Alcohol bath extraction

The recipe for cannabutter that I gave you in a previous post used water bath extraction to create the cannabutter.

This is the only way that I have created cannabutter so far, but it is not the only way.

Alcohol can be used in the place of water.

It is supposed to create a more potent form of extract  and works to create the extract in a different way than using water will.

The basis for this, is that alcohol is already a very effective solvent for cannabis resin and THC. Water is not, creating only a moist, non destructive heat for the cannabis and a place for the butter to melt and absorb the THC.

Alcohol itself will absorb THC and can then be cooked away, leaving only the butter which completely absorbs the THC. This happens gradually, with the butter becoming more concentrated with THC.

There are safety precautions you must use when using this method, it is alcohol and heating it up will create explosive fumes.

The area must be very well ventilated and do not use a gas stove, only an electric stove or a hotplate can be used.


The alcohol has to be heated in a double boiler.

You can do this outside and use a slow cooker, everyone I know who creates the ricky simpson oil which is a slightly different process from this, cooks it outside in a slow cooker.

The cannabutter created this way is different in appearance and in smell than water extracted cannabutter. It will be a brighter green and the smell will be noticeable

 

Here is one recipe that I have read about. It uses a double boiler instead of a slow cooker.

If you wanted to, you can just use a slow cooker instead, which may be easier.

Cannabutter using alcohol bath extraction

Ingredients:

1 oz fine crushed cannabis

1 cup vodka or rum

8 oz butter

enough water to simmer in bottom pot of double boiler with more being added as necessary
1 cup vodka or rum to pour on while straining

 Equipment:
 

double boiler

wooden spoon

2 large bowls

fine mesh strainer

 

 

Set up double boiler on stove with water in bottom pot at a low simmer.

Add cannabis and alcohol to top part of double boiler.

When alcohol is warm, add butter to cannabis/alcohol mixture.

Cover and cook for several hours, adding water to bottom pot as necessary.

After a few hours, allow most of the alcohol to evaporate.

Pour mixture through a strainer into a bowl and press to drain the liquid.

Heat extra cup of alcohol in double boiler, when hot pour it over the cannabis in the strainer into a new bowl.

Cover the two bowls and let them cool separately. Place in refrigerator overnight.

Skim off the congealed cannabutter from the second bowl you created and add it to the cannabutter in the first bowl.

This butter can be refrigerated or frozen.

The alcohol left over from the second bowl can be used in a sauce.

There are a few variations on this.

One of the recipes I have seen calls for a pound of butter, 4 shots of alcohol and an ounce of cannabis.

Instead of first cooking the cannabis in the alcohol, you clarify the butter, skimming the white froth off the top of the butter.

Then the cannabis and alcohol is added. It is cooked on low heat for an hour and then it is strained and refrigerated or frozen.

I don't know how effective or potent the cannabutter will be using these recipes, maybe someday soon I will test them out.

 

Cannabutter

UPDATE- I use a different recipe for creating Cannabutter now and I will share this with you soon.
Basically, I clarify my butter and add cannabis oil to it while it is still warm.
This has many benefits- you know exactly what strength your butter is, less time and no smell- which is almost the best benefit!

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There are a lot of  recipes for Cannabutter and I will talk about some of them.

This is how I made Cannabutter the last time I made it.
When I did this, I combined techniques from 2 recipes.


Cannabutter

4 oz cannabis sweetleaf and shake
1 lb of butter- unsalted is best
1/2 gallon water
2 cups of water for extracting more of the butter at the end




Equipment:

1-2 gallon pot
Cheesecloth
fine large strainer or can use large colander
Wooden spoon






This makes very potent butter-start with the 1 tsp of Cannabutter per dosage or less.


If you are using less potent leaves, small stems or under grade A2 of cannabis(which is excellent quality that is reasonable in price, it is just not the really high and most expensive quality), then use a higher ratio of cannabis to butter, if you want a potent cannabutter.
If you want a less potent cannabutter, use less cannabis.

Put water in pot. Place on stove. Add cannabis. Stir


Bring to a boil, then turn heat down so it simmers. Stir occasionally.

Allow to simmer for an hour.

Add butter. Stir gently.

Return to simmer. Simmer at least 1 hour-more time is better.
Stir gently occasionally.




Remove from heat and allow it to cool completely

Repeat the process of heating it to a simmer and simmering it for an hour, followed by cooling. Do this twice.


Bring another pot of water to a simmer. Use the extra 2 cups of water. This water you will use when you are straining the cannabutter mixture.


Remove Cannabutter mixture from heat. Set up a colander/ sieve with cheesecloth lining it.

Place the colander/sieve over an empty pot which is large enough to hold 2 gallons.

Carefully pour the Cannabutter mixture over the cheesecloth.

When you can safely handle the cheesecloth, twist it up to press the moisture out and through the colander/sieve.

Unwrap the cheesecloth and rest the unwrapped bundle in the colander/sieve.

Now, take your simmering water and pour it slowly and evenly over the cannabis. Use 1 cup of water at a time.

After each cup squeeze out the water from the cheesecloth and through the colander/sieve.

Discard the cannabis. Pour the liquid into a pot or other container that will hold it in your refrigerator.

Cover the pot and refrigerate for at least 24 hours to allow cannabutter to harden on top of liquid.

Using a butter knife loosen cannabutter from the sides of the pot.

Carefully remove cannabutter, breaking it into chunks is easiest, so that it does not fall back into the liquid.

If you want to, melt the cannabutter so that it can be poured into a storage container or put the chunks of the cannabutter into a container.

This must be refrigerated. It can also be frozen, just wrap the cannabutter in wax paper and place in plastic bags to freeze.


I have made cannabutter differently as well.


Instead of repeating the heating and cooling process, I would just simmer first for an hour, then add butter and simmer it for 4 hours. After that the cannabutter would be strained and I would follow the last part of this recipe.

Most of the variations on this have only to do with time. In one variation, you would simmer the cannabis and water for 2 hours before adding the butter and then simmer it for another 2 to 3 hours before straining.

Oregon may legalize cannabis this year

I was looking at the Cannabis Culture website when this article caught my eye.

Oregon Marijuana Legalization Bill Filed

I stopped and checked the date of the article, I figured it was talking about last year, Measure 80. 

No, it is not. It turns out this is happening right now. 

Last monday, February 25, House Bill 3371, the Control, Regulation and Taxation of Cannabis Act was introduced by the House Committee on Revenue. 

As of Friday, March 1, it had yet to be assigned to a committee and was at the Speaker's desk.


This bill would legalize marijuana possession and create a state-regulated system of legal marijuana commerce. Possession of up to six plants and 24 ounces of marijuana "on the premises" of non-commercial home grows would be legal in Oregon.

The bill itself does not set any other possession limits and the Oregon Health Authority would regulate this.

Tax would be set at $35 an ounce with various state agencies regulating, controlling and taxing the commerce. This bill also includes edibles and industrial hemp would be legalized.


I felt surprised at first, but then I thought about it more. It makes sense. 

Measure 80 got 47% of the vote and if you read in the voter's pamphlet about the measure, the wording of the measure itself indicated to me that the state was definitely thinking it would pass.

Here is a link to this bill.


It could be a very interesting year. Aside from the bill introduced here in Oregon, there are similar bills in seven other states so far this year, that are pending or have been introduced. 
Then there is the federal bill that has been introduced, which will make cannabis legal on a federal level.

Bhang, is it a drink?

It is, but it is also the large green leaves, flowering shoots, top leaves and the flower of cannabis.

It can be served as a drink or as hash smoked in a carved, wooden pipe. It can be eaten in foods, usually sweets, but not always.

 

It is also a traditional drink in India, where it came from.

 

 During the Holi festival, it is served in both food and drink.

The Holi festival is the spring festival of India, that is held during either March or April, depending on the Hindu calendar.

                                                                      

 

                                                       

 

Bhang

 

2 cups water
4 cups warm milk
1/2 to 1 teaspoon rosewater
1oz bud
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons blanched, chopped almonds    
                                            1/8 teaspoongaram masala
                                            1/4 teaspoon ginger powder

Bring the water to a boil in a clean teapot.

Remove any stems or seeds from the cannabis, add to the teapot, and cover. Let simmer for approximately 7 minutes.

Strain the water and cannabis through cheesecloth and squeeze the wet cannabis to extract as much water as possible. Save this water.

Place the cannabis in a mortar and add 2 tablespoons warm milk. Slowly but firmly grind the milk and cannabis together.

Put the cannabis through cheesecloth and squeeze out as much milk as you can. Save this milk.

Repeat this process until you have used 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) of milk. It takes about 4 or 5 times.(Save this milk. The cannabis should look pulpy at this point.) Put the cannabis back into the mortar.

Add the chopped almonds and enough warm milk to completely cover the chopped almonds and cannabis.

Grind the mixture in a mortar until a fine paste is formed.

Put this through cheesecloth and squeeze out as much milk as you can. Save this milk also. (Repeat until dry.)

Throw out the dry mass. Combine all the liquids that have been saved (the water and the milk).

Add garam masala, ginger powder, sugar, rosewater, and remaining milk. Stir.

Chill, serve, and enjoy.

                                                                     

                                                

 An alternative to this is, Hot Buttered Bhang, which is a drink as well.

                                     Hot Buttered Bhang

2 oz of butter or ghee

1/3 to 1/2 oz. Marijuana Leaves

8 oz Vodka

1-2 pinches Cardamom seed

                                honey
 

In a pan, melt the butter or ghee.

Break up the marijuana leaves into the pan.

Once the butter and leaves are hot and sizzling, add in 8 ounces of vodka. Be careful that the hot butter doesn't make the mixture splatter. Pour the Vodka in swiftly to avoid problems.

 

Continue boiling the mixture for roughly 30 more seconds, stirring simultaneously.

Add a pinch or two or powdered cardamom seed while boiling.

Once mixture has been boiled to desired amount, strain the fluids and mash the contents through a strainer. You should use a tool like a spoon to try and squeeze all the juices out.

Throw away the mush, or reboil to try and get more juices out.

Pour the liquid into two 4 ounce wine glasses.

                                           This Recipe serves two people.

 

Add honey to taste.

 

1937 Marihuana Tax Act

Henry Anslinger began creating this bill in 1935, while Anslinger and Hearst were conducting their campaign against Marihuana.



The bill and the campaign were deliberately given a name that was not associated with hemp or cannabis by the American public.




If you want to know some of the history behind this campaign and how DuPont is involved, please look at my previous post-Marihuana, Racism, Hatred and Fear.




With the campaign's success in scaring people and armed with horror stories that supported Anslinger's bias, the bill was presented to the 16 member House Ways and Means Committee by  Rep.Robert L. Doughton of North Carolina, on April 14, 1937.


Doughton besides being an ally of DuPont, was the committee's chairman.


This committee was chosen because it is the only one that can send a bill directly to the House of Representatives without debate from any other committee.

When it was presented to the House on June 14, 1937, only 4 representatives asked for an explanation of the bill. They were given an account of criminal acts that supposedly were connected to Marihuana.

The bill passed up to the Senate Committee on Finance, which was also controlled by another ally of DuPont, Prentice Brown. During this hearing, yet more horror stories were presented and that was it.

The bill was signed into effect on August 2, 1937, by President Franklin Roosevelt.

Now, you may think a simple tax wouldn't be the end of it.



However, this tax was expensive and required all doctors, veterinarians and any other person in the medical field who prescribes cannabis to report their patient's names, addresses and every single one of their prescriptions.

This was a time when minimum wage was .25 cents an hour and a good percentage of the people affected were farmers, who almost never get minimum wage.

This tax asked for a minimum of a dollar per year for every location that hemp was grown at and sold at.




Importers, manufacturers, and compounders of marihuana, were charged $24 per year.


Medical practitioners, scientists and producers were charged $1 per year.

Everyone else was charged $3 per year.

These taxes were just for being registered.

Each transaction cost $1 per ounce if the buyer was a person who was registered and if the buyer was not registered it cost $100 per ounce.


The forms required for each transaction were issued by the government and cost .2 cents per form.

The tax and the form were paid for by the person who was selling it.


Hemp was eliminated and chemically based synthetics were used to create a range of products including plastic and nylon, rubber tires, pesticides, medicine and for making paper.