What does everyone think of tinctures?

looney2nz

looney2nz

Research Geek, Mad Scientist
Sick Vape said:
Thanks @Vicki for that informative video.

In european medical market alcoholic tinctures are either made from fresh plants (mother tincture) or dried plants. No additives allowed. The final content of ethanol has to be in a certain range, depending on the plant and part of plant. But it is a strongly regulated market.

I think it is important to state what kind of tincture people are using and what additives (terpenes, lecithin, sugars, etc.), if known or unknown.

Alcohol based tinctures are the way to go if you want sublingual uptake. (Sativex is alcohol based IIRC and used as spray for sublingual uptake)
Glycerol based might/should work too.
Fat based might give a little uptake sublingual, but the main uptake will happen in the guts. Theoretically! I feel something pretty fast, too. What are your experiences?

Edit: Italics

I am pretty sure THC-a does decarboxylate in alcohol or fat over time.
Click to expand...

glycerin works, but it just doesn't have capacity to hold as much as an alcohol-based tincture does in solution, so it's less potent (but easier on the mouth).

THCa can be decarb'd in a fat (just heat it the right time/temp), alcohol would be a little dicier unless you were using an induction burner (alcohol and heat sources...), and I'm not sure you could heat it enough to decarb before it started to vaporize. Otherwise, decarb the herb in an oven for 40 min @ 240F and THEN process it into your tinctures.
 
psychonaut

psychonaut

Company Rep
Company Rep
I make tinctures with 190 proof ever clear like 0.5ml and a gram of reclaim from my drop down in my rig. Doesn't take too long to feel the effects, only takes like 5 drops for me. Burns from the grain alcohol, I also add in some peppermint oil to give it some freshness. I still prefer the punch a dab delivers but it's another way to medicate.
 
ClearBlueLou

ClearBlueLou

unbearably light in the being....
MinnBobber said:
So what does "THC peak area/ 0.1 gr of herb" mean??
Especially "area"??
The normal definition of area does not make any sense in this context.

For us non-metric folks:
105 C= 221 F
120 C= 248 F
140 C= 284 F
Click to expand...
I’m guessing, but I suspect it refers to the mass of the tested samples.

looney2nz said:
glycerin works, but it just doesn't have capacity to hold as much as an alcohol-based tincture does in solution, so it's less potent (but easier on the mouth).

THCa can be decarb'd in a fat (just heat it the right time/temp), alcohol would be a little dicier unless you were using an induction burner (alcohol and heat sources...), and I'm not sure you could heat it enough to decarb before it started to vaporize. Otherwise, decarb the herb in an oven for 40 min @ 240F and THEN process it into your tinctures.
Click to expand...
What we don’t know (that I can discover so far) about decarboxylation is at what temperature the reaction begins to take place. I know it’s somewhere between room temp and 220F, but I can find no evidence of any effort to determine (or at least report) that point. However, alcohol boils @160F, so the chances are excellent that instead of decarbing your tincture, you’d evaporate it down to water and your extract, or boiling out the water, too -completely cooking off terps as you went. Containing it in a jar would be dangerous, as the boiling EtOH would vaporize and the water right behind it, building the kind of pressure that could crack or shatter the glass and the fumes catch fire in a hot oven.

Far more effective (and safer) to decarb your material, then make your tincture.

I was extremely dissatisfied with glycerin as a medium. As you say, it doesn’t have the carrying capacity, although I’ve read that re-extraction will up the potency, but now you’re running thru more herb, and it has to sit there in the glycerine for weeks if not months. Too big a production for me for the end result. I just never wanted to do it again (anybody wanna buy some glycerin?). Alcohol is far more effective and much less annoying (glycerin is sticky) to me. That said, some people, it’s their thing.
 
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hans solo

hans solo

Left coast Canada
psychonaut said:
I make tinctures with 190 proof ever clear like 0.5ml and a gram of reclaim from my drop down in my rig. Doesn't take too long to feel the effects, only takes like 5 drops for me. Burns from the grain alcohol, I also add in some peppermint oil to give it some freshness. I still prefer the punch a dab delivers but it's another way to medicate.
Click to expand...
I envy the availability of high alcohol for extraction unfortunately the best I can get is 70% absinthe.
 
ClearBlueLou

ClearBlueLou

unbearably light in the being....
Oooh, absinthe...*no* idea what that could end up being like as a medium...but it 1s 140 proof, nearly up to 151 rum, so it ought to work. I’ve never had absinthe, so I really *do* have no idea at all what if any new compounds might be formed, or what the mix of effects would be like.

One thing occurs to me is that it might not be a quick process, as lower proofs are less aggressive than higher. Maybe keep it in a nice, warm, dark place for a month or two. Timing it by the moon ought to do well enough.

Have you done an absinthe extraction? I know people who would be very interested in hearing about your experiences.
 
hans solo

hans solo

Left coast Canada
I have used absinthe for abv tinctures.I water wash for a week then dry and soak at room temperature for a week then evaporate all the alcohol away and blend with mct oil. It has given me satisfactory results with a pleasant herbal taste. I just think if I had access to a higher % it would speed up the process.I vape at 338 so my abv still has a fair amount of potency.
 
Vicki

Vicki

Herbal Alchemist
I really wish I knew how these dispensaries make their tinctures.
 
Vicki,
S

Sick Vape

Solar Dabs
I was proof reading. So over-proof works. I had no idea what was behind proof.
I am very happy for all the glycerol reports.

For making alcoholic tinctures in general. 70% (140 proof?) alcohol is strong enough. It also works well with 40%abv (80 american proof)for dry herbs. It extracts different ratios of things at different % and with different wash times (maceration).
If you want THC tincture I would decarb before, with loss of terpenes and formation of CBN etc.
You could chemically decarb in alcohol or fat I think (acid/base). Not sure how this would affect the terpenes.

For cannabis everything will have good thc/cbd levels. It is well and fast soluble in alcohol.
If you want less water soluble things take higher %alcohol.
Basically any "healthy" alcohol works. Absynthe or whisky or so may change the effect of the cannabis.
Just from observation absinthe drinkers act already different than whisky drinkers.
You want your final tincture to have at least 20-25% alcohol for stability reasons.
The higher the alcohol% the more stable (Well more or less).

This is just one standard recipe.
There are many others:

Vicki said:
I really wish I knew how these dispensaries make their tinctures.
Click to expand...
 
uncanni

uncanni

Well-Known Member
Vicki said:
I’ve tried a lot of different formulations, from several different dispensaries. 1:1 THC/CBD, 5:1 CBD/THC, 9:1 THC/CBD. I like THC dominant and Indica tinctures the best, even for daytime use. They help my pain better, and also my anxiety and depression. I use it at night and it helps my insomnia, although it doesn’t keep me asleep longer than 4 hours.
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Hi, I've been making my own tincture since Nov. 2017, and it really changed a lot of things for me. I also like a THC heavy tincture, which I make from a combination of the strains I grow. I think the synergy of a bunch of different strains is divine!! If you don't make your own, you might try combining some...

For me, the key last year was consistency. Through the tincture, I could really feel my ECS getting saturated, or that's what I imagined. I take it very early in the morning, like around 4:30, so that I can relax and enjoy the blissful high before I have to start getting ready for work. Then I'm nicely sedated and easy-going for quite a few hours after that. Tincture virtually wiped out all but the smallest amounts of anxiety and depression I've experienced all my life (over 6 decades). It opened up a nice, peaceful space in my mind, and I became less reactive and defensive, calmer, less likely to feel guilty, not anywhere near as hard on myself, and more patient with others. I still lose my cool sometimes, I still get miserable about the state of the world sometimes, but overall it really has made a huge difference in my life.
 
Vicki

Vicki

Herbal Alchemist
uncanni said:
Hi, I've been making my own tincture since Nov. 2017, and it really changed a lot of things for me. I also like a THC heavy tincture, which I make from a combination of the strains I grow. I think the synergy of a bunch of different strains is divine!! If you don't make your own, you might try combining some...

For me, the key last year was consistency. Through the tincture, I could really feel my ECS getting saturated, or that's what I imagined. I take it very early in the morning, like around 4:30, so that I can relax and enjoy the blissful high before I have to start getting ready for work. Then I'm nicely sedated and easy-going for quite a few hours after that. Tincture virtually wiped out all but the smallest amounts of anxiety and depression I've experienced all my life (over 6 decades). It opened up a nice, peaceful space in my mind, and I became less reactive and defensive, calmer, less likely to feel guilty, not anywhere near as hard on myself, and more patient with others. I still lose my cool sometimes, I still get miserable about the state of the world sometimes, but overall it really has made a huge difference in my life.
Click to expand...

I wish I could make my own tincture, but the only flower I have access to are sealed in ceramic cups from dispensaries.
 
Vicki,
hans solo

hans solo

Left coast Canada
uncanni said:
Hi, I've been making my own tincture since Nov. 2017, and it really changed a lot of things for me. I also like a THC heavy tincture, which I make from a combination of the strains I grow. I think the synergy of a bunch of different strains is divine!! If you don't make your own, you might try combining some...

For me, the key last year was consistency. Through the tincture, I could really feel my ECS getting saturated, or that's what I imagined. I take it very early in the morning, like around 4:30, so that I can relax and enjoy the blissful high before I have to start getting ready for work. Then I'm nicely sedated and easy-going for quite a few hours after that. Tincture virtually wiped out all but the smallest amounts of anxiety and depression I've experienced all my life (over 6 decades). It opened up a nice, peaceful space in my mind, and I became less reactive and defensive, calmer, less likely to feel guilty, not anywhere near as hard on myself, and more patient with others. I still lose my cool sometimes, I still get miserable about the state of the world sometimes, but overall it really has made a huge difference in my life.
Click to expand...

Been there done that.
I am amazed in the similarities it was like something I wrote myself.
I have yet to use buds to make tinctures.
I make my tinctures with good quality rso oil,cbd isolate and abv.
As long as I have a accurate measurement of the percentage of the active ingredients then the dosing becomes easy. That said I do love Vaping fine flower.
 
uncanni

uncanni

Well-Known Member
Vicki said:
I wish I could make my own tincture, but the only flower I have access to are sealed in ceramic cups from dispensaries.
Click to expand...

You can still make your own tincture with the buds you buy, no? Decide what you want to throw in there and make a magnificent blend? I'm an outlaw in an illegal state, but from what I see, the bud prices are quite good in CO and WA; it would be relatively cheap to make your own. It would cost you less than what it costs me (price of nutes, electricity, equipment, etc.).
 
Nina

Nina

Well-Known Member
This is all very interesting reading, I'm taking all this in and hoping it will motivate me to do something with all my ABV:)
 
Nina,
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hans solo

hans solo

Left coast Canada
The price of bud is pretty high in B.C. but my biggest problem is the lack of access to high percentage alcohol.
I have been using 70% absinthe but I would love to be able to get everclear or something similar.
Also I really like the variety of flavours and effects of the 12 strains I currently have in rotation.
 
uncanni

uncanni

Well-Known Member
hans solo said:
The price of bud is pretty high in B.C. but my biggest problem is the lack of access to high percentage alcohol.
I have been using 70% absinthe but I would love to be able to get everclear or something similar.
Also I really like the variety of flavours and effects of the 12 strains I currently have in rotation.
Click to expand...

Interesting!! So you can't order 190 or 200 proof ethanol online and have it delivered to BC? Interesting laws all over the place. One of the benefits of where I live is access to 190 Everclear.

I named my first tincture 8 ball, and it contained: Chemdawg, C99, Iced Grpfruit, Lithium OGKush, White Widow, Cannatonic, Blk Dom, Diamond Cookies (just a little of the last three), so it was quite strong in both THC and CBD and the high was SUPERB: it was great for doing research and writing, it was a blissful, euphoric high, and no heaviness in the body or head. I'm thinking of recreating that grow just to make the tincture again...
 
Vicki

Vicki

Herbal Alchemist
uncanni said:
You can still make your own tincture with the buds you buy, no? Decide what you want to throw in there and make a magnificent blend? I'm an outlaw in an illegal state, but from what I see, the bud prices are quite good in CO and WA; it would be relatively cheap to make your own. It would cost you less than what it costs me (price of nutes, electricity, equipment, etc.).
Click to expand...

No because they are sealed in ceramic cups and it’s illegal to break the cups.
 
Vicki,
Vicki

Vicki

Herbal Alchemist
uncanni said:
I don't understand: how do you use the bud? It's permanently sealed? What's it good for?
Click to expand...

The only flower available here is sealed in ceramic pods and the dispensaries are the only ones that sell the vaporizers that work with the cups. The ceramic cups have air flow holes in the top and bottom.
 
MinnBobber

MinnBobber

Well-Known Member
Vicki said:
The only flower available here is sealed in ceramic pods and the dispensaries are the only ones that sell the vaporizers that work with the cups. The ceramic cups have air flow holes in the top and bottom.
Click to expand...
.............................................................................................
Do the vaporizers have different temps you can use or does "Mother Florida" control that too?

How would you say the pricing compares to a flower state like, CO?
I'll bet it is 3x, 4x, ...do I hear 5x as expensive vs $150 per oz of flower costs.
 
Vicki

Vicki

Herbal Alchemist
MinnBobber said:
.............................................................................................
Do the vaporizers have different temps you can use or does "Mother Florida" control that too?

How would you say the pricing compares to a flower state like, CO?
I'll bet it is 3x, 4x, ...do I hear 5x as expensive vs $150 per oz of flower costs.
Click to expand...

They are all knock off vaporizers, but the knock off Volcano that Trulieve sells bothers me the most. $750 frickin dollars! Thieving bastards.

Speaking of thieving bastards, most flower cups here in the dispensaries range from $45-55 for EIGHTH, and these are MEDICAL prices! Yes, you read that right, and the cups are filled with shake, stems and seeds! I know because people have broken them open. One had mold in it! These stupid cups are the perfect environment for mold to grow here in. Florida. They pack them tight in a small container with little air flow. You can’t even properly vape all the flowers in the cups because of this, and the mold issue keeps me away from them.

All this because you might “smoke” the flower and they can’t have that. ::rolls eyes::
 
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