This method does not use heat so keeps the integrity of the cannabinoids intact.
Fill the jar 3/4 full of dry, crushed herb.
Fill the rest of the jar with alcohol, leaving some room at top.
Shake the jar vigorously once or twice a day for two weeks, or until there is no green colour left in the plant matter.
Strain through a fine strainer or silkscreen.Use whatever kind of clean glass, not plastic,jar you have with a tight lid. One-quart mason jars are ideal.
Grind the herb thoroughly in a blender. It should be well ground but doesn't have to be a powder.
Fill the jar 3/4 full of herb; it does not have to be exact. You can use anywhere from half to 3/4 herb, but 3/4 will make a full strength tincture.
Use the highest proof alcohol you can find,like Polmos Spirytus Rectified Spirit which is 95% from Dan Murphy's, otherwise just use the highest proof vodka you can find.
If you are making tincture to ingest rather than oil to smoke then extra sugars won't matter.
Pour alcohol over the herb, filling the rest of the jar.
Leave just enough space at the top so that you will be able to shake the jar.
Stir the mixture; the herb will absorb some of the alcohol so you may need to add more.
Put the lid on tightly; label the contents and the date you started. It takes two weeks for the alcohol to extract all the active elements from the herb.
Shake the jar once or twice a day for 2 weeks. The alcohol will rise to the top and a deep green/red colour will develop.
After 2 weeks of aging you can strain the tincture through a metal tea strainer or a silk screen into a small tincture bottle with a dropper.You can leave the rest in the jar if you want, it will age and mellow in flavour and strain off as much as you need for a dose.
Alcohol is a strong preservative it will keep for a long time. Be careful when handling the tincture, it stains and will turn everything it comes in contact with, green. Use anti-bacterial dish soap, the orange kind, to clean the glass, metal or other ceramic utensils, (do not use plastic) sinks and counter tops works best at dissolving THC residue.
Dosage varies per individual. Start with half a dropper dissolved in hot tea or water. Hot tea will dissipate some of the alcohol and activate the THC.
Great for pain relief e.g. toothache. Dosage depends on the severity of the pain. A few drops to a 1ml straight on the tooth whenever necessary.
THC travels to damaged nerves before it reaches the brain so you won't get 'stoned' but you will get pain relief. And if you've been there, you'll know the euphoria pain relief can bring.
There are many other uses for tincture. "In 19th century medicine, tincture of Cannabis was used mostly as a sedative and antispasmodic for insomnia, migraine,epilepsy, excitability, childbirth, and menstrual discomfort.
Cannabis was used as a remedy for constipation, rheumatic pain, absent-mindedness, female disorders, dysentery,dandruff, headache, mania, whooping cough,earache, tuberculosis, nodes/tumours, snakebite, asthma, muscular dystrophy.
This list is not exhaustive, there are more. The modern medical recommendations of Cannabis include using it as a painkiller, anti-asthmatic, anti-convulsant, anti-rheumatic,sedative, anti-diarrhoeal, anti-pyretic, anti-biotic and anti-tumour.