How to make TINCTURES?

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I need to know how to make tinctures; I can't smoke these days (lungs) and don't like edibles. I've watched a couple of Youtubes and read a couple of articles... what works best for you? (Looking for easily understandable and manageable instructions.) It seems simple enough, but what do you suggest? Thanks.

- set your oven to 220

-finely grind your cannabis flower

-bake at 220 for about 30min to decarboxylate the thc

- put baked, powdered flower into a jar

- cover with 190 proof grain alcohol/everclear

-let sit at room temp for 1-3 weeks

-strain

 

the amount of flower and alcohol you use can be variable depending on how strong you want it and how much flower you have available and at what cost. if you have lots of flower, use as little alcohol as possible to cover the cannabis...it will be stronger, but the extraction will be less efficient and you will leave behind more THC. if you dont have much flower, or cost is an issue, leaving 1-2 inches of headroom in the jar is a good idea, as the extra alcohol will help make the extraction more efficient and you will get a higher percentage of the flower's thc out, but since you asre using less cannabis and more alcohol overall, it will be weaker.

if you have access to distillate, or think you can track some down, distillate is the easiest and most effective extract for oral use. you can eat it straight up or dissolve it in alcohol to make a more potent tincture than is possible with flower.

additionally many people find they dont like tincture and find it more effective to make a cannabis/coconut infusion, which is made just like canna-butter, except with coconut oil, and then this is packed into capsules, or cooked with. any oil or fat increases bioavailability so these kinds of preparations tend to be more effective than alcohol based ones.

have you tried the new vape carts that are becoming popular these days? they could be worth a try. they vaporize extract in a device just like an e-cig, its an aresol vapor, not smoke, and the ones with just distillate a very smooth. might be worth a try if you miss the effects that come from smoking. and even tho they are extracts, the device you smoke it out of gives tiny, tiny hits, so you cant really get any higher than you can with flower...in fact i find them less potent than very strong flower on a toke-for-toke basis.

In a 1 qt mason jar. Grind up 2 ounces of herb. Use a menstruum of 50% pure organic alcohol, 25% organic vegetable glycerin, 25% distilled water(Hot).

Warm in a hot water bath for several hours(If you want the THC effect). Reseal and put in cupboard for 1-2 months, shaking and flipping  regularly.  I filter to 25 micron.

Thank you both. daylight, I am avoiding inhaling anything other than air and asthma inhaler these days, so it sounds like vaping anything isn't a good idea right now. I love to smoke (stone pipe) and miss it, but c'est la vie. I presume I'll get back to it.

I'm planning on using Blue Dream flower, which I have. I was trying to avoid the cost of buying a tincture at the store by making it myself but with the delay while it steeps I may buy a bottle while I wait. Not sure.

190 proof liquor sales are only through the state liquor commission controlled stores, and I can't find organic clear alcohol on their website. I'll ask at a liquor store. Mark, veg glycerin seems to be very sweet, want to avoid sweet if possible. I may just use alcohol or alcohol and water. Perhaps I'll give you a call and we can talk a little more about it.

Again, thank you both.

Call anytime Judit.

Organic Alcohol Co  Ashland, Ore
541.201.1050

Mark, did you look into their site? Interesting. Thank you for helping me find it, but I'm not interested in a gallon. If I were, I would need Approval from the OLCC via an application process which looks pretty easy.

https://organicalcohol.com/how-to-order/#app

I get 5 gallons at a time from them. Don't remember an app process. And I did not realize that it was a 1 gallon minimum. A gallon would last you a long time.

 Application process is because since I’m an Oregonian we need permission from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC). 

The smallest bottle I found on the website was a gallon. I could have missed something.

Newest Natl Geographic has (non cannabis) a whole issue dedicated to herbal remedies...ive seen tons of books, magazines, etc on all these before, but, this one is really well done. Check it out.

 

It includes lists of basic kitchen equipment you should have on hand at all times, and there's at least 5-6 tincture recipes so the basic "concept" is there for all etc...although perfectly covered above for this purpose etc, i just picked up this mag a few days ago, and am already "building " my new "medicinal" kitchen etc.

judit, IME everclear 190 proof is available at most standard liquor stores in pints and fiftths, works great for any kind of herbal tincture, and is fairly affordable.

http://www.oregonliquorsearch.com/servlet/FrontController?view=productli...

at 95% pure alcohol, the organic designation is meaningless unless you intend to maintain a 100% organic diet at all times, which is totally awesome, but if not, organic alcohol has no benefits over non-organic alcohol for extractions.

as far as additions to the alcohol goes, veg glycerin is nice as it cuts the alcohol flavor(i cant stand the taste of anything stronger than wine), but veg glycerin makes the extraction take significantly longer...pure alcohol as opposed to a blend, or straight veg glycerin, has a significantly shorter extraction time.

 adding water will cut the effectiveness of the alcohol in extracting. alcohol is a much more powerful solvent than water, and additionally, thc or thca is not soluble in water at all, so by adding water you are reducing the effectiveness of the extraction, and increasing the time it takes to complete the extraction. if you want to cut the alcohol taste, IME its better to dilute it after extraction.

Yes, my plan is to go to the liquor store in the next few days, get the Everclear and go for it. It's at almost all of the liquor stores in Eugene (info from OLCC website).

Thanks for the info and suggestions. I'll let you know how it goes.

I make my own red wine vinegar, it's not so different to make this tincture. It's only a matter of materials and time.

that is awesome judit! vinegar is amazing and underrated.

Depends on your needs, Larry. the 50-25-25 mentruum is much better for medicinal value as oppose to just wanting to get high.  I agree that if you just want to get high, then 190 proof alcohol alone is best. My menstruum makes it a whole plant extraction. Both the glycerine and the water extract beneficial parts of the plant that pure alcohol won't. And I let it sit for 2 months, shaking and turning regularly.  

Apologies to the OP.   I should have clarified.

 

nice mark! what parts are you going for with the water and glycerin?

I did the research a few yrs ago, Larry. Don't remember specifics, just conclusions. I'm getting old.  Also, 50 % alcohol is a great final mix. I start with that and leave longer in the cupboard. Glycerine and alcohol both are preservatives.

It's made! If it's ready in 3 weeks that will be my (70th) birthday - nice gift. Thanks for your help, gents.

Yesterday was one week. It smells like alcohol with a little green. I didn't realize Everclear is a brand name, I thought it was a thing.

I have access to 99 percent isopropyl alcohol.  Would this alcohol be appropriate with the above recipe .

NO!!!  Absolutely not, Jaz. isopropyl has poisons added so it isn't drank(drunk?). 

Judit, how did it turn out?

I haven’t tried it yet, Mark. I’ve had a lot going on. My plan is to strain it later today and try it. I’ll post when I do.

It feels like it’s in a mellowing phase and the alcohol smell is not as prominent.

Thank you very much,Mark. I have a couple of ounces of roach weed that I will experiment with using the Everclear.  Thanks for your and thanks to daylight for the recipes. 

One more question.

I have a couple of syringes or RSO that I got the packages mixed up. One indica, one sativa.  Would I be correct in assuming the lighter colored oil is the sativa.

I admire your knowledge. 

The lighter color is probably sativa.

 

Please don't ever consume any isopropyl or methyl alcohol. It'll kill ya.

My pal is having a ostomy [sp] surgery Tuesday for his Crohn's disease.  I am giving him a gram of each of the syringes for something to look forward to in his recovery. 

Mmj will not be available for a few more months in this state.

You are a caring friend, Jazfish. Love.

Thanks, J. Long time work buddy that may not be coming back and will retire young on disability. He is fifty.

 

Wife and I stopped by this evening.  The visit did not suck.

I tried a small amount (.25ml) of the tincture yesterday or the day before for the first time. I could feel it, a pleasant feeling, but I wasn't high. Today I tried .5 ml and it was good. I was looking for motivation and fun and I had it.

Thanks again for your help.

How many drops out of a dropper is that?

I don't know, Jaz, because droppers have different dimensions (widths). I have a 1ml one that is marked with quarter mls and another one without markings that is much narrower so would be different. Do you have any marked pipettes at work that you could use to measure water drops from the dropper you want to use? Or something like that?

And then there's the matter of how strong your tincture is, which might depend on the weed or something? It's not science to me. It is fun.

There may be some bad news from my friend who grew plants from Blue Dream seeds I gave her. She thinks she's seeing mold on the untrimmed plant material she has in bags. I'm going there tomorrow to check it out. Any thoughts from anyone about how to proceed if that's the case?

I do not have access to any pipettes or syringes with that small graduated measures.

The mold.  I would dispose. My uneducated guess.

I also think we'll have to dispose of the mold. Too bad.

My friend had segregated the weed with mold from all of the rest. We went through some of the rest and found no mold, so I brought home an ounce of that for my next tincture batch. There were a few bits that maybe were suspicious so we got rid of them. All in all it was a productive nice afternoon with my friend.

Well Judit I still haven't started my experiment of tincture yet. Still reading up on dcarboloxation of hash waxes to add to the concoction.. I have a few grams. Apparently I'm going for the high/and medical experimentation  home brew/distillation. 

A twist on this end, I  went to the rare marijuana Docter here in. Louisiana and was accepted into the state's mmj program.  Not an easy thing in this red state. I was accepted for intractable pain.

No product on the shelve till May at the earliest. 

>>> Apparently I'm going for the high/and medical experimentation home brew/distillation.  <<<

Yes, go for it!

 

Sorry your pain has continued, but happy that you can be in the mmj program.

Glad you got approved Jaz. 

Thanks Mark and,J. Things are happening slowly in places  everywhere.

I'm enjoying the tincture I made in January.

I made the next batch yesterday from an ounce of Blue Dream and a good amount of Everclear.

I'm finally going to see a pulmonologist tomorrow, perhaps he'll know what's going on and if my breathing/coughing problems are caused by my lungs or something else (could be gastric?).

Good luck Judit.

Glad you are enjoying.

Will a standard handkerchief be a good filter instead of a coffee filter. Seems like a coffee filter would clog.

I use cheesecloth and then 25 micron nylon filters.

Good info in here, been looking around the web and remembered this folder.  Looking into alternative medicine for mom.

 

>>I'm finally going to see a pulmonologist tomorrow, perhaps he'll know what's going on and if my breathing/coughing problems are caused by my lungs or something else (could be gastric?).

Hope you feel better.

Thanks, 4winds. The pulmonologist says my lungs are good, healthy, both on xray and his exam. I trust him. I'm so happy that he said no need for an inhaler (I'd weaned myself off of it because I didn't think it was helping anything and might have been making me feel worse.) He says the cough I have is probably secondary to the antihypertensive I was on, Lisinopril. A cough is a well known side effect of Lisinopril but since I hadn't had one til recently since the first 3 days of taking it last year I didn't think that would be the answer. We switched to another one and will see if the cough disappears. I hope so.

4winds, a friend who is doing a course of chemo for stage 4 NH lympoma is using cannabis oil to support him as he goes through it and will continue to use it to suppress tumor development and promote health after he's done with the chemo. Luckily he has a cannabis nurse (an RN) who lives in community with him and she is directing his oil production and consumption. Lots of people have opinions about what's good, what works and what doesn't, check to make sure that your (gut) intuition feels like you're getting good information from someone who gently informs you and works with you to help your mom. Sending love and best wishes.

p.s. I am enjoying the tincture.

 

Glad your lungs are good, Judit.   Hope you can find the culprit.

Would this work?

Decarboloxilate one and a grams of wax and mix with 60 ml of coconut oil in an eyedropper bottle.

60 one mil doses.

 

Simple as that.

I know nothing about it, Jaz. I hope someone who does checks in and can tell you.

Thanks ,Judit.  All the best to your friend.  This is also new stuff go me. Incredible. 

 

I would like to stay away from the alchohol tinture. Coconut oil sounds just fine.

its going to be tough to get a pure extract to dissolve in the coconut oil. you can do it, but it takes forever and your arm will be killing you.

it might bew worth a try to dissolve the extract in everclear, then add it to heated coconut oil, and cook it over medium-low heat for 10min or so to drive off all the alcohol

and to answer a question posted above, you cannot tell the difference between an indica and sativa extract by color. the color of the extract is influenced by the maturity of the trichrome heads at harvest, and the overall age of the material being run. more mature trichromes means darker hash, and dry material sitting around oxidizing means darker hash. if you harvested from the same plant at different times, you could make extracts anywhere from light, whitish gold to black.

One and a half grams per 60 ml carrier oil is a good mix if the wax has a really high cannabinoid profile.

 

Daylight, you ever see an extraction come out red?    I have a couple times. I have heard of it from others also, but nobody knows why it does it.

I’ve been making tinctures with my small buds and sugar leaves.

Decarb 2 oz for 90 mins at 220

Break it up until it’s virtually dust and throw it in a jar.

Cover with 10-12 oz of the highest proof I can get. 151 is the limit here, but I’ve also used 100 proof vodka.

Put it in the freezer for however long, shaking regularly. I’d love to see the science on how long it really needs to sit to extract. Some people say months, others say anything psychoactive will be extracted in hours to days.

A little trick I learned to get the most out of it is to press the  flower through a garlic press. It increases the yield by up to 20%.

People seem to dig it.

 

I'm finding a problem with the tincture, I guess caused by the Everclear. I am puddling it sublingually and it leaves a rough patch on the tissue it drops on. Have others experienced that? Thoughts about what I can do to make it gentler?

I would mix with some good juice.

 

As unappealing as it sounds, I'll have to try water; I don't drink juice (sugar).

So I made the Everclear and wax tinture. Three and a half grams of assorted decarbed waxes in 60 ml of the alcohol. I think it will be very potent. 

All the waxes are 75 percent thca and higher.  Sackmaster 58 ,Larry Walker and some other sativa with Lemon 714, Durban Dreamer, Lavender something indica. Probably slightly more sativa.

Decarbed the waxes at 220 just short of twenty minutes when the bubbling was almost finished. Gooey and took some shaking to dissolve. Sort of amber colored concoction. 

This will be strong, I think.

Water will suck.  Try and think of a liquid with some flavor. Heard of folks using crackers for oil.  Maybe some bread?  Good luck.

I've been combining with a pretty small amount of water and it's working out.

My second batch is done as of today. This one seems slightly different, more mellow, but stronger. This was all 2018 outdoor Blue Dream from one source in Everclear and I'm enjoying the high that I got from just wiping up drips as I strained, etc. (maybe more than I knew).

 

Jaz, looking forward to the results of your experiment.

 

My bad, Judit. It turned out ok. I learned perhaps a tip or two . I am on a second batch also.

 

Back later when I have time to type on this little smart phone. 

 I discovered a little trick. When the 25 micron nylon sieve is clogged and dripping slow  on a quart  mason/Ball jar a nitrial glove fits perfectly over the jar. I cut a whole in a fingertip and put a straw in it and put the slightest  air pressure.

Slightly faster.

I put peanut butter on a whole wheat cracker with a mil or two dose and that reall helps the burn, Judit.  Works fine.

 

Jud8t and Mark, Louisiana powers that be are ass draggers on th mmj thing. . Home brews are turning out great. All I internet on now is a small screen effortful small screln. Three hors into a teaspoon full of this batch I lose interest fast.

I did some covertion from the Everclear tincture to coconut oil with  very good results.  More details later. My apologies, lots to be aid for a keyboard. 

More later. I am squinting. 

Second batch turned out way better. Unknown strain yet tol quality, indeed.

It is a small batch. Twelve grams of product cooked in the oven with the thermostat set slightly higher than 200 for fourty mins.

Soaked it for three weeks in 190 proof Everclear, five ounces is what I had available. 

I strained as per above posted  methods.

I do not care for the alcohol either and the folks I share with prefer not to have the alcohol either. 

After the product was strained I poured the tinture into a small sauce pan and added five ounces of coconut oil.  I just let the alcohol evaporate in the sun out side. You can see the Everclear evaporate. 

Ended up with a coconut oil base tinture with zero alcohol taste or burn. I take a 1/2 teaspoon (swish like mouthwash foa minute)full and feel pretty good.  A full teaspoon will paralyze. 

No alchohol,  everyone is happy.

The oil will stay a liquid in temperatures above seventy five degrees.

Sounds like you nailed it Jaz.  Good job.

 

  Good work, Jaz. I better consider that coconut oil idea. Hmmmm.

Hi(gh), you guys.

Very easy and safe, J. Thanks for the advice all.

To all contributors in this thread thank you. A buddy of ours has Crohn's disease and his absorption with high fat THC is so outta whack, he'll pretty much just spoon high level thc butter and be feeling nothing for like 18-24 hrs sometimes longer. When it does hit, he's crushed and barely functional, dude's gotta work and it's getting complicated.

My question is has anybody worked with or know people with Crohn's that have used alcohol based tinctures?

Any info from experience is much appreciated, thanks in advance.

He can't absorb under the tounge? I have a friend with Chrones that just had an ostomy surgery.  He smokes and I have given him some RSO that he puts under his tounge and has no problem with absorption although he has issues absorbing nutrients. 

 

Working on another batch. Updates later.

Thanks for the advice,  Mark, Daylight and BrianK.  It's working out fine.

I've been making tincture both using with and vegetable glycerin for the last 4 years. I tried something different this last time. I made my own gummies using my homemade tincture. I used some recipes I found online and with a little more work than the social media weed trend setters had posted. They turned out great, somewhere between a legal 5mg and a 10mg gummy. 

>>>>>somewhere between a legal 5mg and a 10mg gummy.

 

I can't even feel that. I usually make and eat 50 to 100 mg treats.

 

I must be some kind of drug addict. smiley

10mg works good for me and there are worst drugs than were to abuse of use.

Hi all! So, I'm finally trying this for the first time, thought I kinda went cowboy on it, forgetting to check this thread. I had a bunch of trim shake left from my last harvest, 10 grams or so. I put it in a jar with like an inch of grain alcohol above it and it's been chilling now for about three weeks. I opened it yesterday and it stank like alcohol, real bad. Can't imagine putting it in my mouth, honestly, as I'm not a big drinker in the first place, let alone grain alcohol. 

Jaz, sounds like you could have just started with the coconut oil, no? Why bother going through the alcohol phase and then the coconut oil? That being said, I think I'm going to do the same thing, since I can't imagine myself putting drops of that alcohol blend in my mouth. Don't get me wrong - I'll try it and see how it goes, but I'll probably end up doing the coconut oil thing to get rid of the alcohol. 

Thanks to everyone for all the great info in here!

Using alcohol for the extraction gives you better results. Then convert to Coconut oil after the extraction process. Like Jaz did above.

I did that transfer to coconut oil, too, and it's much better than the straight alcohol, especially because it doesn't burn under my tongue.