Glycerin tincture - A first attempt

[Kbomb]

I've been keen on the idea of tinctures since first reading about them. I have had a small and semi-successful go at one before with what I believe was supposed to be Jack Herer, by Vision. Used Bacardi 151, in a jar in the freezer for 2 weeks, shaken daily and filtered through a cheesecloth.

Essentially fairly weak when dropped under the tongue. Curiously more effective (for the same, if not less, amount taken) when put in hot tea such as green tea or honey/lemon tea. I also didn't like the alcohol sting (one or two drops would have been tolerable but 1 or two full droppers' worth was a bit much, so the tea was good for mellowing that aspect).

Have been curious about trying glycerine so thought I'd try that out. This time only had bag weed to play with. Last grow wasn't so successful, alas. Decarbed 21g worth, at 105 deg C for about 20mins, raised to 110-120deg C for the last 10 mins.

Used store bought vegetable glycerine, 200mls. Put it in a double top boiler. Heated til ~80-85deg C then added the weed. Stirred and soaked and kept on heat for almost an hour. Took off heat and let cool a bit then filtered through a cheesecloth, squeezing as much as I could out of it at the end. Put into a jar and reckon I got maybe 170-180 mls back.

The result is a thick, sweet gloop (once cooled and now in fridge) that tastes pleasant enough and certainly like cannabis. Have tried initially 1ml then today 2mls under the tongue. Not as strong as I'd hoped. Thought the ratio of weed:glycerin should have been ok. The bagweed is reasonable stuff — moderate I'd say. This amount gives a mild body and cerebral high after maybe 30-40 mins and grows a little but not really strong so far. I think most of it ends up being swallowed because it doesn't really dissolve/disperse like the alcohol tinc did under the tongue. Perhaps I should try ingesting it too, as it may be stronger that way.

 

[Onkruid]

Thank you for posting this as glycerin's on my to-do list. Given the onset time it does seem that direct ingestion, as you say, would be the next course to take to more fully assess it's ultimate potency. Having no experience with glycerin I'm unable to offer a knowledgeable opinion on the salivary glands' ability to take in one substance more easily than another, but can only project that tincture 'may' be swifter as it's viscosity is appreciably lesser. Only a guess though.

As a result of considerable reading on the matter it might seem that your initial decarboxylation temperature could perhaps be a bit low. Your second, or lastly adjusted temp seems more in line with the numbers I'd come across. Not currently recalling all I'd read on the subject, but the duration of your decarb could be on the short side.
220°F (104.4C) for two hours is the sweet spot that works for me.

Confirming your ovens' temp with a known good thermometer can be important, as illustrated here: My oven renders 220°F (104.4C) precisely when set to 205° (96.1C). This 'invariability' changes across the temperature scale which makes a confirming reading necessary when precision is utmost. A Taylor remote digital thermometer works very well for this task.

As always, initial potency can't be ignored. We made scads of brownies with bag weed prior to growing our own and we loved them, but have noticed one glaring difference between those and the ones we now make. Then we ate a whole brownie. Now we only eat 1/8 of one. More is simply too much. Those results are derived from the the same input quantity. Herb got better and we became better growers. Period.

Whatever is keeping you from enjoying these extracts at a level you'd prefer will be figured out eventually. If possible, let's just keep plugging away until we find the missing link. My instincts lean toward slight intricacies in the decarb process and/or initial potency, which cures itself in time with every grower.

Looking forward to your successes!

 

[Kbomb]

Thanks again for your input Onkruid.

Like you, I wondered about the decarb process, though it's pretty much what I've always done successfully in the past when making my chocolates, so figured it'd be fine for this as well. Admittedly I did alter it a bit. In the past i've done 120degC for only 10mins. Since then i've read about caution in going too high, hence lowering it for a bit longer, but back to 120 for 10mins. And you're right, I ought to really confirm the temp in the oven, which I haven't done thus far.

The potency I also think is a factor. Not bad bag weed, but harking back to what you said in your thread about perception of one's own grow, I think I can say mine was def stronger. My last grow failed pretty badly, I think due to a combination of factors such as heat stress, mites etc. Got tiny plants out of it, but once dried, negligible amounts. Enough to taste and try all too briefly. The last to cull was a white widow and rather nice if I say so myself...just wish I had more! The mate who sourced the bag weed also thought so, so good to have an 'independent' opinion

So, the drawing board looms and yes I will keep tying and learning, refining and improving. One day i'll have a lovely tinc where a drop or two will be potent medicine. I'm now armed with myriad beans of varying sorts - reg, auto, fems, high thc, high cbd (even cbd crew's therapy)and everything in between. Bring on the learning process!

 

[Onkruid]

Your desire for increased potency came to mind while reading about Soy Lecithin. Apparently utilizing it as an additive in cannabutter/oil preparations is said to dramatically increase potency while also reducing onset time. The only purported downside is a slight decrease in longevity of effect.

Here's the quick-and-easy as I understand it: Consider that THC is fat soluble, and in it's convenient forms of butter, oil, etc, are inherently difficult to pass through the intestinal membrane which is suited to accommodate water soluble matter.

Soy Lecithin and it's phospholipids facilitate the intake of fats containing THC by taking them from an uncharged to a charged state due to it's dipole character, and that allows and expedites the entry of THC/fat through the membrane, thus increasing potency and reducing onset time.

Still at an early learning stage on this topic, it seems 1-Tablespoon of Soy Lecithin per stick of butter is common practice. I'll use that ratio in a future test preparation with a familiar strain for comparison.

Perhaps this low-cost potential solution may be helpful to you. There's certainly enough info out there on it from which to learn.

 

[Curly Beaver]

I have read that glycerin can only extract 1/3 as much as alcohol.
After heating and jarring I stirred the mixture for 2 months before filtering straining, then I added fresh bud to this mixture and plan to stir daily for another 60 days.
FYI, I decarb @240F for 45 minutes and also used lecithin but I don't recall the amount for sure, I "think" it was 1 tablespoonful per 4 ounces of glycerin.

Good luck on tweaking your tincture.

 

[SweetSue]

I have read that glycerin can only extract 1/3 as much as alcohol.
After heating and jarring I stirred the mixture for 2 months before filtering straining, then I added fresh bud to this mixture and plan to stir daily for another 60 days.
FYI, I decarb @240F for 45 minutes and also used lecithin but I don't recall the amount for sure, I "think" it was 1 tablespoonful per 4 ounces of glycerin.

Good luck on tweaking your tincture.

I hadn't considered using lecithin in a glycerin tincture. I'm assuming this worked well for you? I've been rolling my bottle across the floor for a time in the evening, as I sit cross-legged on the floor working on line. I recall reading somewhere, I think it was SkunkPharm, that tumbling them worked the best for extraction. They used a rock tumbler, I'm rolling back and forth. I'm planning to send it through another run with fresh, like you did BeaverIslander.

When you make oils the measurement for lecithin is one tablespoon for each cup of oil. I'd think one tablespoon per 4 oz of glycerin'd be excessive.

 

[Kbomb]

Thanks Onkruid for your advice. Been off the forum for a bit so just catching up!

I had actually read something about using lecithin to the effect you mentioned, so i'll read more on the subject and perhaps try it next time!

Thanks also to the others who have subsequently added words of wisdom (SweetSue, BeaverIslander) - I appreciate the advice