How Cannabis Concentrates Are Made: Extraction Methods Explained (2026)

By James Buddsey · Updated October 16, 2026

Cannabis concentrates are made by separating the resin glands (trichomes) that hold THC, other cannabinoids and terpenes from the rest of the plant, either mechanically with screens, ice water, heat and pressure, or chemically with solvents such as butane, propane, carbon dioxide or ethanol. The method decides the product: rosin and hash are solventless, while shatter, wax, live resin and most vape oils use solvents that licensed labs must test for. Solvent extraction belongs in licensed facilities; home butane extraction has caused serious burns and is a felony in Oregon.

When you look at a dispensary case full of shatter, budder, rosin and cartridges, every product started as cannabis flower. The differences come down to how the resin was pulled off the plant and what was done to it afterward. This guide explains each major method in plain terms, what it produces and why the safety rules around extraction are so strict.

Extraction Methods at a Glance

Step One: It Starts With Trichomes

Look closely at a cannabis flower and you will see a frost of tiny, mushroom-shaped glands called trichomes. They produce and store nearly all of the plant’s THC, CBD and terpenes. Every concentrate is an attempt to collect that resin while leaving behind leaf, stem and plant waxes. Our guide to weed plant anatomy shows where trichomes sit on the plant.

The quality of the starting material matters as much as the method. Growers and processors choose strains and harvest timing for resin content, and some products start from plants frozen right after harvest to preserve aroma. That frozen starting material is what “live” means in live resin and live rosin.

Mechanical (Solventless) Methods

Dry sifting and kief

Dried flower is tumbled or rubbed over fine screens. Trichome heads fall through and are collected as kief, a loose powder. Pressed kief becomes a basic form of hash. Multiple screen sizes let makers grade the result.

Hand-rubbed hash

In parts of India and Nepal, resin is rubbed from live plants by hand and rolled into dark balls or sticks. See our guide to charas, and our overview of hashish for how hash differs from flower.

Ice water hash

Plant material is stirred in ice water. The cold makes trichomes brittle, so they break off, sink and pass through a series of mesh filter bags. The collected resin is dried carefully to become bubble hash. High grades of ice water hash are also pressed into rosin.

Rosin

Rosin is made by pressing flower, kief or hash between heated plates. The heat and pressure squeeze the resin out as a sticky oil, which is then collected from parchment. Because no solvent is used, rosin has become popular with people who want a concentrate without residual chemicals. Lower temperatures tend to keep more terpenes; higher temperatures tend to raise yield.

Solvent-Based Methods

Solvents dissolve cannabinoids and terpenes out of the plant. The solvent is then removed, leaving the extract. These methods are efficient and produce most of the concentrates and vape oils sold today, but they require industrial equipment.

Hydrocarbon extraction (butane and propane)

Liquid butane or propane is washed through plant material inside a sealed, closed-loop system that captures and recycles the gas. The extract is then purged, usually with gentle heat and vacuum, to drive off remaining solvent. Depending on how it is handled afterward, the result can be glassy shatter, whipped budder or wax, crumbly textures, or sauce and diamonds, where THCA crystals separate from a terpene-rich liquid. Made from frozen plants, it becomes live resin. Our guide to dabbing explains how these products are used.

CO2 extraction

Carbon dioxide under high pressure acts like a solvent. When pressure is released, the CO2 returns to a gas and leaves the extract behind. CO2 oil is common in vape cartridges and capsules. Washington requires processors using CO2 to run professional-grade closed-loop systems with every vessel rated to at least 600 pounds per square inch (WAC 314-55-104).

Ethanol extraction

Food-grade ethanol is used to soak or wash plant material, then evaporated off and recaptured. Ethanol pulls out cannabinoids efficiently and is common for large-scale oil production. Cold temperatures help limit how much chlorophyll and plant wax comes with it.

Refinement: Winterizing and Distillation

Many crude extracts are refined further. Winterization mixes the extract with ethanol and chills it so plant fats and waxes separate and can be filtered out. Distillation heats the oil under vacuum to separate cannabinoids by boiling point, producing distillate: a clear, thick oil that can test very high in THC but has lost most natural terpenes. Distillate is the base for many vape cartridges and edibles, often with terpenes added back for flavor.

Washington lab rules require concentrates made with hydrocarbons, CO2 or ethanol to be tested for potency, mycotoxins, pesticides and residual solvents, with limits such as 5,000 parts per million for butane and 2 parts per million for benzene (WAC 314-55-102).

Why You Should Never Extract With Butane at Home

Butane and propane are heavier than air and pool in rooms, where a pilot light, a spark from a switch or static can ignite them. Open “blasting” through a tube vents gas straight into the room. Burn centers have documented the results:

• A Colorado burn center admitted 29 patients with butane hash oil burns between 2008 and 2014, none before medical liberalization. Nineteen needed skin grafts and six needed a breathing tube to protect their airway (Bell 2015).
• Another burn center reported 101 patients with butane hash oil burns from 2007 to 2014. On average, burns covered about 27% of the body, patients spent about 27 days in the hospital, and three died (Romanowski 2017).

The law reflects that danger. In Washington, only licensed processors may use butane or other explosive gases to extract resin, and the statute’s wording treats extraction or separation of resin from cannabis by anyone other than a licensed processor as illegal manufacture, which on its face covers solventless methods too. The same statute allows cooking oil, butter and other nonexplosive home cooking substances for noncommercial personal use (RCW 69.50.450). Oregon defines “cannabinoid extracts” as products made with hydrocarbon solvents like butane, hexane or propane, or with high-heat, high-pressure CO2, and unlicensed manufacture of an extract is a Class B felony (ORS 475C.009 and 475C.349).

If you want an infused product at home, butter and oil infusions are the legal and practical route. Our guide to making cannabutter covers it step by step. Note that home growing in Washington is limited to registered medical patients, while Oregon adults may grow four plants per household; see our Washington and Oregon law guides.

How the Method Affects What You Buy

• Potency. NIDA notes that concentrates in dispensaries can exceed 40% THC, and distillates often test far higher. Start with a very small amount.
• Flavor. Live resin and live rosin are prized for aroma because terpenes are preserved from fresh-frozen plants. Distillate tastes of whatever terpenes are added.
• Purity. Licensed products list test results. Solventless products contain no added solvent, while solvent extracts are tested against residual solvent limits.
• Price. Rosin and live products usually cost more because yields are lower and the process is labor intensive.

Buy only from licensed stores, which you can find in our Washington and Oregon dispensary directories.

Cannabis Concentrates FAQ

For adults 21+ in legal states. General information, not medical advice.