A Brief History of Marijuana Tinctures

Marijuana Tinctures are some of the oldest and most well-known marijuana products. Some records show the use of cannabis tinctures dating back as far as 10,000 years ago. Even more recently, tinctures were sold as treatments for nearly everything in America during the early 1900s. Have a stomach problem? Here’s a Tincture. Aches and pains? Sure here’s a Tincture. Problems sleeping? No problem, here’s a Tincture. The point is this seemingly versatile medicine was seen as just that. A multi-use miracle drug. These days nothing much has changed when it comes to Cannabis Tinctures. They are still being produced using similar techniques and still being used for a multitude of ailments.

Well, we’re definitely on a raw cannabinoid kick! Check out our juice cleanse recipe from last week if you haven’t. Those newer to cannabis seem to be very familiar with smoking cannabis but when it comes to the actual medicinal side of it, not all of the information is clear. There are still many people who believe that smoking, eating, vaping and dabbing have equal benefits or even that smoking is the best form of using medicinal cannabis. Another misconception is that CBD isolates, hemp CBD products, and CBD from other sources like Hops are all created equal.

Why Raw Marijuana Tinctures are the Best

Activated Tinctures produce a psychoactive effect and also lack certain cannabinoids and terpenes. These cannabinoids and terpenes get destroyed during the decarboxylation process. With Raw tinctures, you get to soak up all of the Cannabinoids getting more benefits. So what about CBD? The Blunt Truth about CBD is it isn’t that effective on its own, it’s less effective when it comes from hemp or hops and its the least effective as an Isolate. You need a full range of Cannabinoids and Terpenes to really get the maximum benefit of the plant. This is known as “The Entourage Effect”. The Entourage effect is kinda like Captian Planet(If you’ve ever watched the cartoon growing up in the 90’s). The basic story was this. Each character has a powerful ring or “Cannabinoid” which has its own unique power but when those powers combine you get…DUN DUN DUN! CAPTIAN PLANET! Aka, the entourage effect. He then saves the world.

Tinctures are great because they are extremely easy to make, requires no dangerous production processes, and uses a “gentle extraction” method that protects and preserves the valuable cannabinoids and terpenes which in turn gives you a potent high-quality product. The best part is, I’ve been testing out tinctures/tincture recipes for a while and this stuff actually works. Let me repeat that, THIS STUFF ACTUALLY WORKS.

Effects of using a Marijuana Tincture

I’m not sick or currently dealing with any ailments. I don’t have cancer or something to treat so showing results from that side of the spectrum is impossible. But maybe me never being sick is a result on its own? Insert shocking face here. That aside, what I did notice after taking this tincture is within 10-20 minutes something is happening. I feel a moderately tempered rush of Euphoria. This isn’t a cocaine type of euphoric rush, this feels much more authentic. I don’t feel amped to take over the world. I feel joyful and gratified. I feel grounded and energized. I feel content. This is magic. Trying a tincture and realizing it can make you feel like this and has the potential to treat so many things, one can easily imagine why the profit-seeking bloated pharmaceutical companies lobbied against legalization for so long(they still do!).

HOW TO MAKE A NON PSYCHOACTIVE MARIJUANA TINCTURE

Supplies for making a Cannabis Tincture

• 1 Ounce Cannabis flower or shake(untrimmed is fine, we used a mixture of shake and flower)
• 1 Bottle of booze (+75% or higher for best results)
• 2 1/4 cups of Olive oil
• 1 Mason Jar
• 1 Strainer
• 1 Grinder
• 1 Cheese Cloth (Optional)

Instructions for making a Marijuana Tincture

1. Throw your Booze in the freezer so it gets icy cold
2. Grind up your flower
3. Place Cannabis flower into the mason jar
4. Pour your alcohol into the mason jar, only use enough to cover all of the herb
5. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds
6. Place jar in a Freezer for 3 days( this helps separate the fats and other possibly unwanted material from your tincture)
7. Shake jar again and let thaw to room temperature (I like to let mine sit in the pantry for a week but 24 hours will work)
8. Strain the herb out from the liquid
9. Place liquid in a bowl or pan(The more surface area the better, I recommend using a pan)
10. Set by a window and let the Alcohol evaporate (Can take anywhere from 6-48 hours depending on ventilation)
11. Once all of the alcohol has evaporated and you can no longer smell or taste the booze, your tincture is ready for the next step!
12. Strain again to catch any remaining plant material or anything that may have dropped in the pan
13. Mix your tincture concentrate with your Olive oil and store in a cool dry place for future use.

JUST THE TIP: You can use a cheesecloth with your strainer to further remove any bits of plant matter, I personally don’t mind it so I usually skip this step

Dosage for a Marijuana Tincture

This strain tested at 23% cannabinoids which comes out to 230 milligrams of total Cannabinoids per gram. This tincture should yield roughly 6,400 milligrams on Cannabinoids. If you are doing roughly 60-milligram doses this comes out to about 102 doses which can last you months. However, I personally prefer to do a 100mg-200mg dose twice a day so this recipe only lasts me about a month. It’s also worth noting that it is not uncommon for those with serious ailments to require up to 1,000mgs or more daily. If you want a stronger tincture that uses less oil then half the amount of oil used in this recipe.

With that said, when you consider the price of Cannabis, this is still fairly inexpensive considering this can potentially last you months whereas smoking an ounce of flower can be done in days. In addition, I can’t always be “High”. I have a lot of work to do and am horrible at doing it when stoned. To me, this is perfect for someone with a busy lifestyle who wants the health and euphoric boost of cannabis without the couch lock.