Now that the marijuana plant is moving into the mainstream, there’s a lot more open research into how to use it most effectively. As a result of this, while the traditional method of smoking the bud of the marijuana plant is still very popular, there are lots of more “new school” approaches on the scene such as cannabis concentrates. Moon Rocks are a technique for blending bud with concentrate to give a unique and potentially very beneficial experience.
What are Moon Rocks?
Smoking and vaping are both what you might call low and slow treatments, you can shape a joint to deliver a bit more weed at the start (or indeed at any other point) but essentially, joints are for people who’re happy to take their time. Cannabis concentrates, by contrast, are much quicker-acting and more intense, but the effect does not last as long. Moon Rocks combine bud and cannabis concentrate in the form of kief to give an experience which is both intense and long lasting.
If you want a coffee analogy, smoking is like drinking a latte whereas using cannabis concentrates is like drinking an espresso. Moon Rocks are like a cappuccino, stronger than a latte but smoother than an espresso. Similar comments apply to the flavour, it’s noticeably stronger than the average joint, but not as strong as cannabis concentrates. Having said that, the addition of hash oil and kief means that you can expect Moon Rocks to be around 50% to 80% THC so use with care and keep them for when you can spend a lot of time out of practical action (like early evening when you’re not expecting to have to do anything until the next morning).
In practical terms, learning how to make Moon Rocks could be useful for people who have restricted growing spaces but still need higher THC treatments at least some of the time. Today’s smaller growing spaces heavily favour compact Indicas, especially autoflowering ones and while these have certainly advanced in recent years, it’s highly unlikely that they’re ever going to match the towering Sativas for THC because that’s just not how the genetics work.
This means that people who want to grow their own prescription, rather than relying on dispensaries, will need to think about how to make the most of what they can grow. Moon Rocks can also be useful for people who prefer to use lower-THC treatments most of the time, but occasionally do need that extra pain relief.
Smoking Moon Rocks
When you come to smoking Moon Rocks, forget about trying to grind them, you’ll probably just glue up your grinder. Use scissors or your hands to break them up. Obviously you only want to use a small amount, especially if you’re new to them, this suggests using a pipe, bong or bubbler rather than just rolling a joint, unless you want to mix a tiny bit of moon rock in with regular weed to make what could be called a super-joint.
Another reason for either using glass or mixing Moon Rocks with something else is that they can be quite hard to light in the first place and then to keep lit. Ideally you want to light your smoking implement of choice with a HempWick or, failing that, a really good quality (read smokeless and unscented) candle, to avoid match smoke or butane tainting the taste of your lovely Moon Rocks.
Do not underestimate just how much of a kick the addition of cannabis concentrate and kief can make. Remember the word kief actually derives from the Arabic word for intoxication (in a pleasant way). You do, however, want to have plenty of water and filling snacks to hand because you are pretty much guaranteed to feel both dehydrated and hungry after consuming Moon Rocks, so be prepared. Making your own gives you complete control of the dosage so, you can tone it down a bit if you want.
How to make Moon Rocks
1. Take a dense nug or two of your favourite bud.
2. Put some of your favourite concentrate into a dropper. The more liquid the concentrate, the easier it will be to manage, if it’s too thick, you can heat it up a little. Drop the concentrate onto the nug(s) so that it coats the surface rather than soaking into the bud.
3. Brush or roll the nug in kief until no more will stick . You will probably find this easiest to do with tongs.
4. Leave to dry.
This will create what you might call classic Moon Rocks, but if you’re making them yourself then you can make them your own way. In other words, you can take the basic idea behind Moon Rocks and adapt it to suit your needs. Let’s say, for example, you want more of a balance of THC and CBD. In that case you could skip the kief and use CBD powder and/or a high-CBD strain, drawing the THC from the concentrate.