Broad Spectrum and Full Spectrum, what do they mean?

Hey folks, here we are again with some more weed based knowledge to help you build your expertise so that you can shop smarter and get higher! This week we’re going to be touching on something that comes up a lot when we talk about products derived from flower extracts: What do the terms Broad and Full spectrum mean and how does it affect your experience?

Alright, bring on the learning!

There’s the enthusiasm I love to see. With so many different terms and so much industry jargon floating around, it’s natural for someone who isn’t deeply involved in cannabis culture to be confused or even overwhelmed. Let’s try to curb that slightly by tackling this fairly straightforward question. To put it simply, broad spectrum and full spectrum are more or less interchangeable terms that indicate various properties of the plant are present inside the beverage, edible or distillate in question. This is in contrast to most products that only bring over a specific cannabinoid (usually THC) in order to achieve a desired effect, whether that be a dizzying high or a nice relaxing CBD buzz.  This generally produces a solid product that most people can get tons of enjoyment out of. There are, however, some cannabis consumers who specifically seek out broad spectrum products over the alternatives so that they can benefit from the entourage effect, which is something we’ve touched on before.

Full disclosure…. I smoke weed so can you remind me what the entourage effect is?

No worries disembodied paragraph titles; I’ll go through a quick refresh for you. When we smoke or consume cannabis in its plant form, there are a whole ton of chemical reaction and chemical bonds being formed in your system. Your CB1 and CB2 receptors (which are you endocannabinoid systems way of interacting with cannabinoids) then serve to act as your gateway to enjoying the various benefits of the flower. There’s a whole lot more than simply THC going on as there are potentially hundreds of cannabinoids, flavonoids and terpenes working away inside your system helping to give your mood a much-needed boost. To put it simply: THC might get you high, but the type and intensity of the high is determined by all of the plants properties working in unison.  A product that contains just THC or CBD distillate doesn’t contain all of these other compounds, so ones that do are highly sought after by those in the know.

How will I know if something is broad or full spectrum?

Great question! The companies that produce full spectrum cannabis products will be sure to let you know through their packaging. Anyone willing to go the extra mile to ensure that a vape cart or edible gets as close to the entourage effect as possible is generally going to go out of their way to make sure that the words full spectrum turn up in the products name. That being said, if you’re ever in a dispensary and don’t know where the full spectrum items are, ask! Any budtender worth their salt will be able to lead you to those items and help you learn a bit about them.

Has all this talk of spectrums and cannabinoids piqued your interest? If so, check out our menu which is chock full of full spectrum edibles and live resin vape carts so you can see if the entourage effect is what you’ve been missing all this time!