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DIY test to find high CBD plants grown from seeds

Discussion in 'Medical Marijuana Usage and Applications' started by menthoco, Apr 29, 2015.

  1. If someone buys "high CBD" seeds, for R4, Cannatonic, Otto, how can anyone figure out which plant has the most CBD?    Professional labs are expensive.   Most people can't afford testing.  Without testing, you might miss the best CBD plant, or not be able to compare two plants to find which one has the most CBD. 
     
    A scientist friend I know showed me a simple DIY test, to detect, and compare CBD levels in buds.  And it's dirt cheap!
     
    It is slick!   You bake the bud to decarboxylate it, and a small amount can be tested with a test solution.  The test turns purple for only CBD, but not for THC.   Darker purple means more CBD.
     
    Say you want to grow some Otto#1.  Only about 25% of Otto#1 female plants are very high in CBD, while the others are lower, or have none at all.  If someone bought a packet of Otto #1 seeds:
    1) they could grow them,
    2) clone them (for a backups),
    3) bloom them,
    4) and finally test the buds to find the highest CBD.  
     
    Once you know which plant is best, you can use the clone backup to grow more.  Clones will have the same amount of CBD, if grown the same way.  
     
    Next, I will post how to do the test.  
     
     

     
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  2. A friend used this to test strains for CBD.  He showed me how he tested
    some CBD strains, and I was impressed how simple it is, and how well
    it works!  He gave me some test solution, and I've used it myself.  It
    works!
     
    I've used this to see if a dispensary is selling real CBD meds, or lying.
    Some "high CBD" strains I've bought, were not as high as claimed.  That
    was true for most I tested, except for buds from dispensarues that test
    what they are selling.   Without this test, it's hard to tell for sure!

    Information on how to test for CBD is provided by the UN.  It can
    be downloaded from the UN's own website, below.

    This test can be used by people at home, to identify cannabis with
    CBD.   It can also be used to compare samples, to find out which has
    more CBD.  Darker purple color means more CBD, if tests are done
    exactly the same way: using same weight of cannabis, same amount of
    test solution, same length of time, etc.
     
    You must decarboxylate the bud before testing.  Wrap in some foil, and
    bake in an oven for an hour, at 200F or 100C.   Then the bud can be
    tested with this test.
     
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Book: UNODC - Bulletin on Narcotics - 1950 Issue 3 - 004
    Link: http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/bulletin/bulletin_1950-01-01_3_page005.html

    The book lists various tests in 1950, used by law enforcement to
    test for suspected cannabis.   Most of these tests will respond
    to both THC and CBD, but one test only worked for CBD.  

    Under (3) SPECIAL COLOUR REACTIONS, the first test listed is
    1. The so-called Beam's reaction
     
    ------------------------------------
    (*) The test solution is a 5% solution of potassium hydroxide,
    dissolved in 95% alcohol.  To make this, dissolve 5 grams of
    potassium hydroxide in 95 mL of alcohol.  You can use common
    grain alcohol, such as Everclear.  Potassium hydroxide can be
    bought from some websites that sell supplies to make homeamde
    soap.  It's cheap - about USD $10 for 500g - 1 kg.

    (**) The other things which might cause a false positive, are
    probably not going to be in cannabis.  This is a safe assumption.

    (***) Early use of this test didn't always test positive for known
    samples of hash or cannabis.  It was later found this test only
    would respond to CBD, but not THC.  

    Petroleum ether is also known as naphtha, hexane, Ronsonol Lighter
    Fuel, and white gas.  It is quite flammible!

    [ This is only for information!   Don't try this at home! ]
     
     
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  3. #3 menthoco, May 1, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: May 1, 2015
    Seeing is believing!  A photo will help see how well this test for CBD works.
     
    Below is a photo of his test results.   After some digging, I found his list of strains tested in this photo.
    From left to right, the strains are:
     
    Cannatonic
    R4
    OG Kush    (blank)
    Harlequin
    Blueberry Kush  (blank)
    Super Silver Haze  (blank)
     
    Four of those tested (blanks), were known to be strong strains, but don't contain CBD.  He was trying to make sure the test didn't show a positive result for a non-CBD strain.  
     
    Of the CBD containing strains, Cannatonic had the least amount of CBD, Harlequin had more, and R4 had the highest amount of CBD.
     

    Attached Files:

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  4. Nice little discovery!
     
     
    Granny
     
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  5. this i need to try, thanks for posting!!
     
  6. so how exactly do you mix it all.. Left that part out
     
  7. TinTizzy, in the second post of this thread I added an asterisk in the quote from the UN book. The asterisk below, tells how to make it (dissolve 5g of potassium hydroxide in 100mL of everclear). Potassium hydroxide is also known as KOH. Keep it in the freezer for longer shelf life.


    If you are asking about the test procedure, here's how. To just test one sample for CBD, or to compare two samples to find which one has more CBD, you need to decarboxylate the bud - about 1/2 to 1g. Crush the bud into a fine powder, and place a pinch of this bud in a test tube. Add 1mL of naphtha (or Ronsonol lighter fluid, Coleman white gas, petroleum ether, etc) in the tube, shake, and let it dissolve for 5-10 min. Next get an eye dropper (or syringe), and place about 20 drops of the test solution (everclear + KOH), and add 2 drops of the bud & naphtha solution, and shake. The color will develop with time, and probably peaks in about an hour, but you will clearly see a purple color if the bud has any significant CBD in it (like >4%). Darker colors mean more CBD. The details and procedure can be varied and still work, but for accurate comparisons, you must use accurate weighing and measurements of liquids.


    Also read this post, after I found a color test specific for THC, but not CBD: Link


    I wanted to be able to compare THC and CBD levels myself, and with both of these, it's possible. But for ultra low levels of CBD or THC, these tests are not sensitive enough to detect say 0.2% CBD or THC. But they work well for levels above say 3%. But you may be able to dissolve more bud to make it more concentrated, to compare low levels. These tests are open to variations, and still work.

     
  8. thanks I have some quin n tonic cbd seeds im gonna pop soon and didnt want to get them all tested.. Wonder if this would work for males also
     
  9. Does anyone have any suggestions for a Canadian version of this test? Alcohol over 76% is banned here (except in Quebec), while the recipe calls for 95%+. Still, this is really cool. Thanks to @LabRat for pointing me to this thread from Breeding a pure CBD strain with a pure THC strain?.
     
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  10. Alberta has everclear but you can use methylated spirits as a substitute and I think that's available from drug stores. May have to ask for it at the prescription counter. Can probably order the KOH there too but amazon.ca has it.
     

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