(ABV) Cannabis Salve

thanks for the welcome and the kind words, herbgirl.
am enjoying the site, it's a great resource and everyone seems to get along rather well. i was blessed to have a country-wise grandma who taught me about our local plants, herbs and wildlife when i was growing up and i became obsessed with all things wild and free.
then later i learned lots of useful info through independent study via the web. once you get into herbs, essential oils, healthy teas, etc you can't give em up very easy can you? love to make tinctures and salves. will post a step by step pic tec of some homemade sunscreen when i make it in the spring. there's enough bad chemicals in commercial sunscreen to drop a rhino, will show you guys how to make a healthy alternative. i spend hundreds of hours each year outdoors in the sun photographing nature and wanted something i could use guilt free.
my favorite herb sources are mountainroseherbs.com for all kinds of bulk herbs, tinctures, awesome teas (Rooibos especially, i drink everyday, usually the green but the red is great too.)
another great site is botanicalpreservationcorps.com ben has great herbs from the amazon basin and south america, very fresh high quality, many unavailable anywhere else. am never without his chanca piedra, an herb which is a fantastic treatment for kidney stones and a great tonic for the kidneys, liver and gall bladder. take a teaspoon of that once or twice a month steeped 5 minutes in hot water and keep any kidney problems at bay. he's also got kanna, yerba mate, rhodiola rosea, lots more....
for smokables i used to love stuff from howie at columbine wizardry herbs, he had the best cobra head (pedicularis bracteosa) at one time. his elephant head (ped. groenlandica) and scullcaps were always great too but they had trouble getting people to gather the harvests so their supplies were not too reliable.
i created a little blend a few years ago i called rainbow blend with cobra head, dagga flowers, blue lily and some other yummies. lots of folks liked it, will post the recipe for that with exact proportions and some variations if folks would like to try to make some.
ktbotanicals.com has gotten a great batch of cobra head in this fall, give it a try you won't be dissapointed. they have a lot of great looking stuff like extracts that i have on hand but haven't tried yet, so many herbs, so little time. i'm even sitting on some moth mullein i found last summer too, will try that some day.
also, scott at loveleafgarden.com has great herbs, hard to find nicer indian warrior (ped. densiflora) than his and his shipping is very fast.
for bottles and jars you can't beat specialtybottle.com , have used them for years.
none of these things are blanket recommendations, kanna should not be used with any other meds, everyone should do their own research and consult with their health care professional to check for any interactions and contraindications which could cause problems with their particular conditions.
be blessed

Bump. Someone showed some interest in this process in the chat-room and I really need to add some final pictures (really the salve just looks like green coco-oil). Will edit this post to do so.

Well after months of of forgetting to post those final pics up I decided to make another batch of salve this afternoon. The process is the same (much easier this time since the canna-coconut oil was premade) but certainly streamlined. I actually wrote out an ingredients and instructions list by hand for a friend so I may just scan that and post it up here to make the directions more concise.

One issue I'm (currently) having is that the beeswax hasn't melted into the mixture as nicely as I remembered. The stew is still in the crockpot but I will post some pics later this evening.

u could try using DMSO , not as natural as coconut oil but it helps with stuff to absorb through the skin

Thanks for the suggestion lepstadder. Got the recipe pretty dialed in at this point and much prefer to keep it all natural. Thanks for chiming in.

Realize now that the pics I took weren't saved on my memory card but onto my camera (no USB cable at this point) so won't be posting tonight. Will try to get something up tomorrow.

This is (most of) the latest batch. I'm still waiting on some tins in the mail (I will fill transfer some of what is in the jars to a few tins to gift out).




I did make one little mistake this time around but think I was able to correct it. I waited for the initial mix to cool off before adding the essential oils and Vitamin E...in my haste (and/or my ) I forgot to stir the oils and Vitamin E in before transferring to these two jars. Thankfully I quickly realized the mistake and transferred the salve back into the 'common jar' to get a stir in there.

Other than that the process went very smooth. The smell and consistency is very similar to last time (which I think is a good thing?). This time around I was much more prepared for the whole process and ultimately think it ended up a tad more 'sterile' owing to less remixing and poking/prodding (with a utensil).

Just applied most of what was pictured in the spoon FWIW. I will be updating with a couple notes on effects in the near future. I may update the first page of this thread as well with pics and a better recipe. Finally, a little more research compiled on that first page will be helpful I think.

Not sure if people are still at all following this but thanks again to herbgirl (and the other helpers) for providing confidence in this

I know that many aren't willing to throw out the psychoactive applications of their ABV (or fresh material for that matter...) but this is a great little project with a very nice outcome.

EDIT: I'm storing these jars in the freezer. I'm actually letting one sit out now to test the consistency after a few hours on a warm (albeit air-conditioned) evening. I'm trying to be very careful about always using a clean utensil (or knuckle per herbgirl's recommendation) to dig in. I've dated the batch and I'm hoping it will last around a year.

i tried topical Canna this weekend (first time). had it rubbed into my painful places. seems to help for most of a day. i don't know about any head change from it because i vape a lot.

not sure how strong i made it. Only put the (BHO splatter coated) globe from the oil rig into a small jar of coconut oil. double boiler style. the glass came out clean pretty easily.

StickyShisha: not sure how I missed that! Sounds great! I haven't tried that method myself but would love to try it.

Edited the first post with these pics:

Supplies (and a clean work area!)



Canna-coconut-oil, beeswax, cocoa butter mixed together and ready to go into jars for long-term storage.

Well I just made ALL of my ABV into QWISO. Anyone know a FOR SURE way to turn this qwiso into a balm for my neck and back pains? I'd MUCH rather that than have it to vape at this point. I can't afford to screw up if I do this, I need some kinda of pain relief soon.

Glad to be pointed to this thread, look forward to reading it fully .

My 2 cents on

I'm not trusting the oil:beeswax ratio so I'm gonna add the wax little by little and test it with a spoonful. I've read some stuff about smoothing agents but I think I'm gonna leave those out.

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Ive made plenty of homemade stuff and the firmest mix I use is for lotion bars and that's

2 parts liquid oil (olive, grapeseed, hemp, rice bran, emu, ect..)
2 parts solid oils (coconut, shea, cocoa, mango)
1.75 parts beeswax

With that ratio I put it in cleaned out deodorant tubes or pour into mini soap molds. I also use that ratio for lip balm. I fill up old mint tins with the little bars to use before bed or drop into a bath to melt. For a soft jar salve I reduce it to about 1 part wax. If you want to make it vegan with that wax is much harder so id say start with half the amount as you would beeswax.

Forgot to mention...with topicals has anyone played with DMSO? Excellent for aiding transdermal delivery. Never used it myself but its been recommended for my joints

Just read through the thread, good stuff. I always try to make my meds as potent as possible by really limiting the amount of oils used for the extraction and it is sometimes hard working w/ the plant(s) material. One workaround (for crockpot type brews) is to add a little water to the mix. This not only allows for more control and the potential to cook longer but some of the plants essentials are water soluble and missed if strictly using oils. Just like making butter, you can easily drain off the water once cooled (not diluting the mix). Here is a good link on chamomile which distinguishes between it's liphophilic and hydrophilic qualities:
http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2010/02/chamomile-extract.html
I believe using water in my mj concoctions is one thing that makes them more potent. While most will agree cannabinoids are not water soluble, they are wrong. Many cannabinoids are water soluble, but they have nothing (fats) to bond to for our body to be able to uptake them. When using water and oils I believe a more complete extraction occurs while making it possible for the body to uptake all the goodies.

RE: DMSO = Miraculous stuff IMHO

We buy the liquid and I was making a salve out of it but my husband found just wetting a cotton ball with it works well, absorbs quickly and no greasy mess. I know it isn't FDA approved for humans and they use topically on horses but we've kept it around and in use for decades with no problem. I know a lot of people who swear by it.

We had a friend stop by with a terrible back ache and he was in the medical field...balked at the idea of using it. Within a few minutes of putting some on his back he was bending, stretching and his jaw was scraping the floor asking what type of voodoo magic was in the stuff - he bought some the next day. It REALLY helps.

Lo said:

RE: DMSO = Miraculous stuff IMHO

We buy the liquid and I was making a salve out of it but my husband found just wetting a cotton ball with it works well, absorbs quickly and no greasy mess. I know it isn't FDA approved for humans and they use topically on horses but we've kept it around and in use for decades with no problem. I know a lot of people who swear by it.

We had a friend stop by with a terrible back ache and he was in the medical field...balked at the idea of using it. Within a few minutes of putting some on his back he was bending, stretching and his jaw was scraping the floor asking what type of voodoo magic was in the stuff - he bought some the next day. It REALLY helps.

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Thank you for the tips . Yes I first got turned onto the idea of DMSO when I volunteered at several equestrian places seeing it in the tack rooms. I think I will go ahead and give it a try. My neck gives me so many problems maybe it can nudge me in right direction

Would there be a way to create a non greasy canna-coconut cream without using beeswax?
I'm assuming I'll be needing to pick up Shea butter, or some sort of seed oil, correct?

420GanjX said:

Would there be a way to create a non greasy canna-coconut cream without using beeswax?
I'm assuming I'll be needing to pick up Shea butter, or some sort of seed oil, correct?

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Just curious no beeswax because your vegan or cant get ahold of it? If your vegan check out - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnauba_wax - . If you cant get a hold of it cocoa butter will create a firmer texture than shea most of the time. If you are using preservatives or refrigerating the end cream (assuming my cream you mean a product with water not just oils) then you can ad cornstarch or clay to reduce the greasiness. Even in an oil base you can do the starch or clay it just takes more patience to make it blend smoothly. Check out some home made deodorant recipe's for the clay to oil ratios.

Ok im about ready to make some salve but I wanted to ask a few things before I buy the raw materials. I alreadyhave plenty of oils and beeswax but im curious what would be a good herb for salve? I don't have much ABV so I was thinking of getting the house shake at my dispensary. Its only $16 for an 1/8th vs an average of $15 per gram of bud but will it do the job? I have a huge rash on my stomach (likely lichen planus) which has been painfully flaring near non stop for more than a month.

Ive been through all the usual natural stuff so im currently resorting to steroid cram to control the itching and pain. But yesterday it started geting worse again and now my skin is literally sticking to my shirts and ripping off chunks . Since id prefer not to go back to lidocane and sterile non-stick gauze pads I figure may as well give canna-oil salve a go.

I don't have much budget so do you think the shake will be ok? Enough to tell if it would work for me before saving up for more buds? I have some cannatonic I could put in but I was going to wait to see if I could build up to vaping it (had a bad reaction first time I vaped it) but it is very high CBD and may be good for topical?

I don't know I just like having a place to start and work from there. Any advice appreciated Thanks

I am starting my process now. What I did was take a bunch of ABV (at least 20 grams) and soak that along with at least 15 grams of buds I saved that were already run into BHO, and place it all into a french press. Then I covered with everclear, let it do a LONG soak (since its not for vaping) and now I have a plate of dark green liquid that I'm evaporating slowly. No real rush, but adding heat wouldn't be a problem to evap faster.

My plan is to melt some coconut oil into a hot pan and then while its melted mix in the cannabis oil from ABV (decarbed FTW in this case).

What I really don't know is what I can get locally at a supermarket that would be a good idea to add for smell purposes?

darkrom said:

I am starting my process now. What I did was take a bunch of ABV (at least 20 grams) and soak that along with at least 15 grams of buds I saved that were already run into BHO, and place it all into a french press. Then I covered with everclear, let it do a LONG soak (since its not for vaping) and now I have a plate of dark green liquid that I'm evaporating slowly. No real rush, but adding heat wouldn't be a problem to evap faster.

My plan is to melt some coconut oil into a hot pan and then while its melted mix in the cannabis oil from ABV (decarbed FTW in this case).

What I really don't know is what I can get locally at a supermarket that would be a good idea to add for smell purposes?

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If you cant get essential oils try peppermint or other extracts you will have to wait for the alcohol to evaporate but it doesn't take much to scent it. Some cheaper EO's are tea tree, peppermint, lavender, an pretty much any citrus oil. Though be careful citrus oils can make you very sun sensitive.

I don't NEED a scent, I just don't want to smell like coconut ABV lol.

darkrom said:

I don't NEED a scent, I just don't want to smell like coconut ABV lol.

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Lol good point . You can also infuse other dry herbs into the oil for more benefit.

Very cool looking @420GanjX

Getting closer . My delivery came today so I now have 1/8th to play with for salve. Just need to figure out my purportions. Id rather make it concentrated then add some to my regular salve recipe but I don't think an 18th is enough to do that. But its all I can afford for now. I will get a huge kick if it works though explaint hat to my 80 year old dermatologist LOL!

IMO make QWISO with it then use that. I used everclear (foolishly) on my ABV to make 3 grams of ABV hash oil. Since its ABV it is already decarbed, so I have 3g of decarbed hash waiting in a slick stack until I have time to make some kind of balm for it.

To be honest I'm thinking of just buying something already made, like dixie's CBD balm, then just gently heat and mix in the hash oil.