Up until fairly recently, weed was mostly consumed through smoking joints, blunts, pipes and bongs. However, as interest in cannabis continues to grow, so does the number of ways through which we can enjoy it.
In particular, an increasing number of cannabis users are moving away from smoking altogether and are making the switch to vaping (vaporising).
Vaping advantages
Vaping cannabis holds several advantages over smoking. For example; vaping is safer than smoking as it does not combust the plant material, which produces toxic substances.
Vaping also provides more discretion as it produces minimal smell in comparison to smoking – this is great for those wishing to get high in stealth mode!
In the UK, while CBD vape oil is sold legally, it’s often difficult to find THC vape oil unless using the dark web. Even then, you can’t be sure of how the oil was produced or if it contains any harmful contaminants.
The only way to be sure what you are consuming is to make it yourself. And luckily, it’s not too difficult to make your own vape oil.
This simple step by step guide will take you through the easiest method of doing just that.
What you’ll need
- 5-7g of high-quality bud (THC or CBD flower) or 1g of cannabis concentrate
- 2 glass jars (leave these in the freezer for 2 hours before)
- Strainer
- Baking sheet
- Cooking pot
- Thermometer
- Aluminium foil
- Dropper bottles (to store your finished creation)
- High percentage alcohol (ideally proof grain ethanol or isopropyl 99% – you can buy these on amazon)
- One of the following – EJ mix or cannabis derived terpenes.
Step 1: Decarboxylation
Firstly, you’ll need to decarb your weed. This is an easy process – you can read our decarboxylation guide here.
Before decarbing your cannabis, place your two glass jars in the freezer in preparation for the next step.
Step 2: Alcohol Bath
This step involves creating your vape oil mixture so it’s ready for the heating process.
Take one glass jar out of the freezer. The cold temperature will help separate any unwanted fats from your cannabinoids and terpenes.
Now fill the glass jar with your crispy, decarbed weed.
Pour your high grain alcohol into the glass and allow your buds to soak. Pour in just enough so that the weed is completely submerged. Then, gently shake the mixture back and forth.
**Don’t shake the mixture up and down as this will aggravate the mixture too much.**
Put the jar back in the freezer and leave for another 2 minutes.
Once 2 minutes are up, take the second jar, place the cheesecloth on top of it and pour the mixture through. Make sure you squeeze the cheesecloth over the jar to get every last drop.
Step 3: Heating your vape oil
This is the final stage where you’ll need your cooking pot, thermometer and terpenes or EJ mix.
Fill your pot with roughly 5 inches of water. Then, place your jar with liquid in it and heat at 70 °C for an hour.
After the hour is up you should be left with cannabis concentrate.
**Be careful – alcohol is highly flammable so make sure your room is well ventilated and don’t let flames near the alcohol. **
When heated, the alcohol should evaporate – when there’s no alcohol left in the jar this is when you’ll add your terpenes or EJmix.
For EJ mix use (recommended & easiest) drop 1ml of liquid in for every gram of concentrate you’ve produced.
For terpene mixtures – you can use around 25mg. Using more will produce bigger vape clouds, however, this will likely mean a lower THC content and a harsher throat hit. If you’re looking to get as high as possible, use just enough terpenes.
You’ve now produced your very own vape oil! All that is left now is to transfer the solution into a dropper for easy storage, you can do this through the use of a syringe.
If after cooling the mixture has hardened, try applying gentle heat until it softens.
Final notes
Creating your own vape oil is a relatively simple process. However – make sure you take all the proper safety precautions.
The most important thing is to ensure you keep any flames away from the alcohol during the heating process. The alcohol is inside a jar though, which is then placed in boiling water, so this should eliminate any risk.
The smell emitted whilst vaping cannabis should be virtually non-existent in comparison to smoking. However, if you do find the smell or taste of cannabis is too strong you can add your own flavoured oils.
Remember: When experimenting with new methods of consuming cannabis, always start off with small doses to test the strength.
Should I decarb the weed at the start of the process?