At their most basic, tinctures are simply plant matter soaked in alcohol. Your local health food store has many tinctures of different medicinal plants available, like damiana and echinacea. Tinctures are an excellent way to ingest cannabis for a few key reasons: They are very portable and discreet, you avoid extra calories from medicinal desserts or fatty THC-oil-soaked meals, and it’s very easy to measure your dose. Simply squeeze the dropper top, and release the dropper underneath your tongue. Let it sit there for several minutes. This is where it’s easiest for the tincture to be absorbed. You’ll begin feeling effects within ten to thirty minutes, so tinctures are faster-acting than digesting a medible. Simple tinctures made with vodka or rum can become the base for cannabis cocktails (see recipes for vodka and rum).
You can make tinctures using any cannabis product, from stems to the finest kif. The recommended steeping times are usually very long, up to two months in the Green Avenger Cannabis Tincture. It will take longer to absorb all the THC from woody plant parts like stems than from finely sifted ground bud or kif.
Another matter to consider is whether to use alcohol or glycerin. Alcohol seems to create a more potent tincture, but it burns under the tongue and tastes more like old-time medicine. Glycerin tastes sweet and doesn’t burn like alcohol, so it can be easier to use.