Distillate is the product of refining a crude cannabis extract by distillation under vacuum, a step that separates compounds by boiling point. The process decarboxylates the acids along the way, so finished distillate is mostly neutral THC (or CBD), commonly reported above 80-90% of a single cannabinoid. Terpenes, waxes, lipids and chlorophyll are largely removed, leaving a viscous, pale gold to clear oil.
In practice
Distillate is the base of many vape cartridges, edibles and infused products because it is consistent and has little flavour. Terpenes are often added back for taste, from cannabis or other plant sources, so a cartridge's aroma may say little about its starting material. Some products marketed as cannabis distillate contain semi-synthetic cannabinoids; only a full lab panel tells you. Distillation is an industrial process; GenetixBay gives no methods.
Don't confuse with
- Isolate: a crystalline, single-compound product, purer than distillate.
- Full-spectrum extract: retains more of the plant's compound range.
- Crude oil (extract): the unrefined starting point.
Decarboxylation is the loss of a carboxyl group as CO2 that turns acid cannabinoids such as THCA and CBDA into neutral THC and CBD, quickly with heat, slowly with time.THC (Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol) is the neutral, decarboxylated cannabinoid mainly responsible for cannabis's reported intoxicating effects; the living plant makes it almost entirely as THCA.CBD (cannabidiol) is a non-intoxicating neutral cannabinoid formed when CBDA decarboxylates; hemp-type and CBD-dominant cannabis make it mainly as CBDA in their trichomes.A cannabinoid is any compound that binds the body's cannabinoid receptors or shares the typical cannabis terpenophenolic structure; the plant-made ones are phytocannabinoids such as THCA and CBDA.Terpenes are volatile hydrocarbon compounds built from five-carbon isoprene units; in cannabis they are made in the trichome heads and are a major part of aroma and flavour.The green pigment in chloroplasts that absorbs mainly blue and red light to drive photosynthesis; chlorophyll a and b are the main forms in plants.An isolate is a concentrate refined to one cannabinoid at very high purity, often 99% or more, usually a white crystalline powder such as CBD or THCA isolate.A concentrate is any cannabis product in which the trichome resin has been separated from plant material, giving far higher cannabinoid and terpene content than flower.The entourage effect is the hypothesis that cannabis compounds, especially cannabinoids and terpenes together, produce effects different from any single compound; human evidence remains contested.
