decarboxylation question

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Originally Posted by GreenDestiny

Ok, so when it's decarboxylated the H2O and CO2 are released..... so, if I break up the weed and seal it up inside a little pocket of foil to put into the oven... wouldn't that also trap the H2O and CO2 that needs to escape? Should I poke a couple tiny holes in it with a needle?

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Well... unless you wrap the weed so tightly that it be waterproof, always there are tiny spaces by where the gases can escape.

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Originally Posted by GreenDestiny

Also I've been going crazy thinking about another thing....

Weed that's fresh or that has just finished drying has mostly THCA, so then heating it up to decarboxylate it into THC will work. That's cool!

BUT, if you've let the weed naturally do the process through curing then wouldn't heating up the weed degrade/destroy the THC that you've waited so long for?

Light and heat are the two major enemies of THC... Maybe that's why so many people fail to make working oils and extracts??? Using naturally decarboxylated weed to start with, and ending up with a product that has destroyed most of the THC... makes sense to me, which is why I've always been afraid to use weed that I've purchased for cooking - I don't know it's age or how it's been cured.

If that's what is really happening, then is cured bud worthless for cooking? Or could I use it for making oil by heating it up just enough for extracting THC without harming it too much?...(below the decarb. temperature). argh, I'd so greatly appreciate some answers

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Well... your thinking makes sense... in fact, if you have some perfectly decarboxilated (cured) weed, which hasnt any THCA left in it anymore, then surely heating it wouldnt increase its potency.

Thats why its said that this process doesnt work so well with high-grade weed... usually high-grade weed is properly cured, so it is already as potent as it can be.

I dont know the exact numbers, but the degradation of the THC by the heat isnt very fast... like... the amount of THC destroyed by the heat during the the decarboxilaiton process (15 minutes) is almost negligible... only after hours of heating the loss of THC starts to become noticeable.

The decarboxilation temperature is 105C... i dont know how high is the temperature needed to start to destroy the THC... i only know it starts to vaporize at about 180C.

And when i cook with cannabis, i dont use the usual recipes for making cannabutter, or things like this. I extract the hash oil from the cannabis (with alcohol or acetone), then just mix the hash oil with the butter, heating only enough to melt the butter and ensure a homogeneous mixing. Doing so i avoid the trouble of heating the weed+butter for long hours, and also get a far purer butter.

Thanks for your response!

I can't wait until one day when I have enough to experiment with.

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Originally Posted by Coelho

^^^^ It would happen if the bud were grinded... but VERY hardly if it were whole (not grinded).

BTW i was actually wishing to make a thread about this decarboxilation process... i think everybody should know about this, cause its a very easy way to increase (sometimes dramatically) the potency of your weed.

So, everybody should try it, cause it actually works. :thumbsup::rastasmoke::jointsmile:


EDIT: This one is my 2,000th post!!! :birthday::woohoo:

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hi, i just tried this and i put the last nug i had left from my quarter which was only about .4 - .5 of good weed but it looks like it was not cured or dried properly.. when u smoke this stuff it is hard to get the real thick cloudy smoke you can get from dry crispy weed i normally get, and put it on the toaster on high for only about 1 - and a half minutes tops and it seems to have worked really well :p

Got some very very indica-y shit recently. I don't love that couchlock feeling so I decided to try this and nuke it for a couple minutes. Now it's a great mix of mind and body...I highly suggest this if you're a sativa kind of person. Thanks, Coelho!

does anyone know if decarbing weed that ive had in jars curing for about 3-4 weeks will make any differance
or to put it differently how do i know when the thc on my dryed, curing bud is fully active does anyone know how long the curing should take to fully transform the thc, its been in airtight jars for 3 weeks at room temp in dark being opened every day last night i left the lids off by accident so the buds are pretty much completly dry, they did have a bit of moisture in them which was curing out, but not any more,
another thing is is that in theory decarbing before vaping seems to work well to, i figure its cos the vape temp is high enough to combust thc so decarb an combustion happens at the same time which isnt as efficent as your not getting all the thc converted before it burns
will doing th decarb also improve BHO i thought it would jus aint tried it yet
also is there a way to decarb the weed whilst drying/curing it or after drying but so it doesnt effect the taste but also doesnt take soo long without an oven
i thought maybe drying it out fully after harvest for about 7-10 days then adding a heater to heat the bud to around 50c not too hot for a couple days
anyone tried this to.

1st post, really enjoying this discussion.
Over the years I have acquired product that had potential but contained too much moisture to burn properly.
I have put it away and in some cases lost track of it for months at a time and when re-sampled it not only burned properly but was more potent than expected. This has been most apparent when I have left it in my metal shed where temperatures get quite warm. Question - Have I been allowing natural decarboxylization to occur?
This has improved not only quality from a smoking perspective but also for oral consumption. Earlier this summer I collected the scraps from several old bags that had been stored in my shed, cleaned out all stems and seeds and threw them into one collective bag. It smoked okay but had a staleness to the buzz.
On a whim I mixed some (1/2 - 1 tsp) with some Activia yogurt (the kind Jamie Lee Curtis pitches) and was feeling strong effects in 15-20 minutes and couch effects in an hour+. Add a small joint at about 1.5hrs and I could stay very buzzed for 3-4 more hrs and lingering effects for the rest of the day.
The yogurt has a good fat content and active bacteria, could this have helped with my ability to process raw herb so effectively?

Any thought on the matter would be appreciated.

ps-I am currently experimenting with solar decarboxylization, I have put some herb inside a folded piece of printer paper (so it forms a crude envelope) than placed the paper inside of a black metallic/foil used coffee bag and placed it on my brick patio which gets a full blast of afternoon sun and the temps have been in the 90's for few days. It did darken the herb, but I am going to put in out a few days in row to try and see how dry I can get it.

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Originally Posted by oliwog

does anyone know if decarbing weed that ive had in jars curing for about 3-4 weeks will make any differance
or to put it differently how do i know when the thc on my dryed, curing bud is fully active does anyone know how long the curing should take to fully transform the thc, its been in airtight jars for 3 weeks at room temp in dark being opened every day last night i left the lids off by accident so the buds are pretty much completly dry, they did have a bit of moisture in them which was curing out, but not any more,

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Well... i dont know if there is any way to know when your weed is already fully decarboxilated... anyway, you could decarboxilate it (with any of the methods described) and see if it does make any difference.

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Originally Posted by oliwog

another thing is is that in theory decarbing before vaping seems to work well to, i figure its cos the vape temp is high enough to combust thc so decarb an combustion happens at the same time which isnt as efficent as your not getting all the thc converted before it burns

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I agree... when you smoke/vape, much of the THCA is burnt/vaporized before being turned to THC, and thats why decarboxilating it before smoking/vaping gives good results.

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Originally Posted by oliwog

will doing th decarb also improve BHO i thought it would jus aint tried it yet

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Surely... as it increases the amount of THC, the BHO made with decarboxilated weed will be stronger than the BHO made with non-decarboxilated weed.

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Originally Posted by ky1956

1st post, really enjoying this discussion.
Over the years I have acquired product that had potential but contained too much moisture to burn properly.
I have put it away and in some cases lost track of it for months at a time and when re-sampled it not only burned properly but was more potent than expected. This has been most apparent when I have left it in my metal shed where temperatures get quite warm. Question - Have I been allowing natural decarboxylization to occur?

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Probably... as you noticed that it become stronger indeed, and no other effect would account for the increase of the weeds potency.

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Originally Posted by ky1956

This has improved not only quality from a smoking perspective but also for oral consumption. Earlier this summer I collected the scraps from several old bags that had been stored in my shed, cleaned out all stems and seeds and threw them into one collective bag. It smoked okay but had a staleness to the buzz.
On a whim I mixed some (1/2 - 1 tsp) with some Activia yogurt (the kind Jamie Lee Curtis pitches) and was feeling strong effects in 15-20 minutes and couch effects in an hour+. Add a small joint at about 1.5hrs and I could stay very buzzed for 3-4 more hrs and lingering effects for the rest of the day.
The yogurt has a good fat content and active bacteria, could this have helped with my ability to process raw herb so effectively?
Any thought on the matter would be appreciated.

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Man... thats interesting! Sometimes is hard to people get high from raw weed... mixing it with things with a large fat content helps a lot, and maybe thats why it succeed... anyway, its a nice thing to make experiments with.

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Originally Posted by oliwog

also is there a way to decarb the weed whilst drying/curing it or after drying but so it doesnt effect the taste but also doesnt take soo long without an oven
i thought maybe drying it out fully after harvest for about 7-10 days then adding a heater to heat the bud to around 50c not too hot for a couple days
anyone tried this to.

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Maybe it could give you some ideas:

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Originally Posted by ky1956

ps-I am currently experimenting with solar decarboxylization, I have put some herb inside a folded piece of printer paper (so it forms a crude envelope) than placed the paper inside of a black metallic/foil used coffee bag and placed it on my brick patio which gets a full blast of afternoon sun and the temps have been in the 90's for few days. It did darken the herb, but I am going to put in out a few days in row to try and see how dry I can get it.

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I think its a good idea too! Just remember that the light destroys the THC, so the weed must be very well wrapped with the foil... And if you suceed, tell us!

I have now experimented with two methods of solar decarboxylization. One involved putting the cannabis inside of a folded-up piece of printer paper, then placing it inside a foil coffee bag and letting it sit on my brick patio in the sun, this worked but I wondered what the neighbors would think (I have a lot of busy body old ladies for neighbors). The second method was to place several buds in a small metal box that originally contained Godiva (yum) chocolate pieces. The lid is quite tight and it is dark brown in color, so it absorbs heat well. I set the metal box on the dash of my car while I am at work, making sure to park in such a manner that it to get as much sun as possible. On a 90-degree day my car smells wonderful at the end of the day and the cannabis has changed color from a dark, commercial green color to a dark brown shade with a pleasant and distinctively non green bouquet. This herb smokes a little harsh but works well. About two grams are now soaking in one ounce of Amaretto. All in the name of science (and well maybe getting high)

trying this right now.. using perfect buds just picked from the plant 2 weeks ago, the weed tastes like shit but looks good and gives a decent high.. lets see what this does :) im excited

worked good never stunk my house out, and this shit smells strong.. anyways i got what ppl told me i will get and what i was expecting... a nice warm numb sativia and great taste.. something like my regular "bomb" types of weed.. and i would suggest about 20 minutes in the oven on 180 for best effects, anyways thanks for the suggestion and good luck on your attempts making decarbolinoxedided weed lol too stoned and tired to even find out spelling :)