This is a tried & true 30+ year old method for easily creating an effective cannabis tincture using only grain alcohol and cannabis. Because heat is never applied to the flower, this is a raw & cold method of extraction and never activates the THC in the traditional sense. Chemically speaking, there is some activation that occurs due to the ethanol, but many of the other valuable cannabinoids are left in tact and still exist in their acid (raw) form.
This is a great recipe for those looking for high CBD options, or the benefits of THC-a. It is cheap and easy to create. You will still feel a 'high' from this recipe-- so be careful not to overdo it.
- Start with a bottle of Everclear. We're fortunate in Ohio to have access to this-- depending on the county, you might have to jump the river to Kentucky or hop the boarder to Indiana to pick up a bottle, but it seems to be readily available all around.
- Next, grind up your product very fine (the finer the better, since we're hoping to create a chemical reaction and surface area is key).
- Fill a mason jar with a 1 to 3 ratio of cannabis to Everclear.
- Shake it up and place it in a freezer for 24 hours.
- Shake it again and continue this process for 3-7 days. Personally, I think 3 days is plenty, but I've known patients who go as many as 7. After 7 days, you won't really gain any more potency and will be dealing with much more plant medium that has broken down in the mixture and leaves a bitter taste.
- When you are ready, get a sterile cheesecloth and strain out the plant material. I like to do this process twice to make sure my finished tincture is very clear. It will have an emerald green color (due to the chlorophyll).
- Place it in a tincture bottle with a dropper and you are ready to go. Start with 3 drops under the tough and wait for a few hours before evaluating the potency. Cold extracts can take longer than de-carboxylated extracts to hit the body.
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Thanks for sharing this great way to make tincture. I had never heard of freezing it before. I will have to try that sometime. You can activate the THC by putting a few drops into a cup of hot tea or coffee.
Voting! Shared and followed. Thank you for this! Any reasons why you freeze it? I always left it in a cool dark place and let it sit. Great info! Now your giving away my secrets!
And I don't grind as it can release plant compounds that affect the taste. Whole and just sit.
I think freezing it is so the water in the plant (which has the chlorophyll) forms crystals and doesn't release into the tincture.
I used to work for companies that processed other herbs, but I'm not familiar with the process for cannabis. Are there chemicals that can be extracted cold but vaporize with heat (so you don't get them in the extract)? And vice versa? With some herbs, there are drastic differences in extracts depending on heat.