Cannabis stems have long been associated with poor quality bud and are usually more than abundant when you buy cheap weed online. I recently asked my friends from the various brick and mortar stores, mail order marijuana outlets and online dispensaries in Canada if they had any suggestions as to what I should do with my stash of stems I have not been able to grind up (and have not trashed as who tosses out bud willingly?) and here is what they suggested.
The most common answer I got was to smoke it, however, my friends from the online marijuana dispensaries had warned me it would be a very harsh experience. Stems often contain unwanted compounds from the cellulose, which leads them to burn extremely hot, more than enough to aggravate your throat and lungs. Though it may be the most common answer, it is perhaps not the best one.
Charas was another suggestion I got, and from what the gang at the mail order marijuana outlets told me, making charas is not as hard as I had thought. To start, make sure your hands are clean and dry (wash with soap and water but not the scented stuff). Then take your stems and rub between your hands—be sure to do this over a container in order to catch your droppings. You need to be gentle and patient—not too forceful as to lose the resin but enough so you can extract the oils. Though it may take some time, you will eventually find that you will end up with enough of the thick and sticky tar-like substance on your hands to make a small ball or stick of charas. Remember, the slower you go and the more patience you have, the higher quality of product.
Kief! Very easy to make as it requires next to no effort. Take your stems, break them down, toss in a resealable plastic bag and place it in the freezer. Whenever you have more to add to your stash, give your bag a hearty shake first and watch as the frozen resin crystals detach from the stem and settle at the bottom of the bag. In no time you will have a nice bunch of kief ready to go! Thanks to my friends at my favourite online marijuana dispensary for that one!
Though a bit of work is involved, both my friends at the local brick and mortar cannabis shop and the mail order marijuana dispensary suggested bubble hash as another way to use up my stash of stems. After freezing, toss the lot of stems into a blender, add water until it covers the greens, add plenty of ice and blend for about a minute. Drain the mixture through a silkscreen into a clean glass jar and let it sit for about 30 minutes. You will notice the trichromes settling at the bottom of the jar. Empty about two-thirds of the water being careful not to discard any of the mixture, refill with ice water and let it settle for three to five minutes before draining two-thirds of the water once again and refilling it. Repeat this three to four more times before finally emptying it of as much water as you can before passing whatever is left through a coffee filter. Squeeze out the excess water and dry before enjoying!
As my friends from the brick and mortar stores, mail order marijuana outlets and online dispensaries in Canada pointed out, stems are not all that bad—you just need to put some thought and work into it. Stayed tuned for part 2!