If you enjoy smoking bud but are looking for a more potent experience than what typical flower provides, moon rocks might be for you.

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Drizzled with hash oil and then sprinkled with kief, they’re kind of like cupcakes, except they’re 100%, smokeable weed. The layer on layer on layer of THC provides consumers with almost twice as much potency as they would get from regular cannabis flower.

Marijuana moon rocks, not to be confused with sun rocks, offer smokers a high that eclipses the usual experience without leaving them too far out of orbit.

Origins

You can thank early ‘90s Death Row Records rapper Kurupt (Ricardo Emmanuel Brown) and his partner Dr. Zodiak for the introduction of moon rocks to the regulated cannabis market back in 2014. In partnership with 1933 Industries, Kurupt has continued popularizing moon rocks through the 2019 launch of his premium cannabis line, Gotti’s Gold. Gold Nuggets are concentrate infused cannabis flower covered in kief.

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Moon rocks are popular among cannabis consumers for a lot of reasons. Most cannabis users prefer to smoke flower over other consumption methods. Moon rocks provide this experience with the added punch of concentrates. This boost of potency is ideal for recreational users with a higher THC tolerance or medicinal users looking for immediate, stronger, and longer lasting pain relief.

What They're Made Of

Moon Rocks are made with three simple ingredients: cannabis flower, hash oil, and kief. That third ingredient is what distinguishes them from “cannabis caviar”, flower coated with concentrate.  However, some people use the terms interchangeably, so make sure you ask what’s in your cannabis caviar or moon rock before purchasing or consuming it.

Moon Rocks are typically made with Girl Scout Cookies (GSC) flower and concentrate. The Indica-leaning hybrid averages around 27% THC, making it one of the more potent strains of flower out there. But the use of GSC is not essential, since they can be made with any cannabis strain. The more THC, the more potent the high.

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Cost

Given their increased potency and processing requirements, expect to pay a bit more than you would for top-shelf cannabis flower. While prices vary by location, you can plan to pay roughly $30 per gram or $95 per eighth for moon rocks.

Tips for Smoking

Smoking moon rocks may seem self-explanatory, but the sticky outer coating of concentrate and kief makes handling this powerful nug a little more complex.

Go Low and Slow

Most flower has roughly high 20% THC, but moon rocks can contain THC levels up to 50%. If you’re new to cannabis, it’s especially important that you pace yourself to avoid greening out.

Many are taken off guard by their sheer strength, whether they are new to smoking cannabis or not. No matter what kind of tolerance you think you have, start low and go slow when it comes to dosing out your first Moon Rock.

That being said, they aren't dangerous in the sense that they will hurt you, but you might get too high (which is never fun).

Eat Before You Smoke and Keep Water on Hand

Consuming large amounts of THC on an empty stomach can amplify the psychoactive effects. THC also causes cottonmouth, so keep lots of water nearby.

Choose Your Environment Wisely

As with any high-THC product, you’re likely to experience powerful effects that leave you numb, super relaxed, and possibly lethargic. Smoke your them in a place where you can relax and safely lay down.

Don’t Plan on Multitasking

You may be used to getting things accomplished after smoking regular flower. That’ll probably be more difficult after smoking a moon rock. If you’ve got business, chores, or exercise to get done, consider accomplishing those things before smoking. In fact, it might be a good idea to smoke your moon rocks before bed when you know you won’t need to be “on.”

No Grinders Allowed

Moon Rocks are thick and greasy in texture and will easily destroy your favorite grinder. Fingers are the recommended tool to break up the tough buds before smoking, but a set of tweezers could work as well.

Use Glassware

To keep the mess to a minimum, try using a bong, glass pipe, or other glassware.

Rolling whole moon rocks isn’t very practical. They won’t stay lit as well as a normal flower would. Glass pipes (bongs, bowls) are the ideal paraphernalia for smoking them.

Keeping Your Moon Rocks Lit

If you’re having trouble keeping your moon rock lit, place it on a bed of regular, ground flower. The ground-up flower will stay lit, capturing your moon rock with each toke. Another option is to use hemp wick to keep your moon rocks lit. The long wick keeps a constant flame to the cannabis without the smell and taste of butane you’d experience from the prolonged use of a lighter.

If you want to preserve the kief content and the life of your grinder, shred them up with scissors or by hand. Attempting to break the hardened bud in a grinder can make the equipment wet, sticky, and difficult to clean. You’ll also lose a lot of kief in the process.

Pros and Cons

Before diving straight into Moon Rock heaven, it is important to consider the pros and cons of adding them to your smoking regimen.

Pros:

  • They will get you very very high.
  • Great for medical patients that need a high dosage of THC or seasoned users looking for their next challenge.
  • Moon Rocks are cost-effective — a couple of small sprinkles added to your flower makes a big difference.
  • Their unique sparkly rock-like appearance make them a fun novelty item and a great conversation starter.

Cons:

  • They will get you very very high, which can be unsettling for some.
  • Whether you use your fingers or some other device to break them up (please no grinders), Moon Rocks are just plain messy. Something is bound to get sticky somewhere.
  • They must be stored in a cool dry place, or they will start to get melty.

How to Make Moon Rocks

For such a potent cannabis treat, they're pretty easy to make yourself. Here’s what you need and how to do it.

What You'll Need

  • A couple of your favorite nugs. The denser the nugs, the better.
  • Your favorite cannabis oil/concentrate. Live or flower resin are ideal. Just warm them up a bit to get a more fluid consistency.
  • A liquid dropper to moisten the flower with concentrate.
  • Kief to coat the concentrate-doused flower.
  • Tongs to dip the flower in kief.
  • Towel for clean up.

 Step 1.

Prepare your kief. If you use a grinder, the dusty residue in the bottom chamber is called kief, and it’s a potent concentrate full of trichomes and terpenes. Dump the kief into a small tray or bowl.

 Step 2.

Splash your flower with concentrate. Take the liquid dropper and fill it with concentrate. Then, drop concentrate all over the bud being careful not to soak the flower. Using the dropper rather than submerging the bud will allow the flower to dry more easily, which means it will be easier to light when you’re ready to smoke it.

 Step 3.

Roll your flower in kief. Using the tongs, dip the wet nug in the kief until it’s coated all around.

 Step 4.

Let it dry. Wait until the bud is dry to smoke it. If it’s too wet, it’ll be tough to light.

The Bottom Line

Whether you want to take your mind on an intergalactic adventure or are just looking for the next big thing in cannabis, Moon Rocks may be for you. Mix these super potent buds into your cannabis and flying high is the only possible outcome. With a little caution and preparedness, these bad boys will get you to the moon in no time.