Cannabis oil at home

Have you recently had the idea to start making your own cannabis extract oil at home? It has been done before, often called hash oil or Rick Simpson Oil (RSO) it has been quite popular for years. This type of oil is typically used in medical grade marijuana products. However, it is very simple to make at home and comes with the added benefit of knowing exactly what has gone into your own oil. This is even better if you have grown your own cannabis, marijuana, or hemp plants at home.

If you grow the plant yourself, you will also know what went into it. Despite marijuana legalization growing and the popularity of marijuana growing, the commercialization of anything comes with drawbacks. Commercial plant growth may come with the use of pesticides and artificial plant food used to grow the commercial plants. Therefore, if you decide to make your own Cannabis oil at home, you probably want to be growing your own plants if you are not already.

What is Medical Grade cannabis-oil

It is important to understand that Medical Grade is basically a buzzword. Marijuana can be considered medical grade if it is being used to treat a specific illness. Therefore, any weed oil that is drawn out directly from the cannabis, hemp, or marijuana plant is pure cannabis oil.

Cannabis oil vs. Cannabis-infused oil

The difference between Pure Hash Oil and Cannabis-infused oil, is that you are drawing the oil straight from the plant when it comes to pure hash oil. With Cannabis-infused you are mixing the plant, or parts of the plant such as stems or buds, with another oil such as coconut oil or olive oil over a heat source to infuse the carrier oil with cannabis.

Pure cannabis oil and cannabis-infused oils have many of the same applications, there is only a couple of differences in their use. Pure cannabis oil is used in medical applications, whereas cannabis-infused oils are not. Pure cannabis oil can be used as an inhalant as well, whereas cannabis-infused oil cannot be.

Pure cannabis oil has greater potency than cannabis-infused oil. This is important to remember when it comes to using pure cannabis oil in edible recipes.

Creating cannabis-infused oils

If you decide to create a cannabis infused oil the process is rather simple. All you need to do is determine a good carrier oil, coconut oil is recommended for its high amount of saturated fats. Then over low heat you melt it and combine it with your pieces of cannabis (stems, leaves, buds, or all three). After some time, about 10 – 15 minutes, you remove you oil from the heat and pass the oil through a fine mesh sieve and you have cannabis infused oil.

Creating Pure Cannabis Oil

Although the idea of creating pure cannabis oil may seem daunting, it is actually rather simple and only requires the basic kitchen equipment. The most important aspect of creating pure cannabis oil is to use a high-proof food grade alcohol. Isopropyl alcohol is not a good idea as it is not food grade and not designed for human consumption. The recommended food-grade alcohols are usually ethanol, Everclear, or graph alcohol.

To make your pure cannabis-oil at home follow these steps

1. Preparation
   1. Use a well aerated room, open all windows, and turn on a fan
   2. Make sure you have a fire extinguisher, alcohol is highly flammable
   3. Make sure you have an outlet nearby
   4. Wear PPE such as non-latex gloves, respirator or mask, have oven mitts nearby, and wear safety glasses
2. Equipment Make sure you have all the following equipment nearby as you do not to be in the middle of the extraction process and not have the necessary tools
   1. Ceramic mixing bowl
   2. Wood spoon (large)
   3. Straining bag, made of muslin or cheesecloth
   4. Container, for straining the mixture into, something that is at least 2 quarts
   5. Spatula, silicone
   6. Rice cooker
   7. Metal Jars (preferably stainless steel)
   8. Candle Warmer
   9. Oral syringes, plastic
3. Ingredients
   1. 2 gallons of high-proof food grade alcohol
   2. 1 oz of cannabis

The Process

1. Freeze weed and alcohol overnight
2. Place marijuana in a mason jar
3. Completely cover weed with cold alcohol
4. Let the mixture rest for 20 minutes
5. Begin crushing the mixture for around 5 minutes
6. Pour mixture through a coffee filter that is placed on top of your mason jar into a separate bowl
7. Repeat the above steps with the remaining weed
8. Allow the solvent to rest
9. Restrain and pour into container of your choice
10. The final step is to allow the solvent to rest so the excess alcohol evaporates off. This step can take about a week, or you can cook the rest off in a rice cooker.
    1. In a rice cooker add your solvent, set the rice cooker to white rice, and make sure to use the fan on your rice cooker to carry the fumes away (caution fumes are highly flammable). After it is done cooking place in a stainless-steel container and set on a candle warmer until no bubbles remain (anywhere for 3-24 hours, but longer is better). After it has cooled use your plastic syringe to pull it out of the container and place into your choice of jar.