Flavoring your herbs using essential oils

[herbgirl]

So I finally got around to running some tests to see if it is feasible to flavor herbs with essential oils for use in a vape. IT WORKS!!!!!!

Mind you, I am NOT talking about direct application of oils to plant material, i am only referring to oils dropped on a cotton ball and left in the same container as the herbs to flavor them indirectly. IMNSHO I do not feel that direct application is safe because of the concentrations at work. Personally, i may try it at some point, but not until i have verified the safety of such a practice.

I put three drops of cold pressed (preferably NOT solvent extracted, but this is not usually listed on the label - do your homework or ask me!!) blood orange essential oil on a cotton ball then put it in a little spice jar with maybe a gram of sorta crappy schwaggles. i tightened the jar with the cotton ball kind of stuck in the lid so the cotton would not contact the plant material, but would still release the oils into the closed container. Left for a few (6?) hours then ground a lil bit of it and ran it through the Ion at 375, 385, and 410 i think. Sure enough there was a subtle, pleasant, orange bouquet to each bag. started to fade a bit at the back end of 410, but at 375 & 385 it was definitely there. The next day was the same story only the orange flavor/scent was more developed and stronger. By that next evening it was stronger still. it never got to the point where it was too strong.

i plan on continuing these experiments with some other safe oils like peppermint, rose, and lavender (maybe floral not so much, but we'll see) vanilla would be divine if i could get that to work.
ooohhh i think my next try will be vanilla and tangerine. can you say creamsicle?
mmmmmmmmmmmm

hmmmmm.... with all the flavored everythings that companies are offering theses days, i think i smell a business idea.....

 

[rabblerouser]

I've actually wondered if using oils that share terpenoids with cannabis could affect your high. That blood orange oil probably has limonene in it.

hmmm.... for one that wouldn't involve oils, a mix of hops + cannabis is an idea too

 

[Brother Brigham]

Great idea herbgirl, I always love to mess around with flavors. Is there a brand of oils that you consider safer than others? I am not extremely experienced with essential oils, and haven't taken the ensuing study session yet...

 

[SmokingElectricity]

I GOT MY EAR TO THE SKREETS

 

[herbgirl]

rabble, dingdingding you are correct! check this out...
http://www.aromaticsinternational.com/aromatherapy-essential-oil/orange

if you click on the gc/ms report for this oil, you will see that d-limonene makes up 95.84% of this sweet orange oil's composition. i will assume that the blood orange has a very similar profile.

I didn't even think about it affecting the effect - it did not that i noticed, but the levels i used were very conservative.

i personally can't use hops - they are contraindicated in depression so a nono for me. but it sounds like it would work. taste may be an issue as hops are very bitter.

iirc there is an ethnobotanical thread buried on FC somewhere? now you have me thinking - myrcene exists in some of these oils, i understand that it is also the component that mangoes have that makes them so synergistic with herb. hmmmmmmm......

Brother, i get my oils from a local supplier that i've used for many years. i trust her judgment as far as quality, she sources some wonderful, high quality oils.

http://www.sobotanical.com/

Theresa, the owner, is in a transition phase with the business so her lists of what is available aren't posted online, but if you call or email, i'm sure she could help you out, she is a very nice person to do business with.

I've also used the essential oil company http://www.essentialoil.com/ it was years ago, but the oils were nice, i assume that is still the case.

http://www.essentialwholesale.com/
is one i learned about recently through my supplier Theresa. I have not ordered from them personally, but she recommended them highly and their prices seem to be good. I have a feeling she gets her cosmetic bases and some of her oils from them.

I would not, however use health food store oils for this particular application, turnover in my local hfs is very slow.
i love cheap oils for cleaning or laundry uses, not for inhalation. you never know how long they have been sitting on the shelf and old oils oxidize and can cause sensitivities. this is especially true with citrus & conifer oils.

(CYA DISCLAIMER)
Please, whatever you do BE CAREFUL AND DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!! as far as i know, this is not a common practice, i was able to find zero info on the subject. I am comfortable with it because i have an intimate knowledge of my oils and their effects.

Essential oils are very powerful, concentrated plant essences and MUST be treated with respect.
never let undiluted oils touch the skin. you don't want a burning rash like some oils can cause - trust me on this one.
watch for 'fragrance oils' if they are all the same price (at the mall or a liquor store for example) or have names like Egyptian musk, they are NOT essential oils. NEVERNEVERNEVER inhale these substances in this manner!!!

Oils are agricultural, natural products so the prices should vary widely. citrus oils are relatively cheap while some like blue chamomile or jasmine cost $26 for like 2 ml.

some oils are benign, some are deadly, others are perfectly safe to inhale, but will kill you if you ingest just 15ml. I wouldn't want anyone getting hurt from my ideas, so proceed with caution and ask questions!

 

[rabblerouser]

The rest of those are all terpenes that show up in cannabis as well

Monoterpenes
?-pinene 0.57
?-terpinene 0.09
?-myrcene 1.87
d-limonene 95.84
sabinene 0.21

not sure about

Monoterpenols
linalol0.79

might be the same as linalool, which is in cannabis

 

[herbgirl]

linalol is also in Lavender, the major constituent, actually. It is arguably one of the most useful essential oils.

linalool is a monoterpenoid and i'm blanking on what oil it is in. spike lavender or lavandulin maybe?

 

[herbgirl]

i recall someone posting this long pdf here that talked about the similarity of cannabis essential oil to black pepper essential oil. not sure of it's safety as far as this particular application, but i looked over the gc/ms for it and sure enough a lot of those same components pop up.

http://www.aromaticsinternational.com/aromatherapy-essential-oil/black-pepper

linalol and myrcene in this one too.

 

[willieR]

I have sometimes added a TINY bit of pure peppermint oil. Not even a drop. Just a tiny swipe with a toothpick that has a tiny amount of oil on it.

 

[herbgirl]

willie, at that tiny amount, with a fairly safe oil like peppermint, you should be OK.

how is it?

 

[willieR]

HG, I like it! Peppermint is safe to ingest, and you're only talking a tiny teensy amount. Maybe 1/10 of a drop. More than that and you'll gag with pure peppermint. Crazy how strong it is...

 

[herbgirl]

willie, Peppermint is one of the very few oils that is safe to take internally.
You think regular peppermint (mentha piperita) is punchy, you should see the triple distilled stuff for food use - WHEW! even CRAZIER strong

 

[Elluzion]

how have trials with this worked out herbgirl? I am thinking of infusing some shitty tasting weed with some lavender oil like you did.

 

[StickyShisha2]

hmmm.... for one that wouldn't involve oils, a mix of hops + cannabis is an idea too

my friend's herbal blend for vaping includes hops, lemongrass, orange peel and lavender flowers mixed with cannabis.

to me, its a bit harsh on the throat.

 

[herbgirl]

I've started another round of experimentation with some oils and some flavorings that i use to blend our ecig juices. I have added herbs to teeny vials of blood orange essential oil and vanilla absolute and also tried some flavorings - chocolate + cookie and raspberry in the same manner as described above. i plan on waiting a week or two to open them and try them out.

 

[sensible]

I've been putting Pine Need Oil, Orange Oil, and Lavendar Oil on top of my Herb and vaping it with my volcano. The only reason I started doing this was because I read the Big Book of Buds Volume 3 and read the chapter on how the presence of varying terpenes in cannabis changes the nature of the buzz. I use the Volcano temperature guide in conjunction with the boiling points of terpenes taken from their Wiki Pages. I choose Orange Oil for the limonene which, according to the BBBV3 helps other terpenes absorb faster. Pinene gives you that warm feeling self-satisfaction. When I want to get to sleep, even if I have I'm smoking an "energetic" strain I use lavender oil for the linalool, which promotes sedation. The orange oil also makes you cough like a bitch, which is kind of a downer, but it does make you extra-extra high.

Some guy copied all the terpene info out of BBBV3 and posted it here. I highly recommend pine oil (for the pinene) it gives you the warm, prickly fuzzies all over your body, even if you're vaping ditch.

EDIT:

BTW don't worry about Hops or Mangoes unless you're making edibles. The Myrcene present in Magoes (and much more in Amarillo Hops) only assists with the absorption of THC through the digestive system. If you're making bot brownies you might want to mix some Amarillo Hops extract into the mix to increase the buzz.

 

[invisiblefriend]

doing a lil experiment -- I have some dark … maybe a bit dirty oil -- not the best taste ( was going to use for cooking since it just didn't taste good in vape -- )

so I'm doing a cleanup using that ether Kleen? and I'm trying a few different ways including pure tangerine essential oil (high in d- limonene )
ill keep everyone posted on all results !

much respect my friends

 

[Hashassin]

i make my own DIY nicotine ejuice and have been toying with the idea of using some of my flavors to make flavored dabs. i can't decide if it is a horrible sacrilegious idea or if it would be a delicious deviance from my usual consumption.

i'm working on a cannabis ejuice extraction as well and if it turns out okay i look forward to adding fruity flavors to the mix.

i hadn't thought of just using cotton soaked with flavor separately, that is an interesting idea. i'll ask my buddy with a solo if he will let me try it!

 

[rabblerouser]

i still haven't done it. But greatly feel that terpene research is going to be a big part of the future of medical cannbis. Altering the flavour of something delicious *seems* silly, but terpenes change the effect of the high. And not Everything I get tastes good enough i would object to altering the flavour.

Now, playing with it to really get something effective still needs to be worked out, but i dunno, maybe i'll scrape up some spare cash for essential oils. Also i have considered doing my own extractions of say the Sage that grows in my garden. Looks to have its own trichomes in profusion, could probably do butane extraction.

 

[StickyShisha2]

this stuff looks interesting http://www.pans-ink.com/

 

[Hashassin]

this stuff looks interesting http://www.pans-ink.com/

yes it does indeed.

a friend of mine is also planning to buy some stuff i think he called "terpenator" (not to be confused with the closed loop bho system of the same name) which is supposed to boost terpene production during growth and flowering.

 

[accrete]

this stuff looks interesting http://www.pans-ink.com/

Thx for the link. I just ordered the combo with the holiday discount. This is on track with my desire to research incorporating essential oils into my dry herb mixes (non-cannabis user). I'm looking forward to experimenting.

Happy new year!
Thom

 

[hafalump]

Is this stuff legal, pan's ink? Or only in medical states?

 

[duckTape]

I highly recommend pine oil (for the pinene) it gives you the warm, prickly fuzzies all over your body, even if you're vaping ditch.

Could I vape dried pine needles to get pinene safely?

 

[rabblerouser]

can anyone help me? wanted to share article i found that was against adding foreign terpenes to cannabis. I think it said less effective and maybe even harmful. I think the main contention was that you were getting some of the rest of the original foreign plant in with the terpenes you wanted.

But now i can't find the article... anyone else see anything about this?

UPDATE:

https://www.cannabisnow.com/current-events/terpene-cannabis-concentrates-health

not sure this is the original article i saw, but this is i think about the same study at least, maybe not exactly how i remembered it...

Excerpt:

"In the study, scientists exposed rats to a mixture of non-cannabis derived beta caryophyllene and cannabis smoke. In stark contrast to the either substance on its own, rats exposed to the combination were more likely to develop kidney problems. When they analyzed the chemical effects of mixing these two, they found that the cannabis smoke had degraded the beta caryophyllene into chemicals known to be toxic for consumption. The authors warn that mixing these compounds is not advised for humans."

granted, this was smoke NOT vapor