How To Make Fully Exracted Cannabis Oil (Chapter 5: Second Wash, Re-using Buds And Adding Sugar Leaves)

                      

If you recall, the original dry weight of the buds that I grew from seed and used in the first wash, was 68.5 grams.

                      I also grew and harvested 32.6 grams of sugar leaves.

After the 68.5 grams of buds were done soaking in the 94% over-proof alcohol for 3 minutes (in the first wash) I filtred them out of the alcohol mixture by using a fine mesh strainer. I saved the buds in a glass jar to do what's traditionally known as a second wash. A second wash is also a concentrate or a fully extracted cannabis oil but the main difference is that you let the plant material soak for a longer time period.

In this case, I let my material soak for 25 minutes and I shook the jar for a full minute to start, then for another full minute at the 10 minute mark and then for another full minute at the 21 minute mark. This was to ensure that the mixture was being regularly agitated during the soaking period.

Here's what the sugar leaves looked like in their dried and cured form before being soaked:

                      

If you look closely you can see the trichomes which look like little white hairs at this level of magnification.

 Pro-tip: The sugar leaves are trimmed away from the cannabis flower buds. These are the leaves that grow very closely to the buds. They themselves, contain trichomes with resin-rich gland-heads. Due to the fact that these leaves are traditionally cut away from the buds, this plant material is often referred to as trim. Many people like to make infused butter or coconut oil with trim and then use that infusion in baked goods. This makes what's known as a medible or medicated edible. However, trim can also be used very successfully to make a fully extracted cannabis oil.

As A Result Of The Professional Cannabinoid Testing I Had Done On My First Wash Oil

                      I coined the following new phrase: DECARB or DIE.

Decarboxylation refers to the process of changing the raw cannabinoid molecules from their raw form into their active form. In the case of the cannabinoid THC, this molecule is known as THC-A in its raw form and it rapidly changes into Delta-9 THC with the addition of heat over time. (Delta-9 THC is the psycho-active form of THC and is responsible for the high or "change in state of being" that people can feel when they ingest it.)

To decarb THC-A, the buds and sugar leaves need to be exposed to 250 degrees F, for 45 minutes in a pressure cooker.

I shared this pressure cooking technique in a video in chapter 3. If you missed it, you can find the link for it here:

https://steemit.com/cannabis/@rebeccaryan/how-to-make-fully-extracted-cannabis-oil-or-rso-chapter-3-the-first-wash

 Pro-tip: It is my humble (but professional) opinion that a proper decarboxylation must be done if you want to create an active product that you plan to eat. Potency of the final medication is directly related to how efficient you have been at achieving the conversion of the molecule THC-A to Delta-9 THC. Once the oil has been extracted from these leaves and the buds, it will be completely ready to eat and it will be medically potent because it was decarbed in advance. Often people who have been making oil for years, only smoke it. They will spread a thin layer of it on rolling papers or use it in a bong or special vapourizer that's been designed to hold oil. In these ingestion methods, external heat is being applied which does the decarboxylation almost instantly once the oil has been heated. If the oil is eaten,the effects of it are 10 times stronger than if it's smoked. The person's liver makes its own conversion and turns Delta-9 THC into 11-THC and that's why it's stronger. A single regular dose of concentrate (which is the size of a grain of rice) lasts approximately 8 hours. The effects of smoking may last 60-90 minutes depending on how many draws or inhalations were taken. When people are using this oil to treat disease they need it to be as potent as it can be. Potency can mean the difference between life or death especially if someone is planning to use it to treat cancer or advanced cases of colitis or Crohns disease. 

With all of that said, I decarbed the sugar leaves as the first step in my Second Wash procedure.

This is what 32.6 grams of sugar leaves looked Like Once I Decarboxylated Them Using A Pressure Cooker.

                    

You'll notice that the colour of the leaves have changed and the material looks like it has been toasted evenly without being burnt or scorched.

 

• I put the previously soaked buds and the freshly decarbed sugar leaves in a 1.5 litre glass jar and I added all the 94% proof alcohol which was approximately 3/4 of a litre. As described earlier, I shook the jar for a full minute on 3 separate occasions. (At the beginning of the soak and at the 10 and 21 minute marks.) You'll notice the odd seed has floated to the top, yet again. (sigh) I just scooped them off the top with a spoon and composted them. (Let's not forget that because I let a male plant live so that I could see how it looked and what it did, I now have about a 1,000 seeds of my Tall Happy Jamaican strain. This means that I will be able to plant and grow these seeds for years to come as long as I store them properly. (As much as it was a pain to sift and sort seeds, it was a tremendously beneficial learning exercise and I'm actually glad that I got to experience it.)

 

• After 25 minutes of soaking time, I filtred off the bulk of the plant material using a fine mesh strainer.
• Then I filtred it through a coffee filtre (twice) to make sure that I captured any little bits of leaves or buds.

 

• After I got the alcohol mixture filtred, I took the left over plant material (that consists of the buds that have now been soaked twice and the leaves that have been soaked once) and I ran it through a juicer. I used the juicer to separate and pulp or fibre from any remaining liquid that the pulp was retaining. I was able to squeeze out approximately a 1/4 of a cup of additional liquid and I added this directly to my collection jug.

                      

• The bin on the left contains the liquid that was squeezed out. The very dry plant fibre is on the right. At this point, I considered the plant material to be spent and I composted it. (I probably could've have made one hell of a rum cake with it and stored it in my cold room, but I thought that I owed my liver and the livers of my family and friends, a little tender love and care.) 

For The Sake Of Comparison

 

The jug on the left (that is decidedly yellow) is the first wash, alcohol infused tincture. The jug on the right that contains the dark mixture is the second wash, alcohol infused tincture. (A 3 minute soak versus a 25 minute soak.)

 Pro-tip: In the 25 minute soak, we are also extracting chlorophyll out of the plant which turns both the alcohol tincture and the finished concentrate a dark green colour. The chlorophyll also has a direct impact on the flavour of the oil. It's hard to describe but the oil from the first wash has a citrus after-taste and is thinner in consistency. The second wash tastes more earthy and like a strong wheat-grass. It definitely tastes green and stronger in flavour.If I had put this alcohol tincture in direct sunlight for a few hours, I may have been able to remove some of the green colour from it using sunlight. That is a common technique used. The day I made this oil, I didn't bother. 

                      

• I placed the alcohol infused tincture into the Green Oil Machine and set the temperature to 100 degrees Celsius. The machine evapourates and condenses the alcohol so that it can be reclaimed. Some of the alcohol is being lost in the process between the plant material and the coffee filtres. From a 1.14 litre bottle of alcohol, I am able to do approximately 4 infusions using the Green Oil Machine before I no longer have enough alcohol left to cover 2 ounces or 60 grams of buds. (30 grams is the minimum amount of plant material that I would use to make an oil with. Generally, for every 30 grams of plant material you can expect to make about 3 grams of finished oil.)
• Once the majority of the alcohol has been reclaimed, the temperature will spike from 100 degrees Celsius to 105 degrees Celsius. That's how you know that most of the alcohol has been removed and you can turn the machine off and carefully open the lid.

 Pro-tip: As mentioned previously, you want to make sure that you keep the Green Oil Machine on a level surface. This ensures that the concentrate won't scorch as the alcohol is being reclaimed. You'll also notice that I have positioned the alcohol bottle that is capturing the reclaimed alcohol,lower than the Green Oil Machine. This is so that I can take advantage of gravity and help the alcohol flow back into the bottle safely and with ease. When you open the Green Oil Machine after you have distilled or re-captured the alcohol, open the lid away from you so that the steam can escape without burning you in the process.

 

• When you open the lid, open it a way from you. Steam and other vapours will come out of the machine once it's opened. After two extractions completed, I have approximately 500 ml of alcohol left.

For The Sake Of Comparison

 

This never ceases to amaze me. The fact that you can pull valuable plant medicine out of a plant, using a colourless alcohol, turn that mixture into a densely coloured liquid and then distill the alcohol out, returning it to its colourless state. (That process just fascinates me and it never gets tired.) 

                      

Here's the Second Wash concentrate that has collected in the bottom of the Green Oil Machine. Beautiful golden and rich brown colours are visible.

• At this point you could turn the machine back on to 90 degrees Celsius and finish evapourating off the remaining alcohol to produce a thicker oil. I actually added a small amount of alcohol back into the concentrate so that I could pour it from the machine into a small glass sealer jar. If the oil is thick and cools you will need a blade from a utility knife to lift and scrape the oil off the bottom of the machine.

                      

• Once in the glass jar, I left this oil on a coffee cup warmer for 6 hours so that I could make sure all the alcohol was evapourated out of it. Then I drew the oil up into a syringe, once it was cool enough to do so.

I was able to produce approximately 5 ml of finished, fully extracted cannabis oil from my Second Wash procedure. 

This makes my total oil production: 11 mls captured from the buds and trim of 3 plants

For comparison sake

 

The jar residual on the left is from the first wash and it's yellower in colour and not as thick. The jar residual on the right is from the second wash and it's darker brown with hints of green and yellow in terms of its colour.

I have now personally tested both batches of oil and I find them very comparable in over all effect and potency.

From a flavour perspective the first wash is better because it doesn't taste as pungent.

I welcome your comments and I invite you to follow me on my journey...occasionally we will be sampling oils, all in the name of science and health. ;)

~ Rebecca Ryan