Marijuana Tincture What Is It and How Do You Make It

Unlike bubble hash which uses water to separate the trichomes coating marijuana’s plant matter a tincture uses alcohol.  THC actually starts off in the plant as THCA (tetrahydrocannabolic acid) and usually must be heated to convert the THCA molecules into active THC, however the same effect can be achieved using an alcohol bath to dissolve the THC present within the plant matter. What you’re left with is highly concentrated liquid THC. Now that’s Stuff Stoners Like. Want to learn how to make cannabis tincture? Perfect we’ve got an awesome cannabis tincture recipe and a few variations.

Basic Cannabis Tincture recipe

Here’s what You’ll Need to make a basic marijuana tincture:

• Weed Grinder or Food Processor
• 1 Quart bowl
• Mesh strainer
• Cheese cloth
• Kitchen scale
• Quart canning jar with lid
• Dark tint tincture bottles with droppers
• At least four grams or up to a full ounce of buds or stemless shake per quart of alcohol
• The highest proof alcohol you can find. It should be at least 90 proof. Even better? 151 proof or Everclear is possible.

This cannabis tincture recipe won’t take you long. In fact by following this recipe tinctures can be produced in as little as an hour. Here’s how to make a quick and basic marijuana tincture

1. Grind the bud and/or trimmings. Remember 4 grams to a zip per quart of alcohol.
2. Bake the plant matter at 240 degrees in an oven-safe dish for 20-30 minutes to decarboxylate it.
3. Submerge the plant matter in 2 ounces of high-proof alcohol, stir and cover tightly so that the evaporating alcohol cannot escape.
4. Let it brew for 2 – 3 hours in a cool, dark spot. The longer the THC tincture brews the more potent it will become. However the longer it sits the more it will turn a greenish hue as chlorophyll leaches out
5. Stir the mixture then strain it through double-thick layer of cheese cloth placed in a mesh strain. Make sure to hold it over a bowl so you can collect the tincture. Tinctures are time consuming and expensive to make so be careful not to spill any
6. Pour the tweed tincture through the cheesecloth a second time capturing it in a jar or bottle. Be sure to wring out the cheesecloth to get every last drop of your new weed tincture.
7. Pour the resulting THC tincture through a second time (you can use a coffee filter at this stage too) remove any fine weed bits.
8. Finally store the THC tincture in an opaque bottle—think brown or blue tinted—and avoid exposing it to light.

Cold brew cannabis tincture recipe

This is how to make cannabis tincture that’s super potent. This special weed tincture recipe involves freezing the plant matter to maintain the integrity of the cannabinoids and maximize tincture potency. For the best THC tincture possible it’s best to start with some good weed or at least the crystal-laden shake from some good weed.

1. Drop your decarboxylated buds or trim (see above) into a freezer bag and pop it into freezer for a couple hours.
2. Place your bottle of alcohol in the freezer too. Both booze and weed need to be as chill as possible.
3. Once the buds are frozen grind them into rough chunks in the food processor or weed grinder.
4. Mix 1 ounce of shredded plant matter (feel free to toss in a bit of kief, rosin, or hash) to 1 quart of alcohol in large mason jar.
5. Close the jar and shake vigorously—at least 5 minutes—before returning the jar to the freezer.
6. Every few hours over the next 48 hours pull the jar out the freezer and give it a shake.
7. After two days strain the plant matter from the cold liquid tincture using a double-thick piece of cheesecloth over a mesh strainer. You can save this for for later. Make sure to squeeze the cheesecloth to get every last drop of THC tincture. Save the plant matter for making weed butter once it’s dried.
8. Pour the resulting THC tincture through a second time (you can use a coffee filter at this stage too) remove any fine weed bits.
9. Store the THC tincture in an opaque bottle—think brown or blue tinted—and avoid exposing it to light.

Warm brew weed tincture recipe

We hear that this “traditional tcannabis tincture method” was used before “the days before fancy refrigeration” making it is not unlike brewing “prison wine.” Making this pot tincture is simple the only drawback is that it takes significantly longer than the other tincture recipes above but it will definitely siphon every last molecule of THC out of even the worst weed. The resulting tincture won’t taste great but it will be powerful. To make this marijuana tincture all you have to do is:

1. Mix an ounce of rough chopped and decarboxylated (see above) plant matter and a quart of alcohol in a mason jar, cover tightly, shake well.
2. Place the mason jar in a brown paper bag to block out all light (which will cause the tincture to spoil)
3. place the bag on a warm (not hot) shelf somewhere and leave it alone for the next month or two (30 – 60 days).
4. Once the time has passed, strain out the mixture through a double thick wad of cheesecloth. Make sure to save the pressed plant matter for cannabutter
5. Store the THC tincture in an opaque bottle—think brown or blue tinted—and avoid exposing it to light.

How to use cannabis tincture

The methods above should net you about two cups of marijuana tincture which is a lot considering dispensaries near us charge $20 to $30 bucks a gram for it. Depending on the quality of your starting material and the method you chose, your tincture could contain upwards of 60 percent THC. Again, that’s a lot—we’re talking BHO territory, dude. That means you should start small. You don’t want a crazy weed hangover episode like Maureen Dowd. So take it easy with the THC tincture at fist dude.  Place a few drops of tincture (less than a teaspoon) under your tongue, see what happens. If you don’t feel stoned after an hour and a half try some more.

Once you know how much tincture you can take you can consume it directly or Treat it like a liquid form of cannabis butter. Take your cannabis tincture and add it into recipes or stir it directly into food or drinks.

Have you ever tried a marijuana tincture? Or do you have a favorite cannabis tincture recipe you’d like to share? Tell us about it in the comment section below…