What are DABS?

Keeping up with the lingo is often tricky for parents.  Have you heard about “dabs” or “dabbing.”

“Dabs” are highly concentrated marijuana extracts which typically have a THC content of 90%.  “Dabbing” is a way to get the quickest long-lasting high with a single inhale. Some reports indicate that one high can last more than a day.

“Dabs” are wax-like and are commonly inhaled using vaping pens. They can also be smoked or infused into edibles.

Vaping pens and edibles make it extremely difficult for parents to see, smell or detect. While a smoked joint leaves a distinctive scent  on clothing and in hair, “dabs” smell pungent when inhaled; there is no lingering smell on clothing or in the room/area where the “dab” was inhaled.

“Dabs” can be purchased on the street or made at home with a flat-iron and parchment paper by heating marijuana buds to create an oil which forms into the wax.

“Dabs” can be shaped into various forms such as a cola colored gummy bear.

Leafly.com, a cannabis information resource, wrote this about “dabs”,  “One of the most unsettling facts about dabs is that for the first time it seems possible to “overdose” on cannabis..” and “There have also been reports of more intense withdrawal symptoms for dabbers…”

Other street names include  “Wax,” “Honey oil,” “earwax,” “dabs” “shatter” and more.