Skip to main content
BY GRACE CULHANE AND TYLER HURST
In simpler times, July 10 was just the day before Free Slurpee Day. Nothing suspicious or marijuana-related or subversive to see here, folks.
But the number 710, when viewed upside down, spells "OIL," and those crazy kids decided to dedicate it to dabs—concentrated cannabis that you vaporize and inhale for a hit that's stronger, cleaner and shorter-lasting than smoked flower.
What will they think up next?
Well, this is the first 710 that regular folks can participate in—recreational cannabis concentrates went on sale in Oregon only last month—and so, to prepare for the big dab day, we tested a variety of local products that fall under the umbrella term "cannabis concentrate."
Oil takes many forms, and we did our best to come up with a list that runs the gamut from shatter to crumble to live resin and more. If none of these words means anything to you, don't worry, we defined them all as we reviewed each product.
- SHATTER (Snap-and-Pull)
Golden Pineapple by Dr. Jolly's ($35)
68.65% THC, 0.57% CBD
Snap-and-pull is a form of hash oil that isn't a liquid, but isn't quite solid, either. Think of it as the texture of flattened caramel, but slightly sticky to the touch. Dr. Jolly's snap-and-pull lives up to its name: It smells and tastes so strongly of pineapple that even a neophyte could pick it out of a lineup. There's not much else going on here, just a kick in the face and PINEAPPLE in all caps.
Notes: "Good! Full faceful PINEAPPLE."
2. SHATTER (Stable)
Headband OG by NW Kind ($30)
69.2% THC, 0% CBD
If snap-and-pull feels like caramel, stable shatter is peanut brittle. There's nothing sticky about it, and true to its name, it breaks into clean little pieces. NW Kind's Headband shatter smells like juniper and tastes like black licorice. It's so piney, you'll feel just like a kid again, running naked through the forest under a harvest moon with nothing but a whittled flute, a handful of berries and your coyote pup for companionship.
Notes: "Tastes like forest."
3. SHATTER (Unstable)
Pennywise Nug Run by White Label Extracts ($40)
42.24% THC, 16.96% CBD
This unstable shatter looks and feels like sap; it's gooey and sticky and clings to the paper when you unfold it. A nug run is a special type of concentrate produced by picking and choosing more desirable parts of the plant to run through butane extraction.
With the second-lowest THC content of our concentrates, we were hoping that Pennywise would calm us down and make us feel less like we were about to die or light something on fire—unclear if it accomplished either. To prolong the candy metaphor, though, we'd describe it as the cannabis equivalent of a lemon Skittle that someone sat on by accident.
Notes: "Flat 7Up."
4. SHATTER (Live Resin)
Wedding Cake by Liontree Farms ($50)
88.7% THC, 0.37% CBD
Live resin is created by harvesting cannabis and immediately flash-freezing it before processing, rather than curing the buds first. Wedding Cake has the highest THC content of any of the concentrates we sampled. In other words, our Everest. We may have detected notes of celery and lemon, or that might just've been the riotous abyss of our minds playing tricks on us. It was pretty late in the game, so we'll never know for sure.
Notes: "CELERY with lemon, tuna sandwich with olive oil, lemon, lemon."
5. CRUMBLE
Gorilla Glue #4 by Lunchbox Alchemy ($30)
58.2% THC, 0% CBD
Crumble is made by whipping the hash oil, adding air and creating a lighter, flakier, waxier texture than other concentrates have. It's often used as a bowl topper for this reason. Lunchbox Alchemy's Gorilla Glue #4 was our last concentrate with a significant THC content. It tasted cold, bubbly, and pleasantly citrusy.
Notes: "Tingly. Tingles the nostrils, smells like sea salt."
6. CO2 OIL
Shark Shock by CO2 Company ($25+)
3.5% THC, 52.7% CBD
This type of oil is extracted under high pressure on pricey industrial equipment. Usually available in cartridges attached to batteries for vaping, these are the pens everyone keeps sucking on at parties. The soft, sticky, taffylike substance is a pain to dab normally. We used it to balance out our THC high with some body-calming CBD.
Notes: "Tyler says this will make me less high."
7. CO2 OIL TWAX JOINT
Plushberry wrapped with Purple Afghani ($20)
21.9% THC, 0.1% CBD/54.09% THC, 1.65% CBD
Twaxed joints are, sadly, still not available to recreational customers in Oregon. But we have a source. Created by stuffing a cone with flower grind and wrapping that with a thin sheet of CO2 oil-covered hemp paper, it's a far less messy version of the long-popular joint that's dipped in butane hash oil and rolled in hash. Meant for sharing at parties, or for experienced stoners who understand the trade-off between effects and terpenes.
Notes: "The indica will put you out, the sativa will send you into the clouds, the hybrid is a roller coaster."
Willamette Week