Flower, Vapes, Concentrates, Edibles, Tinctures and Topicals: The Forms Compared

A dispensary menu can look like a lot of different things. In fact, almost every product starts the same way: as cured flower, or as the resin collected from it. The difference is what happens next. This guide explains what each form is and how it's made.

How to use a product, and how much, is a conversation for your medical provider and our budtenders. This article sticks to what each one is.

The forms at a glance

Form	What it is	How it's made
Flower	Dried, cured buds	Grown, harvested, dried, trimmed and cured
Pre-rolls	Ground flower in a rolling paper	Flower is ground and rolled; infused pre-rolls add kief or concentrate
Vapes	A cartridge or disposable pen filled with cannabis oil	Oil is extracted from the plant, often blended with the plant's own terpenes, and filled into hardware
Concentrates	Collected resin: kief, hash, rosin, resin, distillate	Trichomes are separated from the plant, by sifting, ice water, pressing or extraction
Edibles	Gummies, chocolates, drinks, capsules	Made with cannabis-infused oil or butter, or with a concentrate like distillate or rosin
Tinctures	Cannabis in a liquid, usually oil, measured with a dropper	Cannabinoids are blended into a carrier oil (such as MCT or olive oil) or alcohol
Topicals	Creams, salves, balms and oils for the skin	Cannabis oil or extract is blended into a lotion or salve

Flower and pre-rolls

Flower is the least processed form: the plant's buds, dried and cured. Our drying and curing article covers how that's done and what smalls, shake and grind mean. Pre-rolls are flower that has been ground and rolled. Infused pre-rolls add a concentrate or kief to the flower.

Vapes

A vape cartridge or disposable holds cannabis oil and a small heating element. The oil can be:

• distillate: highly refined cannabinoid oil, usually with terpenes added back for flavor;
• live resin: extracted from fresh-frozen plants to keep more of their aroma;
• rosin: made by pressing hash with heat, with no solvents.

Concentrates

Concentrates are the plant's resin, separated from the plant material. They range from kief (dry-sifted trichomes) and hash to rosin and distillate. Our bubble hash vs. temple balls article shows two traditional ways of making hash.

Edibles and tinctures

Edibles and tinctures both start with an infused oil or a concentrate, mixed into food, drink or a carrier liquid. Because the amount of cannabinoid is measured into each piece or each milliliter, their labels give exact milligram counts. Our tinctures and edibles article explains how they're made and how to read those numbers.

Topicals

Topicals are made for the skin, not for eating: creams, salves, balms and massage oils made with cannabis extract.

Find them at New Mill

Browse each part of our menu: flower, pre-rolls, vapes, concentrates, edibles and CBD. Our budtenders can explain any product in more detail.

New Mill is a medical cannabis dispensary in Bethel, Maine, serving qualifying patients 18 and older from Maine or another state, with a valid medical cannabis certification and photo ID from the same state. This article is general information about how cannabis products are made, not medical advice. Keep all cannabis products out of reach of children and pets.