Extracting oil from the cannabis plant is a process that requires expertise and precision. Without the proper knowledge, you could end up with a batch of poor quality or simply unusable oil. To start the process off on the right foot, first-time CBD manufacturers might source cannabis strains from retailers like Zamnesia. Depending on the desired effects of the final product, these strains may contain higher concentrations of CBD and lower levels of THC.
There are many opinions on how to perform extraction best, but there are proven steps that most experts agree on. These are the 5 Steps of solvent extraction:
Start with Extraction
The first step is to get the cannabinoids out of the plant material. This can be done in two ways: via butane extraction of ice water extraction.
The latter method involves soaking the plant material in ice water for hours before straining out the remaining plant matter. Butane extraction is a more thorough method and a more dangerous one because it requires volatile chemicals for processing.
Both methods involve various temperatures, pressures, and amounts of time to get the oil out of the plant material. The result is a concentrate called butane hash oil (BHO), which can have between 40-60% THC content.
Winterization
Winterization removes waxes from solvent extractions to produce a clear, colorless oil. Solvent removal is done by adding propane or butane to the extractions multiple times until there is no longer any residue left in the bottom of the dish.
This process requires multiple batches to achieve the complete removal of waxes.
Solvent Recovery
Solvent recovery is made by adding alcohol (usually ethanol) to the extractions multiple times until there is no longer any residue left in the bottom of the dish.
This process requires only one batch to achieve complete solvent recovery from an extraction.
This makes it much easier and faster to purify an extract than with winterization alone because you can do several extractions in one shot rather than one at a time.
Decarboxylation
Decarboxylation is an important process in cannabis extraction. It is a fancy term for cooking your weed. However, it isn’t necessary to cook your weed before making hash oil.
In fact, if you use butane as your solvent, you should never cook your weed because it will simply burn off.
There are several different methods for decarboxylation marijuana, depending on what method of extraction you use.
When using butane as your solvent, decarbing can be accomplished using any method used to cook cannabis for edibles.
Since cooking the weed is to remove moisture from the plant matter, I recommend using a dehydrator for this process.
Spread out thin layers of cannabis on parchment paper or screened trays and place these trays into a dehydrator at around 180 degrees Fahrenheit for 2-3 hours.
It’s also important to make sure that there aren’t any pieces.
Bottom Line
Cannabis extraction is, at its heart, a scientific activity. The number of variables and potential outcomes makes it very hard to determine a “standard” process.
This article is meant as a guide that can be used as a starting point. There are several different ways to accomplish the five steps listed here.