BadKats CannaPharm: Medical Grade Oil, Cannabis Capsules, UV GLOWING Hash Candy, Canna Bombs more

If you can start off using BHO or a concentrate, that's great! Contrary to what some (many, even) believe, you still need to process BHO and other concentrates into an edible, bioavailable form. Cannabis glandular material is notoriously difficult to absorb, when pure and all on its own, even if it appears to be a tacky, sticky, gooey 'liquid'. It must be activated, then broken down, thinned out, and delivered in an 'edible solvent'... this is where alcohol, glycerin, and oils, will usually come in.

But only oil should be used in hard candy making, because (in order for the candy to 'hold up') the solvent in the other two must be reduced or vaporized in order to provide the candy with the right consistency. The alcohol would evaporate, and even if the glycerin does not, it attracts water (20% its own weight!) and can very quickly muck-up your candy... glycerin tincture is best for drinks, frostings, some chocolates and creams.

The solvent serves two purposes, it thins out and breaks down your glandular material, and it behaves as a kind of 'vehicle' for cannabinoid delivery, by effecting cellular permeability... otherwise, even if thinned out and properly activated, the majority of that potent material still can't pass through the cellular walls, meaning it is left to go, 'in one end, and out the other'.

This is why we choose highly absorbable oils such as coconut, for their MCT's, as well as other solvents such as alcohol and glycerin, which also greatly effect cellular permeability, and can deliver cannabinoids very effectively, when they have been properly activated and broken down, of course.

Long story short, for the best effect (most bang, for your buck) you'll want to process your pure extract/concentrate, in the same way, in order to promote bioavailability. Depending how the concentrate was made, it is likely already partially activated (decarboxylated), in which case you can often feel free to be brief, or even skip the pre-decarb all together when using some concentrates, and allow activation to finish in the oil, as it is heated and it gently evaporates the last of any water content, similar to how a slice of potato becomes a chip.

We go a step further with Liposomal Encapsulation and promote enhanced absorption even further, by incorporating lecithin, a phospholipid. (Using the search feature, not the very top one, but the one within this thread, you can find more information on lecithin, and liposomal encapsulation... check the first page, and the glycerin tincture tutorial for info on lecithin, a few pages back).

Canna/herb oil will produce MUCH more colorful (ie. green-dark brown) candy, than dry sift hash, and a high quality, very-clean/pure concentrate (there are several guides for ISO and BHO in the processing section) will produce the least color per candy..

And lastly, coconut oil (especially in such small volume) is undetectable in a batch of candy; you can't taste coconuts at all, and you can hardly tell texture-wise (if you can tell, at all) that an oil was used. If left completely unflavored, all you do taste is a mild, sugary, and sometimes oddly-fruity, cannabis flavor.... if using hash oil, it tastes a bit like a sweetened hit from a vaporizer. It's actually very, very pleasant!
It is easy to concentrate a great deal of potency, into a very small amount of coconut oil when working with hash, especially when working with a concentrate.


For instance, hard caramel candies and peanut brittle, often require more butter or oil than a standard canna candy... peanut brittle usually tastes best, when using two whole Tbsp of butter, to only one cup of sugar! So if you really need to (if you happen to have a weak oil) you can use up to a few spoons, without altering the state of your candy much at all


I've managed to use well over a Tbsp of canna/hash oil in as little as 3/4 a cup of sugar, without being reminded of peanut brittle or caramel, at all (knowing many people wouldn't be working with concentrated oils, that instead they more likely would be using canna/herb oil, I believe that a Tbsp of oil, per cup of sugar, was close to the first candy recipe I shared), and the below candies, were made with only about 10mls of hash oil, per two whole cups of sugar.

 

You can eliminate about %100 of the smell, and preserve more of your fragile terpene content (which contributes heavily to the outcome/effectiveness of your meds; they are responsible for a good portion of cannabis analgesic, sedative and anti-cancer properties, and they aid in cellular permeability, or absorption), by simply sealing your container very well during processing, and processing as gently as described, in the tutorials.
Certain washing, and hash-processing methods eliminate a large portion of volatile terpenes from your oil, before they can even be added. While terpenes are not water soluble, they can still easily separate and become free-floating in water. Glands/trichomes are not water soluble either, but we use ice water to divide and separate them from the inert-plant matter, all the time!

Live plants produce, and lose most of their terpenes in the open air, each and every day! They are that volatile and delicate, which is why morning-harvests (after evening, and early morning terpene-production) are recommended, as well as storing your herb well-sealed, in cold, dark locations. And the older and more-exposed the herb, the more delicate its terpene composition is. This is one of the reasons that many forms of processed-hash, will provide a more 'up', lucid, and racy high, even when the bud it was taken from itself, may have provided more sedative-like effects. It is why I recommend freshly-made, dry sift hash as well... the edibles which gently dried herb, and dry sift hash produce, are usually noticeably different from those made with roughly, forcibly or chemically extracted heat-treated/evaporated extracts and concentrates. It can also be a contributing factor in why some batches of edibles made in slightly varied ways, but from the same material, come out so much better or worse than others.. besides bioavailability of the available cannabinoids, the terpenes may also have been better preserved in one batch, versus another.
Even partially unsealed, at 210 - 220 f the oil hardly produces any odor until the last 30 - 40 minutes or so of processing, and then it is just the faint odor of a freshly used vaporizer.. not only is it more secure, but your oil would benefit from containing those odors! Double or triple wrapped in foil, or an oven bag, and you're good to go.


I have cooked cannabis on more than one occasion with police officers in my home on professional, unrelated business. If you can smell it while it's cooking, at all, you've either got your temps too high, or you didn't bother to seal your material as well as you could have


Herb/canna oil specifically is used in many topical applications, particularly over using extracts/concentrates, due to the inclusion of a (up to the maker) varying amount of chlorophyll, which is very good for both digestion, as well as the skin, and it can treat several skin conditions. I've never noticed canna oil made directly from herb to be grainy, after a good strain.
If you do notice a grainy texture, and you plan to make or cook something with a smooth texture, try straining again with multiple layers of cheese cloth. I strain through 4 layers of cloth, often over either a low micron mesh, or a simple, additional doubled or so section to act as a 'net', to catch any stray debris that may fall through the first layers.

Speaking of nylon mesh, you can buy mesh screen of the micron/size rating of your choice, and use this alone for straining. When straining by hand (you can buy mechanical strainers) I prefer cheese cloth for the first strain, just because it's a bit easier to work with when holding wadded-up plant material inside.... Strain through cheese cloth, then allow the oil to flow through the mesh.
And finally, you can always let it sit while warm, for an hour or so, watching for any possible debris to settle on the bottom, then pour off the top. The top portion can be strained a final time, and used for topical applications, the lower layer for pastries, cookies and cakes, or it can also be put through additional straining.
But I'm making it sound a lot more cimplcated than it really is Your canna oil should be perfectly smooth with a little straining, whether for consumption, or topical use.

The only difference between dry sift, and herb, is a mild additional chlorophyll/plant wax flavor, and this can be controlled somewhat by ensuring you've performed a proper decarb (removing last traces of water from your material) and by pre-heating your oil, to ensure any trapped water content it may have, has also evaporated.


And alternately, if you'd like to encourage more chlorophyll into your oil (some do!.. people pay good money for bottles of liquid chlorophyll!) then you may have to be prepared for a bit of stray odor... there are two ways you can go about it;

Add a few Tbsp of water right at the end with about 10 minutes left to go, reduce the heat slightly, mix and mash it around in good shape, then place it back in or over your heat-source unsealed and allow to steam off for a little over the remaining 10 - 15 minutes, it's ok because you've lowered your temps... once the water content has evaporated, you will have a much darker green, smellier, stronger tasting oil, which a much higher chlorophyll content, in exchange for some terpenes which may not have adhered to the oil or been encapsulated by your lecithin... this is why, conversely, when making more-palatable edible oil, we've learned to eliminate water from our mixes, and to go so far as to use clarified butter and 'ghee'.

But if you'd like to better preserve your terpene content while doing the above, simply process as normal, strain, THEN add a bit more oil and water to the 'waste material'. Process until the water has evaporated, then strain out the green oil. This can be used as-is; a mild oil with a high chlorophyll content. Or, it can be combined with your previous batch of more-potent oil, for a broad and more-intensive topical treatment (very good for controlling certain rashes, eczema, red and inflamed, dry skin etc.)

If working with lower grade herb and you'd like to concentrate your potency, buy a sheet of 75u - 100u (micron) mesh screen, stretch it over a container, and start making some dry-sift Or if working with only a small amount, you can easily just buy a reusable nylon coffee filter... not the kind that looks a bit like fabric, but a nylon 'sheet' of thin, fine mesh.. they are better than most of the gold coffee filters as well, which I've noticed have larger holes. I've made more than my fair share of hash using a plastic coffee filter, and it's a good grade too, around 100u, much better and with less debris than the kief made by those grinders with the compartments, for instance. Once you get the circular hand motion down and you've let your material dry out enough, using that tiny filter you can make about 5 grams of quality, pressable-hash, in 20 or so minutes.

Hope this helps!

 

Screen should only cost $10 - $15, and neat little oven safe dishes (if you snoop around on ebay, and various japanese cooking sites) can be less than $5, same with a pie dish anywhere you look, the local grocery shop, department store etc.

If money is really tight, reusable nylon coffee filters are also usable for sifting decent hash... oddly, the best ones (for our purposes) seem to be found at 'dollar stores'! Many of the metal/gold ones tend to have bigger holes or openings, and will produce dirty hash. Avoid the 'cloth' looking nylon filters, as well... you want the type with the sheet of nylon that appears to have numerous little holes punched through it, fixed to the frame of the basket.


And these items are re-usable.. so it shouldn't cost more than $20 or so to make your first batch, not counting the herb, and those costs won't need to occur again until you break something or your screen wears out (a good screen should last you AGES!) The ratio of hash, to inert plant matter, varies. You may get 1/3 of your starting weight in hash, a bit more, or quite a bit less. Black market herb has often had solvents run through it already, to extract concentrates, leaving you with what I like to think of as the partially depleted 'husks' of glands.. so it's really best that you know the material you're working with, and if you don't, then you can get to know it by having a few puff's.
And remember, once you sift for hash, you can set that aside and then use the 'waste' green material to process for oil, and use its results as a weak 'base oil' for processing with your hash... this helps to ensure that you're getting as much as possible, from your materials, should your sifting be a little incomplete.


There are a couple threads specifically for processing hash and concentrates.. where this is the edible section, and I've only got so much time to work with, I generally try to leave that to those folks who've already put in the work in those other threads.


Most dispensaries suggest 0.35g of the dried flowers and frosty trim, as a starting dose for those who are accustom to the edible sensation... and to start with half that, if it's your first try. So the average patient can potentially create over 80 doses per oz, give or take depending on the quality of the material, and the dose required. Just keep in mind that it's very variable depending on your own personal tolerance, and the quality and potency of the herb.

And if you notice your capsules getting stronger (noticeably stronger..a little bit is normal), the longer they sit, then they likely could have used a bit more processing... no worries, it's not a complete or even a partial loss (besides the few you've already taken); just let them sit, and they'll get where they need to be in a matter of a few days, or a week or so. The less heat, usually the better, and many folks feel that heatless oils are the best as it is. Most people want something they can use, immediately... But if they need aging, then in the long run, you've probably done yourself a favor!
Assuming you're like most folks, and you use less when you vape than you do when you smoke, you'll want to consider about the same amount you'd vape, or a little less than the amount you'd normally smoke in a day, or a single session if you are only a rare, or occasional smoker, as your ideal edible 'dose', in order to achieve a similar, or a stronger effect.

So it's worth it to take a few puff's or vape a bit first to determine your dose, whether it's a concentrate you're using, dry sifted hash, or herb.

 

It is a very smooth, creamy sensation in an e-cig. I have found that some tabletop vapes at the higher end of the 'safe' range, produce a more 'throat-tickle' sensation..it doesn't hurt, it just feels a little uncomfortable. 'Tickley' is the best word for it, especially if you try to speak with the vapor in your lungs!

But in an e-cig, or when vaped at lower temps, it's a very nice, soothing feeling. It feels good when you have a cough, or a sore throat actually, it's like inhaling a nice steam except it coats, and leaves you pleasantly numb in the effected areas.

(Edit - instructions on flavoring your tincture for use with an e-cig, can be found by clicking on my user name, clicking statistics, then threads/topics started, and going to the E-Cig tutorial )