I'm new to this forum and this question did not seem to fit the existing "Extract" categories. I want to first decarboxylate cannabis flower, then extract the THC with pure ethanol. I have read various ways to decarboxylate flower by first grinding it, then heating it, either in the oven, or in a sealed container placed in boiling water for an hour. I have tried the boiling water method twice now. Dried flowers were placed in a tightly sealed Mason jar and then boiled in a large canning pot (not a pressure cooker) for an hour. While doing this, there is a strong odor of weed from the boiler. Why? I fear that the terpenes and THC are escaping somehow. I don't want this to happen. Any thoughts? Clues? Is there a better way to make a THC / alcohol extract from flowers?
Conversion of THCA to THC with Heat
- Thread starter Rusty J
- Start date
Vegan4life
Well-Known Member
Hello! Welcome to the forum. Are you making a tincture? Or are you making RSO (Rick Simpson oil)? If you are making RSO it will be decarbed in the evaporation process with a distiller or rice cooker. Another method to decarb, break up the buds and put them in a sealed roasting bag on a cookie sheet in the oven. There are temperature and time tables that you can find online, I think a little lower temp and a little longer time is better personally, most have their own preference. The sealed roasting bag will keep the odor under control, I have done it in my wife's kitchen and she did not kill me and she hates the smell of weed. Good Luck!
I do mine in a canning jar in an Instant Pot, then add an oil like coconut, olive or grape seed and run it again for extraction.
The beauty of this method is no smell along with simpleness.
The beauty of this method is no smell along with simpleness.
The THC stays with the trichomes so unless you knock them off you won't lose that, but the terpines you smell are them evaporating away so the less you smell at this stage the better as they carry their own effects when you consume your herb so you definitely want to keep as much as you can. Plus it's the terpines and flavonoids that largely separate one strain from another. THC is THC, but it's the other compounds that make one plant distinctive from another.
- Thread starter
- #5
No, not making RSO. It is an acquired taste, but I'm starting to like the alcohol/weed extract in mixed drinks. The mixer is the key to something you can drink, versus something you just choke down. So after extracting, it is ready for use. No further processing.Hello! Welcome to the forum. Are you making a tincture? Or are you making RSO (Rick Simpson oil)? If you are making RSO it will be decarbed in the evaporation process with a distiller or rice cooker. Another method to decarb, break up the buds and put them in a sealed roasting bag on a cookie sheet in the oven. There are temperature and time tables that you can find online, I think a little lower temp and a little longer time is better personally, most have their own preference. The sealed roasting bag will keep the odor under control, I have done it in my wife's kitchen and she did not kill me and she hates the smell of weed. Good Luck!
A couple of us are experimenting with Soluble Cannabis Oil Powder which is turning out to be pretty flexible for use. Check it out if you're interested in exploring an alternative.
