Everything You Need To Know About Cannabis Flower

You may have heard people talk about grinding flower, packing a bowl with flower, or even decarboxylating flower. To understand what each of these mean, you first want to learn the basics about cannabis flower. Growers harvest the buds of female cannabis plants and dry them to create a smokable product. The buds can also be smoked alone or used to make other cannabis products.

Premium Flower

Premium flower, also called "top shelf" flower, has large curated buds from different strains of marijuana plants which possess different properties. Premium flower is grown, harvested, and trimmed carefully to provide a high quality product.

Popcorn Flower

Popcorn flower refers to the small, compact buds that grow closer to the stalk of the plant. Usually more affordable, popcorn marijuana buds can be an economical way to try different strains.

Marijuana Shake

Shake consists of pieces of marijuana that gather at the bottom of containers or bags that separate out during shipping or processing. Sometimes it's used for pre-rolls, and it's often more affordable than other forms of cannabis flower.

Marijuana Trim

When preparing cannabis buds after harvest, the resulting trimmings of bits of cut-off buds, sugar leaves, and pieces of trichomes (aka kief) are called trim. It’s usually kept for making edibles, creating hash, or making topicals and tinctures.

Kief

Kief is a fine, powdery substance made up of dried trichomes that have fallen off cannabis flower. You can purchase kief at a dispensary, or you can collect it from the bottom of your grinder.

Hand Pipe

One-Hitter

Bong

Joint

Blunt

Bubbler

Grinder

Rolling Tray

Rolling Paper

Stash Box

Before it gets to you, your marijuana flower undergoes a variety of processes - drying, curing, etc. - that makes it the high-quality product you expect. To preserve that quality, you need to store your cannabis correctly at home. Things like heat and light can both degrade your cannabis, drying it out and reducing the potency of the flower as the THC is converted to a much less potent CBN. 

The preservation of your marijuana by storing it properly is about more than just the quality, though. When your marijuana is stored in a container that’s exposed to heat or light, it can change the humidity within the container as the tiny bit of moisture left in the dried and cured bud evaporates. This process can easily grow mold and turn your cannabis into a safety hazard.

The good news about storing cannabis properly is that it’s easy. You may even have the container you need in your house already: a sealable glass jar, like a mason jar. Sealable glass jars prevent the flavor of your marijuana from changing (like with a metal container) and keep the trichome-destroying static away from your flower (which plastic containers simply don’t). While you can get fancy and purchase UV-proof glass containers, you can also tuck your marijuana flower into a store-bought jar and seal it. 

When choosing a jar, the key is to pick one that matches the amount of marijuana flower you have. You don’t want a giant, wide-mouthed jar with only a small amount of cannabis sitting in the bottom. This is because the oxygen in the jar will naturally degrade that cannabis. Some cannabis enthusiasts even opt to have a couple different sizes of jars, so as they consume their marijuana, they can move their bud to a new, more snugly fit jar.

Now that you are familiar with the cannabis flower, here are some frequently asked questions:

Can I eat marijuana flower?

Yes, but it's unlikely that you will feel any psychoactive effects. The cannabinoids in marijuana flower first need to be decarboxylated. 
 

Why does marijuana smell when you smoke it?

Some of the distinctive odors in marijuana come from the terpenes created by the trichomes, like citrus or flowers. The "skunky" odor that cannabis is known for comes from volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs), some of which are unique to the plant. 
 

What’s the difference between flower and bud?

There isn't a difference, these are just different names for cannabis flowers. 
 

Why is flower called “nugs?”

Flower will sometimes be referred to as “nugs” because it often has a nugget-like shape. 
 

Where can I buy marijuana tools?

We’d be lying if we told you that these tools aren’t all over the internet, but you’re not going to find the same quality online as you will at your local dispensary. We recommend always getting your cannabis tools from a state-licensed dispensary.

How much does it cost to buy cannabis accessories?

Cannabis accessories can cost as much or as little as you need them to. Most products flex from entry-level pricing to experienced canna-connoisseur budgets, so we recommend establishing how much you want to spend and then going from there.

More About Marijuana Flower 

Ready to learn even more? Investigate different kinds of marijuana flower at your dispensary and be sure to ask your budtender any questions you have about marijuana strains, ways to consume it, and its distinctive aromas, tastes, and diverse compounds.