OIL (mmj) treatment techniques

Essentially this is the same thing as RSO. I prefer an extraction with alcohol.

I was recently asked about this topic, so I thought that I'd paste a description of my experiences here for others to question or benefit from. Please share any opinions, experiences or tips you may have learned along the way to make better oil. I'm certainly no expert at this process, but I'm looking forward to continuing my education on this topic.

Everclear 151-
is the highest alcohol content I can find without additional flavor. Soak cut/chopped 'product' (scissors will do) in a mason jar for A FEW DAYS. Next, a silk screen (cheesecloth is ok) to strain all the liquid out and into a pan. Press/squeeze it all out. You do not want any organic matter included.


Distillation-
I do this outside, as it is flammable!!
A p.i.c. induction hot plate (precision induction cookin', can't remember exact brand) works very well for maintaining exact temps, otherwise you will be using a thermometer. [bed bath and beyond carry this brand]. With conventional heating elements, remember the pan surface is much hotter than your thermometer will read; that's why I use the p.i.c. hot plate. try to keep it (mostly) covered w a glass top to see diff stages and keep contents clean of debris.

First the alcohol will evaporate. Next the water. It will be easy to see these stages occur. What remains is a nearly pure oil. At the final stage, you'll mix with coconut oil post cooking and place into capsules. a tincture type dropper helps fill capsule.

Decarboxylization-
occurs during this entire heating process. You can somewhat regulate what spectrum-end of Awake vs. Tired Effects by tinkering with duration of decarb time. It's easy to heat too long, and the oil can get too thick..., while removing from pan. If possible try to remove from heat as soon as water has evaporated. If any water remains, it will end up messin shell of capsule.

Dosage-
test the product yourself before giving it to anyone. A rough estimate that i've found is.... 1/4 teaspoon weighs approx. 1.5 grams, which is 1500 milligrams. start a patient at about 50mg (of concentrate), or less, then increase dosage gradually. I take about 2-3x the amt of coconut oil and mix it in sm. dish with concentrate to fill caps. a warm water bath is used separately for both the oil and coconut to prepare the right consistency before mixing. keep water out of mix

Use 190 proof everclear for superior results. Ensure proper but not over decarboxylation. Skunkpharmresearch website has a wealth of truth there.

SnapsProvolone said:

Use 190 proof everclear for superior results. Ensure proper but not over decarboxylation. Skunkpharmresearch website has a wealth of truth there.

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http://skunkpharmresearch.com

Thanks Snaps. You're right, dealing with removing the water is a hassle and directly impacts the decarb. I started this with 151 because I knew that anyone cld duplicate these results without having to seek out moonshine from another state or thru the mail. I've had favorable results with the 151 and look frwd to experimenting with this process down the road with the 190 proof alcohol.

"Properly produced Rick Simpson oil (RSO) should be transparent, golden and preferably amber when spread on a piece of paper. It should also be glossy. When you see plant materials in the oil, you know that the oil was not properly filtered and that a solvent which strips plant materials was used." Rick Simpson


This has not been my experience with RSO, any thoughts?

TheMan13 said:

"Properly produced Rick Simpson oil (RSO) should be transparent, golden and preferably amber when spread on a piece of paper. It should also be glossy. When you see plant materials in the oil, you know that the oil was not properly filtered and that a solvent which strips plant materials was used." Rick Simpson

This has not been my experience with RSO, any thoughts?

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He says that the darker oil "will kill" the person taking it??

The darker oil is indicative of plant matter getting in to the oil. How in the hell will plant matter kill someone, and why is it such a big deal? I can see if you're making an oil for recreational purposes not wanting plant matter affecting the purity, but is it really that bad to have a little green in a medicinal oil?

The guy seems a little coo-coo

Snaps- Do you use the Everclear for the entire extraction, or do you do a cruder extraction first, then extract again with the Everclear?

^ @SnapsProvolone

From my experience, I believe you can get clear oil with a 5-6 minute quick wash/soak. However, I've found that the yield is substantially lowered if not soaked for days.

I wld not recommend freezing material first, as this ruptures cellular membranes in the plant material and thus adding more bio into the mix. the cleaner the product you start with will also help, so remove decayed brown leaves.

These coconut capsules store very nice in the freezer, which will keep any microscopic impurities from developing any bacteria. Perhaps that was rick simpson's concern.. Also remember that hemp oil actually has inherent anti-bacterial properties.

@Rrog I tend to, for oral use, extract with n-butane, then winterize with ethanol (190) purged thin film at room temp followed by decarboxylation in coconut oil using a hot oil bath at 250f for about 20 minutes (decarb fizz starts to slow).

Quick wash etoh tends to leave a lot behind imo when compared to a frozen dry run with n-butane. The winterization process could be skipped however I like to drop the heavier waxes and lipids while retaining maximum mono terpenes for flavor. There is no green hay flavor this way, but the Orange from an orange strain or the lemon from a lemon strain etc can be retained for complexity of flavor in recipes for example I made lemon chocolate brownies and you can smell and taste the lemon but no "green" flavor.

A very frozen quick wash ETOH would be my fall back extraction tech were I unable to run bho.

st0wandgrow said:

He says that the darker oil "will kill" the person taking it??

The darker oil is indicative of plant matter getting in to the oil. How in the hell will plant matter kill someone, and why is it such a big deal? I can see if you're making an oil for recreational purposes not wanting plant matter affecting the purity, but is it really that bad to have a little green in a medicinal oil?

The guy seems a little coo-coo

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I'm thinking the same. My thought is that he's using high grade flowers, not trim and using a quick wash with a solvent such as naphtha (amber reference) absent of water. I'm also thinking that the cost of that end product is out of the reach of most patients. To incinuate that the darker oil will kill you and that providers of such are criminals, well coo-coo is a kind term IMHO

Snaps- thanks for the answer. I'd like to see what I can do without Iso or Butane- so Ethanol remains, despite it being a less specific solvent for what we're looking for.

@abe supercro

I've only read about ethanol washes, but most use frozen shake and cold ethanol and a quick pass only (as @SnapsProvolone mentioned), otherwise it's green. You're filtering afterwards, and that renders the material clear(er) before evap? Seems the materials would be dissolved, and not necessarily filter-able particulate

I always make bubble hash first then if I want the oil I just use the good hash to make it. Never plant material chlorophyll tastes like crap.

I do a 30 sec (approx) qwiso.
Everything goes in the freezer 24 hrs prior.
I do not grind my starting material.
Finish is an amber colored wax.
I fan dry, no heat.

Rrog said:

@abe supercro

I've only read about ethanol washes, but most use frozen shake and cold ethanol and a quick pass only (as @SnapsProvolone mentioned), otherwise it's green. You're filtering afterwards, and that renders the material clear(er) before evap? Seems the materials would be dissolved, and not necessarily filter-able particulate

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Rrog my experience with all this is limited. I believe you are correct that the plant material dissolves if it remains in the alcohol for the longer time period I've specified. What all is THAT plant material though, exclusively chlorophyll?

As far as freezing or not freezing started material, I may have applied a water hash extraction principal of NOT freezing starter matter. I'm open to freezing it, and the alcohol, if that works better.

leighgal said:

I do a 30 sec (approx) qwiso.
Everything goes in the freezer 24 hrs prior.
I do not grind my starting material.
Finish is an amber colored wax.
I fan dry, no heat.

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So no decarboxylation? Or are you heating it later when you smoke or vaporize it?

@abe supercro Running QWET cold is the way to lock up a good percentage of the greenery. In QWET the concentration off the chlorophyll makes for dark green almost black oil. One may also darken oil via decarboxylation. I wouldn't think your light oil could stay light after proper decarb for edibles.

As far as edibles goes, decarboxylation is the most important step and it always turns my blonde oils into dark brown.