Hydrolife Magazine August/September 2017 [USA Edition]

grow
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CANNABIS EXTRACTS:
A DICTIONARY
Whether extracted with or without a solvent, cannabis extracts are
becoming more and more popular for both medicinal and recreational
users. Here is a more complete list of some common extracts found on
the cannabis market:
Cannabutter or Canna-oil
Cannabis-infused butter or coconut oil
Cannabis Tincture
Cannabis-infused alcohol or glycerin
Kief
Trichomes that are separated from the leaf and flower material,
usually via specialized filter screens.
Dry Sieve
A refined version of kief. Kief is run through a series of filter screens
so that only the trichome heads remain.
Hash
The most common and oldest form of smokable extract. Typically made
from pressed kief or dry sieve, or via an ice water extraction process.
Butane Honey Oil (BHO)
A cannabis extract made using butane as the main solvent. The
consistency of the product will further classify it as shatter, budder,
honeycomb, crumble, or sap.
Supercritical CO 2 Cannabis Oil
Carbon dioxide is a supercritical fluid, which means it converts
into a liquid when under extreme pressure. To make this oil,
liquid CO 2 is inserted into a vessel and pumped through a filter,
where it is separated from the plant matter once the pressure
is released. CO 2 extraction methods allow cannabinoids to be
extracted with low toxicity.
Rick Simpson Oil (RSO)
Also known as Phoenix Tears, cannabis oil, or hemp oil, RSO is
made by cooking cannabis down in a solvent to make a highly
concentrated oil. This extract can be smoked, ingested, or applied
directly to the skin.
Rosin
Rosin is a solid form of resin that is obtained by using pressure and
heat to vaporize volatile liquid terpenes. Essentially, the resinous
product is squeezed from your trim material. This extract requires no
solvent and is quickly gaining popularity among cannabis enthusiasts
and medical marijuana dispensaries.
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SMOKEABLE EXTRACTS
Instead of edible extracts, many growers
wish to create a smokable product
from their trim material. Smokeable
extracts can be made with or without
a solvent. Some of the solvents used in
these types of extracts are extremely
flammable and this can make the
process very dangerous if you do not
know what you are doing. Safety should
always be a top priority and growers
should avoid making extracts if they
are not knowledgeable about the
required safety measures. Even when
knowledgeable about the process,
growers should always take every
precaution to ensure the safest work
space possible.
EXTRACTING WITH A SOLVENT
Extracting cannabis with a solvent can
be accomplished in many ways. Many
growers invest in a closed or open
loop extraction system. These systems
generally use butane or propane as the
solvent. Other extraction methods use
carbon dioxide (CO 2), dry ice, or even
ice water as the solvent to extract the
cannabinoids. Some of these methods
are more efficient at extracting cannabinoids
than others. A high-end closed
loop extraction system will most likely
yield the highest ratio of extract to trim
material, but will also be the most expensive
system to purchase. In the end,
growers should choose a method that
they feel safe using and will provide
them with enough finished product to
feel like it was worth the effort.
EXTRACTING WITHOUT
A SOLVENT
Although non-solvent methods will not
usually yield as much pure extract as
those that use solvents, the ease of use
and increased safety are attractive attributes.
Sifting trim material with a kief
screen to extract trichomes is probably
the simplest form of non-solvent extraction.
There are even automatic tumblers
equipped with kief screens that almost
eliminate any labor associated with
the process. After screening the kief,
the product can be pressed into hash
or used as-is. Using high pressure and
heat is another way to extract cannabis
without a solvent. The resulting product
is referred to as rosin and has become
extremely popular due to the fact that it
does not contain any solvent residuals.
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