What is 7/10 and why do cannabis dispensaries and consumers celebrate it?
Think of 7/10 as a niche marijuana holiday that’s devoted to celebrating concentrates. It doesn’t have the underground teen outlaw beginnings of 4/20, a holiday that goes back to the 1970s. The earliest mentions of 7/10 began in 2011, when Salt Lake City rapper and dab aficionado Taskrok put out a song called “7:10” that he says came from his realization that 710 upside down spells “oil.” Sure, it’s a bit of a reach, but a holiday devoted to the art of cannabis concentrates is a fantastic idea, especially as most dispensaries (including Medcare Farms!) offer amazing deals on concentrates to honor vacation.
What are concentrates?
Concentrates is the catch-all term used to describe the material created by distilling all of the cannabinoids and terpenes found in the cannabis plant and removing excess plant material. Vape pens are filled with concentrate, and edibles are often infused with concentrate. Live rosin, shatter, batter, wax, dabs, and honey—the fancy products in display cases at the dispensary—are all concentrates.
As Weedmaps puts it, cannabis concentrates are analogous to the orange juice concentrate in the back of your freezer. The same way that it takes many oranges to make one glass of juice, it takes many pounds of cannabis to make a single pound of concentrate—and that cannabis oil or hash rosin contains a LOT more cannabinoids and terpenes than raw cannabis flowers. Concentrates like the ones used for dabbing contain high THC levels, which is why dabs are beloved by aficionados but usually cautioned against for cannabis beginners.
Are concentrates and extracts the same thing?
No. All extracts are concentrates—but not all concentrates are extracts. Extracts are a specific type of concentrate made using a solvent. (You see these in ordinary baking products like vanilla extract, which is made by using a solvent to pull out vanillin from vanilla bean pods.) Alcohol, butane and supercritical CO2 are all types of solvents used to make cannabis extracts.
Concentrates can also be made using mechanical or physical tools. Solventless concentrates are made by employing heat, ice, water or pressure to extract the psychoactive components of the plant. This method of extraction is more time-consuming and often more expensive, but the quality and flavors of solventless extracts are prized by concentrate aficionados. Rosin, dry sift, and kief are all examples of solventless concentrates.
Are dabs considered concentrates?
Yes. The word “dab” can be both a noun and a verb. A dab is the tiny amount of concentrate placed in a dab rig, and dabbing is the act of inhaling vaporized concentrates like crumble, sauce, or wax, using a heating tool such as a dab rig.
Dabbing requires specialized gear because the process of dabbing requires extremely high heat. Where flower in a bong or pipe combusts at around 350°F, dabs vaporize between 400-600°F—which is why you need a dab rig to consume them. Dabs are delicious and extremely potent—much more so than flower, so be sure you know your tolerance levels and use caution should you decide to try them.
Browse Medcare Farms wide range of concentrates here—and if you want a deeper dive into concentrates, check out our blog How to Use Concentrates Correctly: A Step-By-Step Guide.
