Electron Microscopy of Cannabis, Post Decarboxylation - an examination
I found something interesting. Turns out this guy here not only does decarboxylation (he calls it something else, apparently) but he has had a lab do electron microscopy, comparing cannabis before and after the decarboxylation process.
Some Crazy Dude's Remarkable Cannabis Recipe, Apparently
This guy's main page, increationwetrust.org, is well...eccentric. Well, he seems like a bit of a nutjob - but the good kind of nutjob! First thing that jumps out about him - he's a religious guy, who is fighting for the rights that his religion constitutionally holds to use the medicinal and spiritual enthogen, cannabis sativa. What is most interesting about his website is not just that it's pro-pot, but that he has a purported method of producing a more potent cannabis, naturally, then cannabis in it's original form. Sound familiar?
Alleged Proof of Increased Cannabinoid Count After Decarboxylation
These are the alleged results from the lab examinations of his cannabis, before and after decarboxylation, coming from the same strain. Notice the lower THCA, CBDA levels, and the raised THC and 11-0-THC levels after decarboxylation. Sure, he uses iffy spelling, language, word choice and definitions of processes, but that doesn't change the fact that I read his whole recipe and process, from beginning to end, and he's not doing any of it wrong.
He says prebake at 275, just like me and others here. He says if the cannabis browns during decarboxylation, by leaving it for an extra long time, it will still contain cannabinoids and is still useable. I don't suggest browning during decarboxylation, but I think this goes to show his method is well-tested and he achieves full decarboxylation of the cannabis.
After decarboxylating, which for some reason he incorrectly referred to as carboxing, he suggests crumbling well, like me, and immediately adding the cannabis into an oil, where the cannabinoids are safe. Just like my method. Now, I know that decarboxylation does NOT convert any d-9-THC into 11-0-THC, but according to this examination of before and after, THCA is converted into both d-9-THC and 11-0-THC.
Besides the organic chemistry of it, this is the closest thing I can find to proof of the decarboxylation process' efficacy - besides my and all of our own perceptions of potency.
The results of his alleged test show 4.73184% cannabinoids before decarboxylation, and 6.4918% after. That's an increase of about 43% total active (non carboxyl) cannabinoids. I consider that a huge improvement, not even taking into account the higher strength of the newly formed cannabinoids in the post-decarboxylation cannabis. Also, this figure of 43% is similar to what I and others have reported as the percieved increase in potency, around 35-40%.
