Cannabis Capsules â?? A step-by-step guide.

[maxsuperdanks]

Yeah it made me pretty angry...I don't know what to do about it, because I really feel like they weren't quite made right, so they only offered me a very slight stone, and the only reason it kicked his ass is because he only smokes a couple of times a week. But if I keep making them and, once again, they work for other people but not for me....things might get ugly. :rambohead:

So I don't know if I should attempt it again...if its just gonna piss me off, probably not, and I don't know if there is still hope for it to work. We picked up some Bubba Kush today, and I would love for them to work using that bud....but I don't want them to not work and have wasted some amazing shit.

Here's a trick I learned to prep the weed. It's called "decarboxilification", in short, it converts the THC into a form your body can utilize through ingestion and processing by your liver into a much more psychoactive substance rather than just smoking.

So here's the process:

1. Preheat your oven to 325f (this works well cause then you can do the other steps and you'll be ready, make sure to have an oven thermometer, or be sure it's accurate) NO MORE NO LESS.

2. Grind your pot- Not just as fine as for a bowl, not just little chunks, you want this beyond what you'd use to smoke a bowl. So fine you might be upset if you had to smoke a bowl of it. If you have a coffee grinder for just pot, use that, it's great. If you've got a regular grinder, turn it upside down and put your bud in, this will keep it from falling through the catcher and will keep it in the grinding mechanism.

3. Spread out your pot- Spread it out on a cookie sheet, or a bowl or whatever. Keep all your weed touching, and lay it out about 1/8" thick (3mm for those who use metric measurements)

4. Once oven has reached 325, place the cookie sheet in the oven for 5 minutes and bake.

5. Take your pot out, scrape it off the pan (the trichomes will get gooey and stick to stuff due to the heat) your house will smell a bit, but that's not the THC it's chlorophyll and other stuff off your pot.



Now use your pot for the cannabis capsules and see how big a difference it makes.

[vileoxidation]

So do all that, then continue with the regular process of adding oil and cooking for the right number of hours? I thought that above 300, it started to vaporize the THC off with no way to contain it...I am guessing that if I left it in for more than five minutes it would start doing that? I don't need to increase my cooking temp for the whole crock-pot process, though, right? It has been between 225 and 280 for the past two batches of caps, but that was one thing I was somewhat worried about.

Thanks for your help and ideas, Max! It really makes me want to try it again for sure now!

[vileoxidation]

Sorry about the multi-post, but I had another thought. I thought the decarboxylation temp was 106C, or 222F, which is why Weedhound has used that as her "magic" temp, if you will.

Is the oven just a way to speed up the decarboxylation, and not the only method, or can it not be done at temperatures such as 222?

Or is 222 the temperature for something entirely different, and I was just confusing things?

Sorry about all the questions - I'm a science person and am fascinated to learn about the intricacies of this to better understand the chemicals/processes involved.

[Flameon]

Hi guys

Re: the question about decarboxylation.

To avoid any confusion. Decarboxylation is not about 'converting the THC into a form your body can utilize through ingestion', it's about converting any remaining 'non-active' THCA into 'active' THC.

It's a step that only becomes necessary if you're using poorly cured bud, as it speeds up the drying process.

The aim is to force any remaining moisture out of the plant material through the application of heat, rather than wait for the plant material to dry naturally (i.e. via curing). My personal recommendation is not to go as high as 325F, just warm it on a lower temperature for slightly longer, nor is it essential to grind up the weed first.

Which ever method you use, the aim is to end up with dry, crumbly weed - easy to grind and high in potency.

vileoxidation - Sounds like you're getting close. Like weedhound, I've got quite a high tolerance too, but even so 3 of these is still enough to knock me on my ass for the evening. You'll know the difference when you hit the 'sweet spot' in terms of cooking time and temp. My suggestion is to keep it above 200F, but below 250F (I noticed you were hitting 280F previously).

Anyhow - good work and good luck :thumbsup:

[vileoxidation]

I thought decarboxylation was the process of getting rid of the carboxyl groups, which decrease the potency because they are simply an added chemical, through the release of carbon dioxide.

If it really is just needed for bud that has not been dried and cured correctly, I might just attempt it again without this added step.

Although...even though it might not be necessary for my current bud, which is dried well,I might try it anyway, both to ensure total release of carboxyl groups and to finish drying the bud. Two birds with one stone, after all!

Flameon, thanks for the recipe, and all of your help with it, and your devotion to making this work for people! You are awesome.

[Weedhound]

I have to agree...Flame rules! Vilo I found through my experiences that simply expirementing is the way to go. I did get a pretty fair buzz off my caps that I used to cook at 350 before I got ahold of Flames recipe but even then I had to do a lot of experimenting before I found what was right for me.

Try higher.....lower.....shorter....longer......(assum ing you have all this extra ganja to play around with....:wtf:

[vileoxidation]

Try higher.....lower.....shorter....longer......(assum ing you have all this extra ganja to play around with....:wtf:

Yeah....not really...lol. We've got a bit extra that we allocated to this project still left, but only one more batch worth. Maybe we should do what you have suggested to others and, from that batch, take some out after certain amounts of time to get the most varied experimentation.

[robbyg]

Okay so this time I was armed with the proper tools. I did two batches in separate containers using the crock pot method.


Batch 1:
1 tsp coconut oil
.5g hash
.5g bud

Batch 2:
1 tsp coconut oil
1g bud

I cooked for 4 hours at 200 - 250 farenheit. Then I did the unthinkable and fell asleep and my batches cooked for another 4 hours at under 200 farenheit(I would think this was harmless???)


I took 3 pills from batch 2 with breakfast 2.5 hours ago and do not feel much yet. Going to wait another 45 minutes and will take 3 pills from the other batch and see if its any better.

I should have saved a little bud so I could do a couple bong rips. Waiting for "the high" kind of sucks.

[maxsuperdanks]

Hi guys

Re: the question about decarboxylation.

To avoid any confusion. Decarboxylation is not about 'converting the THC into a form your body can utilize through ingestion', it's about converting any remaining 'non-active' THCA into 'active' THC.

It's a step that only becomes necessary if you're using poorly cured bud, as it speeds up the drying process.

The aim is to force any remaining moisture out of the plant material through the application of heat, rather than wait for the plant material to dry naturally (i.e. via curing). My personal recommendation is not to go as high as 325F, just warm it on a lower temperature for slightly longer, nor is it essential to grind up the weed first.

Which ever method you use, the aim is to end up with dry, crumbly weed - easy to grind and high in potency.

vileoxidation - Sounds like you're getting close. Like weedhound, I've got quite a high tolerance too, but even so 3 of these is still enough to knock me on my ass for the evening. You'll know the difference when you hit the 'sweet spot' in terms of cooking time and temp. My suggestion is to keep it above 200F, but below 250F (I noticed you were hitting 280F previously).

Anyhow - good work and good luck :thumbsup:

Interesting, I've heard that without decarboxilification, the weed was useless, it'd be as though you ate a bunch of pot without cooking it at all.

I've tried both methods, and both times with properly grown and cured dank (lol, I don't smoke regs or beasters or whatever you like to call seedless, un-cured mid grade nugs) and without fail the oven method turns out to work, while the other way ( to my displeasure and disappointment) didn't get me high at all.

From my experience 325 is the magic spot, and after I cook the pot at that temp, as long as it's in a fatty substance I can do no wrong cooking at that temp.


And this is coming from a dude who will roll a 1.75 ounce joint of any "A-strain" or whatever and wake and bake it.


Yeah my tollerance is stupid high

[Weedhound]

Max mine is too.....and cooking at 325F would lesson the strength of my capsules.....and has.....from personal experience. It may work for some.....I got a buzz off cooking it 350F......but I get a much better high using much less weed cooking it at the lower temps.

I think the secret phrase is "from my experience." If everybody liked green beans we wouldln't need all sorts of other food in the world. I can say my best capsules are done between 225F and 275F and never see 325 during my cooking cycle.

And PS....my tolerance level was about 4 -5 grams a day....eating and probably another gram from smoking....daily.. i grow my own so I can put down as much as I want.......as long as I grow more. I can't even BEGIN to tell you how much weed I have saved with the capsules method. (pss....or how much went down the drain during the testing period either.)

PS....I've tried temps all the way to 375F on myself.