana has been active for years. And though Arkansas does have some issues to address, by and large the medical marijuana program in the Natural State has been an important step in the right direction.
In moving towards a better, healthier future for Arkansas cannabis, rosin and live extracts are a critical move for 2021, and in this article we’ll cover what they are, why they’re important, and where you can find them.
Arkansas Cannabis Concentrates
Concentrates are just isolated parts. To arrive at a concentrated product you need to first reduce all other parts and compounds, leaving only the part you want. For a good overview of what concentrates are and how they work, check out our article on concentrates here.
Concentrates come in two main categories: Solvent-based and solventless.
Solvent-Based Extracts
Solvent-based extracts use a solvent (butane, ethanol, propane etc.) to extract THC, which then goes through a refining process to remove the solvent, leaving you with a very high amount of THC and not much else. Solvent-based extracts are definitely the most common type of extracts to purchase, favored for their consistency and potency.
There are a few issues with solvent-based extracts though, one of them is that they use chemicals.
While almost all the chemicals get removed from the final product, if the process isn’t handled with extreme precision, some trace amounts of chemicals can find themselves in the concentrate that ends up on the dispensary shelf.
Another common problem with solvent-based extracts is ironically exactly what they’re designed to do: extract.
The Problem With Solvent-Based Extracts
The most universal priority in solvent-based extraction is yielding high THC content. As is the priority with any concentrate, however the real problem is in isolating THC using chemical extraction.
When you use solvent-based extraction, you are pulling THC from the plant and leaving behind all the other cannabinoids, flavonoids, and terpenes.
There are over a hundred cannabinoids that have been isolated from cannabis, and that number continues to grow as researchers expect to discover more. These cannabinoids like CBG, CBN, and CBD, have a range of medicinal (and sometimes psychoactive) properties that medical marijuana patients benefit from.
When you use solvent-based extraction, you lose many of those extra compounds. And since terpenes are responsible for the taste, they often need to be reinjected, or they’re left out of the product entirely.
Some of these problems can be addressed with live resin.
Live Resin
Live resins maintain a lot of the original plant structure by skipping the drying and curing phase, and head straight to a freezer instead. Flower can lose a lot of the terpenes during the drying and curing phase as the buds are agitated, exposed to light, and leaves are removed. Since terpenes cover the whole surface of the plant, you can keep them in your product by freezing the buds immediately, and then going through the extraction process from there.
All of these issues can be addressed with one product however, a type of extraction that has become extremely popular and widely available for cannabis consumers in the United States.
Solventless Extracts
Solventless extracts do not use chemicals to reduce down their product. Instead, they use heat and pressure to isolate their cannabinoids.
One of the cleanest and healthiest ways to make extract is rosin.
Rosin
With rosin, you only need to apply heat and pressure to gently squeeze the trichomes into a gooey resin that resembles many concentrates made from solvent-based extraction.
While too much heat or too much pressure can destroy some of the cannabinoids, if done correctly the final product will contain a large amount of the compounds that grew organically in the plant.
This is a very common way to make extracts across the nation and can even be done at home with a heat press.
The rosin can be further agitated to create rosin butter, a familiar consistency for those who favor traditional solvent-based concentrates like sugar, sauce, and diamonds.
The Benefits of Rosin
Rosin is an excellent way to maintain your plant structure and produce a high THC percentage product. It’s the best of both worlds and many old school cannabis connoisseurs will be familiar with its predecessor, hash.
At its root, one of the only things that differentiate hash from rosin is heat.
Charas, an Indian hand rolling technique that produces hash, has been around for thousands of years. In fact some of the earliest known literature indicates we’ve been isolating THC since the 12th century.
Instead of rolling the flowers in our hands for hours, we opt for a machine that can heat up and press the flower, producing the gooey sap from the trichomes nearly instantly.
Rosins, kief, and ice-water hash are all solventless extracts, with rosin being the most common.
While the rest of the nation might have a high supply of solventless extracts, Arkansas is still a little behind the times. Finding solventless extracts can be a bit of a chore and might require some road trips, but it is well worth the effort.
Where to Find Live Resin & Rosin in Arkansas
While many states have had medical marijuana for some time, Arkansas is still relatively new to the game. Rosin is hard to find, but it does exist.
With new processors and cultivators getting operational, more extract alternatives should show up on the market in the coming seasons.
Dispensaries
Rosin and live resins have shown up in a few Arkansas dispensaries. Osage Creek cultivators occasionally have live resin production runs, and they were found at Native Green Wellness in Hensley, AR.
Suite 443 in Hot Springs, AR has a Nugsmasher they use in-house to produce rosin with. A budtender there explained that they use full on flower to press their rosin, not just trim or shake like some cultivators will do.
Your best bet for finding rosin and live resin in Arkansas is to hop on Weedmaps and hope for the best. When they show up, they sell fast.
Stay on the lookout at those two dispensaries, they’ve had the most stock lately. The market can change at any moment and you may find rosin & live resin at more dispensaries soon as more dispensaries and processing facilities are looking to make more concentrate products.
If you’ve found rosin or live resin at an Arkansas dispensary lately, tweet us at @arkansas_mmj on Twitter!
Get Your Arkansas Marijuana Card
Arkansas is slowly stepping up to the plate when it comes to extracts. While the Natural State might still be playing catch up, adding new cultivators and processing centers will increase the flow of good, healthy concentrates. Rosin and live resin are both widely available in nearly every medical marijuana state, Arkansas will be no different in the near future.
The Arkansas Medical Marijuana program is available for anyone with a qualifying condition, and getting your card is fast and easy with Arkansas Marijuana Card.
We’re dedicated to helping patients every step of the way, feel free to give us a call at 844-249-8714, and we can answer your questions about getting medical marijuana in Arkansas.
Doctors Who Care. Relief You Can Trust.
Helping everyone achieve wellness safely and conveniently through increased access to medical marijuana. Our focus on education, inclusion, and acceptance will reduce stigma for our patients by providing equal access to timely information and compassionate care.
If you have any questions, call us at 844-249-8714, or simply book a medical marijuana evaluation to start getting relief you can trust today!
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