The Definitive Green Dragon (Revised, Updated, Combined)

Well, there was a great deal of attention paid to converting THCA to plain old THC, with heat. This process occurs over time all by itself BTW. Not completely, but continuously through the life of the harvested weed.

I've made tinctures where I did heat the weed up before putting it in the Everclear for a soak. I have also tried it without heating it at all, and I have to tell you, that it works way better, at least for me and my MS, when I ingest as much THCA as I can - meaning don't heat the bud.

I do all the "usual " things, grind whole bud (no leaf, no keif) in a blender, mix with Everclear, put in freezer for a week and shake a few times a day.

Then I strain it using a regular kitchen strainer, and press the hell out of the wet wad of weed, to squeeze out the last drop. After that, I strain it through a coffee filter, held by a kitchen strainer, and again squeeze it to death. I usually lose a couple of cc's to evaporation and the wad of weed. Some people save the wad, wrap it in a cloth, put in a sealed jar, and rub it on sore muscles. Haven't tried that, but I know if you get too much of the solution on your hands, you will get a buzz, so it probably works.

I pour the mixture into a glass measuring cup, and note how many cc's I have. Put the open container in a safe, dark, airy place until it is reduced by at least half - more if you have the time and patience. Now during this time period, some of the THCA is being converted to THC, but a good deal of it, is staying THCA, which is thought to have pain-relieving, neuro-protective and anti-inflammatory effects. I then pour it into a dark colored glass bottle with a dropper (available online) and store it in the fridge.

I usually don't get more than a bit buzzed, but move incredibly better and hurt a whole lot less. Which is exactly what I'm after. I have learned that buzzed doesn't always equal feeling better. I can vape the exact same weed as I've made tincture with, and some things actually hurt MORE, than when I use the tincture. I'm buzzed, but having weird aches where I don't even hurt on a regular day! Weird.

I've never been able to reduce the volume of tincture enough to have a concentration that I could put drops under my tongue. It's too gross, by the time you get it strong enough. That's why I put it in coffee. Still tastes yucky, but not impossible to ingest.

This method uses a whole lot more bud than vaping, but works better for me from a medical standpoint, without the bother of being impaired. It is easier to dose consistently, and more discrete. I just put 1.5cc's ( which I have calculated to have about 0.5 gram of bud in it) into my coffee and either have toast with butter (for the fat) or 2 cookies to carry it around my body.

It last 3-4 hours and then it's time for more coffee!

If anyone wants the "recipe" from start to finish, let me know.

Carry on buds!

Good info mo. My friend makes excellent tincture by soaking, straining, add new buds and resoak. He does not allow the product to evaporate at all. Still 1 or 2 ml will definitely work. He does a months long soak too (though I have heard good and bad about doing that).

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by StoneMeadow

Tonight I took a tablespoon of the tincture after work. We'll see if more is better... :)

---

Still nothing. No feeling of intoxication or being "high", no sense of well being or easier movement...nothing.

Of course, I haven't smoked since the 70's, so I'm not sure exactly what to expect. :D

There are a couple of tablespoons left, so I'll finish that off later.

I tried this recipe, as it is one i already use on my site and really like it. Not to rain on anyones parade, just my opinion, I think decarbing is a waste of time. ive tried making tinctures with and without decarbing and have never noticed a difference in potency. just sayin'.. but i love how well you have detailed this information.
well done!

hello friends. yesterday I attempted to make green dragon. this is what i did. i broke up a quarter ounce high grade marijuana and put it into a 750ml bottle of spirytus 192 proof 96% alcohol. then i did some reading and from what ive read it seems i was supposed to microwave or bake the green before placing it in a bottle. im no scientist and i must admit i dont understand the proccess but it seems the heat will release the thc or something of that sort so what i did next was i gave my bottle a hot bath. i imemrsed the bottle in a pot of boiling water and changed the water every twenty minutes for about an hour. the bottle was very hot to the touch but i dont think the bottle ever came close to a boil. a few ounces evaporated even though i never even opened the bottle. how is that even possible? so anyway fellow friends, what do you think i should do? is my bottle ok to go to the cupboard for a few weeks? should i keep it in the freezer? does it matter? anybody have any idea as to the potency of this drink? should i evaporate the mixture to increase potency?

First off don't leave a cover on a bottle and then try to heat it up. It could explode if it got hot enough. Why did you change the water every 20 min ? The process of baking it it to dry it out. From what I understand in the process of drying it out the h2o leaves taking with it a molecule from another chain of molecules, turning it from THCA into THC. Not sure what you should do with the bottle you have now. I would strain it and try some the way it is. But keep the weed for now just in case you want to put it back in. From what i've done i would break down what you have into 24 doses to start. Take one of those doses and put it into something to drink it. I like to use something with a little alcohol to help it out. A mixed drink or a shot works good. I like to use Creme de Cacao made by Hiram Walker. It has some alcohol in it but only 15%. So when i'm done I have a shot that is about 75-100 proof or so. With the chocolate flavor i like to call it "Liquid Brownie", their great for breakfast. I've also had good luck using my trim. But only the best trim no stalk and no big fan leaves.

i didnt have a pot large enough to boil the water in and i wasnt sure putting it directly over a flame even in a pot of water was the safest thing to do so instead i brought a pot of water to a boil and poured it over my bottle in a wash basin. i wrapped the basin with a towel and changed the water. when i was done the bottle and its contents were very hot. according to what youre telling me my water bath did nothing to convert the thca into thc? is this an essential step in making green dragon? wont it happen over time if i just let the bottle sit over a few weeks? can i strain the bud out and microwave it now?
btw after the bath the liquid in the bottle which was clear as vodka turned a dark beautiful green!!!

You might as well strain it and try it. As far as I understand it is not the heat that changes the thca into thc but the fact that is drying out like I said in the last post. What the heating of the alcohol does is get things moving to break the thc and other things down faster than if you didn't heat it. I don't know how well that would work if it is soaked the alcohol to convert it. Just leaving the weed to dry out over time will do the same thing. But I'm sure that would depend on the humidity at the time. How dry was the weed ? To me it's better to be safe and do it in the oven. I've been doing it at about 252 degrees, or at least thats what I shoot for. I would still be very carful with a bottle in hot water like that, water boils at about 212 but alcohol boils (and expands) at about 170 degrees. You probably lost those 2 oz of liquid when it soaked into the weed, displacing the air and making it seen like you lost some. That dark green is the chlorophyll and all the other stuff that is dissolved in the alcohol. As well as the thc that you are trying to get out. Sorry if I ramble a bit but I'm in the middle of sampling my latest batch. haha. Just trying to get all your questions. I have back problems an this stuff does help out.

thanks for the help. so youre saying its not important that i heat the weed but i have to dry it first in an oven or microwave? i thought i read that heating the weed was the idea. i also read some posters saying that all this conversion thca to thc will happen by itself over time. the weed was fairly dry to begin with. it was good weed but i had it for about two weeks. i know it was basically what you would expect to get an eighth of for 60 two weeks later in ny. im afraid of straining/handling the liquid unless i need to. everytime you strain you loose good stuff! so anybody else care to weigh in? should i strain the bud out now and then dry it and if you think i should what is the best way?

Master Wu, I would add "to shake the bottle before dosing". If you don't, the last couple of doses are out of this world. It seems all the good stuff sinks!