Healthy Benefits of Shatter That Not Everyone Knows About
With the increased popularity of medical cannabis, people want to know more about the different types of cannabis products available in the market. This guide will help you understand more about cannabis concentrates, such as shatter, and what health benefits it offers.
At the end of this guide, you will not only know the benefits of treating various medical conditions but also gain knowledge about their extraction process and is it safe to extract concentrates at home or not. Therefore, do not skim through and continue reading till the end to know everything about shatter as it may help you lead a better life by treating many severe medical conditions or their side effects.
What Is Cannabis Concentrate?
A cannabis concentrate is a more potent form of medical cannabis. It is highly concentrated and popular among cannabis dabbers. There are two types of cannabis concentrates; solvent-based and solvent-less. A solvent-based concentrate production involves using a substance such as CO2, butane, or alcohol to extract cannabinoids and terpenes from the cannabis plant. On the flip side, solvent-less concentrates production involves extraction without solvent. That is, it uses heat, water, or cold pressure for extraction.
With the advent of technology, new concentrates made their debut in the market. You can mostly distinguish cannabis concentrates based on their consistency, texture, and color. But, the main difference lies in their extraction method.
For at-home extraction, solvent-based concentrates prove to be dangerous because of the involvement of solvent. Following are the CBD based cannabis concentrates:
Shatter – It is a glass-like or hard toffee-like substance that melts and becomes honey-like when heated.
Crystal/Powder – It is a crystalline CBD compound that comes in powder form.
Wax – It is generally used in vapes and dabs. It is an oily and slightly darker substance.
Crumble – It is similar to the wax but has moisture present making its texture crumbly and less sticky.
Budder – Its consistency and texture are similar to butter, and that’s how it got its name. The CBD compound’s purging requires a higher temperature, and it uses air pressure in the final stage.
What Is Shatter & How To Consume It?
It is also known as BHO or hash oil, and it is a cannabis concentrate extracted using butane or hydrocarbon as a solvent to derive higher THC and CBD compounds. It has a glass-like appearance that is translucent and solid that can easily shatter. That’s why it got its name -shatter.
Experts take cannabis in a tube and push solvent through it to strip away desirable compounds, such as THC or CBD, to make shatter. The substance produced is an oil that is further treated to refine using techniques like purging. Purging removes excess solvents using winterization that removes lipids and fats from oil.
The best way to use shatter is with a dab rig that is similar to a bong. You can also sprinkle it in your drinks or fruit salad or use it with CBD oil. If you want to consume shatter for medical purposes, you should have a qualifying medical condition and a doctor’s prescription to become eligible for the medical cannabis card. Go straight to a medical marijuana dispensary to buy shatter if you already have one.
5 Health Benefits of Shatter
Medical cannabis is legal in 36 states and recreational cannabis in 18 states. The legalization comes into place keeping in view its increased usage and many health benefits. According to different state laws, there are different qualifying medical conditions for which people can use medical cannabis to alleviate the effects. The cannabis concentrate shatter also has many health benefits. We discussed some of them below:
Pain Relief
Both CBD-based and THC-based shatters help people suffering from chronic pain. Around 25% of people in the United States suffer from chronic pain and find it difficult to perform their daily activities. Over 600000 of them are taking help from cannabis concentrate to alleviate their illness effects and live everyday life. It is also the largest of consumers of medical cannabis.
Research has also shown that increased medical cannabis usage has reduced the death rate in chronic pain patients.
Nausea & Vomiting
Shatter can help people with nausea and vomiting. It is widely used in treating cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy as it helps subside its side effects, such as nausea and vomiting. It helps keep the food in and improves the cancer patients’ appetite.
In addition, the active CBD compound in shatter proves to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy and prevent cancer cell growth. It is also believed to induce death in cervical cancer lines.
Treat Sleep Disorders
According to National Academies, the available research data proving the efficacy of medical cannabis like shatter to treat sleep apnea and hyper apnea is moderate. It is believed to treat short-term sleep illnesses in contrast to long-term disorders like insomnia. A survey showed that one in three people once used medical cannabis to help with their sleep disorders, and 86% found it work wonders.
However, it would be best to be responsible while using shatter for your sleep problems. Choosing the wrong strain can worsen your condition. For example, a low THC may help you sleep, but a higher proportion may keep you awake the entire night. Similarly, high CBD proportion may make you sleep longer than you expect, and low CBD may interfere with your general patterns.
Eases Migraine
Migraine is a severe illness that may last for days, affecting people’s performance at work or limiting them to spend quality time with their families. People with migraines may also become sensitive to light, sound, and noise, making them skip social gatherings altogether.
The THC compound in the shatter help relieve migraine for people by affecting serotonin in the central nervous system. According to the clinical trial research, the migraine frequency in participants decreased from 10.4 to 4.6 with the use of medical cannabis. In the clinical trial, inhaled forms of cannabis were used.
Anxiety, Depression & PTSD
According to research, medical cannabis effectively treats generalized anxiety disorders such as panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and social anxiety disorder. But there is no factual data available that prove its effectiveness against depression.
Moreover, a survey showed that one in five adults had used medical cannabis to lift their low moods, and 90% claimed positive results. In addition, another research data hints at the effectiveness of medical cannabis in softening fear memories in PSTD patients.
Final Thoughts
This guide explored shatter’s five main health benefits in detail, backed with scientific research, surveys, and facts. According to the available study, medical cannabis can help cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy lessen its side effects such as nausea and vomiting. It also helps chronic pain patients having difficulty doing their routine tasks, and they are the largest consumer group of medical cannabis in the United States. In addition, medical cannabis helps people with generalized anxiety disorders, including panic attacks, anxiety, and PSTD.
Suppose you are having anxiety or want to soften your fear memories. In that case, you can get shatter from any medical marijuana dispensary if it is legal in your state, and anxiety and PSTD are qualifying medical conditions. However, it is recommended to be responsible with the dosage as, like any other medicine, medical cannabis can also be abused. You can read more blogs here.
Moreover, it also helps people treat their sleep disorders such as apnea and hyper apnea. However, it is not effective against insomnia. Scientific evidence also showed that medical cannabis helps with migraine.
Alongside the health benefits of shatter, we also discussed cannabis concentrates and their two categories: solvent-based and solvent-less, what is shatter, how it is extracted, and how you can use it.