Extracting THC with Olive Oil: An Easy to Follow Guide

Although it is a common fact that cannabis is commonly smoked, at least in the US, it has an extensive narration of being relished as food. Many places in the world have formed intricate edible culture for the development of cannabis drinks and foods. Eating cannabis instead of smoking it can exempt the lungs from possible health problems. Although because it goes through digestion and kicks in a lot slower, the dosage is harder to regulate. 

Overall, the way enthusiasts cook with cannabis is through the extracting THC with olive oil. THC is an oil-soluble, hence it can be easily drawn out into fats, although not into the water. THC is mainly concentrated in the flower buds of cannabis. However, it is seen in lower concentrations throughout the entire parts of the plant. Cooking with cannabis oil is a preferable method to utilize the stalks and leaves of the plant. This is after the flower buds were separated and cut down for smoking.

Cannabis Oil

Just like olive, coconut, or vegetable oil, cannabis oil is formulated through a certain chemical extraction process. There are different methods that the cannabis industry employs to extract oil, leading to the same but distinct products. Many cannabis extraction methods include a solvent, such as CO2 or butane – or extreme pressure or heat – to do the extraction of the cannabinoids. 

These methods can consume so much time and commonly include costly laboratory equipment. Without the right tools and sufficient training, extracting THC from weed through a particular method is outright risky. Except if you are utilizing a method that does not use solvent, the surplus yield – or product that is not cannabis oil – has to be taken out to achieve a non-toxic and clean final output. 

For people who are not experts in chemistry, many steps of this process must be surrendered to the skilled people. 

How to Extract THC with Olive Oil

Cannabis butter is not the only approach to infuse the food with a nice bud. Another healthy option is to extract some THC with olive oil. 

During the last years, the applied science behind concentrates and cannabis extracts has created major surges. Leaving the early green slurries afterward, supercritical CO2 technology is presently at the prominence of potency and purity, producing pure and clean oil. Butane extraction also releases nice concentrates, and the equipment is essentially cheaper than a setup of CO2 – although it comes with hazards not just for the consumer but also for the producer if not executed properly.

However, amidst all the new modernized extractions, one of the oldest and most efficient extractions has taken a little of a back seat – olive oil. Considering, olive oil cannot be smoked. However, when we talk about edibles, several things outperform the modesty of olive oil. 

What may appear as amazement is that research has learned that olive oil is one of the most efficient solvents for a whole extraction of spectrum cannabis – together with ethanol? They learned that both ethanol and olive oil extract all terpenes and cannabinoids effectively. Nevertheless, olive oil does not only expose very minimal chlorophyll which is a prominent advantage compared to ethanol. 

Study Says Olive Oil is Ideal for THC Extraction

Despite its modesty, the study indicates that olive oil is most efficient for full spectrum cannabinoid extraction. Together with ethanol, olive oil is intensely effective at extracting THC.

Less chlorophyll drains into the final output when utilizing olive oil though, directing it to be the excellent extraction method. Olive oil is the best choice for setting cannabis oils for self-treatment. 

Common Method Used in Extracting THC with Olive Oil

The simplest method used in extracting THC with olive oil is through direct extraction. 

The following information is recommended:

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup of olive oil
• 1 cup of ground cannabis flower

Tools:

• Cheesecloth or strainer
• Saucepan, slow cooker, or double boiler
• Grinder

Steps:

1. Grind the weed nicely. Make sure that you do not grind it too much that the bits are sufficiently small to suit through the strainer. You may use the entire plant or only use the flower if that is what you like. Ideally, grind up the bud or flower since it is the most potent part and shall give you more precise measurement. 

But then again, you can also include the entire plant if you like. Just make sure that it is big enough to not drop through the strainer or cloth. Anything that is sufficiently fine can end up in the ultimate product.

2. Decarb the cannabis by evenly spreading it in a baking tray and place it in an oven for 45 minutes. Set the oven at 240 degrees Fahrenheit. 

3. Using the cheesecloth, bind the ground cannabis. Tie it together. 
4. Mix your olive oil and ground cannabis and cook for a few hours under low heat, mixing occasionally. The duration of your cooking completely depends on the kind of equipment that you are using.

Cooking it within an extended period is commonly the process of decarboxylation. This implies that you are stimulating and extracting the THC without having the actual stuff burned up which gets you high.

5. If you are getting a slow cooker, set it low for 4 to 6 hours. However, if you are using a double-boiler, cook it low for 6 to 8 hours. And if you are using a plain saucepan, you are aiming for a low cook at around 3 hours, although you will have to mix it often to avoid burning it.

Whatever method you select, the temperature of the soil must not reach beyond 118 degrees Celsius, as this may burn the THC and give you only oil.

Boiling is believed to depreciate the THC potency. Although there is no specific proof, it would be better to play safe. Keep the oil on very minimal heat, but not into a full simmer. You may choose to add a little amount of water to the mixture to avoid burning. 

6. Allow the oil to cool down for some time and then drain it. If you are straining through a cheesecloth, do not crash by clutching it. It will contribute more chlorophyll to the oil and influence the flavor. 

7. You may keep the oil in a container that is designed to be airtight. The oil can be expected to last for 2 months in a pantry or cabinet, and 3 or more months if stored in a refrigerator.

As discussed, many assert that one good way of extracting THC is through water extraction. This comprises gently and gradually cooking cannabis in oil that is combined with water. The inclusion of water allows you to cook the brew quite longer without the risk of burning. It enables a thorough extraction of THC. However, one should know that this is a compellingly odorous process.

When extracting water, put the plant material in a pot. Wrap it with water and put the oil, and heat gently on a stovetop. Once the brew starts to form bubbles at the sides, before it reaches the point of a full boil, reduce the heat, imbed a heat distributor like a metal plate, commonly of few layers, that penetrates and evens the heat. For complete extraction, cook for 18 hours. However, if you find it not practical to do, cook it as long as you like.

The simplest method to set apart the plant fibers is to spill the cannabis-oil-water brew in a strainer and crush out as much liquid as you can. Unluckily, some of the cherished oil stays cornered in the used plant material.

The most efficient way of setting apart the plant fibers without wasting any oil is to design something similar to a French coffee press, a kind of porous disc that pushes the plant fibers underneath the pot, below the water and away of the oil. Hardware cloth or an aluminum pie plate with holes thrust in may becut to structure for this objective. 

Why Extract THC with Olive Oil?

Since fats and cannabinoids are both classified as hydrophobic, THC molecules soften quickly in lipids when they are heated together through a solution. This friendly connection carries on in the body, where everyone’s cherished psychoactive molecule stays in the adipose tissue and stays there for around 30 days or more. 

This long-term connection in the tissue is the factor why you can still get a failing result on a drug test even after a full month of not being high. 

THC can be extracted in various fats. But there is one that is known to provide the best result and perhaps the most convenient one – the olive oil. Olive oil is abundant in monounsaturated fatty acids. This is the reason why a lot of people love a conventional Mediterranean diet. They get the benefit of a low risk of stroke or heart attack. 

Also, this oil is high in antioxidants which are known to be an efficient component in alleviating inflammation. And extracting THC with olive oil will make it an even healthier alternative. It is also a simple way to add an accurately quantified THC dose to nearly any meal. 

What Temperature is required to stimulate the Cannabis?

The temperature that you should use to heat the cannabis is quite a subject of debate. There may be more ideal temperatures available out there, and you will not be troubled in locating people that assert that theirs is the best. 

For their defense, they can be correct. However, some temperatures are backed up with scientific proof. At the end of the day, you will have a challenging time determining the temperatures with a notably unique effect than these. To put it in other words, these temperatures will carry out the task. 

Dosage Guide to Olive Oil Extracting THC

Cannabis-leavened cooking oil dribbled beside a cannabis flower. The dosage navigates to creating cannabis oil happens to be a bit complex. You are going to have a difficult time searching the definite potency of the oil that you are making. It is also good to note that since certain recipes are going to need more amount of oils than others, you are going to like to use the suggested quantity of oil into the mixture, hence it is not too compelling. But, still, it is up to you.

The Issue

It is not always simple to determine the precise potency of the cannabis that you are using. Particularly that you have stimulated the cannabis. You may have a harsh idea of the THC percentage, nevertheless, there is still plenty of rooms for shortcomings. 

You must bear in your mind that if there is a minimal mistake in your assumptions at the start, this mistake will be carried out throughout, and it may bring the ultimate potency percentage mortified by quite a little. 

The Solution

You can utilize a dosage calculator to assist you if you are cooking cannabis oil. This device should assist you to achieve a fuzzy estimate for the oil potency. This calculator will immediately update if you will record your data. It works effectively for both cannabis flowers and kief.

Conclusion

Extracting THC with olive oil is the best choice. Olive oil is affordable, not toxic, or flammable, and the oil requires to be heated up to only the boiling point of water. However, one disadvantage is that olive oil can’t be concentrated. That creates ingestion of bigger volumes harder, although for most scenarios the potency is more than sufficient. 

THC is produced into the oil while in the heating process. The oils that have a higher content of fat penetrate the majority of the plant’s THC. Olive oil has a higher content of fat compared to canola. Nevertheless, you should remember not to expose them to an extremely high temperature. The moment the THC is integrated with any oil, you have to maintain the heat comparably low. You should not allow boiling.