sometimes the cheap always same color always same flavor street wax is manufactured. As in thc-a synthesized from hemp cbd, then recombined with terpines and plant fats/tannins. you combine the thc-a and plant fats and heat it til it homogenizes, and some thc will decarb, then mix your
terpenes in as it cools. thats practicaly 100% of the dark web "shatter" slabs now a days and a large portion of rec dispo dabs. And its not actually shatter at room temp because its been partially decarbed already.
Most the "live diamond sauce" that's everywhere in the rec dispensaries is literally just thc-a crystal crushed up in
terpenes
Somewhere ways back in the trainwreck is me making some real THC "wax" from shit i bought in a TN gas station and its practically identical to half the rec dispo concentrates now a days. In texture, appearance, and the way it tastes and dabs. I just mixed thc-a crystal crushed into a super fine powder into og kush
terpenes till the texture and color looked right lol.
i cant remember the last time i saw amber shatter that snapped at room temp in a rec dispo. i see it in my pyrex all the time though. Could still find some legit amber shatters in the medical dispos in KC though, but it wasnt cheap, everything we sent to re-leaf back in KC was predominantly either synthesized from cbd thc-a, or centrifuge separated after extraction from popcorns and sugar trim, and was still re-manufactured for consistency between batches with
terpenes and stuff. often from the same cultivars, but it was still manufactured, not exactly "extracts" but arguably "concentrates"
Its easier to make a profit off of dried cured flower, then taking your best buds and making legit extracts cleanly out of them, because everyone wants to pay dirt for wax now a days anyway. Making a clean full spectrum solvent extract of cannabis is a time consuming process, and people get paid to do it. You dont get that stuff for 10-18$ a g in a dispensary in most states until long after the market saturates. And even then, the manufactured stuff is still way more profitable from a business stand point. its easier to keep clean too.
From a health of consumption stand point, though, the manufactured concentrates are probably better for the body. Nails stay a bit cleaner for longer, the reclaim isnt as dark. But i always find when hitting them that they're missing something my long-vacuum purged amber shatter and the legit grams that cost 30-50/g from the medi side of kc dispos werent missing. Mainly the true flavor, and the entourage effect of the plant it came from.
Even when it comes from a dispo, i may or may not call it "dark web dabs" after i try it these days. But im not saying it came from the dark web, just that it was manufactured essentially the same way an ecigg juice is made. (not exactly, just a metaphor)
