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Extracting THC With Less % of Alcohol

Discussion in 'Weed Edibles' started by StankyDanky, Jan 2, 2014.

  1. #1 StankyDanky, Jan 2, 2014
    Okay, so I understand that everyone says you should use everclear or whatever but I can't get my hands on alcohol because I'm not 21 yet. So if I use a lower proof alcohol will any THC be extracted?For ex. - if I put a gram or two (or any amount) of bud in a cup (or whatever amount) of some Bacardi or vodka for a few days, will I get any results? This may sound dumb but I haven't seen any real answers.Also what if I put butter in the alcohol? I don't care how bad it will taste because I hate the taste of alcohol already. I'm just wondering if there's any ways to make this work.Thanks.
     
  2. #2 9!6HARVESTFAMILY, Jan 2, 2014
    Use 91% ISO alcohol, it's $2 at walgreens, cvs, everywhere
     
  3. #3 ElectricJW, Jan 3, 2014
    Do not use rubbing alcohol, unless you only plan on smoking it.  If you are going to consume it, I would just go with some vodka, 40-50% alcohol (80-100 proof).  I know when extract many other herbs, not marijuana, I've read that the higher proof alcohols can harden up the cell walls, making it harder to extract the goodies.  I would get that 40-50% vodka and after you filter out the weed, just reduce it by half or however much you like. 
     
    If you are just going to smoke the extract, then yes use rubbing alcohol instead, and make sure it dries completely (few days in front of fan). 
     
  4. #4 phunk doc, Jan 3, 2014
    as ElectricJW said, midrange proof alcohol will be a good choice if you cant gnab everclear. it might take a few days longer, but it wil still make green dragon, maybe slightly less potent. also about the taste, butter wont really do anything...probably make it worst. maybe mixing the alcohol once made will help. great luck!
     
  5. #5 inhumainpapaya, Jan 3, 2014
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 3, 2014
    Full disclosure, I've never made THC extracts. But Ive worked in a synthetic chemistry lab where we extract all kinds of compounds from different solvents everyday.

    A lot of relatively nonpolar compounds, of which THC is one, are precipitated out of ethanol solution by adding water. This works because ethanol has a surprisingly high affinity for water (much higher than you might expect by looking at their structures). My feeling is that halving the alcohol content will result in a greater than half reduction in yield. But like all work ups, theory crafting is only useful to an extent... You don't know for sure unless you try the extraction then test for yield

    Although if I was gonna do this I would use maybe 3x the amount of alcohol/water solution as if I was using high conc alcohol, and as has been said leave it for longer
     
  6. #6 Kronny, Jan 3, 2014
    It will work fine with Vodka or other alcohol's. If you don't like the taste of alcohol you can use vegetable glycerin.
     

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