Short answer
Cannabis distillate is a refined extract. Most distillate tests between 80% and 95% THC. It holds almost no plant waxes, chlorophyll, or terpenes. You use it four ways: in a vape cartridge, as a dab, eaten, or rubbed into skin. Distillate is already decarboxylated, so it works when swallowed without added heat.
What the product is
Producers start with trim, flower, or crude oil. They winterize the oil with ethanol, filter the waxes, then run it through a short-path or wiped-film still. Heat and vacuum separate THC from the other molecules. The output is a thick amber or clear oil. Some brands add terpenes back at 3% to 8%. A 1 gram syringe at 90% THC holds 900 mg of THC.
Vape cartridges
Most carts use a 510 thread or a closed pod. A prefilled cart needs no scale, torch, or mixing. To fill your own:
cannabis distillate cartridges
- Set the battery between 2.5 volts and 3.4 volts. Higher heat burns the oil and shortens coil life.
- Press the button for 2 to 3 seconds per pull.
- Wait 10 minutes before a second pull. Inhaled THC reaches the blood in seconds and peaks in 10 to 15 minutes.
Some distillate is too thick for a cart wick. Add 5% to 10% terpenes or a thin cutting agent. Do not use vitamin E acetate. It is a thickening agent tied to lung injury.
Cannabis Distillate Oil Buying Guide: Convenience, Potency, and What to Check
Dabs
Distillate works on a quartz banger, a titanium nail, or an e-rig.
- Heat the banger until it glows red, then wait 30 to 45 seconds. The target is 450 F to 600 F.
- Drop a piece the size of a grain of rice. That is 10 mg to 20 mg of THC.
- Cap the banger. Inhale slow.
Distillate has low flavor. Many dabbers mix it with live resin or add terpenes.
Eating and drinking
Distillate is active. Stir it into warm food, not boiling water. THC binds to fat and alcohol, not water. Use butter, oil, or a drink that contains fat. A rice-grain piece in one cookie is about a 10 mg dose.
Tincture and capsules
Warm the syringe in your hand for 1 to 2 minutes. Squeeze the oil into MCT oil or grain alcohol. Use 1 gram of distillate per 30 mL of liquid for a 30 mg/mL tincture. For capsules, mix distillate with MCT oil and fill size 0 caps. A 10 mg cap takes 0.33 mL of a 30 mg/mL mix.
Topicals
Melt distillate into coconut oil or a salve at 1 gram per 30 mL. Rub it on the skin. Topical THC does not enter the bloodstream in amounts that cause a high in most people.
Dose
Start at 2.5 mg to 5 mg of THC. Wait 2 hours before more if you swallow it. Inhaled doses act in minutes. Tolerance, body weight, and liver enzymes change the response.
Storage
Keep the syringe in a cool, dark place. Heat converts THC to CBN. CBN causes drowsiness. Clean the tip with isopropyl alcohol before you cap it. Glass syringes resist sticking better than plastic.
Testing and safety
Ask for a batch COA. A lab report shows potency, residual solvents, pesticides, and heavy metals. The CDC tied vitamin E acetate in vape carts to EVALI lung injuries. Buy from licensed stores only. In the US, cannabis is illegal under federal law and legal for adults 21 and over in some states.