We talked to a local cannabis chemist & got the 411 on a big 420 trend

Since the legalization of cannabis in Arizona, dispensaries have offered new and trending THC products. We talked to an AZ cannabis chemist who explained why distillate is a trend for the ages. 

As the legalization of cannabis, both medically and recreationally, has expanded in our state, so have the available products from which to choose. Options include classic flower, edibles, tinctures, dabs, concentrates, and so much more.

Within the concentrate category is a form of marijuana referred to as distillate, which is on the rise in popularity for good reason. In fact, we spoke to Eduardo Dominguez, co-owner and Chief Science Officer of Abstrakt Vapes, to get the 411 on this 420 trend.

Meet Eduardo 

Walk through the doors into his humble shared office, and you will often see Eduardo talking with fellow co-owner Chris about various product campaigns for their fast-growing company, Abstrakt Vapes. On his desk is a miniature bust of Rick from “Rick and Morty” and a fish tank that holds shrimp, which seem to double in population each month. His desk looks exactly as you would imagine the desk of a chemist to look like, between the cartoon character, pet shrimp experiment, and stacks of organized paper. Behind it, though, is a friendly, smiling man named Eduardo, who has gone by Eddy ever since middle school.

Eddy is a 2nd generation marijuana grower who is no stranger to labs. In fact, from Florida to Nebraska to California and beyond, Eddy has built seven labs nationwide before building this one of his own for Abstrakt. His eye for detail, focus on efficiency, and process of simplification have earned him international attention as of late. Impressively, his current, high-output lab only requires three people to maintain and manage it, with one to two more people coming in the future to help with expansions.

With a love for the product and a desire to change the stigma around distillate to one of a clean medicine, Eddy presented a tour through his brand new, sparkling lab to explain the process and highlights of the product that put Abstrakt on the map: distillate.

What is distillate? 

Distillate is a highly concentrated version of THC Δ9—pronounced delta 9—or the part of marijuana that offers psychoactive and medicinal effects. This is the part of THC that can directly impact mood, nausea, pain, and more.

In the past, distillate has carried a negative stigma, as state regulations require only a certain level of purity, allowing other chemists to produce a distillate that is yellow or brown in color or full of various impurities. Until recently, distillate has been known for not only a high concentration of THC Δ9, but also high concentrations of other particles that lend the negative stigma to this product with great potential.

To alter the stigma and highlight the potential of distillate, Eddy co-founded Abstrakt Vapes and holds himself and his products to incredibly high standards. The standards he sets for his lab are so high that the purity of the distillate he produces exceeds the state standard by 75%, offering even less impurity than when using a lighter. While other distillates can have traces of mold, high counts of chlorophyll, butane, and other gases, or actually turn rancid in a metal-leeching pen, Eddy’s mission is to create “true medicine for the people, pure medicine.”

From creating the distillate in his newly developed lab to choosing a ceramic vaporizer that heats the product at a low enough temperature to maintain cleanliness, Eddy has been slowly changing the minds of many people. “Everyone I show the product to changes their mind to ‘oh, this is what it’s supposed to be,’” he told us.

How is distillate made?

While avoiding anything proprietary, Eddy walked through the lab, explaining each basic step of the process. He produces two main forms of concentrate: distillate and liquid diamonds. He explained the process of each, noting that the process begins in the same way for both.

Please note that step “A” represents THC distillate and step “B” represents THC-A powder, also known as liquid diamonds.

Step 1

Flower—high quality, low quality, either can work—is ground into a fine substance. Up to 150lbs of flower a day can be processed in this lab.

Step 2

The ground-up product is put into long, giant bags that essentially look like tube socks. Butane freezes and then turns into liquid to force drip the THC from the giant sock, which falls into a catch. Since butane has a lower boiling point than the THC, nearly all of it is boiled off before collection. The state requires that there are 5,000 or fewer PPMs remaining of gas in the finished product. Eddy’s standard is 500 PPMs or less, which is less than a lighter at around 600 PPMs.

Step 3

At this point, the collected extract can be made into either a pure mono crystal powder or clear liquid oil.

Step 3a: For liquid oil known as distillate, the crude, or raw, oil next goes through a contraption similar to a vodka still, where it is soaked in 99% food-grade ethanol to separate the lipids, or fats. Since ethanol also has a lower boiling point than THC, it is then evaporated from the product completely and caught in a bottom trap. About 95% of the ethanol is trapped in this process and reused for the next batch.

Step 3b: To make “liquid diamonds,” the concentrate is put into a machine that spins it, similar to plasma separating from blood. The pure extraction appears in the form of small hardened pebbles, or diamonds. The diamonds have no psychoactive effect. “You could swallow these and nothing would happen,” Eddy says with a smile as he holds up a jar of diamonds.

Step 4

Step 4a: The main body of the oil is put into a machine called Short Path, where it evaporates the first fractions, known as heads, main body, and tails. At this point, the main body has around 88% purity, which is the part that Eddy is processing. Next repeats a similar process but outputs a product that is between 92% and 99% pure. The tails then undergo the process once again to extract usable THC for other Abstrakt products.

Step 4b: The diamonds are stored in a temperature-controlled cupboard until it is time for packing, at which point the diamonds are heated up, melted, and mixed with botanically infused GMP—general manufacturing practice—certified flavors and finally packed into the disposable all-in-one unit called the Bandit.

Step 5

The distillate is mixed with botanically infused GMP-certified flavors and finally packed into ceramic cartridges.

How does distillate compare to other sources of cannabis? 

Concentrate is just that—a concentrated version of a potent medicine. The main draw of distillate is its purity of the THC molecule, as well as its neutral taste. In fact, flavor-wise, distillate offers mostly just the taste of the botanical infusion. Due to this, distillate may not be for those who seek the herbaceous flavor of marijuana.

Flower

Depending on the needs of the patient or cannabis user, flower can offer a full spectrum since it is the whole bud of the plant, along with traditional deep marijuana flavor. This is the form of cannabis that is put into a pipe, water bong, or rolled into a joint or blunt.

Live resin

Live resin is slightly more pure than flower, with less chlorophyll, and is ideal for people who have a higher tolerance and are looking for a more traditional cannabis taste. It is utilized through a dabbing or vaping process.

Liquid diamonds

Liquid diamonds, found in vape cartridges such as the Bandit, have a higher concentration of THC and offer a robust flavor, ideal for those with an even higher tolerance who want a herbaceous flower flavor infused with botanicals.

Depending on the needs of the patient, each form of cannabis serves a purpose. Distillate is simply a purified, concentrated version that can potentially aid in ailments and therapies, even for those who cannot handle the traditional taste or smell of other cannabis products.

The expansive future 

Eddy co-founded Abstrakt Vapes in 2021 alongside Ryan, Chris, and Andie, who have brought unusually pure distillate to the mainstream, quickly earning Abstrakt the spot as one of the top three cannabis companies in Arizona. This quick growth has provided Eddy with the funding for his new lab, allowing the company to cut out the middleman and streamline the product in Eddy’s efficient way.

Naturally, this level of chemical understanding and passion means that Eddy is a visionary. Once he gets the lab—which begins operation in July—flowing exactly how he deems fit, he will continue to be hands-on, but will push his passion for Research and Development further.

With the help of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, or MAPS, Eddy would like to explore the world of creating pure forms of psilocybin and MDMA. This may sound far-fetched to some, but with the decriminalization of psilocybin in many cities, Eddy may be leading the world to high-standard pure forms of different therapeutic and medicinal psychoactive medicines.

The quest for “true medicine for the people, pure medicine” simply begins with distillate.

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