Cant You Vacuum Distill SUPER PURE Hash Oil?!

[Blunter the kid]

I apologize, I'm kind of drunk and on some other stuff

I intended on leaving y'all alone, but seriously what's the point lol.
why are y'all even attempting to discuss whatever it is your trying to do (which is way beyond both of you)
singling out compounds isn't ideal and its much easier just to make it anyway. if you want a full rounded extract, make pure crystalline hash oil like I do, or copy some patents. just use a quick wash in a polar solvent I mean seriously. 10$ a gallon for what I pay

I don't see how it's way beyond us, it's not like were trying to perform a complex synthesis or something that requires expensive equipment or a degree in chemistry.
All it takes is a simple sublimation apparatus... What im trying to figure out is the most efficient vac and temp to use its actually not as confusing as I've laid it out to be.
I realize you make qwiso hash and thats cool, but thats not what were talking about in this thread bro, if you have any pertinent information on the subject your welcome to continue posting on the other threads in this part of the forum, but no need to come in here and try to shit on our parade

 

[Blunter the kid]

I hear you on the possible legality issues. At the end of the day I guess I'm taking it on good faith that anyone looking at me and what I'm doing will know that I'm doing it for myself alone, for medical issues. I have no plans for selling any of whatever I end up with at any point in time. In fact, I couldn't afford to do any more than I already am financially. Maybe that's foolish and naive to think or assume but it's what I've resigned to at this point in my life.

Technically, in many states any concentrate or extraction is considered illegal even for medical purposes. Meaning, in some states the medical marijuana law only extends to the fresh flower buds and that's how it's supposed to be consumed and kept. So we're all still in a gray area when it comes to concentrates anyways...

If you think it's wise not to post pics & vids and rely on info alone then I'm cool with that. I don't want to bring any unwanted attention to these forums if that's a serious concern. But for me anyways, it's kinda the same reason why my avatar is my actual picture and this account is linked to my real Twitter account. I have my med card/recommendation, I have crohn's and my life is pretty much totally fucked because of it and as I said before this is all to treat myself alone and I'd like people to know this stuff helps real people like myself. It's not just some name on some forum which could be anyone halfway around the world. It's an actual person and this stuff is helping him, maybe it can help me? Maybe there's actually something to all the talk about concentrates... You know all that shite lol...

To me, this stuff and going gluten-free(since I have celiac disease as well as other auto immune diseases) are the only things that have helped me. And the chemistry side of things is just awesome in general. So when I can tell people about both all at the same time well to me that's why I'm posting all of this, so that others can learn and help themselves as well. Anyone getting into science because of this is great too. But I have thought of the consequences and whether or not to post images, vids, etc.. and thank you for your concern. This forum has been great so far! Oh and I haven't tried any straight CBD concentrate as of yet. The fractional distillation is what I was going to use to achieve my own CBD concentrate though, probably using that d-limonene when it finally gets here

Its nice to know your so passionate about doing this, I just got my glassware setup in the mail but am still missing a cold finger and a heating mantle, so I won't be able to do any testing of my own until I get those, but when I get them I'm gonna make a time lapse video of some winterized bho being sublimated, ill also weigh the winterized product and compare the weight of the final sublimate.
What are you trying to do with the limonene? Because I bought some thinking I could use it as a solvent to clean up some shake wax but found out that you can't separate your cleaned product from the limonene without overheating destroying most of the other terpenes and degrading some of the cannabinoids. Maybe vacuum distillation could work but limonene has a higher bp than THC.
I realized that the best way I could use it was by adding it to my tinctures.
Also you should check out those pure CBD chews, they contain a shit ton more cbd compared to any qwet or bho, they would probably make a more effective medicine for you than just smoking your concentrates

 

[ideletemyself]

I apologize, I'm kind of drunk and on some other stuff

I intended on leaving y'all alone, but seriously what's the point lol.
why are y'all even attempting to discuss whatever it is your trying to do (which is way beyond both of you)
singling out compounds isn't ideal and its much easier just to make it anyway. if you want a full rounded extract, make pure crystalline hash oil like I do, or copy some patents. just use a quick wash in a polar solvent I mean seriously. 10$ a gallon for what I pay

I guess I could ask you then, why try anything at all, ever?? We're well aware of the various methods out there which are both easier and less expensive but that none of which offer what we're looking for specifically. On top of which I'm scientifically curious on advanced cannabis chemistry. I find it fun, interesting and therapeutic. It helps take my mind off things and give myself some hope of relief to horrible symptoms.

And as I've said before I'm not confident enough yet to attempt an Isomerization or Acetate of THC and so I've resolved myself to extraction with d-limonene, hexane or ethanol, vacuum distill and sublimate the resulting concentrate...

To never attempt to understand that which you do not yet comprehend seems to me a bigger waste of time then anything else in my opinion...

 

[ideletemyself]

Its nice to know your so passionate about doing this, I just got my glassware setup in the mail but am still missing a cold finger and a heating mantle, so I won't be able to do any testing of my own until I get those, but when I get them I'm gonna make a time lapse video of some winterized bho being sublimated, ill also weigh the winterized product and compare the weight of the final sublimate.
What are you trying to do with the limonene? Because I bought some thinking I could use it as a solvent to clean up some shake wax but found out that you can't separate your cleaned product from the limonene without overheating destroying most of the other terpenes and degrading some of the cannabinoids. Maybe vacuum distillation could work but limonene has a higher bp than THC.
I realized that the best way I could use it was by adding it to my tinctures.
Also you should check out those pure CBD chews, they contain a shit ton more cbd compared to any qwet or bho, they would probably make a more effective medicine for you than just smoking your concentrates

I was going to use the d-limonene to do some fractional distillation. I was going to simply vacuum distill it but the boiling point issue is a real concern. If all else fails I'll probably use it in the same way you and others are, in a tincture or if I start feeling silly maybe whip out my vap-pen.

Yeah CBD info is what consumes me now lol

 

[Blunter the kid]

I was going to use the d-limonene to do some fractional distillation. I was going to simply vacuum distill it but the boiling point issue is a real concern. If all else fails I'll probably use it in the same way you and others are, in a tincture or if I start feeling silly maybe whip out my vap-pen.

Yeah CBD info is what consumes me now lol

I'm curious to see whether thc travels with the limonene vapor, definitely post results so we know how it goes.
Also I looked back in the first page of this thread and there's a chart for the bp of thc, so really all i need to perform sublimation is the cold finger.
On another note, after I'm satisfied with sublimation, I'm gonna try to separate the individual components of the sublimate by using column chromatography, I found a great article about it, its funny that Column chromatography and sublimation are both so simple and effective compared to an expensive piece of equipment like a Tamisium that costs well over a grand, and produces a crude butane/whatever extract :/
Here's the article: http://boards.cannabis.com/marijuana-methods/134487-column-chromatography-honey-oil.html
*Sadly, for us to come up with a phase diagram for THC we would actually need a sample of pure THC in the first place to do tests with, so ill be asking the good people at skunkpharm if they have a phase diagram they could share with us but seeing as how they're currently congested with people asking questions, ill likely not get a response*

 

[SaybianTv]

I was going to use the d-limonene to do some fractional distillation. I was going to simply vacuum distill it but the boiling point issue is a real concern. If all else fails I'll probably use it in the same way you and others are, in a tincture or if I start feeling silly maybe whip out my vap-pen.

Yeah CBD info is what consumes me now lol

Did you forget what we talked about? your not boiling d-limonene your extracting it, what your boiling point is for that process is the boiling point of water.

 

[Blunter the kid]

The guys at skunkpharm didn't have the information I had asked about

 

[ideletemyself]

I'm curious to see whether thc travels with the limonene vapor, definitely post results so we know how it goes.
Also I looked back in the first page of this thread and there's a chart for the bp of thc, so really all i need to perform sublimation is the cold finger.
On another note, after I'm satisfied with sublimation, I'm gonna try to separate the individual components of the sublimate by using column chromatography, I found a great article about it, its funny that Column chromatography and sublimation are both so simple and effective compared to an expensive piece of equipment like a Tamisium that costs well over a grand, and produces a crude butane/whatever extract :/
Here's the article: http://boards.cannabis.com/marijuana-methods/134487-column-chromatography-honey-oil.html
*Sadly, for us to come up with a phase diagram for THC we would actually need a sample of pure THC in the first place to do tests with, so ill be asking the good people at skunkpharm if they have a phase diagram they could share with us but seeing as how they're currently congested with people asking questions, ill likely not get a response*

Hmm. That's coincidentally where my research has been pointing to anyways... I'm thinking now to start by reflux distilling in an ethanol solution, defat the resulting concentrate and then winterize with more ethanol.

I suppose it's a good thing that my cold finger is still on my order wishlist and now that seals the deal on getting my reflux condenser first. I'm thinking a coil condenser(not a Graham, I have a Graham which aren't for reflux since the water goes in the jacket and not the coil) but an allihn is generally cheaper it seems and is used more often than a coil so I guess it comes down to personal preference or actually using both and seeing which performs better in which applications.

On a side note my state, Arizona, recently had a clarification ruling in regards to cannabis concentrates and now they have the same protections that previously only extended to the dry flower buds for medical purposes. There's also a potential recreational legalization coming up in the fall later this year. If the initiative makes it to vote on I know my skinny white ass will be spreading the good word to get that shit passed. What a great way to shed Arizona's bad rep. in my opinion, I was born & raised in So. Cal. and have only lived here a few years but I'd love to see/hear people say good things about this state which means it would have to start doing some good things lol but yeah...

 

[ideletemyself]

Did you forget what we talked about? your not boiling d-limonene your extracting it, what your boiling point is for that process is the boiling point of water.

Yeah, about that. So I got my d-limonene and actually used a bit and added it to my tinctures, I like it but haven't seen any beneficial effects beyond possible placebo. Well, I must not have put the cap on tight enough and I must've knocked it over while changing or something.... End result, almost all my d-limonene is gone. I have about a lil less than half the original bottle.

But anyways I got how you explained to distill the d-limonene in water to purify but do you use that to then extract with and distill off? Or do you just go the long route and air evap after extraction of the flower buds? Unless the boiling point of the ultra-pure d-limonene is lower than food grade, the comments on d-limonene having a higher BP than THC still seems an unavoidable issue... Which is why I was thinking it would then make a suitable solvent for fractional distillation of different cannaboids & terpines.

My plan now as I told Blunter, is to reflux distill my flower buds in ethanol or the d-limonene maybe and then defat the resulting concentrate, vacuum distill to reclaim defat solvent and then winterize with ethanol...

Then at some point I'll try to obtain pure THC for sample/config for a future sublimation experiment.

 

[Blunter the kid]

Hmm. That's coincidentally where my research has been pointing to anyways... I'm thinking now to start by reflux distilling in an ethanol solution, defat the resulting concentrate and then winterize with more ethanol.

I suppose it's a good thing that my cold finger is still on my order wishlist and now that seals the deal on getting my reflux condenser first. I'm thinking a coil condenser(not a Graham, I have a Graham which aren't for reflux since the water goes in the jacket and not the coil) but an allihn is generally cheaper it seems and is used more often than a coil so I guess it comes down to personal preference or actually using both and seeing which performs better in which applications.

On a side note my state, Arizona, recently had a clarification ruling in regards to cannabis concentrates and now they have the same protections that previously only extended to the dry flower buds for medical purposes. There's also a potential recreational legalization coming up in the fall later this year. If the initiative makes it to vote on I know my skinny white ass will be spreading the good word to get that shit passed. What a great way to shed Arizona's bad rep. in my opinion, I was born & raised in So. Cal. and have only lived here a few years but I'd love to see/hear people say good things about this state which means it would have to start doing some good things lol but yeah...

I'm curious about what your going to attempt, your going to reflux your ethanol with your plant matter and condense in a separate flask if Im understanding correctly, but where's the plant material going to go after your done refluxing? It's gonna be a sticky mess if you don't remove It before you recollect the ethanol
It would make things a bit more simple if you buy a Soxhlet like this one - http://m.ebay.com/itm?itemId=291161571271

I'm thinking even after you defat, strain, and distill to collect the ethanol you'll be left with a concentrate mostly full of chlorophylls, carotenes, the diterpene cannabinoids which do not readily evaporate like other compounds such as the terpenes, alcohols, ketones, esters, and aldehydes because the cannabinoids' high molecular weights.
Could you help me to understand what your gonna do with the crude concentrate after you remove the plant material and collect the ethanol?
I would imagine you could use the ethanol to pick up all the aromatic chemicals by distilling through a packed soxhlet column but I could be wrong and it could also pick up tons chlorophyll just like refluxing :/

Edit: Are you refluxing to remove anything at all possibly active from the material and then perform column chromatography on it to separate the compounds because I'm really confused about how your going to end up with a cleaner concentrate, could u elaborate for me?

 

[ideletemyself]

I'm curious about what your going to attempt, your going to reflux your ethanol with your plant matter and condense in a separate flask if Im understanding correctly, but where's the plant material going to go after your done refluxing? It's gonna be a sticky mess if you don't remove It before you recollect the ethanol
It would make things a bit more simple if you buy a Soxhlet like this one - http://m.ebay.com/itm?itemId=291161571271

I'm thinking even after you defat, strain, and distill to collect the ethanol you'll be left with a concentrate mostly full of chlorophylls, carotenes, the diterpene cannabinoids which do not readily evaporate like other compounds such as the terpenes, alcohols, ketones, esters, and aldehydes because the cannabinoids' high molecular weights.
Could you help me to understand what your gonna do with the crude concentrate after you remove the plant material and collect the ethanol?
I would imagine you could use the ethanol to pick up all the aromatic chemicals by distilling through a packed soxhlet column but I could be wrong and it could also pick up tons chlorophyll just like refluxing :/

Edit: Are you refluxing to remove anything at all possibly active from the material and then perform column chromatography on it to separate the compounds because I'm really confused about how your going to end up with a cleaner concentrate, could u elaborate for me?

For sure, let me explain...

I think you're forgetting that I will be boiling my ethanol under vacuum and since I'll be refluxing that means most if not all of my solvent should remain in my boiling flask. It won't or shouldn't be able to concentrate into a resin at that beginning stage but even if it did I would simply dissolve the resin in warm/hot ethanol and then strain. At any rate I'll simply pour out the boiling flask contents into my vacuum filtration setup. At that point I'll setup my vacuum distill and reclaim my ethanol. I'll then use a non-polar solvent to defat the resulting concentrate and run it through activated carbon if need be but since I'll be using the big T-word I doubt that will be necessary.

I want to pickup a soxhlet in the near future but since they run $100+ for decent ones anyways, I'm waiting on that and just doing a traditional reflux with the coil condenser I'm ordering w/priority shipping on Friday, payday lol...

The past couple of weeks have been incredibly trying for me because of pain issues so I've taken it upon myself to start testing Kratom along with the other medicinal plant I'm already experimenting with. The only reason I mention this is that's why this whole process is taking so long for myself anyways. Only so much time, money & energy can be spent in so many places but I digress...

Oh and here's SkunkPharm's tek on refluxing if you're interested, though they use a vastly different setup the principles remain the same: https://www.greenpassion.org/index.php/topic/25843-skunk-pharm-reflux-extraction-procedure/

 

[Blunter the kid]

For sure, let me explain...

I think you're forgetting that I will be boiling my ethanol under vacuum and since I'll be refluxing that means most if not all of my solvent should remain in my boiling flask. It won't or shouldn't be able to concentrate into a resin at that beginning stage but even if it did I would simply dissolve the resin in warm/hot ethanol and then strain. At any rate I'll simply pour out the boiling flask contents into my vacuum filtration setup. At that point I'll setup my vacuum distill and reclaim my ethanol. I'll then use a non-polar solvent to defat the resulting concentrate and run it through activated carbon if need be but since I'll be using the big T-word I doubt that will be necessary.

I want to pickup a soxhlet in the near future but since they run $100+ for decent ones anyways, I'm waiting on that and just doing a traditional reflux with the coil condenser I'm ordering w/priority shipping on Friday, payday lol...

The past couple of weeks have been incredibly trying for me because of pain issues so I've taken it upon myself to start testing Kratom along with the other medicinal plant I'm already experimenting with. The only reason I mention this is that's why this whole process is taking so long for myself anyways. Only so much time, money & energy can be spent in so many places but I digress...

Oh and here's SkunkPharm's tek on refluxing if you're interested, though they use a vastly different setup the principles remain the same: https://www.greenpassion.org/index.php/topic/25843-skunk-pharm-reflux-extraction-procedure/

Okay lol I was way off, thanks for helping me get a better idea of your process.
I already do a similar thing to refluxing, I use dry ice with ethanol which causes the solution to boil while the co2 escapes from the mixture.
It works pretty well to perform multiple washes.
I think I'm gonna try out your process with a couple changes, mainly I'm gonna defat with acetone and extract the resulting concentrate with chloroform and see how it ends up. Since I don't have my cold finger either I'll have to occupy myself with other extraction techniques, also here's a picture of my glassware setup

 

[ideletemyself]

Okay lol I was way off, thanks for helping me get a better idea of your process.
I already do a similar thing to refluxing, I use dry ice with ethanol which causes the solution to boil while the co2 escapes from the mixture.
It works pretty well to perform multiple washes.
I think I'm gonna try out your process with a couple changes, mainly I'm gonna defat with acetone and extract the resulting concentrate with chloroform and see how it ends up. Since I don't have my cold finger either I'll have to occupy myself with other extraction techniques, also here's a picture of my glassware setup

lol, your glassware set gave me a right good chemistry stiffy! nice set!

I've seen that combination of acetone & chloroform before but I seem to remember reading it in older extraction teks or patents. Most of the ones I read that are more current, like the patent US6403126 which sites the primary solvents used as ethanol, toluene and hexane though they readily state that other solvents can/may be used and they site chloroform and dichloromethane. I'm going with toluene because it's relatively cheap, it's still toxic but not THAT toxic and minimizes the amount of chemicals I have to keep on hand each week for making my medicine...

But it all comes down to personal preference it seems as there's no "silver bullet" solvent, each has pro's & con's in various situations of use...

My plan is to now try very hard to find the absolute highest CBD strain flower buds that I can and make the most potent CBD concentrate that I can. A side note, toluene is often used in the fractional distillation of cannabis along with ethanol yet another reason I went with toluene.

I can't wait to see our results so we can compare the different styles & solvents.

 

[Blunter the kid]

lol, your glassware set gave me a right good chemistry stiffy! nice set!

I've seen that combination of acetone & chloroform before but I seem to remember reading it in older extraction teks or patents. Most of the ones I read that are more current, like the patent US6403126 which sites the primary solvents used as ethanol, toluene and hexane though they readily state that other solvents can/may be used and they site chloroform and dichloromethane. I'm going with toluene because it's relatively cheap, it's still toxic but not THAT toxic and minimizes the amount of chemicals I have to keep on hand each week for making my medicine...

But it all comes down to personal preference it seems as there's no "silver bullet" solvent, each has pro's & con's in various situations of use...

My plan is to now try very hard to find the absolute highest CBD strain flower buds that I can and make the most potent CBD concentrate that I can. A side note, toluene is often used in the fractional distillation of cannabis along with ethanol yet another reason I went with toluene.

I can't wait to see our results so we can compare the different styles & solvents.

Thanks I got that set
for $190 on eBay
I just wish I had a nice 1000ml heating mantle w/ magnetic stirrer and a 1000ml 3 neck round bottom flask so I could get these projects rolling lol.

I had also read about both DCM and Chloroform being the most selective solvents for cannabinoids, so I'm gonna do a quick wash of chloroform on fresh buds and evaporate; then use some ethanol to dilute the extract put it through a vacuum filter, defat if necessary, and then evaporate again to remove what residual chloroform I can as the ethanol evaporates under vacuum at 90 degrees on a thin film.

I imagine the resulting extract is gonna end up a lot like a standard ethanol extract but it will a be cleaner extract and it will be a more fool proof procedure than ethanol.

It's probably gonna be off putting to most because the extraction involves chloroform, but the chloroform will be long gone by the time the ethanol is.

I'll be attempting to make up a batch of chloroform soon enough, the synth is as easy as making pancake batter so I'll post results

 

[ideletemyself]

Thanks I got that set
for $190 on eBay
I just wish I had a nice 1000ml heating mantle w/ magnetic stirrer and a 1000ml 3 neck round bottom flask so I could get these projects rolling lol.

I had also read about both DCM and Chloroform being the most selective solvents for cannabinoids, so I'm gonna do a quick wash of chloroform on fresh buds and evaporate; then use some ethanol to dilute the extract put it through a vacuum filter, defat if necessary, and then evaporate again to remove what residual chloroform I can as the ethanol evaporates under vacuum at 90 degrees on a thin film.

I imagine the resulting extract is gonna end up a lot like a standard ethanol extract but it will a be cleaner extract and it will be a more fool proof procedure than ethanol.

It's probably gonna be off putting to most because the extraction involves chloroform, but the chloroform will be long gone by the time the ethanol is.

I'll be attempting to make up a batch of chloroform soon enough, the synth is as easy as making pancake batter so I'll post results

Interesting about the selectivity of chloroform in regards to cannabinoids, I might go ahead and pick up some if that's indeed the case...

Here's a link to the company I go through to get chemistry related stuff. I got my heating mantle /w magnetic stirring there and it was a great deal... It's also where I usually order my chemicals from as well:

TheScienceCompany

Yeah, a lot of people don't want their medicine to touch anything toxic but usually that's because they don't fully understand the techniques and science behind it all. OR they know someone who used such stuff and that person prolly didn't winterize with ethanol afterwards or didn't have sufficient vacuum purging... Whether they like it or not the fact remains that these chemicals and processes are used in many other applications and if done properly have ZERO or effectively ZERO negative or carcinogenic effects afterwards. Hell, it even took myself some time to become comfortable with this reality...

 

[Blunter the kid]

Interesting about the selectivity of chloroform in regards to cannabinoids, I might go ahead and pick up some if that's indeed the case...

Here's a link to the company I go through to get chemistry related stuff. I got my heating mantle /w magnetic stirring there and it was a great deal... It's also where I usually order my chemicals from as well:

TheScienceCompany

Yeah, a lot of people don't want their medicine to touch anything toxic but usually that's because they don't fully understand the techniques and science behind it all. OR they know someone who used such stuff and that person prolly didn't winterize with ethanol afterwards or didn't have sufficient vacuum purging... Whether they like it or not the fact remains that these chemicals and processes are used in many other applications and if done properly have ZERO or effectively ZERO negative or carcinogenic effects afterwards. Hell, it even took myself some time to become comfortable with this reality...

Yea a lot of people need to learn more about the chemicals they're using to extract, the mj community seems to have a phobia of unfamiliar solvents, which is a shame because it feels like the extraction techniques for this plant are medieval.
If you look into extraction of Cacti or MHRB, amateur chemists are taking advantage of the solubilities of acids/bases by adjusting ph and causing the desired compound or compounds to precipitate from solution - and that is just the standard method of extraction; alternatively the most advanced methods discussed on marijuana forums are usually just standard methods with slight variations on details such as temp and time required for purging.
It's almost as if the mj community has no desire to move forward and innovate, everybody is content with Qwiso, bho, bubble, or dry sift.
There is a technique for precipitating cannabinoids from solution when in their carboxylic acid form, why is this kind of thing never discussed, even when someone it brings up..?
Here's a forum post that explains it: https://cannabis.community.forums.ozstoners.com/topic/24746-unique-thcathc-extraction-and-purification-tek/

 

[ideletemyself]

Yea a lot of people need to learn more about the chemicals they're using to extract, the mj community seems to have a phobia of unfamiliar solvents, which is a shame because it feels like the extraction techniques for this plant are medieval.
If you look into extraction of Cacti or MHRB, amateur chemists are taking advantage of the solubilities of acids/bases by adjusting ph and causing the desired compound or compounds to precipitate from solution - and that is just the standard method of extraction; alternatively the most advanced methods discussed on marijuana forums are usually just standard methods with slight variations on details such as temp and time required for purging.
It's almost as if the mj community has no desire to move forward and innovate, everybody is content with Qwiso, bho, bubble, or dry sift.
There is a technique for precipitating cannabinoids from solution when in their carboxylic acid form, why is this kind of thing never discussed, even when someone it brings up..?
Here's a forum post that explains it: https://cannabis.community.forums.ozstoners.com/topic/24746-unique-thcathc-extraction-and-purification-tek/

It's pretty funny you mention this because this is the exact way in which I've been extracting goodies from a flower used to treat pain(I'll let your imagination fill in the blank though it's not difficult to guess what I'm talking about). I've been reading up on teks for various substances on mytacopia, they have some killer extraction, defatting & purification teks for all types of things.

I totally agree that the MJ community is stuck in the midevil when there is a Renaissance happening elsewhere. It's like we all found out about concentrates and then rested on the shoulders of giants instead of taking the lead. The sketchiness of the laws I suspect is the most contributing factor and I can't say I blame them, prison is bad mmmmkay. I truly hope more states go legal if only so people like ourselves and actual research labs can fully explore these areas of potential rediscovery or new ground breaking techniques and not have to worry about it in the back of our minds.

My biggest problem right now is the difficulty in getting strains of buds which are known to be high in CBD content. Most of the dispensaries in my area don't even do testing though one will if you request it. I've found teks to isomerize CBD into THC but haven't come across the reverse which is what I'm wanting to do now... If CBD can be turned into THC then the reverse has to be possible as well, right?

 

[Blunter the kid]

It's pretty funny you mention this because this is the exact way in which I've been extracting goodies from a flower used to treat pain(I'll let your imagination fill in the blank though it's not difficult to guess what I'm talking about). I've been reading up on teks for various substances on mytacopia, they have some killer extraction, defatting & purification teks for all types of things.

I totally agree that the MJ community is stuck in the midevil when there is a Renaissance happening elsewhere. It's like we all found out about concentrates and then rested on the shoulders of giants instead of taking the lead. The sketchiness of the laws I suspect is the most contributing factor and I can't say I blame them, prison is bad mmmmkay. I truly hope more states go legal if only so people like ourselves and actual research labs can fully explore these areas of potential rediscovery or new ground breaking techniques and not have to worry about it in the back of our minds.

My biggest problem right now is the difficulty in getting strains of buds which are known to be high in CBD content. Most of the dispensaries in my area don't even do testing though one will if you request it. I've found teks to isomerize CBD into THC but haven't come across the reverse which is what I'm wanting to do now... If CBD can be turned into THC then the reverse has to be possible as well, right?

We'll perhaps THC could be converted to CBD but from what I've read about in a lot of other kinds of extraction teks and syntheses, not all reactions are reversible and few if any are reversible in quantitative yields, so maybe isomerization isn't the best thing if your looking for CBD because the only information that exists about isomerization of cannabinoids is used to turn all others into THC and not the other way around sadly
You would definitely be better off growing a few high CBD plants like this strain:
http://canadianhempco.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2612
Also, in a lot of the literature that I've read about cbd, they use it in very very small doses to achieve a medicinal affect, ive read of doses like 1000ug being effective at treating inflammation and maintaining a balance on your endocannabinoid system, that means that if u dilute your concentrate 20:1, then each individual drop of medicine will be all you need to medicate anywhere.
So when you get a high cbd strain and make concentrate out of it, you should be dissolving in it fat, alcohol, or glycerin and eating it in tiny amounts to achieve the most medicinal effect without wasting any cbd.
And then sit back and take a big dab of some good potent extracts lol

 

[ideletemyself]

We'll perhaps THC could be converted to CBD but from what I've read about in a lot of other kinds of extraction teks and syntheses, not all reactions are reversible and few if any are reversible in quantitative yields, so maybe isomerization isn't the best thing if your looking for CBD because the only information that exists about isomerization of cannabinoids is used to turn all others into THC and not the other way around sadly
You would definitely be better off growing a few high CBD plants like this strain:
http://canadianhempco.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2612
Also, in a lot of the literature that I've read about cbd, they use it in very very small doses to achieve a medicinal affect, ive read of doses like 1000ug being effective at treating inflammation and maintaining a balance on your endocannabinoid system, that means that if u dilute your concentrate 20:1, then each individual drop of medicine will be all you need to medicate anywhere.
So when you get a high cbd strain and make concentrate out of it, you should be dissolving in it fat, alcohol, or glycerin and eating it in tiny amounts to achieve the most medicinal effect without wasting any cbd.
And then sit back and take a big dab of some good potent extracts lol

Well I have some pretty good news to report... A dispensary in my area(kinda, it's an hours drive away) is having some CBD dominate strains growing in the flowering stage as I'm typing this. So, I SHOULD be able to get my grubby hands on some of that goodness soon. Another dispensary that's actually in my own town supposedly sells tincture they get from someone that's high in CBD & low in THC or purely CBD tinctures. I'm thinking about trying the version with a lil THC still since I know the 2 work best in tandem. I guess that point is kinda moot since I'll most definitely still be dab'n as well...

Yeah, all the literature I've come across on isomerization and converting anything into anything in regards to cannabis is always CBD into THC. I'd love to find something on the reverse but I don't think that exists, so maybe this is something to explore for myself. If a process can work one way then the opposite must be possible as well... I would be willing to throw down on some shake that I know is from good buds that were high in THC to test with. That same dispense that's having CBD dominant strains grown for them also has some very decent shake from platinum wreck I think it was that would work perfectly for this.

I'm also quite interested in trying some fractional distillation to isolate certain cannabinoids and terpines and try to tailor specific compounds for my specific symptoms... I believe in the "full spectrum" theory when talking about cannabinoids, terpines or alkaloids in that they most often work best with all of whatever they're naturally found occurring with. However, it would be interesting to me to put that theory to the test with the best possible example. That being compounds tailored for a persons symptoms and see which actually work better.

I will definitely need to work on my chromatography skills in that case...

Oh and a lil tip for you, though I'm sure you've prolly seen this elsewhere but I've hardly seen it recommended in this way. Don't skimp on the vacuum grease when you get to doing this stuff. Most people will say it's so that your glassware won't lock together which can happen when using certain substances and that's true. But the bigger reason to me is that it will ensure a full seal between your ground glass joints. I know the first couple of distillations of water I performed I encountered weird temperature fluctuations where I'd have to turn up my heating mantle. Looking back that was a pretty bonehead thing for me to overlook but again most people comment on vacuum grease in regards to the glassware locking up and I, myself didn't see much if any mention of the grease being vital to ensuring a seal. I just ran out and picked up some similar generic, non-toxic silicone grease and I've had no issues with it though I'm ordering the Dow Corning stuff next Friday(again, payday lol)... Just a heads up cuz I know that was my buggaboo starting out.

 

[Blunter the kid]

Well I have some pretty good news to report... A dispensary in my area(kinda, it's an hours drive away) is having some CBD dominate strains growing in the flowering stage as I'm typing this. So, I SHOULD be able to get my grubby hands on some of that goodness soon. Another dispensary that's actually in my own town supposedly sells tincture they get from someone that's high in CBD & low in THC or purely CBD tinctures. I'm thinking about trying the version with a lil THC still since I know the 2 work best in tandem. I guess that point is kinda moot since I'll most definitely still be dab'n as well...

Yeah, all the literature I've come across on isomerization and converting anything into anything in regards to cannabis is always CBD into THC. I'd love to find something on the reverse but I don't think that exists, so maybe this is something to explore for myself. If a process can work one way then the opposite must be possible as well... I would be willing to throw down on some shake that I know is from good buds that were high in THC to test with. That same dispense that's having CBD dominant strains grown for them also has some very decent shake from platinum wreck I think it was that would work perfectly for this.

I'm also quite interested in trying some fractional distillation to isolate certain cannabinoids and terpines and try to tailor specific compounds for my specific symptoms... I believe in the "full spectrum" theory when talking about cannabinoids, terpines or alkaloids in that they most often work best with all of whatever they're naturally found occurring with. However, it would be interesting to me to put that theory to the test with the best possible example. That being compounds tailored for a persons symptoms and see which actually work better.

I will definitely need to work on my chromatography skills in that case...

Oh and a lil tip for you, though I'm sure you've prolly seen this elsewhere but I've hardly seen it recommended in this way. Don't skimp on the vacuum grease when you get to doing this stuff. Most people will say it's so that your glassware won't lock together which can happen when using certain substances and that's true. But the bigger reason to me is that it will ensure a full seal between your ground glass joints. I know the first couple of distillations of water I performed I encountered weird temperature fluctuations where I'd have to turn up my heating mantle. Looking back that was a pretty bonehead thing for me to overlook but again most people comment on vacuum grease in regards to the glassware locking up and I, myself didn't see much if any mention of the grease being vital to ensuring a seal. I just ran out and picked up some similar generic, non-toxic silicone grease and I've had no issues with it though I'm ordering the Dow Corning stuff next Friday(again, payday lol)... Just a heads up cuz I know that was my buggaboo starting out.

Lol well I got plenty of shake sitting around just waiting to be used in these experiments so I'll be attempting to make the chloroform, and that's gonna be my first experiment.
Also I appreciate the heads up about the grease, but what I'm really worried about is if my rotary pump is too strong and if it has a chance of breaking the glassware when it reaches full vacuum, i know it's a kinda silly question but should I be using a hand pump?