So What Exactly Are Marijuana Tinctures?

Marijuana Tinctures and How to Make Them

What are Cannabis Tinctures? (The Secret Edible!) from CannabisNet on Vimeo.

Marijuana tinctures might not be the most popular way of consuming pot, although it definitely has its benefits. So if you haven’t heard about tinctures yet, don’t worry - I don’t think you’re living in a rock, but you’re in luck because today we’re going to cover the most important aspects of tinctures. We’re even going to teach you how to make it later on!

So What Exactly Are Marijuana Tinctures?

Marijuana tinctures come in many names. They’re also sometimes referred to as golden or green dragon, or dragon’s breath. Marijuana tinctures are alcohol based extracts of the plant. These are nothing new though - in fact they’ve been around for a long time, and tinctures were the primary way of consuming marijuana as medicine up until marijuana prohibition came and became a big buzzkill. Tinctures are actually a great way to consume pot for those who’d prefer to go the smokeless route - whether you are taking it medicinally or recreationally.

marijuana tinctures

Tinctures are usually taken sublingually, which means that it’s placed under the tongue (dosage will depend on you, but more on that later on). Sublingual application of almost anything will ensure a much faster hit, and cannabis is no exception. Be prepared to get a kick out of it - that’s probably why it’s referred to as dragon’s breath. Depending on the variety, it can take anywhere from 10 minutes to 45 minutes to kick in.

Another way you can take tinctures is to mix it with food and drinks, although through this method it will take just around the same amount of time as regular edibles for the buzz to kick in.

Why Should You Try Marijuana Tinctures?

Smokeless marijuana administration, such as consuming edibles or using transdermal patches have become the preferred route for many people, both medical marijuana patients as well as recreational users. If you have a respiratory or throat infection which you are afraid smoking may aggravate, smokeless administration is the way to go.

But other than that, marijuana tinctures have other benefits too. They’re definitely much lower in calories as compared to your standard edible, so if you’re trying to keep the pounds at bay then it’s a good alternative. Tinctures that are made with 190-proof alcohol will yield just 7 calories for each mL.

cannabis juicing

Tinctures are also extremely versatile and can be added into almost anything: smoothies, juices, desserts, sauces, salad dressings, soup, even ice cream! And to top it all off, tinctures have a very long shelf life if these are stored in a cool, dark place. This means that you can make a large batch of cannabis tinctures that will ensure you have enough to get you stoned for many months, even years to come.

Make Your Own Marijuana Tincture

What you’ll need:

Food processor, coffee grinder, or a blender
Measuring cup with quart size
Cheese cloth
Mesh strainer
Scale to measure your cannabis
Canning jar with a lid
Small funnel
Brown tincture bottles that come with droppers

For each 500 ml of distilled spirit, such as vodka, use the following amounts

Trim: 2 oz
Leaf: 4 oz
Kief or hash: 6-8 g.

marijuana recipe

Instructions:

Measure the pot you intend to use then grind it using the kitchen tool of your choice (food processor, coffee grinder, or blender) until it’s fine enough to be used in rolling a joint. As a general rule of thumb, pieces shouldn’t be larger than 3mm.
Decarboxylate the marijuana using our recommended method. (click link)
Put the cannabis into the canning jar, then pour a pint of your preferred vodka over it.
Close the canning jar lid tightly, gently shake it a few times, then pop it into your freezer.
Twice a day for the next 5 days, take the jar out of the freezer and vigorously shake it before placing it back in the freezer.
By the 5th day, the cannabinoids should already be dissolved properly into the alcohol. Put the cheese cloth over the strainer, then put the strainer over the measuring cup. Pull out the jar from the freezer and carefully pour the contents over the cheese cloth to eliminate any remaining plant matter.
When the alcohol has completely passed through the cheese cloth and into the cup, remove the plant matter from the cheese cloth and gently strain it to squeeze out any excess alcohol.
Use the funnel to fill the dropper bottles with the tincture. If you notice that you might need additional filtration, use a coffee filter and place it over the funnel. This should be sufficient in capturing any additional plant matter.
Each tinctured bottle should be kept in a cool, dark place.

Dosage

To begin enjoying your new homemade cannabis tincture, you can start with 5 or 10 drops sublingually or in a glass of water. Before you go crazy getting stoned off your tincture, make sure that you test the potency of each batch that you make. At the end of the day, the potency of your cannabis tincture will always depend on the cannabinoid density of the marijuana you’re using.

Have you ever tried making cannabis tinctures at home? What was it like?

What Are Cannabis Tinctures?