Live Resin Gummies Vs Regular Gummies

Legal hemp and cannabis edibles are becoming extremely popular in the United States and for good reason. Edibles are easy to take, cost-effective, they can be quite potent, and even really enjoyable taste-wise as well. That said, there are now many different types of edibles on the market, and for many people this can be very confusing.

If you are new to the world of cannabis edibles, and you don't know what the difference between various types of edibles is, you've come to the right place. Today, we want to take a look at two specific types of cannabis or hemp edibles, live resin gummies and regular gummies made with cannabis or hemp distillate.

Both of these types of edibles are very potent, they usually produce a significant high, and it doesn't take much of them for you to feel anything either. However, how the hemp or cannabis extracts used in these edibles are made is substantially different, and it leads to a variety of differences in effects, potency, taste, and more. Let's find out what exactly makes live resin gummies different from regular distillate gummies.

Key Takeaways

• Regular cannabis or hemp distillate is made using cured flower, whereas live resin is made using fresh or flash-frozen flower.
• Cannabis distillates tend to be stronger with higher cannabinoid levels, whereas live resin tends to have higher terpene and flavonoid levels.
• Cannabis distillates also tend to be much more thoroughly refined and processed than live resin products.

Keep reading here to find out what the main difference is between live resin and THCa diamonds.

What Are Regular (Distillate) Gummies?

First, we have regular hemp or cannabis gummies. Regular gummies are those that are generally made with distillate. Distillate is a very special type of cannabis or hemp extract. First, distillate is the base ingredient that is used in most vape cartridges and edibles.

It is usually extremely strong and maybe up to 99% potent THC or other cannabinoids. Although THC distillate is very potent, it usually doesn't have much of an aroma or flavor.

It's made by extracting plant matter, or more specifically the cannabinoids, from the plant matter, and then refining and purifying it until you are left with what is essentially a clear, light-yellow, or light-brownish viscous substance, almost like honey. Regular gummies are there for cannabis or hemp edibles that are made with this specific type of extract.

What Are Live Resin Gummies?

Just like regular gummies are cannabis or hemp edibles made with distillate, live resin gummies are edibles that are made with live resin, which is a different type of cannabis or hemp extract. Yes, here, and the cannabinoids are also extracted from the plant matter, and then refined and processed. In terms of its appearance, live resin tends to be a bit thicker and chunkier than distillate.

Live resin also contains a lot of its original terpenes and flavonoids, which contribute to its much tastier and more flavorful nature. Hemp and cannabis live resins both have a lot of flavor and aroma.

The potency of live resin, if we are talking about THC, can be as high as 90%, although it may range anywhere from 40% to 90%. As you'll see below, many of the differences between live resin gummies and distillate gummies, particularly in terms of flavor and potency, can be attributed to how these extracts are made.

How Are Live Resin and Regular Gummies Made?

To help you understand the real differences between these two types of cannabis or hemp edibles, let's discuss how they are made, specifically the extracts. Keep in mind that here we are referring specifically to the production processes of the extracts, not the edibles themselves.

The edibles are generally all made in the same way, which is by using regular candy or gummy treat recipes and then adding some cannabis or hemp extracts into the mix. In this way, both regular and live resin gummies are made in the same way, but the way in which the base extracts are made is quite different.

Live Resin Gummies

Live resin is made by using fresh or flash-frozen plant matter. This means that the plant matter is not left out to dry for several days or weeks, and it's also not cured for several weeks or months. For those of you who don't know, it is generally the curing process that is responsible for the development of a good portion of THC and other cannabinoids.

However, this process of creating live resin, mainly skipping the process of curing the buds, allows the terpenes and flavonoids to be preserved. In other types of cannabis or hemp extracts, where cured bud is used, they usually don't contain many of the original terpenes or flavonoids, which is why other types of extracts such as distillate are usually relatively flavorless.

On the other hand, due to this special process, live resin is generally quite flavorful and has a strong odor. As you will see below, all of the different terpenes contained in the live resin may also have a variety of effects on you.

The fresh or flash-frozen cannabis or hemp buds are put inside a special sealed container, and solvents such as butane are blasted through. 

The butane absorbs the cannabinoids from the plant matter and comes out the bottom. This butane and cannabinoid mixture is then baked in a sealed vacuum, which allows the solvent, in this case, the butane, to dissolve, leaving behind just the live resin.

Distillate Gummies

Technically speaking, the process to make distillate is more or less the same as making live resin. The plant matter is put in a sealed tube, it is blasted with a solvent, and the solvent is then refined and processed to leave you with the final cannabis or hemp extract, distillate.

However, the big difference between distillate and live resin is that whereas live resin uses fresh or flash-frozen plant matter, distillate uses dried and cured plant matter. Once again, the drying and curing process allows for the development of THC to much greater degrees than if the buds were not cured.

Cured buds are usually always much stronger and higher in THC levels than those that have not been cured. However, the curing process also appears to cause a lot of the terpenes and flavonoids to diminish. Therefore, you can expect this to look to be a bit more potent than live resin, but also much less flavorful.

Another difference between these two in terms of the manufacturing process is that distillates tend to be extracted at much higher temperatures, whereas live resins are usually extracted at much lower temperatures. Distillates also tend to be much more thoroughly refined and contain generally only one chemical compound, whereas live resins are not nearly as refined and may contain many compounds.

Live Resin Gummies vs Regular Gummies

Besides the way in which the extracts themselves are made, let's now take a quick look at the main differences between these two types of edibles.

Effects

Admittedly, there may not be much of a difference in terms of the actual effect (not accounting for potency or THC levels). THC specifically often produces both a body high and a head high, but which of these you get usually depends on where the extract came from, mainly from an Indica or Sativa.

Remember that Indica strains tend to produce more of a body high whereas Sativa strains tend to produce more of a head high. The differences in effects between both of these extract types also depend on the quality of the manufacturing process and the final product.

Both distillate and live resin may produce virtually the same effects as far as you may be able to tell. The THC in the live resin generally doesn't make you feel any different than the THC in a distillate.

This is at least the case as far as the cannabinoids are concerned, but once again, remember that live resin gummies usually also contain a lot of terpenes, whereas distillate gummies do not. 

Although terpenes do not produce any kind of psychoactive or notable high, they may have some potential benefits or effects on the human body and mind. On the other hand, distillate tends to have more THC, so although the effects may not be different, the effects from distillate may be more pronounced.

Some people may find that the effects of live resin are much more potent and longer lasting than from distillate, although this is more anecdotal rather than evidence-based. Technically speaking, it seems unlikely that live resin would feature more of a potent and longer-lasting effect considering that it tends to have lower THC levels than distillate, sometimes half as much THC as distillate. Although this difference in effect may be attributed to the difference in terpene content.

Taste

Perhaps the most noticeable difference between the two types of extracts is the taste. Because distillate is so thoroughly refined, and because a lot of the flavonoids and terpenes have been removed through both the curing process and the extraction process, it tends to be relatively flavorless.

Distillate may have a very slight hemp or cannabis flavor, although sometimes it's completely tasteless. It doesn't have much of a smell either, which many people like because it is quite discreet. It doesn't really resemble the original hemp or cannabis smell or flavor.

If we are talking about live resin, this still contains most of its original terpenes and flavonoids, therefore having a much stronger and more pronounced flavor and smell. Live resin often closely resembles the original strain that the cannabinoids were taken from. It's much tastier.

Terpenes

Just to summarize from above, live resin still contains most of its original terpenes, whereas distillate does not. As you'll see further below, terpenes may have a variety of benefits or effects on the human mind and body, which are worth talking about.

Dosage

If we are talking about the dosage, or how much you need to feel something, it depends on the exact product in question.

Some distillates can contain anywhere between 80% and nearly 100% THC, whereas live resin products can contain anywhere between 40% and 90% THC.

This means that realistically speaking, if we take the average THC level of both types of extracts, you'd likely need about twice as much live resin to feel the same level of high as from distillate.

Common Terpenes Found in Live Resin Gummies and Their Effects

Terpenes can play a role in how live resin makes you feel, so let's take a quick look at some of the most common therapies found in these types of gummies and how they might affect you.

Alpha-Humulene

Humulene is a very commonly found terpene in live resin, and it may have effects including relaxation, boosting creativity, calming the mind, and relieving pain. This terpene tends to have a spicy, woody, and earthy flavor.

Caryophyllene

Caryophyllene is a terpene that features a sweet and spicy flavor. This terpene may make you feel euphoric and happy, as well as laid back and calm.

Limonene

As you can tell from the name of it, limonene has a very citrusy flavor. One of the biggest potential benefits of limonene is that it may be able to relieve symptoms associated with stress. It should help make you feel calmer.

Linalool

One of the biggest purported benefits of linalool as a terpene is that it may help to produce sedative effects, which in turn should help you sleep better. This terpene is sweet, spicy, tropical, and citrusy.

Myrcene

Myrcene has an earthy, musky, and spicy flavor, and is thought to have strong relaxing and sedative effects.

Do Terpenes Get You High?

No, terpenes are generally not thought of as being psychoactive or intoxicating. They should not produce any kind of notable high. However, there is such a thing as the entourage effect, which is when various cannabinoids and terpenes work together to produce different effects.

For instance, theoretically speaking, if linalool has calming and sedating effects, and THC does as well, then the two should work together to produce a much more pronounced sedative and calming effect. The supposed effect of various terpenes may work in combination with THC to produce stronger or differing effects.

Are Live Resin Gummies Stronger Than Regular Gummies?

Generally speaking, no, live resin gummies are not stronger than regular gummies. Regular distillate gummies may have anywhere between 80% and 100% THC, whereas live resin gummies may contain anywhere between 40% and 90% THC, with somewhere between 50% and 70% being fairly common.

Do Live Resin Gummies Work Faster Than Regular Gummies?

At this time, there is no evidence to indicate that either one of these types of extracts works faster than the other. Depending on a variety of factors, such as your size and metabolism, it may take anywhere between 30 minutes and 120 minutes for you to feel the full effects of both distillate gummies and live resin gummies.

Are Live Resin Gummies Better Than Regular Gummies?

Which one of these two is better is highly subjective in nature. Regular distillate gummies tend to be much more potent with higher levels of THC and less flavor, whereas live resin gummies tend to be a bit less potent, but also more flavorful, plus they contain a lot of terpenes. It really depends on what your personal preferences are.

Final Thoughts

Both distillate gummies and live resin gummies have their pros and cons worth considering. Personally, we'd recommend trying them both!

Where to Buy Live Resin and Regular Gummies Online

Here at Botany Farms, we have some awesome live resin products for you to try out, and we will very soon have some live resin edibles. For the time being, we recommend checking out our own Botany Farms Live Resin Delta-8 THC Tincture that you can consume as is or add to your favorite foods, as is the case with our Live Resin CBD Tincture.

We also have some great live resin vape cartridges worth checking out, including this THCV Live Resin + Delta-8 THC Vape Cart, this HHC + Live Resin Lava Kush Cartridge, and this CBN Live Resin + Delta-8 THC Llama Kush Vape Cartridge. Read on here to find out what makes live resin different from Delta-8 THC.