The Search for the BEST Method of Making Cannabis Tincture

[dputty]

I have been doing quite a lot of research. I am trying to create the best possible cannabis tincture possible. I want it to be a tincture that can be dosed under the tongue for rapid onset of effects. I'm going to compile in this post all of the best information I have found on the topic so that everyone can view it neatly in one place. Add any information you have that I don't, add personal experience.

First thing that must be done in order to make any cannabis tincture is to convert the THCA in raw cannabis to THC. This can be done by heating the cannabis to 325 degrees for 4-5 minutes in an oven. Supposedly it can also be done by freeze drying the material.

Then there is much debate about the best way to go from here. Some say that you should grind up the cannabis, others say it's unnecessary. I have found that if you don't grind up the cannabis, you had better be able to wait a long time before your concoction is ready to consume. I have found that if I grind the material to a powder, I can use it with good results in as little as 5 hours soak time. When I tried leaving the buds whole, following a different recipe, I got no effect at all even after letting the material soak in the alcohol for a week.

I read today that you can produce a tincture in less than a half hour by using heat that is as potent as a non-heated tincture would be after a 60-90 day soak time. Heating the alcohol/cannabis mixture in a water bath, maintaining a temperature of 150-165 for 20 minutes produces this tincture (in brief, obviously).

Below is the link to a thread on rollitup.org that contains instructions for making a tincture by 3 different methods: hot, cold, and warm. Very good instructions and good information in my opinion.
http://74.125.95.132/search?
q=cachezbIU_IAEhwJ:www.rollitup.org/harvesting-curing/...ersion&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari

Also, check out this thread, there is a MASS of information regarding the ingestion of cannabis.
http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache...nnabis&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari

Anyways, I'll add more to this thread, I have more information, it's just not coming to me off the top of my head right now and I'm sure I'll find it in a search again. At which time, I will post it here. In the meantime, lets all put our heads together to be as educated as possible about all issues relevant to the ingestion of THC.

 

[Joshman]

I simply put about 2 grams of shwag per 1 fl oz (or regular shot) of everclear (ending up with about 10 grams of weed in 5 shots of 190 proof) into a water bottle.

shook it daily, opened the cap daily

wait one month and voila -- Liquid Heaven

Or Green Dragon w/e

Didn't have to heat up the weed or anything

 

[dputty]

Hmm. That's interesting. Maybe the long length of time you allowed the alcohol to soak had something to do with it. I have always read that marijuana must be heated prior to adding alcohol because most of the THC in raw marijuana is in the form of THC acid, which is not psychadelic nor does it have any affinity for our Cannabinoid receptors.

Another issue.... Most people assume that the higher the alcohol content the better. Everclear being the best as it is 190 proof (95%).

But, I have also read that using too high a proof alcohol will be counterproductive because alcohol causes the plant cell walls to harden and this prevents the alcohol from being able to leech out the goodies. This is a phenomenon that happens with any alcohol concentration, but some say that beyond 100 proof (50%), the efficiency of the alcohol in drawing out the goodies becomes less. Even though the higher alcohol content products are more efficient in binding the cannabinoids, anything beyond 50% alcohol content will harden too high a percentage of cell walls so that they are actually less potent.

However, it is also true that once the cell walls have hardened, if you filter your thc alcohol and put the "spent" plant material in the freezer with just enough alcohol to dampen the entire quantity, the freezing temperatures will cause the cell walls to crack, allowing for another fairly potent extract to be done after thawing.

 

[emarr]

"Activating" THC is an urban legend... don't worry about that. Best method I've seen is food-grade glycerine + bud in a crockpot on low/"warm" setting. Doesn't sting your mouth like alcohol does!

 

[dputty]

"Activating" THC is an urban legend... don't worry about that. Best method I've seen is food-grade glycerine + bud in a crockpot on low/"warm" setting. Doesn't sting your mouth like alcohol does!

I like the glycerin idea. Why don't you think it is necessary to activate the THC. Did you know that whether it is your intention or not, you are decarboxylizing the THC acid when you make your glycerin product in the crockpot. Some say the best way to activate THC is a long period of low heat.

Do you have any research to back up your belief that THCA does not need to be decarboxylized prior to soaking at normal temperatures? The reason I ask is because there is a wealth of information supporting the belief that decarboxylization must take place prior to soaking.

"This converts THCA to THC via a decarboxylation reaction.
In whole-plant cannabis, THC content is expressed as THCA (tetrahydrocannabolic acid) prior to decarboxylation into THC, which takes place when cannabis is heated during cooking, and smoked or vaporized ingestion. THCA is a mild analgesic and anti-inflammatory but does not have good affinity with our CB1 receptors, so in order to make a THC-rich mixture that has many of the same therapeutic effects as smoked ingestion (including rapid absorption, quick relief and ease of self-titration), we must convert the THCA in the plant matter into THC prior to consuming."

http://www.greenpassion.org/f35/freds-thc-capsules-4012/__________________

 

[Ason Unique]

Hmm. That's interesting. Maybe the long length of time you allowed the alcohol to soak had something to do with it. I have always read that marijuana must be heated prior to adding alcohol because most of the THC in raw marijuana is in the form of THC acid, which is not psychadelic nor does it have any affinity for our Cannabinoid receptors.

Another issue.... Most people assume that the higher the alcohol content the better. Everclear being the best as it is 190 proof (95%).

But, I have also read that using too high a proof alcohol will be counterproductive because alcohol causes the plant cell walls to harden and this prevents the alcohol from being able to leech out the goodies. This is a phenomenon that happens with any alcohol concentration, but some say that beyond 100 proof (50%), the efficiency of the alcohol in drawing out the goodies becomes less. Even though the higher alcohol content products are more efficient in binding the cannabinoids, anything beyond 50% alcohol content will harden too high a percentage of cell walls so that they are actually less potent.

However, it is also true that once the cell walls have hardened, if you filter your thc alcohol and put the "spent" plant material in the freezer with just enough alcohol to dampen the entire quantity, the freezing temperatures will cause the cell walls to crack, allowing for another fairly potent extract to be done after thawing.

It doesn't need heated, it extracts the THC, heating it just speeds up the process from waiting weeks to a few minutes. I suggest vodka that is 80 proof then, as its all you need.