What is shake?

Shake is the small crumbs of cannabis that end up at the bottom of the bag or jar it has been stored in. The pieces break off from larger buds and filter their way to the bottom of a bag. The small pieces are then often grouped into a larger amount and sold as “shake.” It is often considered to be lower quality than full nugs, and is therefore an inexpensive way to obtain a lot of cannabis.

What is the difference between nugs and shake?

Nugs of cannabis are actually the tightly packed buds of the cannabis flower. The buds are sticky and must be ground up in order to be rolled into a joint or packed into a bowl. This style of cannabis is preferred by those who smoke joints or use a bong because the quality is often higher, with top shelf cannabis having visible trichomes dusting the nugs like sugar crystals.

Shake, on the other hand, is the dusty remnants of cannabis that have fallen loose in the bottom of whatever container the cannabis was stored in. Because of this, it doesn’t have the distinct sugar crystal quality that high quality nugs do, and is often considered to be lower quality. 

What’s the difference between trim and shake?

Trim gets its name from the action through which it is obtained: trimming cannabis plants. When you trim the nugs, the excess leaves and edges of the buds can be collected together and create a cannabis-based mix that is similar to shake. Trim can’t really be smoked in the same way that shake can, though. Or if you do smoke trim, it won’t be as pleasant an experience because of all the loose plant matter that isn’t necessarily cannabis flower. 

Trim and shake are both excellent sources of cannabinoids if you’re making either hash or edibles, though! The material still contains cannabinoids that can provide a high feeling, despite not being useful for enjoyable smoking experiences.

Why do dispensaries sell shake?

Dispensaries sell shake because it’s a common byproduct of storing significant amounts of cannabis. Whether your dispensary keeps cannabis in airtight jars or in vacuum sealed bags, small crumbs of the weed are going to collect at the bottom of those containers. Rather than throw out product that is perfectly useful, dispensaries will usually sell shake for seriously discounted prices. Sometimes, shake might be used in pre-rolls as well. 

Some dispensaries also sell shake because it’s an economical alternative to buds. People of all economic statuses smoke weed, and if you’re on a tight budget, shake can help you out. Realistically, the shake in most dispensaries is coming from quality cannabis, so even though it’s not necessarily in your preferred form, it can still be quite high in THC and other compounds.

What can I use shake for?

There are so many things you can do with shake and trim that you wouldn’t normally want to waste full flower bud on. You can make cannabutter for use in cooking and edibles and you can even create hash or rosin from shake and trim.

How do I make cannabutter from shake?

Making cannabutter from shake is a simple process. You need to decarboxylate the shake, which means that you need to use heat in order to make THCA become THC and produce the effects you’re looking for. To decarb shake, you need to cook it in an oven at 240 degrees fahrenheit for about 30 minutes. After you have activated the THC, you need to choose an appropriate oil to infuse with the activated cannabis. 

Using a double boiler, simmer the oil and cannabis together for 2 hours or so. Make sure you keep the lid on the double boiler, while checking periodically that it’s not burning, so that the moisture doesn’t evaporate. Once you strain out the plant material, you will have some cannabutter that you can use in any recipe.

How do I make hash or rosin using shake and trim?

When you’re trying to make hash or rosin out of shake and trim, make sure that the material is very dry. If the plant matter isn’t dry enough, then the trichomes won’t fall off as easily. If you’re getting shake, it’s probably already dry enough, but if you’re using fresh trim make sure it’s very dry! When you are sifting the material, you should also make sure that the cannabis is as cold as it can be, because the cold temperatures cause the trichomes to become brittle and break off as well. It’s best to store the shake or trim in the freezer before the process. 

With the cold plant material, you’ll want to sift it through increasingly higher-grade screens. The lower grade screens will hold back the plant material, while the trichomes will come through. After the trichomes have come through, you should press the substance. There are great tutorials on youtube on pressing shake and trim into hash rosin that can show you the method visually.