Everything You Need To Know About Honey Oil

While honey oil, also referred to as hash oil, has been around almost as long as cannabis itself, it has found a new place in the cannabis world in recent years. It started being referred to colloquially as honey oil due to its thick, sticky texture and golden amber colour, closely resembling honey, of course! While you may have heard of honey oil before, you’re probably here because you want to know more. Keep reading as we are going to do a deep dive into this not-so-newly popular concentrate the kids are calling honey oil.

What is Honey Oil?

Ok, so we know it’s an oil, and it’s named for its resemblance to honey, but what is honey oil if it’s not made from honey? Honey oil is the result of the process of extracting cannabinoids from cannabis plant material. When smoking dried or cured plant material, you might get upwards of 20% THC. While this is certainly enough to give you a satisfying high, the same amount of bud put through the extraction process can result in a concentrate with 80% or 90% THC content. The end product is honey oil, a concentrate that can be smoked on its own using a vape or dabbing. In recent years, it has gained popularity since honey oil is the primary ingredient used when making other concentrates like shatter, wax, and edibles.

Methods of Extraction

The typical method of extraction for honey oil is a method called solvent extraction. Solvents like butane, isopropyl alcohol, and chloroform are used to strip trichomes and other compounds away from the plant material. After the extraction process is complete, the remaining solvent is removed, leaving behind all the cannabinoid and terpene goodness. There have been health and safety-related concerns around the type of extraction process. The solvents used are highly toxic, and there is no real way to know if the solvents have been completely removed from the end product. Ice extraction and CO2 extraction are newer processes that don’t use solvents and result in a cleaner, healthier, and smoother product. So if solvents are a concern for you, ask your dispensary whether their concentrates are made with CO2 honey oil or ice extracted oil.

Benefits

Part of the reason that honey oil has gained popularity in recent years is the incredible health benefits associated with it. Increasing or decreasing the content of specific cannabinoids in a single product has made honey oil a go-to treatment for many different illnesses and ailments. Here are some of the top health benefits associated with honey oil.

Insomnia Cure

Many people with insomnia turn to honey oil to induce sleep as it can be a heavy sedative. Also, it alleviates stressors helping to promote a calm mind and restful sleep while waking up feeling refreshed and alert in the morning.

Reduces Pain

Honey oils that are high in CBD content also have strong analgesic properties. These properties can help alleviate headaches, body pain, pain associated with chronic pain disorders, and pain induced by chemotherapy.

Stimulate Appetite

It can be a struggle to gain weight when dealing with a hyperactive thyroid gland or following an illness or injury. The cannabinoids found in honey oil can increase the level of hunger hormones in the body, increasing your appetite.

Healthy Heart

Studies have shown that cannabinoids have the power to relax arteries and blood vessels in the heart, resulting in lower blood pressure. In turn, this reduces stress on the heart, the risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.

De-stress

Honey oil is loaded with cannabinoids that are proven to block stress receptors in the brain. This can help alleviate stress and anxiety, whether due to a tough day or a chronic condition.

Treat Depression

The cannabinoids found in honey oil can help stimulate serotonin production in the brain, helping alleviate symptoms of depression or extreme sadness. Furthermore, if your symptoms result from a hormonal imbalance, you can use honey oil to help balance hormonal levels.

Anti-Inflammatory Properties

In addition to being a potent analgesic, honey oil also has anti-inflammatory properties to assist with joint and muscle pain and organ health. This makes it an ideal treatment for migraines, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, gout, and much more.

Improves Brain Function

Despite popular belief, THC has been proven to improve brain function. Honey oil, with high THC content, can help keep neuropathways clear and stimulate brain waves. For people at risk of neurodegenerative diseases, honey oil can be a powerful way to keep neurodegeneration at bay.

Skin Conditions

When heavily diluted, you can use honey oil topically to reduce skin inflammation due to conditions like eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea. It can also be used on dry skin to reduce the appearance of scars and boost collagen.

Uses

Now that we understand what it is, how it’s made, and how you might benefit from honey oil, let’s talk about how to use it.  We already know that it’s excellent for use in shatter, wax, and edibles, but if you don’t have the means to make any of these options, honey oil is still very easy to use at home without much effort.

Joint – If your preferred method of cannabis consumption is smoking joints, you can still reap the health benefits and boost the potency of your smoke by incorporating honey oil.  Start by laying half of your cannabis on the rolling paper.  Add a few drops of honey oil, then lay the rest of your bud on top before rolling the joint. 

Bong – To use your honey oil with a bong toke, start by grinding slightly less cannabis than you would normally pack your bowl with. Add your ground cannabis to the bowl, then sprinkle a few drops on top of the bud and take care to slowly inhale as the honey oil adds a potent punch to your hit.

Pipe – Similar to smoking honey oil in a bong or joint, you can add it to your pipe by mixing a few drops with ground flowers.

The Bottom Line

Whether you are looking to add a kick to your usual cannabis consumption method or are looking for an alternative method to alleviate symptoms associated with medical conditions, honey oil can be many things to many people. If you haven’t given it a try yet, you might want to now after this deep dive into all things honey oil.

 

* * All views expressed here are from a third-party source and do not necessarily represent the entity of Salish Trails itself. This blog post is intended to be used for informational purposes only.