How to make TINCTURES?

- 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.

Call anytime Judit.

Organic Alcohol Co  Ashland, Ore
541.201.1050

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

How many drops out of a dropper is that?

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

The mold.  I would dispose. My uneducated guess.

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. 

Glad you got approved Jaz. 

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

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.

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.

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 would mix with some good juice.

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.

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.

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. . 

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.