Making Marijuana Tincture 101

Marijuana tincture combines alcohol/glycerin with essential cannabis components to produce an edible herbal extract. It’s an excellent option for peeps who want to enjoy the effects of cannabis in a more convenient and discreet way. They differ from cannabis oil and RSO; they use oil instead of alcohol as a base.

Note that you can apply marijuana tincture directly to the skin, and using it with high-proof alcohol binds more conveniently than with other cannabinoids like THC.

 

How to Prepare a Golden Dragon Cannabis Tincture

Here’s how to make marijuana tincture at home:

 

Prep Your Ingredients and Equipment

You need only two ingredients for this cannabis tincture—5g cannabis flower and 60ml 190 proof (95% ABV) or (151 proof (75.5% ABV) grain alcohol. For equipment, ensure that you have two mason jars (not less than 70ml), a baking tray and paper, dropper bottles (1x 60ml or 2x 30ml), a grinder, a measuring beaker, a coffee filter, and a filter holder.

 

Decarboxylate

Get your cannabis flowers decarboxylated by preheating your oven to 110°C. Next, get your baking tray and line it with the baking paper. After using an herb or coffee grinder to process the cannabis flower, spread the processed herbs across the baking paper. Place it in the oven and remove it after 40 minutes. Finally, put the bud in a mason jar when it’s cool and seal it.

 

Freeze

If you want to improve your tincture’s quality and taste, be sure to freeze your cannabis mason jar and alcohol overnight. Besides adding some brittleness to the trichomes, freezing your weed ensures that you can easily dislodge it in the next step. It also prevents the solvent from drawing out chlorophyll to avoid green coloration and bitter taste.

 

Agitate

In the morning, take out your frozen alcohol and mason jar, measure 60ml of alcohol with your beaker and pour into the mason jar. Lock the lid tightly and shake gently for about 60 seconds.

Next, return the mason jar into the freezer and remove after 5 minutes before shaking for another 60 seconds. Repeat this last process, place it in the freezer for another 5 minutes and remove.

 

Filtrate

Place your lined coffee filter holder over another mason jar. To get rid of lipids, waxes, plant material, and other contaminants, pass the tincture through a filter. Next, remove the caps from two 30ml bottles or one 60ml dropper bottle and load them using the pipette.

Viola— you’ve just made your first golden dragon tincture. As the name suggests, golden dragon tincture appears gold because it lacks chlorophyll. With this method, it takes only a little over 24 hours to prepare, unlike the traditional cannabis tinctures that may require a month of preparation.

 

Green Dragon vs. Golden Dragon Tincture

The golden dragon tincture isn’t the only quick way to make a cannabis tincture, though. There’s also the green dragon method that uses similar ingredients and processes, only that it replaces freezing with heating to produce marijuana tinctures with fuller spectrums.

In essence, with green dragon, you’ll have to simmer your jar of cannabis and alcohol in water for about 20 minutes. This allows the solvent to absorb lipids, terpenes, cannabinoids, waxes, and chlorophyll. Meanwhile, golden dragon focuses on a better tasting and more concentrated tincture by removing most of the extra phytochemicals through freezing.

 

Pros and Cons of Green Dragon

These are the pros of green dragon:

• The spectrum is fuller
• Quick process
• No need for freezing

These are the cons of green dragon:

• Harsher taste
• Less aesthetically appealing

 

Pros and Cons of Golden Dragon

These are the pros of golden dragon:

• More pleasant taste
• Gets rid of unwanted constituents
• Aesthetically pleasing appearance

These are the cons of golden dragon:

• Takes longer than the green dragon method
• Less potency than traditional methods

 

How to Use and Store Cannabis Tincture

Here’s how to use your cannabis tincture:

• Put 1-3 drops beneath your tongue and hold it for about a minute before swallowing the remainder for maximum effect.
• Pour the infusion into a glass of juice or directly into your food.

Note that administering cannabis under the tongue is the best way to enjoy the maximum effect in no time. However, if you want the effect to last longer, put it in food or swallow it immediately.

Store your homemade cannabis tincture in a cool and dry place. This ensures that it lasts as long as possible. It also keeps it from sunlight, excessive temperatures, and air that may degrade its active components.

 

There You Have It!

Now that you know how to prepare your cannabis tincture at home, you can decide whether or not to give it a go. If it sounds like it’s too much work, maybe you would prefer to buy a pre-made tincture instead.