Today for our safari into bizarre black market carts, we’re going to explore “High Rez.” It’s frequently broadcast in the Southern California area around south Orange County and San Diego, but has been reported in NYC as well. High Rez Live Resin cartridges frequently include the motto “Potent AF” in their marketing and packaging.

High Rez Live Resin makes some bold claims for a black market cart

For one thing, High Rez bills itself as “live plant extract.” That and the name seem to imply that they mean live resin. Live resin is a laborious process where fresh plant is flash-frozen and extracted via butane oil, then the butane is purged out. There’s only two ways that’s happening: (a) a fully equipped laboratory run by professionals, or (b) a garage set-up which ends up in the news when the house gets blown to hell. You really want a live resin operation to be licensed.

Second, High Rez also claims “24K gold hardware.” That’s a new one on the Present Author. I don’t find any other carts off the top of a quick browse that make such a claim, nor do I understand what the point would even be. To make the cart more expensive? To try to avoid metal contamination? CCELLs test clean for heavy metals and they don’t use gold anyway, so this is baffling.

If anybody can explain the gold angle, we’re all ears. The spot price of 24K as of this minute is $54.76 / gram. I have no idea how much metal is in the hardware, since this particular question has never come up before, but it seems like a completely pointless extra expense.

High Rez Live Resin has no official website, plenty of Instagrams

We can find no licensing nor mention of a business that would have licensing for this brand. We find no official website. We do, however, find a lot of Instagram accounts. Several posts on them even use the hashtag “#Weedstagram,” which is a refreshingly frank moniker. We need to just ask Mark Zuckerberg to change its name to that officially and be done with it.

The main account seems to be “@highrezfanpage.” This account loves to film the beach in panning shots while waving the cart around.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_Xz5MJp21Z/

There’s also “@highrez_socal.” For a change, it doesn’t seem like these are competing accounts all claiming to be the the only official one, but numerous accounts maintained by the same party or group.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_ih9c_n1qI/

Redundantly, there’s “@highrez_la,” same deal.

Then there’s “@he.smokes.js,” whom, if he isn’t affiliated with the brand, sure represents it heavily.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5vuCHaHKFF/

There’s apparently an issue with “fake vs real” with High Rez? Well, that’s a problem with unlicensed, unregulated brands run out of somebody’s basement, isn’t it? We don’t find High Rez empty packaging in any of the usual haunts (“24K gold!”), but that doesn’t mean it isn’t out there.

On top of all that, the “brand” populates the hashtags “#highrezliveresin” and “#highrez,” among many. They even have the nerve to post under the hashtag “#24kgold” all the time, because who would possibly be looking for anything else besides a street vape cart with that tag?

Seeing as how most of the High Rez posts showing the product involve driving around or hanging out at the beach while flashing the cart, with no professional marketing appertained thereto, we’re going with “street brand.”

The High Rez brand is contested on Reddit

One guy finds a cart and posts ye olde bubble teste to prove something. But they do complain about blowing $320 on a 10-cart pack. Now subtract the cost of the packaging and hardware – don’t forget, “24K goooooold!” – and figure at $32 per cart, yeah, sure, that’s all “live resin.” At southern California prices, no less. We frequently see these carts packaged in 10-cart packs. Selling in bulk suggests a “fill it yourself” deal.

This is the post saying they could get High Rez in New York City. What’s interesting is the user /u/sandorclegane01, who leaps to the cart’s defense when everybody else calls it fake. “It’s from Cali!” Airtight defense there, guy!

One more redditer just asking about them. All this and the Instagram activity is all recent up to last month, so High Rez carts are active currently.

High Rez Live Resin is also offered at a couple services?

We see a legit-ish delivery service Green Go showing High Rez, and the Weed Dino directory proudly lists the “Runtz” variety. Why is it we never see “Runtz” on a legit cart brand?

Just because a dispensary or delivery is offering a bunk cart doesn’t make the business bunk. As we hear it, what happens is an employee at a dispensary has a friend squeezing their own oil on the side and said employee decides to do his homie a solid and slip a few packs on the shelf for him. Or people at delivery services peddle their own carts instead of the company sanctioned carts once they’re ten feet away from their boss’ door.

And then there’s dozens of unlicensed dispensaries too, which regularly get busted in southern California.

Unlicensed, unregulated brands like High Rez Live Resin may contain anything

There is a deadly epidemic of lung illness tied to black market cart usage. Vaping-associated pulmonary injury has so far claimed 64 lives and hospitalized more than 2700 users. Unregulated vape carts could contain heavy metals like lead, pesticides, cut such as Honey Cut, or simply bunk. Or they could be fire if you’re lucky. But a lot of people in the hospital right now weren’t lucky.

Readers: Who’s smoking the 24K gold out there?

What. Is. The. Point? What are we missing? When was this a thing? And have you seen these carts in the wild? Tell us all about it here in the comments or in our forum.

Note: If you’re a maker, distributor, retailer, or affiliate of High Rez, and you’re here to complain about this post but have NO LICENSE to show us, see this post and have a nice day, we’re sick of hearing about it.