Vaporization temperatures of cannabinoids in Autoflowering Cannabis. WINNI CASACOP.
THERE ARE LOTS of ways to use your Autoflowering Cannabis harvest once it has been cured. You may think smoking is the only method to ingest Cannabis, but never underestimate what someone who has used Cannabis can invent to improve the experience. (Someone said being high on Cannabis is the Mother of Invention.)
If you are new to Cannabis, you need to learn these methods. If you are returning to Cannabis from long ago, you will be amazed at how things have changed. Hopefully, you will be pleasantly surprised.
This is absolutely key: There is an extra ring of molecules on THCA that has to be removed in order for cannabinoids to be effective. This process is known as decarboxylation and occurs when THCA is heated to 105°C (220°F). You must decarboxylate Autoflowering Cannabis for it to become chemically available, that is, to turn the THCA into THC. It is not hard. In fact, under some methods it is automatic.
Dry heat
The most common method of decarboxylating Cannabis is with heat. Heating Cannabis to 154°C (310°F) for 7 minutes will completely decarboxylate it. Lower temperatures work but require more time. However, lower temperatures do preserve more of the terpenes. Some suggest heating for 35 to 45 minutes at a temperature of 105°C.
Beware that if you cook at temperatures above 149°C (300°F), both the cannabinoids and the terpenes will degrade and have less of an impact. In fact, THC boils at 156.6°C (314°F).
The easiest way to decarboxylate with heat is in an oven. Preheat it to 105–115°C (220–240°F). While it warms, line a cookie tray with parchment and spread the harvest out so all of the material is heated at the same time and the same temperature. Bake away for 30 to 45 minutes.
Heating with oil
Using a slow cooker is another way to decarboxylate your Autoflowering Cannabis harvests. This is great for making salves. Add the dried harvest to any kind of cooking oil or lecithin, depending on the recipe. Since you do not want to overheat, determine the proper temperature using water and a thermometer. In general, 4 to 6 hours at the low setting should work. Easy.
You can also use your stovetop burner. Place equal parts cooking oil and harvest in a thick pot such as a Dutch oven or a ceramic pot. This method requires simmering, and some people add a few cups of water with every cup of oil so monitoring the temperature is easier—water boiling at a very slow simmer should be the right temperature. In addition, since the chlorophyll and herb-tasting terpenes are water soluble, they will bind to the water and not the final product.
After decarboxylation in a slow cooker or on a stove top, strain your product through cheesecloth. If you used an oil that solidifies, next place the mix in the refrigerator. Once hardened, you can lift it out of the water. If you use an oil that stays liquid at room temperature, you must wait until the water separates into its own layer and then use a spoon to retrieve the oil.
Finally, strain as many times as you want to remove as much of the particulate matter as possible. How much remains will be determined, for the most part, by how you finely you grind the Cannabis before decarboxylating it.
Vaporization temperatures of cannabinoids in Autoflowering Cannabis. WINNI CASACOP.
Smoking and vaporizing temperatures automatically result in decarboxylation. You do not have to treat your harvest in any way other than drying if these are the methods you use to ingest the Cannabis. There are all manner of devices and implements for smoking. There are many flower vaporizers on the market.
Smoking—Smoking is the most common method of ingesting Cannabis. It is the most obvious and so well-known that not much else need be said. It involves burning Cannabis in all the ways tobacco is used—pipes, water pipes, chillums, cigarettes, blunts, and so many more ways. Clearly the process decarboxylates the product.
Vaporizing—There are two forms of vaporizing Autoflowering Cannabis. First, there are lots of commercial Cannabis oil products produced by washing and soaking Cannabis with various gases such as carbon dioxide and butane. These result in oils with high concentrations of cannabinoids. Making these are beyond the purview of the amateur gardener. Methods of using these products are known as vaporizing.
Rosin from pressing flowers between wax papers. GDB/DAZ MEPHISTO.
There is another form of vaporizing which more and more Cannabis connoisseurs are employing. This involves heating the dried flowers just short of actual combustion, to bring the various acids such as THCA and CBDA to a boiling point. When each hits their boiling points, they change to vapors that can be inhaled. Different temperatures result in the release of different compounds, and modern commercial vaporizing instruments can be set to specific temperatures.
Home gardeners can make an oil called “rosin” by pressing flowers. There are now commercial presses that squeeze the rosin from flowers, but these may be too expensive. All that is needed are an electric hair straightener; parchment paper; if possible, an inexpensive digital temperature gun (these infrared thermometers are available via the Internet and at art hobby stores); and a ratchet or trigger clamp.
Place small pieces of fresh (not dried) flowers in folded parchment, leaving enough room for the rosin to ooze out of the flower and still be held on the parchment. Heat the parchment packet to between 85–104°C (185–220°F) in the hair straightener.
Under extreme pressure and with a bit of heat, the chemical compounds in the flower are squeezed out onto wax paper from which they are then collected for consumption by vaporizing or even smoking.
This is where the clamp comes in: use it to very slowly put pressure on the blades of the hair straightener while the flowers heat up. Aim the heat sensor of the temperature gun on the blades to get a heat reading. If you don’t have one, just observe and you will see the oils oozing out when the temperature is right.
Tinctures made by immersing plant materials in alcohol are an excellent way to create a stable long-term extraction of medicinals. If your intention is to include THC in a Cannabis extraction, then dry heat decarboxylation is necessary prior to starting any recipe. The harvest is placed in a jar and covered with a relatively high-proof alcohol of choice, then stored in a cool dark place for, say, two weeks to a year. Then it is strained, stored, and typically served for use from a dropper bottle.
There is a whole industry developing to manufacture and sell tinctures and salves. Tinctures are ingested. Salves are rubbed on the body. You can make your own both with your harvest and using the remnants of flower vaporizing, which will still contain active compounds. Various bases are used, ranging from coconut oil and emu oil for salves to grain alcohol, vodka, tequila, or brandy for tinctures.
Eating Cannabis, or foods made with it, is a very popular method of using your harvest. It takes longer for the cannabinoids to take effect, but the effects last longer, often considerably longer. You can pretty much use any cooking recipe and add ground flower or use Cannabis infused oils.
The first key to edibles is decarboxylation, which should take place while cooking. The second is a cautious approach. Go easy, eat less than you think you need. Figure out how strong your harvests are so you can try to standardize things.
Canna butter—Cannabis is fat soluble, so Cannabis infused butter is a great way to prepare Cannabis for eating. It can be used in any recipe that calls for butter, everything from Bullet Coffee to Brownies. There are lots of variations. You need to test it so you will know how strong yours is and how much to use for psychoactivity.
18 to 30 grams Cannabis, finely ground
1 liter of water
250g of organic butter
1. Mix the Cannabis and the butter, add to a saucepan with the water, and bring up to a simmer, stirring to mix things. Keep on low simmer for at least 3 hours, and preferably up to 12 hours.
2. Strain and refrigerate.
3. Separate from the water after the butter solidifies.
1. Mix ingredients and cook at low temp for 3 hours. Cool and separate as above.
4 tablespoons white flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoon cocoa
1 egg
1 to 2 tablespoons regular or bittersweet chocolate chips. Marshmallows or any berry, optional
This is a great example of how to use canna butter.
Enough canna butter for an individual
1. Microwave the mix for about 4 minutes and enjoy!
Infused Milk—Another fat-soluble product is milk, and infused Cannabis milk is also a great thing to have on hand for use with other items.
0.5–1.0 gram Cannabis, finely ground
1 liter or quart of milk
1. Mix milk and Cannabis in a double boiler, or in a steel bowl placed in a cooking pot filled with water.
2. Simmer and maintain at the lowest heat for 3 hours.
3. Strain, preferably through a few layers of cheesecloth.
Use infused milk with any recipe for a milkshake.
Cannabis Infused Coffee or Green Tea—Green tea and coffee make great carriers for Cannabis.
1. A few tablespoons of infused Cannabis milk and green tea.
2. Add a few drops of vanilla or peppermint.
1. A few tablespoons infused Cannabis milk or butter with coffee.
2. Add a few drops of vanilla or chocolate.
470 ml (3 cups US) water
235 ml (2 cups) sugar
30 ml (2 tbsp) vegetable glycerin
2 grams Cannabis, finely chopped
Cannabis syrup is a great way to add Cannabis to drinks or to put on anything that requires a sugary taste. Talk about a lovin’ spoonful of medicine!
1. Melt the sugar into the water, add Cannabis, and boil for 20 minutes, ensuring that the Cannabis does not burn. Reduce to simmer and add glycerin for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain through several layers of cheesecloth. Use cautiously until you know its strength!
Firecrackers—This is a popular recipe item with lots of variations, which are all discoverable on the Internet. Firecrackers can be stored in a cookie tin and consumed at a later date.
Set temp at 110–120°C (230–250°F)
0.2 to 0.5 gram Cannabis (0.2 gram makes 3 to 6 sandwiches)
Saltine, Ritz, Graham, or similar crackers
Aluminum foil
Nutella (almond or peanut butter are suitable substitutes)
1. Wrap Cannabis in the foil (like a Hershey’s Kiss).
2. Bake for 15 minutes in aluminum foil.
3. Mix with the nut butter and put a thin layer on crackers.
4. Wrap the sandwich in foil and heat again for 15 minutes.
0.2 to 0.5 gram Cannabis.
1. Heat the nut butter for 45 seconds on the highest setting (adding an equal amount of butter is optional).
2. Mix in Cannabis.
3. Wrap in foil to keep warm.
4. Eat after 15 minutes.
0.2 to 0.5 gram Cannabis
1. Mix the nut butter, regular butter, and Cannabis.
2. Spread on top of crackers.
3. Microwave for 30 seconds. Some prefer bursts of several seconds. Let cool and consume.
Coconut oil
Cannabis, finely ground
Powdered sugar
Vanilla
1. Mix equal parts of the ingredients.
2. Heat the mixture in a frying pan for a few minutes.
Enjoy your harvest. However, be safe. When eating Cannabis the effects can be delayed for 2 or 3 hours. Use moderation at all times. And, by all means, respect local laws.