Jon, the simple answer is that bud which isn't fully dry doesn't burn well and doesn't taste good, which is pretty much repeating what Ed said. The difference in taste is a very complex thing to describe simply but, it has as much to do with the breakdown of chlorophyll as it does with the change in the chemistry of the resin due to the loss of water molecules.
As for the bud not burning well, I think that not achieving the temperature required to properly vaporize the resin is the real problem when the bud is not fully dry. Vaporizing the resin on the surface to which the heat is applied is easily achieved, but doing the same for the rest of the sample is harder to achieve when the bud is still even a little "wet".
Perhaps a little experiment might be in order to test the theory that the active ingredient is somehow changed by drying the plant. I would suggest making some hash oil, first using fresh, "wet" heads and then using fully dried heads for comparison. You could then vaporize the samples separately and see whether there is any appreciable difference between them regarding taste and potency. If you have the means at your disposal, give it a shot. I would be very interested to hear the results, as I'm sure would many others.
Submitted by Interested Observer () on Mon, 10/26/2009 - 19:28.
Simple Answer
Jon, the simple answer is that bud which isn't fully dry doesn't burn well and doesn't taste good, which is pretty much repeating what Ed said. The difference in taste is a very complex thing to describe simply but, it has as much to do with the breakdown of chlorophyll as it does with the change in the chemistry of the resin due to the loss of water molecules.
As for the bud not burning well, I think that not achieving the temperature required to properly vaporize the resin is the real problem when the bud is not fully dry. Vaporizing the resin on the surface to which the heat is applied is easily achieved, but doing the same for the rest of the sample is harder to achieve when the bud is still even a little "wet".
Perhaps a little experiment might be in order to test the theory that the active ingredient is somehow changed by drying the plant. I would suggest making some hash oil, first using fresh, "wet" heads and then using fully dried heads for comparison. You could then vaporize the samples separately and see whether there is any appreciable difference between them regarding taste and potency. If you have the means at your disposal, give it a shot. I would be very interested to hear the results, as I'm sure would many others.