Green Dragon Tincture

I never for a moment suspected that at 65 years old I would be happily working in a Medical Marijuana Facility in a small town in Maine. I have indulged in a smoke or two over the years and I am a strong supporter of the medical benefits of Marijuana. I have used CBD for years and have seen some pretty remarkable healing processes brought about by this amazing and versatile plant.

I have a background in Herbal healing so I had done a little research on using Marijuana in tinctures and oils, but due to the initial expense and the fact that marijuana was still illegal in most states, I never really thought about the full healing benefits of doing so until recently.

When I met my husband, he was working in a brand new MMF. He took me in to see his workplace one day and I was totally hooked. I fell in love with the sights, the smells and the magnificence of the green beauties raising their leaves skyward. It wasn’t long before I started working there as a bud trimmer and my husband and I tied the marital knot in our workplace in front of our coworkers and with a cannabis friendly interfaith Chaplain presiding.

Eventually I got promoted to the front end of the business, checking in new patients and taking orders from existing patients. I started to hear stories about pain relief, healing, and the many other benefits of medical marijuana.

Because I am one of those people who have to learn everything there is to know about the business that is bringing in their paycheck, I started to read every book I could find about the care, feeding, processing etc. of marijuana.

I learned about male and female plants, how they reproduce, and how they can even self pollinate when the mood strikes. I learned about lighting, nutrients, pruning, cloning, and studied the differences between Indica and Sativa plants. My knowledge grew daily and the desire to actually start to make my own medicines grew as well.

Tinctures have been around forever. Basically they are the result of a process known as extraction. Generally speaking, alcohol has been one of the most used mediums to extract the THC, terpenes, and other beneficial parts of marijuana plants. The higher the alcohol content, the more product is extracted from the plants. Coconut oil and glycerin are also often used as mediums if you wish to have a non alcoholic based product. The extraction isn’t quite as intense, but the finished product still works very nicely.

The advantages of a tincture are many. Tinctures are easily carried, don’t smell, and can be used in just about any public place. Because the drops are placed under the tongue the THC is absorbed a lot more quickly into the blood stream. The high is more like an all over body high that relaxes but leaves one alert enough to function in social situation, and the drops can be used at any time to relieve pain or anxiety.

For the purpose of this article, we are going to be making Green Dragon. I use Everclear 190 proof as a medium and I have experimented with a few different strains of cannabis as the plant product. If you want a more mellow end result, you can choose a lower content THC level product. If, on the other hand, you want a powerhouse tincture, a higher level THC product is in order. I used Everclear and Mandarin Szittlez for a tincture and it turned out to be a favorite among my coworkers. It definitely is not for the inexperienced users among us.

The process of making a tincture is really pretty simple. You need a mason jar (I use quarts) filled almost to the top with broken up buds. They don’t need to be ground, just broken up into smallish pieces. The next step is really important, don’t skip this or the end result will be disappointing.

In order to release the CO2 from the buds you need to decarboxylate them. This process requires heat. I use my oven. I put an even layer of buds in an oven bag. I use the bag to contain the smell. Believe me when I say that the unmistakable smell of roasting weed can be pretty overbearing if you don’t have weed friendly neighbors! I put the bag on a cookie sheet and put the whole thing in a preheated 250 degree oven for 30 minutes. Terpenes are what give weed it’s unique taste and smell, so if you want a more potent concoction you can preserve more terpenes by decarbing at 230 degrees for 45 minutes.

After your weed is decarbed put it back in the mason jar and fill the jar with Everclear until it is about ½ inch above the weed matter. Shake very well. At this point some people will put the jar in a dark, cool space to extract, but I prefer to put the jar in the back of the refrigerator. Weed also contains chlorophyll which is good for the plant, but can also give the final product a very real green taste. Cold prevents too much chlorophyll from being extracted. I also keep the final product refrigerated. I put the mason jar in a brown bag and let it sit. I shake the jar every day for a week or two. There is some argument whether the product should sit a longer period of time before it is processed, but I tend to find that there really isn’t a lot of difference between two weeks or two months in the final result.

So, the two weeks have gone by and now you are ready to strain out the plants from the liquid. I use a fine mesh strainer with a handle big enough to fit into the mouth of the jar. Some people use cheesecloth. Pour the contents of the jar into another container through whichever strainer you choose to use and make sure to squeeze out the plant matter. Make sure to wear gloves. Fill small brown glass bottles with droppers with the liquid and you have Green Dragon!

Be aware that when you use the drops under your tongue there will be a more than slight burn of alcohol for a few moments.

If you want a less potent result you can make Golden Dragon using high proof Bacardi and the bud of your choice.

I will write another article soon about how to make an oil based product using coconut oil and cannabis.

Hope you enjoyed reading this article and enjoy your Green Dragon!!