At SPARC, we’re passionate about educating and helping customers. We’re here to help navigating the wide, exciting, and sometimes confusing world of cannabis to help you find the perfect product and effect. Use this guide for reference, and please come visit us at one of our several locations — our friendly staff is more than happy to help!
In this guide you’ll find information about:
There are several different ways to consume cannabis. Smokable and ingestible forms are the most popular, but you can also apply cannabis topically. Click any of the icons below or simply scroll down to learn more about the various cannabis product categories. The charts below represent the intensity of that respective product category over time.
Flower refers to the smokable, resinous part of the female cannabis plant, also known as nugs or buds. Flower is the most popular form of cannabis and can be consumed in multiple different methods including smoking in a pipe or bong, rolled in a blunt or joint, or vaporizing in your favorite portable or tabletop vaporizer. Flower is typically ground up before smoking or vaporizing because it burns more evenly and is easier to work with.
There are several types of cannabis cultivation methods, the most common being Sun Grown, Indoor, and Greenhouse.
Cartridges are one of the most popular forms of vaporizing cannabis oil. They are a glass cartridge pre-filled with cannabis oil or concentrate, making them convenient and discreet. The oil contains various combinations of cannabinoids and terpenes extracted from cannabis. The most common oils used in cartridges are distillate and live resin. Cartridges work in conjunction with vape pen batteries. The battery powers and atomizer in the cartridge and heats up the oil.
There are a few different forms of cartridges, the most popular being the 510 Thread. There’s also proprietary cartridges such as the Pax Era Pod and the Dosist Dose Pen. Learn more about the various types of cartridges.
Prerolls are joints or blunts that are ready-made and prepared before the intended time of consumption. They commonly consist of ground flowers or shake and rolled in hemp or rice paper. Prerolls can also be infused with extracts to boost potency. Infused prerolls typically contain kief, hash, distillate, and live resin.
Extracts are derived from cannabis flowers that are processed into a concentrated form using various extraction methods. They are efficient and take less product to achieve the desired effect.
Cannabis extracts are extracted using either a solvent, ice water, or heat & pressure. The most commonly used solvents are butane, propane, ethanol, and supercritical CO2. There are also solvent-less extractions that don’t use a solvent to concentrate the cannabis.
Cannabis pills & capsules contain cannabinoids, either single origin or full spectrum, which make for an easier and convenient way to ingest cannabis. Pills & capsules provide precise dosing, making the effects predictable and consistent. Since pills & capsules are ingested and processed through the liver, they have the same effects and intensity as edibles, but with little to no flavor. Pills & capsules come in different forms including gelatin and vegan capsules, chewable tablets, and sublingual tablets, to name a few.
Tinctures are alcohol-based or oil-based forms of cannabis extract, typically considered a wellness product. The most common forms of oil used are olive oil and MCT oil, while alcohol-based tinctures use high proof, food grade alcohol. These infusions can be solely cannabis & alcohol or oil, or they can also be infused with medicinal herbs. Tinctures are a great for first time cannabis users and provide an easy and precise way to dose cannabis orally.
Beverages are a type of ingestible cannabis where, through emulsification, cannabinoids are infused into liquids. Because they are liquids, beverages absorb quicker and effects are usually felt in 30 minutes or less. Beverages are a convenient and discreet way to consume cannabis and come in many different varieties such as sparkling water, coffee, sodas, tonics, and more.
Topicals are cannabis-infused products that are applied to the skin. They are typically used for relief in a localized area. They are non-intoxicating and great for the therapeutic benefits of cannabinoids. Topicals come in several forms including balms, salves, creams, lotions, and patches.
Here are the most common cartridge types:
What are the different types of extracts, and what are the pros & cons of each one? Here are the most common ones:
Cannabinoids are a family of over 100 molecules that can be produced by the cannabis plant. They are responsible for the wide variety of effects and benefits of cannabis. THC and CBD are the two most common cannabinoids produced by the plant, but there are numerous other cannabinoids which have not yet been discovered or studied. The potency and combination of cannabinoids, along with terpenes, creates a complex spectrum of effects ranging from pain and anxiety relief, to energy and creativity.
Click any of the molecules below or simply scroll down to learn more about the various cannabinoids.
Delta 9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9THC, “Delta 9”, or just THC)
Regularly referred to as just THC, this is the psychoactive cannabinoid that causes a cannabis high. This cannabinoid has a broad range of benefits including anxiety and pain reduction, creativity, energy, and physiological modulation of the immune and endocannabinoid systems. THC can also cause anxiety and disorientation in higher doses, so use smaller doses of THC if you are inexperienced with cannabis.
11-hydroxy-THC
When THC is taken orally, such as in edibles or capsules, it is metabolized into 11-hydroxy-THC. While technically not a cannabinoid itself, this metabolite is often much stronger than smoked THC and can be more disorienting. At higher doses it can be anxiety inducing or heavily sedating. If you are inexperienced with edibles, it is recommended to take 5mg or less and wait 2 to 4 hours to see how it affects you.
Cannabidiol (CBD)
A non-psychoactive cannabinoid with a variety of benefits including anti-anxiety effects, immune system modulation, neuroprotective activity, as well as pain and inflammation reduction.
Tetrahydrocannabinol Acid (THCa)
The acidic, or non-decarboxylated, form of THC. THCa often exists in cannabis flower prior to being heated. THCa has stronger anti-inflammatory effects than decarboxylated THC, and can be more effective for pain reduction if a high is not desired. THCa must be consumed in non-heated consumption methods like edibles, capsules, tinctures, and topicals. Vaporizing or smoking will decarboxylate THCa into its psychoactive form: THC.
Cannabidiol Acid (CBDa)
The acidic or non-decarboxylated form of CBD. This form of CBD often exists in cannabis flower prior to being heated. CBDa has stronger anti-inflammatory effects than decarboxylated CBD. CBDa also has anxiety reducing effects. CBDa must be consumed in non heated consumption methods like edibles, capsules, tinctures, and topicals. Vaporizing or smoking will decarboxylate CBDa to CBD.
Tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV)
This cannabinoid is similar to THC both in effect and chemical composition. It is an exceptionally rare cannabinoid, produced by plants in very small quantities. It provides a high that is similar to THC but is often described as less anxiety inducing and helps to provide more focus and mental clarity.
Delta 8 Tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ8THC, or “Delta 8”)
This cannabinoid is similar to THC both in effect and chemical composition. The effects of d8THC are much more subtle than d9THC, and often requires larger doses. Its effects are often described as being subtle and inducing less anxiety than d9THC.
One of the main benefits of the legal cannabis market in California is the transparency into product testing. Each product that is sold in the legal market has been thoroughly tested by an approved 3rd party laboratory. This ensures that each products you buy from SPARC is safe and fully compliant, and you know exactly what you’re getting.
SPARC has always believed in transparency and has a long history with product testing. Since opening our doors in San Francisco in 2010, we’ve been considered an innovator in the space: we tested all of our products even though there was no requirement to do so. To this day, we continue our commitment to transparency, access to safe cannabis, and an assortment of only the highest quality cannabis.
We don’t accept products that don’t have a certificate of analysis (COA) that passes the strict State cannabis testing requirements. All of our products are tested for cannabinoids, terpenoids, residual pesticides, heavy metals, mycotoxins, microbial impurities, and foreign materials. For certain product categories, there is additional testing required, including moisture content (flower), residual solvents & processing chemicals (cartridges & extracts), and homogeneity & water activity (edibles).
Watch this short video to learn more about product testing at SPARC:
