Ask a Stoner: What's "Live Sugar," and Can I Cook With It?

Let's dive into the pantry-like names of THC concentrates.

August 31, 2021

Sugar is high-quality concentrate that looks like a glob of brown sugar, with sticky, crystallized THC. Jacqueline Collins

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Dear Stoner: What does it mean when the description on the marijuana says “live sugar” or “live butter”? Shawna

Dear Shawna: The pantry-like names of marijuana concentrates come from their consistencies and don’t have anything to do with their relevance in the kitchen. “Live” refers to the pre-production process of live resin, which is an umbrella term for extracts made by freezing the plants before extraction to preserve certain oils and flavor compounds. Terms like “sugar,” “budder” and “shatter” relate to the consistencies and appearance of the extract in final form.

Sugar is high-quality concentrate that looks like a glob of brown sugar, with sticky, crystallized THC. Budder is whipped after extraction, drier than sugar; shatter is like resinous brittle, purged of solvents to look like hardened sap. All of them can be used in oil, butter or fat infusions for cooking, but avoid spending the money on live extracts for that. Live resin is meant for vaporizing, and the higher quality carries a premium price tag that won’t translate to food.

Send questions to [email protected].

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