Cannabis cultivators spend countless hours trimming their plants during the growth cycle and again after harvest. The leaves and stems taken from the plant are often seen as waste and generally end up in the trash.
However, throwing out cannabis trim is equivalent to flushing money or potential product down the toilet.
With trim you can make high-quality topicals, butter, kief, and more.
Keep reading to learn how to make the most of your cannabis trim by turning that “trash” into treasure.
1) Use Trim for Drinks
Cannabis trim can be used to make various drinks such as tea, vodka, and juice. Whether the final product has psychoactive properties is dependent on your preference and creation method.
If you prefer an intoxicating effect from your drink, you will need to decarb the trim, which is not generally advised since flavorful terpenes will be lost in the process.
Each drink is made differently, but all can be tailored to your taste and needs without losing the valuable plant benefits.
2) Eat It Raw
Have you ever developed an urge to pop some raw cannabis in your mouth after looking at or smelling a healthy bud? If so, you’re not alone, and there is a reason we periodically get these cravings.
Our brain and body can not tell us what it needs to stay healthy; however, if you “listen”, it does give us physical hints. We know we need food when our stomachs growl, and sleep when we yawn but did you know that our body tells us which nutrients we need through cravings?
If you are craving raw cannabis, you might have nutrient deficiencies such as; vitamin A, B6, folate, zinc, potassium, or calcium. Cannabis is considered one of the most nutrient-rich plants on earth which is why many people have begun eating it raw.
You can eat cannabis trim raw by treating it as a leafy green and adding the leaves to a smoothie, salad, or sandwich.
3) Make Kief
The acclamation cannabis consumers give kief is not an exaggerated and unnecessary praise. This sticky, powdery substance is the accumulation of dried resinous glands that have fallen from the cannabis plant.
Resin glands, also known as trichomes, are responsible for creating, and dispersing valuable cannabinoids such as THC and CBD. Naturally, isolating trichomes provides a highly beneficial, potent, and pure cannabinoid product.
Trichomes are abundant among cannabis trimmings, and with little effort and tools, you can harvest kief from the plant matter.
Automatic bud trimmer- An auto-trimmer is a device used to quickly separate leaves from dry buds. Some high-investment trimmers take the process further by sifting trichomes from the discarded leaf matter.
Silkscreen- A silkscreen is a stainless steel sieve used to harvest kief by placing trim on a screen and shaking the tool. Trichomes will collect in a tray attached to the bottom of the screen.
Grinder- Another way to collect kief is by using a three-chamber grinder. The first chamber is for plant matter, the second is for the ground product, and the third is for trichome collection.
4) Butter and Oil for Edibles
Cannabutter and oil are generally made with cannabis flower; however, trimmings can also be used.
Weed butter is cannabis-infused butter used in edibles such as classic brownies or savory dishes like pot roast. Cannabutter may contain CBD or a combination of CBD and THC depending on the weed strain you use for your product.
There are many ways to make butter or oil with trimmings, but we will go over the stove-top method.
1. Preheat the oven to 220-235°F
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place 10 ounces of trim onto the sheet.
3. Start the decarboxylation process by baking your trim for 30-40 minutes, stirring the plant matter every 5-10 minutes.
4. After baking, grind the trimmings.
5. In a medium saucepan, combine one cup of water and one cup of butter, oil, or ghee. Cook on medium heat until it begins to boil.
6. Add your decarbed trim to the mixture and cook on low heat for 2-3 hours (don’t let the mixture come to a boil.)
7. Using a cheesecloth or muslin bag, strain the plant matter from the butter.
8. Refrigerate butter until ready to use.
Making cannabutter can be a lengthy and aromatic process, so be sure that you have at least 4-5 hours to spare and neighbors that won’t mind the smell.
5) Make Topicals
Through decarboxylation, you can make cannabis topicals, also known as a salve.
Topicals are applied directly to the skin to relieve pain, inflammation, and heal skin conditions.
1. To make a topical, you must decarb your trim in the oven the same way you would for cannabutter.
2. Meanwhile, on low heat, cook 1 ½ cups coconut oil and ⅓ cup olive oil in a medium saucepan and stir continuously.
3. Once your trim has been decarbed, add the trim to your coconut oil mixture and stir on low heat for 25 minutes.
4. Next, you will separate the plant matter from the oil into a bowl, using a cheesecloth.
5. In the same pan, add ⅓ cup beeswax and heat until melted.
6. Gradually add your infused coconut oil in addition to any essential oils you wish to include.
You may turn your infused oil into lotion by adding aloe gel, cocoa butter, and vitamin E oil.
