An infused pre-roll is flower with a cannabis concentrate added to it, and the word "infused" on the package tells you almost nothing about which concentrate. Distillate, kief, live resin and hash rosin are made by four different processes, cost different amounts to produce and carry different amounts of material other than cannabinoids. Infused rolls averaged $25.40 in Canada in 2025 against $16.84 for a single-strain roll, so the difference is worth understanding. This post explains what each material is, how it is made, and how to price a roll against an eighth.
The four materials, side by side
| Material | Starting material | How it is separated | Solvent used | Typical form |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Distillate | Extracted crude oil, often from trim or lower-grade biomass | Solvent extraction, then winterisation and fractional distillation | Hydrocarbon or ethanol, then removed | Clear to amber viscous oil |
| Kief | Dried flower and trim | Dry sieving through mesh screens | None | Loose tan to pale green powder |
| Live resin | Fresh frozen cannabis, never dried | Cold hydrocarbon extraction, then purging | Hydrocarbon, then removed | Sauce, badder or sugar consistency |
| Hash rosin | Ice water hash, itself from fresh frozen or cured flower | Ice water agitation and sieving, then heat and pressure | None. Water and ice only | Badder, jam or cold-cure consistency |
The solvent column is what separates them into two groups. Kief and hash rosin are mechanical separations, using screens, water, ice, heat and pressure. Distillate and live resin are chemical extractions using a solvent removed afterwards under vacuum, with residual solvent levels subject to mandatory testing limits.
Distillate
Distillate is the most processed of the four. Cannabis is extracted into a crude oil, chilled and filtered to remove fats and waxes, then run through fractional distillation, which separates compounds by boiling point.
What comes out is a high-purity cannabinoid fraction, commonly above 85 percent THC, with most other plant compounds removed. Terpenes boil off during distillation, so distillate is close to odourless unless terpenes are reintroduced afterwards.
Its economics are why it is so widespread. It can be made from trim and lower-grade biomass, it is consistent batch to batch, and it doses reliably into a machine. Two of Canada's highest-selling infused rolls in 2024 were distillate products, one a kief and distillate combination.
Kief
Kief is the simplest material here and the oldest. Dried cannabis is agitated over mesh screens and the resin glands, the trichome heads, fall through while the plant matter stays above.
Because nothing is dissolved or heated, kief retains the terpene content of the source flower. It also retains whatever plant material passed through the screen, so its cannabinoid concentration varies widely with screen size and starting material, and sits well below that of distillate. Kief is often applied to the outside of a roll, where it is visible, rather than mixed through the flower.
Live resin
Live resin is defined by its input rather than its method. The cannabis is frozen immediately at harvest and never dried or cured, preserving the volatile terpene fraction otherwise lost in drying, then extracted cold with a hydrocarbon solvent that is purged afterwards. The result has a lower cannabinoid concentration than distillate and a much higher terpene content.
This category consumes a large share of Canada's outdoor harvest, because material frozen in October is held frozen and processed through the winter. We follow that supply chain in Croptober in Ontario. Note that "live" refers to fresh frozen input, not to the extraction method, so live rosin and live resin are different products.
Hash rosin
Hash rosin is the most labour-intensive of the four and the only one involving no solvent at any stage, including the step before it. Cannabis is agitated in ice water, which makes the trichome heads brittle so they break off and sink. The water is poured through progressively finer sieve bags, producing ice water hash separated by micron size. That hash is dried, then pressed between heated plates, and the resin that flows out is rosin.
Yields are low and the process does not scale the way distillation does, which is why rosin-infused rolls sit at the expensive end of a shelf. Our guide to hash in Canada covers the hash side, and solventless and rosin covers the terminology.
How the infusion is actually done
There are two methods, and the package rarely says which was used. In internal infusion, the primary Canadian method, the concentrate is mixed through the ground flower before the cone is filled, which distributes it through the roll but is invisible from outside. In external application, the concentrate or kief is applied to the outside of the finished roll, where it is visible but concentrated at the surface.
One Canadian manufacturer describes an infused line as roughly twice the manpower and a rebuilt production system, needing cold, dry, clean rooms and small batches to keep the concentrate workable and evenly distributed.
Is a $25 infused roll good value against an eighth?
This is answerable with arithmetic. An eighth is 3.5 grams of flower. A typical infused pre-roll is one gram in total, of which a portion is concentrate and the rest is flower.
| Comparison | Infused pre-roll | An eighth of flower |
|---|---|---|
| Total cannabis weight | Commonly 1 g per unit | 3.5 g |
| Canadian average price, 2025 | $25.40 | Set by each retailer |
| Preparation required | None | Grinding, papers, rolling |
| Cannabinoid concentration | Raised by the added concentrate | As stated on the label |
On weight, an eighth wins comfortably: 3.5 grams against one. On cannabinoid content per dollar the infused roll narrows the gap, because the added concentrate raises Total THC well above what a gram of flower alone would carry. The eighth gives you more material and control of the format. The roll wastes nothing in preparation and arrives portioned at a known weight.
There is also a structural reason infused formats price as they do. Excise duty is charged flat per gram of flowering material, with a $1.00 floor, rather than as a percentage of value, so a product carrying more cannabinoid content per gram attracts proportionally less duty relative to its price. That is covered in where your ten dollar gram actually goes.
What the label tells you, and what it does not
Three printed fields settle most of the question. Net weight per discrete unit tells you the real quantity: a three pack of one gram rolls is three grams, a five pack of 0.5 gram rolls is 2.5 grams. Total THC may be given per gram or per unit, and both appear on pre-roll packaging. Class of cannabis reads as dried cannabis, which is why infused rolls sit alongside plain ones rather than with extracts.
What the label generally does not tell you is which concentrate was used, how much, or whether it was infused internally or applied outside. Some producers state all of this. Many state only that the product is infused.
The short version
- Distillate is fractionally distilled from extracted crude oil, is commonly above 85 percent THC, and has had most other plant compounds removed.
- Kief is dry-sieved trichome heads. No solvent, retains source terpenes, concentration varies widely.
- Live resin starts from fresh frozen cannabis, cold-extracted with a hydrocarbon solvent that is then purged.
- Hash rosin is ice water hash pressed under heat. No solvent at any stage, and the lowest yielding of the four.
- Infused rolls averaged $25.40 in 2025 against $16.84 for a single-strain roll.
- Against an eighth, the roll loses on weight and wins on preparation. Net weight per discrete unit settles it.
If you want the format explained from the beginning, pre-rolls explained covers singles, packs and hash rolls.
Our address and hours are on the visit page, and what is in stock is listed under all products. Staff at 811 Dundas St W will read the net weight and Total THC off a package with you.
Sources
- StratCann, Crafting the perfect infused pre-roll, 7 November 2022: stratcann.com
- StratCann, Pre-rolls now lead Canada's cannabis market, on Headset 2025 data, 4 June 2026: stratcann.com
- Custom Cones USA, State of the Canadian Pre-Roll Market Report, 18 February 2025: customconesusa.com
- StratCann, The future of outdoor cannabis in Canada, 17 March 2025: stratcann.com
- Health Canada, Packaging and labelling guide for cannabis products: canada.ca
- Canada Revenue Agency, Excise duty rates for cannabis products: canada.ca