Cannabidiol (CBD) is an extract that’s widely used as an anti-anxiety and relaxation tool. CBD-based products come in various shapes and forms — tinctures, edibles, oil, gummies, coffee products, etc. Most of these items are manufactured on a commercial scale. But what if you want to extract CBD at home? How effective are they in comparison with products purchased from the market? In this article, we will know about the most reliable way through which CBD can be extracted at home.
Making a DIY CBD-based product at home is pretty easy, provided you have key ingredients and some basic knowledge about cannabidiol and its properties. It may not be as powerful as other commercial CBD-based products but it’ll give you the right kick required to see the actual effect of cannabidiol. Nonetheless, it seems like a pretty cool idea to make CBD at home.
Let’s dive in.
What Is CBD, and Why Should You Use It?
CBD or cannabidiol is a chemical that’s derived from cannabis or hemp plants. Despite coming from a marijuana family plant, CBD does not cause high or intoxication. Another compound found in cannabis called THC or Tetrahydrocannabinol is responsible for psychoactive effect. The therapeutic qualities of CBD, coupled with its ability to provide relief without causing intoxication, has encouraged a host of companies to venture into making different products. Many companies are coming up with innovative CBD products that can potentially cure key health problems without any side effects. Research has shown that CBD can effectively cure anxiety-related issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder and insomnia. It also works pretty well against seizure.
Basics About Extracting CBD Products At Home
Among all CBD-based products, oil is the most common way to consume CBD. That’s because it’s easy to extract CBD oil from hemp plants. All you need is a bunch of hemp flowers, the right kind of ingredients and a few simple steps to follow — and voila, your CBD is ready. The economical CBD-based oil that’ll reflect your taste can be made in a short span of time. We know CBD requires a solvent to extract itself from a hemp plant.
We generally have three options — either we can use food-safe alcohol, natural plant oils, or co2 to extract CBD from a hemp plant. Co2 is mostly used at the industry level to extract CBD in huge quantities because it’s “clean” and leaves minimal carbon footprint and provides the most potent, controlled, and quality material. It also requires expensive equipment and vast expertise to extract cannabinoids. If you are planning to make CBD oil at home with a limited budget, it’s preferred to stick to the first option. That’s the most reliable and economical method to extract CBD.
How To Select The Right Kind Of Strain?
Picking the right kind of strain is as important as making the right CBD-based product so choose it wisely. You must determine in advance whether the strain you are picking has high CBD levels; many strains have high THC content, which will give you low CBD yield. Go for strains that contain almost negligible THC content, which can really boost your production. If such an option is not available, go for Nabula II CBD or CBD Critical Mass strains. They have a 1:1 ratio of both the cannabinoids and will give significant yield even when they are extracted at home.
Ingredients Required To Make CBD Oil with Alcohol At Home
First of all, you need high-proof, food-safe grain-based alcohol. This can be purchased from the market. Look for a quality CBD-based product. Then buy around 30-gram ground buds. You can also buy 60-100 gram ground dried shake or trim. You need a grinder, baking tray, and parchment paper, among items needed to extract CBD oil at home. The use of a mixing bowl can help you easily extract CBD.
You may also need a fine strainer as a piece of cheesecloth or a sieve. Other items required to make quality CBD oil are a plastic syringe, funnel, spatula, wooden spoon, and a double boiler. A boiler with a set of two fitted saucepans or pots stacked together with space between them will be good. Lastly, you may also need a catchment container. You can also purchase some of this hardware equipment from the market and keep them handy for future purposes.
Process To Make CBD Oil with Alcohol: A Famous CBD-Based Product
- Decarboxylate the plant by grinding until it shows consistency and places it on a baking tray with parchment paper. Put inside the preheated oven at 110 degrees Celcius temperature for about an hour.
- Put the decarboxylated hemp buds in a mixing bowl and pour alcohol to submerge the plants in it. Shake it properly for about 10 minutes. This process helps plants release the CBD, or THC, or terpene cannabinoids.
- Use cheesecloth or a fine sieve to strain the solution into a bowl. The alcohol will bear a dark green color. Repeat the process with alcohol a few more times, and the CBD-based extract will now start appearing.
- Set up a double boiler, fill water into a saucepan, and place a stainless steel bowl. Make sure it does not touch the bottom of the saucepan but fit rightly. Pour the extract on top of the double boiler and apply slow heat to evaporate the alcohol. Ensure there are no naked flames near it; evaporating alcohol catches fire very easily. Keep stirring the extract, and all that’s left will be a viscous extract. The fine CBD oil extract will bear a thick, tar-like look. Store and administer it properly for use.
