WHOLE PLANT EXTRACT

The world of Cannabis concentrates is constantly evolving, making strides in developing new techniques and hardware each year. While this is our first time producing this Concentrate Issue for California, we’ve been making this special edition in our other markets for many years and each time we do, we learn new things about this fascinating subsect of Cannabis. In the following section, we dive in with an educational look at extract lingo, break down each type of concentrate and analyze some real world examples, not to mention learn more about some of the leading companies in the field.

Whole PlantExtract

Whole plant extract describes a type of oil generally made from ethanol or grain alcohol with not just the buds, but the water leaves, stalks, roots and sometimes other parts of the plant as well. This type of oil is usually dark in color, has a very high viscosity and is extremely potent and medicinally beneficial. Whole plant is also known as FECO, or full extract Cannabis oil. It is also referred to as RSO (Rick Simpson Oil), though technically RSO is a more specific term referring to a type or brand of whole plant extract.

Aunt Zelda’s Blue Berry Diesel THC Extract 70% THC, .4% CBD @auntzeldas | auntzeldas.org

Aunt Zelda’s produces whole plant extract using organic ethanol to create potent, clean and strain specific medicine. Crafted in small batches, they take great care in producing intentional, healthful products for California’s adult-use market.

Unlike many other whole plant extracts, Aunt Zelda’s are not blends of different Cannabis strains, but made from a single cultivar. This is a huge benefit for medicinal users who are looking to quantify what really works for them in order to treat their specific ailment(s). This Blueberry Diesel THC extract appears black until you get it thin enough to reveal the reddish amber hues hiding within. The oil has an almost spice rack-esque aroma to it and my grain of rice sized blob presented flavors of rich earth and nutmeg, with a touch of the bitterness of slightly immature berries.

I ate the blob after dinner and roughly 30 minutes later began to feel the effects come on, and after 40 minutes they had fully set in.

Instead of staying up later than I should, as is the case most nights, the sedative and heavy-handed high directed me to settle in early. The following morning I woke up feeling more rested than usual and ready to tackle the day.

Emerald Bay Extracts Pineapple Kush Indica RSO and GG4 RSO Full Spectrum Tablets

Pineapple Kush RSO | THC- 69.72%, CBD- .76% GG4 RSO Tablets| 400mg/package, 10mg/serving @emeraldbayextracts | emeraldbayextracts.com

The bright minds and kind hearts at Emerald Bay Extracts have been producing their full spectrum, whole plant products for medicinally minded California consumers since 2017. Their oil is made using food grade ethanol to produce the highest quality product available. Just this year they launched an innovative new product for the market that’s been changing the game for whole plant medicine users - RSO infused tablets.

These GG4 tablets are measured to a precise 10mg each, which removes a lot of the guess work out of the dosing aspect of using raw oil. The Pineapple Kush RSO smells like that good-good from back in the day - potent, skunky and herbal.

The flavor is rich and spicy and within only 15 minutes of ingesting a small dab of the oil orally, its potent effects began to spread throughout my body. Within 30 minutes I was feeling significantly medicated off the grain of rice sized dose I consumed. The oil is carried in a high quality glass syringe with a twist-off resealable top - great for keeping its surroundings from getting sticky during travel.