• N&PD Moderators: Skorpio

Not-so-simple THC Extraction

Seizure

Greenlighter
Joined
Feb 16, 2010
Messages
25
The point is, I have a pile of ashes, tar-ish stuff, and burned bits of weed. I already know that if there is a way to extract the leftover THC from that, it ISN'T alcohol, as that also dissolves the bad stuff.

So is there a solvent out there that can help me? I imagine I might have to do a couple of different solvents to purify it properly, but I'm not really a whiz at chemistry by any means (I prefer physics) so any steps in the right direction would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
It's going to be impossible to find a solvent that only dissolves the cannabinoids and nothing else when your using burnt plant matter. Whenever you burn plant matter, you create a whole shitload of other chemicals that were not originally in the plant itself.
 
It's going to be impossible to find a solvent that only dissolves the cannabinoids and nothing else when your using burnt plant matter. Whenever you burn plant matter, you create a whole shitload of other chemicals that were not originally in the plant itself.

yeah like tar- very few things will dissolve cannabinoids without dissolving tar at the same time:\
 
But what about something that will dissolve tar and not cannabinoids, while still evaporating fast without residue? Does that not exist?
 
Butane is great at dissolving THC, and evaporates almost instantly. However I would assume it also dissolves the tar. Nothing springs to mind that wouldn't. Purification is complicated by the fact that THC lacks a nitrogen and therefore can't be seperated via an A/B which is the usual method by which drugs are extracted. I'm not saying it can't be done, there are no two chemicals which can not be seperated one from the other, if they couldn't they would not be understood as two seperate chemicals. But as a practical matter the investment in time and equipment would far outway the benifits.
 
water wont absorb thc. water does absorb tar. this is not advanced. anyone who has used a bong can tell you.
 
Ashes are ashes, you smoked up all the good stuff.

If i could get high of ashes and bits of burned weed, i would feel so dumb for spending money on weed more than one time in my life.

I think your pretty dumb if you think you can extract anything but gross sh*t out of what you got.
 
The pipe I was using is home made, and hard to burn efficiently with, so I ended up mostly dumping out all my weed when it was still half burnt and refilling it with fresh stuff.

And no, water doesn't absorb tar as far as I know. Ash particles may float around in it, creating a suspension, but that doesn't mean they have dissolved.
 
do a supercritical butane extraction, and deal with the tar this once.
next time, extract BEFORE burning

that sounds like the way forward...

alternatively (and stupidly complicatedly)

Fractional distillation within a vacuum,
using solvents with a large differences in BP..

Possible? Even if it was, that's alotta work for a little THC..
 
no this is actually very simple

thought it all sounded right in my head
(very-roughly [minus vacuum, add coke] same idea as what's done with crude oil; though they've been testing an underwater method for efficiency)

but the equipment needed isn't going to be readily available to some one that desperate for a smoke, there'd be solvents, other extractables etc....
 
Very simple- next time vaporize, then extract from that, it won't have the byproducts of combustion in it, not sure that tar isnt a part of resin tho, even unburnt
 
I heard that the stuff you extract from vape'd weed is pretty nasty.

What's the consensus?
 
You aren't going to find an easy and worthwhile way to extract anything significant from half burnt weed and ashes. I'd make pot food out of the stuff you had.

Next time either get a pipe (they're only 5 or 10 bucks for a cheap one) or extract before smoking the bud. You aren't going to extract a nice smoking product from half smoked weed and ashes.

This isn't exactly advanced drug discussion.
 
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