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

Hello there As far as processing methods go, I don't recommend using the microwave at all for processing canna, unless you really have no other options; it super-heats some areas, destroying material, and under-heats others. I knew someone once, who also had a lot of herb to throw around, who used his microwave as a vaporizer
If you for whatever reason don't have an oven (where I'd normally suggest wrapping with foil in an oven-safe dish), be sure you use an 'oven bag', the kind made for cooking, not storage, and fold and seal your material well within it before decarbing. This will allow you to process as much as you need to using the microwave, without leaving some material under-done, and without losing as much vapor.

Even when decarbed, twenty minutes really isn't enough time to properly bond and break down the canna in the oil, unless you're heating it far too much, in which case you're damaging as well as vaporizing much of the most potent cannabinoids. At the proper temps below 200 degrees, after 20 minutes (with un-decarbed material), the oil and butter is literally almost the same yellow color. What you see settling at the base of these briefly-cooked oils, when heated at the correct low temps, are in fact nearly fully-intact glands... very similar to what you'd see when making ice/water-extracted hash.

But if you try and speed it up with heat, it's damaging and vaporizing much of those early (and usually most potent) oils away.. like making Iso or BHO, the very first stuff that easily comes off the plant matter is usually considered the best quality and the most delicate; so when you cook too high, attempting to rapidly extract ALL the material left, you destroy and lose those earliest cannabinoids.

Often times, people who process for such short amounts of time, are also generally the same folks who believe the rumor that you need up to '3 times as much canna' to achieve the same effect as smoking, in an edible; which is only true for these folks, because they've vastly under-processed their material... meaning it goes in one end, and out the other, without giving you the full effects it could have.

Realistically, similar to vaporizing, eating canna is one of the most efficient methods of getting it into your system: When eating a properly made batch of oil, you're not burning it like you would when smoking, destroying some entirely before it even goes in your system while damaging the rest, and you're not exhaling any possible canna waste.

And if you're seeing smoke/steam rising from the oil by the end, and most especially if you detect a noticeable a difference in the level of oil, from what you began, that's a definitely indication that precious material is being lost.

I always recommend heat processing in a well-sealed container, for a minimum of 15-24 hours if you haven't decarbed first, and up to 3 hours, if you have decarbed.

Put another way, if you are getting what you need out of a less-than-processed batch of oil, if you then go on to process it properly, you can begin conserving your herb by using as little as one third of the oil per dose, as you originally needed (judging by the 'three times as much' rule for under-processing), to achieve the effect you want.

Back in the old days we never used to pre-decarb. Decarboxylation does take place gradually in warm oil over the course of a day, as it is simply the process of removing the carboxyl group in the form of carbon dioxide and water vapor. And when you keep food in a water-free oil, over a low heat, the water slowly evaporates from the food within (think of a hotter situation, when oil can turn a potato wedge, into a thick potato chip).

Decarbing first, is a way to greatly speed up this process, but it does not remove the necessity of properly processing that canna in oil, making it available to your body; decarbing converts the cannabinoids into their most active form. You still need to lubricate and break it down down in oil, very well, in order for it to enter your system fast enough to give the effect you want.

I (and most filling-tray manufacturers) don't recommend using those filling trays when using a liquid. It tends to get messy, and it often leaks down the outer edges of the caps, greasing the outside (and when both sides are oiled, inside and out, the capsule tends to break down much more rapidly during storage).. they do make much more expensive filling machines for liquid. But the filling trays at health food shops are intended for dry-filling, and if you're packing your canna into a capsule while dry, even if decarbed, it will still have some small effect, but it's not going to have nearly the devastating potency of a proper batch of highly systemic/bioavailable oil

 

If you're using vapor-leftovers, and you want a single pill to have a very strong effect, you'll probably want to make a few gentle runs by using more than enough oil for the first run/s (knowing a little excess oil will likely be left behind in the plant matter).

You can strain, then use the same oil again to gently heat process fresh plant matter, strain again, and use that resulting oil again to process even more, fresh material. If you're going to do this, I would consider using a Ball-style canning jar, following proper canning protocol (sealing the jar properly, and submerging it adequately under water, in a double boiler during heating, for example), but using the lower temperatures required for gentle extraction, rather than the high temps recommended for fruit and veg canning/preserving.

Knowing your material is highly decarbed (pre-vaped), and that you'll be processing earlier cannabinoids repeatedly by running the oil multiple times, you more than ever will want to use slightly lower temps in a very well-sealed environment to prevent any damage and vaporization of those earliest cannabinoids. So an enclosed canning method of extraction seems ideal for you Remember to always allow it to cool almost entirely before opening and straining.

As a note, you may need to consider that you don't want a single capsule to be that strong.
Otherwise, you're limited to an intensely narcotic effect, when you really may be looking for medication, while still maintaining your ability to function.

I may have mentioned in an earlier post that you can use other, specifically oven-safe containers... I know I told someone that, if all else fails, they could even use one of the sections in a muffin tray, but it's more of a challenge/waste of foil to seal it properly. I just prefer ceramic for the heat distribution, and because it's what I have laying around It's actually an old lid, from a chinese tea cup

Check out ebay, you can find small ceramic dishes in a variety of sizes and shapes there, for cheap.. get one with a smooth base, that you can navigate easily with a spoon to stir.
I like a round shape because it's easy to get the edges using a circular stirring motion, and there aren't drastic corners for the material to settle in along the sides, during processing. You can definitely buy it in the size you need, although I find especially at home that it's easiest to control and process smaller (less than 10g/hash) batches.

I like making small-ish batches, about a 2 - 3 week supply (and that's if they were used daily), which is just about perfect for the size dish I use.. usually one capsule a day is all I need.
It almost doesn't matter what time or how early I take it, I'm usually still feeling a little sedated by the following day when I wake up. So the earlier in the day you take it, the better, especially if you have any plans for that following morning

 

It's definitely not necessary that you use a variety of oils, and I can't offer any solid or concrete proof that it helps, other in that the individual oils are of different thickness/densities and it makes sense they would allow for a wider range of intake and holding capacity for cannabinoids, as well as knowing your digestive tract responds better to (and consumes more readily) a variety of oils at once, rather than a single oil source at a time, which is true for food/nutrition absorption as well... so there are a few little reasons that it would only help to use additional oils, and it definitely wouldn't hurt, but it's mostly the perfectionist me. When I make them with pure coconut oil, with my tolerance, I really hardly notice the difference

That being said, I add the additional oils just as I'm adding the decarbed hash, and lecithin, to the melted coconut oil.. then blend well, seal well with foil, and proceed with the heating (I'll stop here before I repeat the whole recipe boring you all to tears)