An Introduction To Cannabis Oil
Rick Simpson, a Canadian cancer patient who cured his own skin cancer using home made cannabis oil in 1997, brought the cannabis oil debate to the mainstream. He gave hope to cancer patients across the globe and also galvanized support for medicinal marijuana in various countries. If you live in a state where medical marijuana is legal then you will be able to buy cannabis oil from your local dispensary, however if you live somewhere where there is no medical marijuana scheme then you can make your own at home with a few basic supplies.
Most dispensaries stock high CBD oils, this means that it lacks any THC which has proved anti cancer properties. You should also be cautious of any products sold online that are labeled as CBD oil or RSO – they are most likely selling non-medicinal hemp oil, since online sale of any Cannabis product is not yet legal. Stick to the safest method and make your own!
Cannabis contains over 100 individual cannabinoid compounds that interact in different ways with the body when consumed. The two primary cannabinoids with medicinal benefits are THC and CBD. THC, the most abundant, is a potent medicine and is also responsible for the psychoactive effects of cannabis. CBD is non-psychoactive and is also medicinal. I wrote a more in depth article on the differences between THC and CBD:
https://stonercircle.net/cbdvthc/
When consumed by the patient, THC binds onto the cannabinoid receptor sites that are present within cancer cells and causes the cancer cell to kill itself by causing an increase in ceramide synthesis. Only cancerous cells produce this compound when THC enters the receptor site, making it not only incredibly effective but completely safe as well. Cannabis Oil is such an effective treatment because it is essentially composed of pure THC and CBD.
The process of refining cannabis flowers into concentrated oil removes all of the organic matter and leaves pure cannabis oil behind, this makes it possible for the patient to consume greater doses of the medicinal compounds than would have been possible by vaporizing, smoking or eating the buds of the plant.
Equipment Needed For Making Cannabis Oil
- A large freezer
- Multiple stainless steel stock pots, or a food-grade plastic buckets
- A long wooden stick, 2′ x 2′ lumber works good. As long as the wood is not chemically treated it should be ok.
- Cooking Thermometer
- Stainless steel rice cooker . Do not use a rice cooker with a non-stick surface, as it will leach chemicals into your oil.
- 73 micron bubble bag
- Mason Jars, or large syringes
- 99.5% Isopropyl Alcohol. Purchase 2 gallons per pound of cannabis to be processed.
Choosing The Correct Strain
Cannabis Oil is one and them products that if you want to make it at home you have to invest time and money into it if you want a good return. When making cannabis oil at home for a patient you should only use the highest quality buds from the plant. When looking at a specific strain you should aim for a high THC content as this will directly effect the potency of your end product. Another important factor is picking an indica dominant strain over a sativa dominant strain. This is because the indica dominant strains induce sleep within the patient and it is proven scientifically that the human body best repairs itself when you are sleeping. The plant also needs to have been grown organically without the use of any chemical fertilizers or pesticides as they could be present in your end product.
How To Make Cannabis Oil
- Take your alcohol and place it in the freezer overnight, we do this as we need the alcohol to be chilled as that will make it easier for us to separate the resin glands from the flower in the next step.
- Take your cannabis buds and put them in your pot or bucket and freeze them overnight.
- Take the pot with the chilled cannabis buds out of the freezer, get your chilled alcohol and pour into the pot untill all the cannabis buds are submerged.
- Place the resulting mixture in the freezer for another hour.
- After the hour is up take the mixture from the freezer and use your wooden spood to lightly stir the mixture, make sure not to damage any of the cannabis buds at this point.
- When you have stirred, take your 73 micron bag and strain the mixture into the second pot.
- Repeat the rinse process with new alcohol and wash the flowers one more time.
- Pour the liquid into the rice cooker and boil off the alcohol. This step must be done outdoors to avoid inhalation of alcohol fumes. Continue boiling until all of the alcohol has evaporated. THC is heat activated. For THC acid (tetrahydrocannabolic) to be converted to THC it needs to be heated to 212F degrees (100 C). for 75 minutes. At no time should the temperature of the oil exceed 290F degrees (140 C).
- Transfer your oil into mason jars or syringes.
- Store the oil in a cool and dark place, if the oil hardens run warm water over it to return it to its liquid form.
