6 Ways To Use Your Cannabis Trim

By JP Wood
Published: November 9, 2018 | Last updated: May 5, 2021 07:33:36
Presented by GreenBroz Inc.

Key Takeaways

If you've always thought that the only useful part of the cannabis plant is the flowers, then you'll be pleased to find out that a lot of what you trim away in the harvest can be used to make any number of concoctions. Here are six great options.

Cannabis trim. Even the name of the stuff makes it sound like something that should be thrown away as soon as possible. Trim refers to the leaves and stems and generally any of the parts of the cannabis plant that get trimmed away during the pruning phase of a harvest. You’d be surprised how many people just bag this up to be thrown away. Big mistake. There’s still good THC in those parts of the plant, you just have to know how to get it.

While it’s never going to match the quality or power of trimmed buds, the leftover plant isn’t just suddenly stripped of all of its remaining trichomes (trichomes being at the core of a good high). The sticky residue on the leaves of the plant, for example, has trichomes. There's nothing stopping you from collecting them and putting them to your favorite use.

So what exactly can you do with all that leftover trim? Here are a few ways to turn it into something medicinal—or just something you use for fun.

Not everyone grows and trims their own cannabis, but if you ever find yourself in that position remember these two things.

The whole process is easier with a trimming machine that can cut out the fine clipper-work usually required at the end of a harvest.
Just because you don’t smoke trim (seriously, it’s harsh and tastes terrible) doesn’t mean you should throw it in the trash. Get your time and money’s worth, and make sure you use every drop of that THC.

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The first stage of creating anything with your cannabis trim is to separate the trichomes from the material. The absolute best way to do that, and make the most of your money, is to use a purpose-designed machine like the GreenBroz Alchemist Trichome Extractor. That machine not only separates the trichomes from the rest of the trim but is as easy to use as flipping a switch.

Cannabutter

Infusing the trichomes from your trim into cannabutter is another completely legitimate option. Cannabutter is relatively easy to make and it will allow you to gain the benefit of the THC in your trim without having to suffer through the terrible taste of it. Cannabutter is a good choice because it can be used as a butter substitute in cooking, baking or something like popcorn.

Kief

Kief is the name given to trichomes after they have been collected through a screening process. That can be as simple as the screen in your grinder (that’s why it’s called a kief -catcher), or as elaborate as large screening operations that are able to create a great deal more kief in a small amount of time.

Once you’ve gathered your kief, you have a few options. You can either keep the new dusty treat to sprinkle on top of your next bowl or joint, or you can turn that kief into hash.

Cannabis Infused Oils

Do you want to eat cannabis-infused food without having to rely on butter in your recipe? Do you want to be able to just take a dose orally and have the same effects? That’s where cannabis-infused oils come into play.

The internet is full of recipes for cannabis oil, and trim can easily fill in for ground-up buds.

Cannabis Beer

OK, this one isn’t exactly something you’re going to do at home, but a Canadian beer company recently cracked a recipe for Cannabis beer that is actually brewed using cannabis trim down to and including the stalks and stems. Province Brands, the company behind the new drink, says that the effects of a single cannabeer are meant to mimic those of a single standard brew.

Taking advantage of the fact that the trim and stalks still contain THC, and given the similarities between cannabis and barley (they come from the same plant family), the brewers replaced the barley in the process with the cannabis trim.

Cannabis Trim Tea

Cannabis Tea is one of the easiest ways to use your trim and is less about the effort involved, and more about having the right equipment: About half a gram of ground cannabis trim, a half tablespoon of butter (or cannabutter), tea bag of any flavor, and 1.5 cups of water. You'll want cheesecloth or an empty teabag to contain the marijuana. Let it steep, and you're golden.

Cannabis Milk

THC will bond with any fatty substance. That's why cannabutter is so widely used to make edibles. Unsurprisingly, butter's cousin milk is just as good at taking in those fantastic chemicals. Specifically, whole milk is going to be better for this than low-fat milks. Try adding heavy whipping cream to the mix, and you'll get something that bonds extremely well.

Ever wanted both a milkshake and a high? Cannamilk makes that fast and easy.

The bottom line? Don't toss your trim. In fact, you can put it to good—or even profitable—use.