You won’t find THC Diamonds on your wedding ring, but if you and your partner are 420-friendly, you might want to enjoy some on your wedding day! 

THC Diamonds, also known as THC crystalline or THCA crystals, THC Diamonds are a new class of cannabis concentrates gaining notoriety for their high potency, unique properties and incredible purity. 

As advances in technology innovate towards new products to meet consumer needs, understanding their unique qualities and what justifies their prices can be challenging to learn, one of them being THC Diamonds.

Today, we’ll break down what THC Diamonds are and how they differ from conventional concentrates such as shatter, budders and live resin. We’ll also explore how to use THC Diamonds, what they’re good for and why you should give them a try yourself! 

Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

What are THC Diamonds?

THC Diamonds

THC Diamonds are a type of cannabis concentrate with a THC potency that’s close to 100% purity. As their name suggests, THC Diamonds have a crystal-like appearance and can range from white to translucent in colour. Thanks to their unique look, THC Diamonds are also known as THC Crystalline or as THCA Diamonds

While these diamonds are made up mainly of THC, they’re THCA, not THC. 

What is THCA: How to Consume it, Its Benefits and More

THCA is basically THC, with an A at the end of its name. The ‘A’ is used to describe THCA’s acidic properties. THCA, also known as tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in cannabis plants that transform into THC when exposed to heat through decarboxylation

Decarboxylation might sound like a difficult process, but it’s just the scientific term used to describe the process of removing a carboxyl group from a compound. In THCA’s case, we are removing its carboxyl group to change THCA into THC. 

Decarboxylation is something that we do every time we vape or smoke. When we expose cannabis flower, or cannabis concentrates to heat (through lighting up a joint, sparking a bowl or dabbing), we’re decarboxylating weed! 

If you consume the inactive acidic version of THC, called THC-A, you won’t get high from the product. Some may want the benefits of THCA without the high from THC, so they’ll consume this product unheated. 

THC vs THCA – 7 Major Differences for Beginners

You may have also heard them described as THC or THCA crystalline. These terms all essentially mean the same product. While their appearance can vary, these products look like tiny crystals or granulated sugar. 

Usually only a few millimetres wide, the largest crystals can be as big as diamonds, hence the name. 

While THC Diamonds and THC Crystalline are just like other cannabis concentrates that tokers enjoy today, they have a few unique differences. Here’s how THC Diamonds compare against other cannabis concentrates

THC Diamonds vs other Concentrates

THCA Diamonds

THC Diamonds are part of the newest wave of HTFSE concentrates, including live resin, terpene-packed terp sauce and more. 

What makes HTFSE concentrates different from other concentrates is their high terpene content and full-spectrum experience. While cannabis concentrates are packed with THC, many of them have the bulk of other cannabinoids removed to increase their potency.

This purification process makes for a potent product and removes the beneficial effects of other cannabinoids and compounds in the cannabis plant. The beneficial effect of combining terpenes, THC and other cannabinoids is known as the entourage effect and could explain the health benefits of cannabis. 

Additionally, terpenes, scent and flavour compounds found naturally within fruits, plants and cannabis, also act to enhance the flavour and aroma of cannabis products. Products high in terpenes will deliver a more aromatic flavour and aroma and provide a better smoking experience. 

What are Cannabis Terpenes? How Smell Affects Your High

THC diamonds, being made of almost entirely THCA, won’t have many terpenes remaining. However, THC Diamonds are also routinely sold suspended in terpene-rich terp sauce, an HTFSE product. 

Inside this sauce, you’ll usually find up to 60% terpenes and the rest consisting of cannabinoids like THC or CBD. With this potency of cannabinoids and terpenes, you get the most aromatic and delicious smoking experience! 

The price for HTFSE concentrates may be higher than other products due to their complexity, but they are worth it. 

As the most aromatic cannabis concentrate, HTFSE concentrates are great for those who want to minimize how much plant matter they smoke and what compounds they inhale, which can have beneficial impacts on the health of your lungs and reduce the side effects of smoking.

Terp sauce by itself can have around 40% THC. Butane hash oil (BHO) products like shatter, wax and budder can have 60-90% THC. Hashish usually has under 65% THC, and Hash oil can range from 30-60% THC. 

Comparing these all to THC Diamonds, none come close to the 99.9% THC purity found inside of these. This potency is only rivalled by THC distillate, which uses alternative extraction methods to isolate single compounds like THC or CBD.

The History of THC Diamonds

Cannabis extractions and concentrates have seen multiple new waves of products. The speed of these new waves has increased dramatically in the last decade or so.

As collective knowledge grows and technologies advance, we’ll continue to see new evolutions of older products. THC Diamonds are an example of a concentrate that broke the ceiling on THC potency found in older products.

Crystalline versions of THCA have been around for several years, often topping out at 97% purity. This potency was bested first by an extracts lab in California. They were the first to create a nearly 100% pure product. 

Using molecular isolation, the lab-created a whole new standard for THC purity. Many consumers haven’t looked back since, switching to THC Diamonds for their unrivalled purity.

How are THC Diamonds Made?

Making THC Diamonds is a longer process than other concentrates, but the first steps are similar to others. This extra time is what is needed to produce the crystalline structure that consumers find so appealing. Unlike products like cannabis oils and rosin, THC Diamonds are not suitable for making at home for the average consumer.

THC Diamonds are made using cold extraction techniques, and this is why the product contains inactive THCA compounds instead of THC. The process is complicated and lengthy. It also requires complex technology, including a chromatography machine. These expensive and advanced technologies require expertise to use safely.

Using Closed Loops

Making THC Diamonds involves similar steps as those used to make other concentrates. For example, butane extraction is used to begin the process, creating an uncured live resin. Other cold extraction methods include using CO2. A closed-loop system ensures complete purity and lack of contamination. These set-ups are pricey and are only advisable in laboratories with the appropriate expertise and safety measures.

Winterization

Another term to learn is called winterization. This process is how excess lipids (fats) are removed from the product. Liquid methanol can be the solvent used for this step, but Isopropyl alcohol is another option. Combining it with marijuana and leaving it in a freezer for 24 hours can get the job done. 

The goal is to reduce the number of plant waxes and chlorophyll extracted into the THC Diamonds. This process increases the concentrates’ purity and clean appearance by removing these unwanted lipids, waxes, and chlorophyll from the final product.

A roto vape is then often used to separate the solvent for removal gently. A second wash can be completed using pentane, followed by another round of roto vape. After this ‘wash,’ a chromatography machine uses solvents, pressure, and time to isolate the diamonds delicately. The last step is drying the product, which can take 3-11 days, depending on the facility.

Diamond Mining

You may hear the term Diamond Mining used on industry websites. This is a similar process to the one described above. The significant difference is that diamonds are harvested from terp sauce

When HTSFE concentrates are made, the product will naturally separate into a cannabinoid-rich solution (THC diamonds) and a terpene-rich solution (terp sauce). When the HTFSE extraction is allowed time to cool and divorce, the THCA diamonds within the terp sauce will naturally crystallize, hence the term ‘diamond mining.’ This results in two products, the THC Diamonds and Terp Sauce. 

Terp Sauce is a term to describe a liquid mixture with 50% or more Terpene content, along with cannabinoids like THC and CBD. When looking for products, consider whether you just want them alone or doused in terp sauce.

How to Use THC Diamonds

dabbing marijuana wax

Like many other cannabis concentrates, tokers can consume THC Diamonds via dabbing. THC Diamonds and other cannabis concentrates don’t do well when they’re smoked in a joint or a pipe due to their consistency. Inhaling concentrates in vapour form instead of smoke form is more efficient and delivers a smoother, more flavorful experience.

What is Dabbing? A Complete Guide on How to Dab

THC Diamonds are made up entirely of THCA. Without any heat or decarboxylation process, you won’t be able to get high! 

However, some tokers seek out THCA Diamonds for this exact reason. THCA offers different health benefits than THC without causing you to get high. Medicinal users may benefit from consuming them ‘raw’ instead of vaping and dabbing them.

The Effects of THC Diamonds

THC Diamonds is THC in crystalline form. As such, they’re incredibly potent! Approaching close to 100% purity, THC Crystalline is one of the most potent weed extracts available today. 

To compare this purity against other cannabis products, here’s the average THC potency for the most common weed products:

  • Cannabis flower: 0 to 35%
  • BHO concentrates: 40 to 70%
  • HTFSE concentrates: 45 to 60%
  • THC Distillate: 80 to 95%
  • THC Crystalline/Diamonds: 95 to 99.99% 

With the potency of THC Diamonds, consumers must be cautious to avoid unwanted side effects as well. The adverse side effects of cannabis overconsumption, including cotton-mouth, dry-eyes and greening out, may happen. 

THC Diamonds, when dabbed alongside terp sauce, are an HTFSE extract. HTFSE products deliver a holistic cannabis experience reinforced by the entourage effect. This effect can cause cannabis extracts to produce a more beneficial, whole-body experience that’s unique to HTFSE extracts.

While the exact experience is difficult to describe, let’s just say that once you try it, it’ll be hard to go back to consuming regular concentrates! 

THC Diamonds & THC Crystalline- Diamonds in the Rough

Due to THC Diamonds’ purity, potency, and full-spectrum nature, this HTFSE product offers many benefits and a unique smoking experience. Flavourful, aromatic and powerful, these diamonds are meant for advanced cannabis users and not for the faint of heart!

When the appropriate dose is consumed, you can get all the benefits of THC without as many negative impacts on your lungs and throat. For those seeking purity and certainty in their purchases, diamonds provide the high purity you can find on the market. 

If you’re after the health benefits of regular THCA, THC diamonds can also be eaten as is or crushed and mixed into foods and beverages. It beats eating raw cannabis! 

While these products can be pricey due to their advanced manufacturing process and complexity, the final product is usually worth the price.

You can find these products at your local online dispensary Canada. Make sure to purchase from a trusted dispensary that’s trustworthy and equipped to source these rare diamonds. You wouldn’t want to source fake diamonds, after all! 

Happy trails!