Can You Dissolve Weed In Alcohol?
Yes, weed can dissolve in alcohol. Cannabinoids found in weed are fats or alcohol soluble. The best solvent to use in cannabis extraction is Ethanol because it is safe for human consumption.
Can You Dissolve Weed In Alcohol?
Extracting Cannabis Using Alcoholic Drinks
Aside from alcohol solvents and supercritical carbon dioxide, it is also possible to extract cannabinoids from cannabis plants using alcoholic drinks. Liquor, also called Spirits, is another solvent that people use to extract cannabinoids from weed.
Using liquor as a solvent for cannabis infusion opens many possibilities to extend the benefits of cannabis further aside from smoking it. Liquor often serves as a base for cocktails and drinks served in bars, clubs, parties, or casual drinking. They are fun and easy ways to enjoy the benefits of weed if smoking or vaporizing it holds you back.
Although it is possible to infuse cannabis into alcoholic drinks, keep in mind that these two may have different effects on the body. Depending on your tolerance, your body may respond to the alcohol first and later on induce weed effects. In some cases, users of cannabis-induced liquor reported feeling a longer high, which continued until the next day.
There isn’t much research on how weed-infused alcoholic drinks interact with the human body as of writing. But according to research, drinking alcoholic drinks before smoking weed amplifies the effects of cannabinoids in the body. The effects of alcohol, in contrast, may seem less than what it actually is. But is this the same for cannabis-infused liquor? It could be since alcoholic drinks amplify THC amounts in the blood, causing a longer and more intense high feeling. Therefore, much like smoking weed, it is best to protect yourself from the effects of ingesting weed through liquor.
Gin
Ingredients:
- 1/4 ounce weed (May include buds, leaves, and stems)
- 1 bottle of your favorite gin
Instructions:
- Decarboxylate the weed by spreading it evenly on an oven tray coated with aluminum foil. Make sure to cover it with aluminum foil to avoid too much browning.
- Place the tray in the oven heated at 240F (115C) for 45 minutes. Let it cool after.
- Make a small pouch out of cheesecloth or unused pantyhose and place the decarboxylated weed in it.
- Place the small pouch in the bottle of gin and let it infuse for the next 48 hours at room temperature. Remember to shake the bottle every 12 hours.
- After 48 hours or more, remove the pouch from the bottle and enjoy your cannabis-infused gin. For a stronger cannabis flavor, leave the pouch in the bottle for a longer time.
Vodka
Ingredients:
- 3 grams cannabis buds
- 1 bottle vodka
Instructions:
- Decarboxylate the buds by spreading them evenly on an oven tray coated with aluminum foil. Make sure to cover it with aluminum foil to avoid too much browning.
- Place the tray in the oven heated at 240F (115C) for 45 minutes. Let it cool after.
- Grind the buds finely and place them in a cheesecloth or pantyhose pouch.
- Place the pouch in the bottle of vodka. Let it infuse for the next 3 days. Remember to shake the bottle every 12 hours.
- After 3 days, remove the cannabis pouch from the bottle and enjoy!
What Is Cannabis Extraction?
Cannabis extraction is the process of isolating the cannabinoids from the cannabis plant. The goal of the process is to generate a high-concentrate cannabinoid for potential beneficial use. There are three ways to extract cannabinoids from weed: solvent extraction, CO2 extraction, and ice water extraction.
Why Are Cannabinoids Extracted From Weed?
Cannabis contains a high concentration of cannabinoids. THC and CBD, two of the more known cannabinoids, give both psychoactive and medicinal effects to humans. Extracting these two cannabinoids, along with the other more, creates new ways to use weed aside from smoking and vaping.
Some people can not smoke or vape because they do not prefer to or because of an existing health condition. Others who seek medical attention through cannabinoids, sometimes don’t have ways to use cannabis through smoking or vaping because of their situation. In a way, cannabinoid extraction produced more options for people to use weed’s beneficial properties.
Buds vs. Cannabis Extracts
Smoking always has been the primary way to use cannabis. But with the development of concentrates, people have gravitated towards using these extracts to get the same effect. But if the buds were good enough, why do you need to switch to extract?
1. You don’t have to smoke extracts. Some people don’t prefer smoking due to existing health conditions. But with cannabis essence, people can vaporize or ingest it to get the same effects.
2. Cannabis concentrates are very effective. They are potent enough to give the same effects as using a much larger quantity of buds.
3. Ideally extracts are cleaner. The process of extraction produces the most refined products by eliminating impurities. Therefore, extracts like live resin are very flavourful and pure. Unfortunatley, this is far from true for solvent based extracts like BHO.
Common Uses For Cannabis Extracts
There aren’t a lot of studies and researches that prove how cannabis extracts are beneficial for people. However, a few of these researches have pointed out good results upon experimenting with weed extracts. The studies used Cannabidiol (CBD) which is known for its medicinal properties.
Epilepsy is a condition where seizures repeatedly arise. Clinical trials have tested that pharmaceutical-grade CBD reduces seizures with minimal side effects. Another research on CBD includes a study on reducing inflammation. Although there are no tests done on humans yet, tests done on other animals have been successful.
With the rise of mental health awareness, there have been CBD trials to cure anxiety. Along with it, other mental health issues like panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder could get treatments from weed extracts too. Meanwhile, an article published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology states that CBD can prevent cancer cells from spreading. But more researches should support this claim until it passes as factual.
Best Solvents For Cannabis Extraction
1. Butane
Butane is a flammable liquefied gas that the Food and Drug Administration has Generally Recognize As Safe (GRAS). It is an ideal solvent for extraction as weed has temperature-sensitive terpenes because of its low boiling point of 31.1F (0.5C). Hydrocarbons are the most-efficient solvent for cannabis extraction. Butane, a hydrocarbon, is a low-pressure system where extractions happen between 0 psi and 30 psi. However, since Butane is a flammable gas, there are calls for banning the use of the solvent. Home extractors have been responsible for explosions that caused physical injuries and destruction of property. Extraction using hydrocarbons is also labor-extensive as producing it takes time and effort.
2. Supercritical Carbon Dioxide
Supercritical CO2, for its part, has a high safety rating in terms of toxicity. It also has a considerably lowers environmental impact among the solvents because it is recyclable. Using Supercritical CO2 for extraction is a quicker process. Supercritical fluids can penetrate small holes that are inaccessible to liquids.
3. Ethanol
Ethanol, no doubt, is safer than Butane and more effective than Supercritical CO2. However, the problem with it lies in its polarity as a solvent. Solvent polarity is the rate at which solvents react to the solute. If a solvent is polar, like Ethanol, it reacts quicker to the compounds in a material. Meanwhile, non-polar solvents like Butane only respond to specific compounds in a material.
In some instances, chlorophyll gets extracted from the plant source too. Since chlorophyll is water-soluble and water sticks to it due to its polarity, the result is a dark-colored, bitter, grassy-flavored shatter or budder.
What Are Cannabis Extraction Methods?
1. Solvent Extraction
Solvent extraction is a method that uses solvents to dilute cannabis plants to make a solution. The most common solvents used in cannabis extractions are alcohols. Hydrocarbons like propane and Butane are the most-used solvents. They offer a quick, easy, and safe way to extract cannabinoids from weed while being economical.
However, according to Cannabis Business Times, extraction could also work with Ethanol. It is a colorless, volatile, flammable liquid. There is an abundance of Ethanol as crops such as corn, wheat, sugar cane, and barley can produce it through a fermentation process.
2. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Extraction
The CO2 extraction method is a more technical approach to extracting substances. Supercritical CO2 passes through plant trimmings, dissolving the extracts. When a molecule is in its supercritical state, it has both properties of both liquid and gas. Supercritical CO2 can take the form of gas and get into spaces in the material to extract compounds. But then, it can also act as a liquid solvent and dissolve properties in weed.
The benefit of using CO2 extraction is that CO2 can be recycled. This method is more nature-friendly compared to other extraction methods. Aside from that, CO2 has cleaning properties that clear out any microbial bacteria, molds, and mildew in weed during the process.
3. Ice Water Extraction
Ice water extraction often creates a resin extract called a hash or bubble hash. Someone who uses this method of extraction should mix ice and cannabis trimmings. Then they should strain it through fine-mesh multiple times to filter out all impurities. The procedure is inexpensive and produces a high yield. However, it isn’t practical as it is labor extensive and time-consuming.