Trim

In the cannabis cultivation and harvesting process, trim refers to the leftover extraneous small leaves and other fine floral remnants strategically trimmed off from around finished dried marijuana buds using precise hand manicuring or mechanical trimming machinery. Meticulous hand trimming or ”manicuring” of cured buds involves carefully snipping away any remaining sugar leaves, wispy offshoot branches, immature seed bracts and stray protruding pistils in order to enhance visual bag appeal and reduce total drying time after harvest. The residual trimmings leftover after trimming typically consist of small sugar leaves still caked with trichomes and cannabinoid-rich resin, small leaves, stems, and isolated fallen trichome heads called kief that broke off during plant handling and processing. While whole untrimmed cannabis generally tests higher in total cannabinoid percentages, trim contains only very minor amounts of THC and CBD due its lower trichome density compared to the manicured floral buds. However, accumulated trim still retains substantial value for various ingenious uses. When processed in bulk through extraction methods involving ice water sieving, butane, CO2, grain alcohol or other solvents, trim serves as an economical and pragmatic base source material. Trim must be fully decarboxylated via heating before it can be infused into oils or butter for use cooking edibles in order to activate its psychoactive compounds. Pre-rolled joint products frequently blend together ground trim with loose shake, smalls and other leftovers to minimize overall harvest wastage.