This convenient cannabis-based medicine doesn’t require smoking, vaporizing, or even ingesting baked goods; simply apply a few drops of it under the tongue. It contains no harmful additives and, if made correctly using good bud, actually tastes quite pleasant. Vegetable glycerin is used in cough syrups and many other products and is safe for human consumption. Drinking extra water when ingesting the tincture is recommended, as it tends to dehydrate you when taken in larger amounts.
Glycerin—also known as glycerol—is easy to find. NOW Foods makes a very high-quality version that you should be able to get at your local health food store. Then you simply soak some high-quality cannabis shake, buds, and kif in the glycerin for sixty days.
MAKES 6 CUPS
4 ounces high-quality shake and cannabis buds
5 grams kif
6 cups vegetable glycerin, enough to completely cover the plant matter and fill a 2-quart jar
Equipment: 2-quart glass jar; french press, cheesecloth, or fine kitchen screen; funnel; small dropper bottles
1. Grind shake and buds until fine, then place in a 2-quart glass jar. Add kif (this will increase the mixture’s potency). Remember that this preparation will be ingested, so keep all your tools sterile and use good-tasting shake, not waste leaf.
2. Once the jar is 90 percent filled with ground weed and kif, slowly add the glycerin until the weed is covered and the jar is full.
3. It’s very important to decarboxylate the THC acids. To do this, heat an oven to 170°F (or the lowest setting), and let the tincture warm in the oven for about 45 minutes. Remove and let cool.
4. Store for 60 days, making sure to rotate the jar for 3 to 5 minutes per day, mixing the contents of the jar well. (We like to flip our jars upside down each day and let the weed float to the top of the glycerin.) At day 50, wash the outside of the jar well, then place it in a pot of steaming water. Let the jar remain in the water until the water has come to room temperature, then remove, dry off, and continue to steep for 10 days.
5. After 60 full days, use a French press, cheesecloth, or some other type of fine kitchen screen to strain the shake from the tincture. (Chef Subcool uses a 190-micron Bubble Bag to screen his tincture.)
6. Use a funnel to transfer the tincture into small dropper bottles to store. It’s best used within 6 months to 1 year. Keep in a cool dark place.
Note: A glycerin tincture is very easy to titrate, and a patient can use a few drops under the tongue to get just the relief needed. Plus, the tincture doesn’t seem to get most people superhigh or even stoned, and many people without serious ailments will not feel its effects unless they take a large amount, like 30 milliliters. Given the variations in individual metabolism, everyone will be different in this respect.
We’ve also seen incredible results with people using the tincture to treat migraines. When you’re suffering from a serious headache, taking a pill orally is a slow fix. With this preparation, you can brush your teeth vigorously and then apply a few drops into the mouth. The medicine passes across the mucous membrane and seems to have an immediate effect.
The cannabis couple behind TGA Subcool Seeds, Subcool and MzJill are cannabis breeders and tireless activists for medical marijuana. They made this particular tincture for patients suffering from migraines and were astonished at the positive effects they observed. Creator of the award-winning strain Vortex, Subcool is also the author of Dank: The Quest to Find the Very Best Marijuana.