Here’s Why Making CBD Oil at Home Is A Pretty Big Deal

If you’re a dedicated DIYer, you may want to try making CBD oil at home. After all, now that hemp is legal in the U.S., many more people are exploring it’s uses.  Remember, hemp is a variety of the Cannabis Sativa plant. And, to be legally classified as hemp in the United States, it must contain less than 0.3 % THC.

As a result, hemp plants aren’t psychoactive. But they are the main source for CBD oil. (Thanks to low THC concentrations, the plant usually contains high CBD quantities.) Recently, people seeking healthy alternative supplements turned to CBD oil, claiming it helps them with many different ailments. In turn, they wanted to try making CBD oil at home. But that process isn’t so simple, which is something you’ll understand better by diving into the origins of this cannabinoid.

What is CBD?

CBD is a cannabinoid. (In case you don’t know, that’s the term we use to describe naturally occurring chemical compounds, found inside hemp plants.)  Research suggests it has pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory, and anti-anxiety properties. And these early reports suggest it may help manage a wide variety of afflictions.

Given these early findings, many people with inflammation, chronic pain, nausea, sleep disruptions, muscle spasms, and even seizures seek relief by turning to CBD. While the results are mostly anecdotal, reports are positive. And these early reports has helped increase this cannabinoid’s popularity.

Today, you can buy your CBD online or in stores. Now, some people feel better served by making CBD oil at home. And it’s true, doing so allows you to create an oil that exactly suits. You can choose the raw product and the alcohol base, ensuring that you know exactly what’s going into your oil.

For some people, that control is crucial. Some manufacturers use commercial additives, or conceal some of their ingredients, so you don’t enjoy product transparency. (Of course, at Tanasi, we provide full ingredients transparency, confirmed by third-party lab tests.) But not every manufacturer provides the same proof of product, which is why you may choose to explore the DIY CBD oil process.

Making CBD Oil at Home

To start making CBD oil at home, you first need the right materials. You can choose hemp or marijuana leaves flowers. (But steer clear of hemp seeds, since they don’t contain cannabinoids.)

Of course, you have to carefully choose your starting material based on your local laws. While marijuana is still a federally controlled substance in the United States, some states allow you to use THC medicinally or recreationally. But if marijuana isn’t legal in your area, you’ll need to source CBD from hemp plants, so that it has THC concentrations within your allowable limits.

To get the most out of your end product, you’ll also want to choose hemp strains with high quantities of CBD. You may prefer to work with organically grown hemp-flower, since that guarantees certain safer growing practices. Then, once you’ve got the CBD source, you’ll need extraction substances. And the ones you choose will depend on your preferred CBD extraction method.

Two Methods, One Result

You can make CBD oil at home using one of the two most popular methods: oil or alcohol. Once you choose between carrier oil or alcohol for extraction, you’ll also need an infuser or decarboxylator, baking sheets, a pot, some cheese cloth or coffee filters, and a thermometer.

Whether you use oil or alcohol, the two key to making CBD oil are decarboxylation and infusion. These sound very scientific, but you can perform both steps. (With a little guidance.) Basically, during decarboxylation, we heat hemp or marijuana buds to activate the internal cannabinoids. The activation during heating works similarly to smoking raw hemp or marijuana flowers.  It transforms the cannabinoids acidic precursors, like CBDa and THCA, into CBD and THC. And, once that happens, you can infuse the cannabinoids into alcohol or carrier oils.

What is Decarboxylation? Taking a Closer Look

In professional settings, manufacturers use a decarboxylator. The equipment allows precision heating, since it  be maintains the exact temperature necessary to guarantee cannabinoids will be completely activated.

Some people buy decarboxylation equipment with a built-in infusion cycle. But that’s a big investment, one that’s not worth making unless you plan to keep making CBD oil at home in the future. Instead, you can use an ordinary oven to bake your raw material on baking sheets. The process should take about an hour, at a temperature of 138° C or 280° F. While the oven-baking process is less precise, the cost of a decarboxylator is high. So it’s not worth investing unless you plan to make a regular habit of making CBD oil.

Once you have activated cannabis, you’ll need to infuse an oil so you can create a CBD tincture.  Some popular carrier oil options include coconut oil, olive oil, ghee, avocado oil or even butter, if that’s your preference. The taste and texture of your CBD oil can be affected by the oil that you choose for infusion. If you want your CBD oil to be tasteless then you should use MCT, or medium chain glyceride oil. (As an added bonus, MCT oil is Keto friendly, and may offer its own unique health benefits.)

Time to Activate: Making CBD Oil Recipe

All these recipes assume you’re using 5g of hemp or marijuana. Once your buds are dried out, you can pour 3/4 cup of your chosen carrier oil into a decarboxylator, if you have one, so you can start the infusion cycle. (If you don’t have special equipment, you can use a pot instead.)

Whether using a pot or decarboxylater, you should conduct the infusion at a low heat of 93°C or 200°F. Allow the process to continue for at least two hours. Now, here comes the tricky part. Throughout the infusion process, you’ll need to carefully check temperatures with your thermometer, adjusting your heat source if the internal heat rises. That’s crucial, since excessive heat can affect the cannabinoids in your oil.

After a few hours, allow your mixture to cool to room temperature. Next, strain it through a cheese cloth, coffee filter, or a sieve. With the remaining plant matter strained away, you now have your CBD oil. Make sure you store it carefully, in a glass container with an airtight seal. This should retain its quality for up to a year, although it may start to lose potency earlier if your mixing conditions weren’t carefully controlled.

As we mentioned earlier, you can also employ alcohol for making CBD oil. The end result will give a tincture that you can use sublingually (with a dose placed underneath your tongue.) Now, to make this product, you’ll need to work with high-proof, food-grade alcohol.

Here again, your product choice is important. That’s because, with higher alcohol content, it will be easier to extract the active cannabinoids from your buds. Before infusion, you’ll decarboxylate buds as you would when working with carrier oils. Then, you’ll mix the activated material in a glass jar with 750 ml of your chosen alcohol, making sure that the jar is well sealed. Next, keep that jar in a dark and cool place, giving it a shake once or twice a day. Keep up this process for at least 2 to 3 weeks. After that, strain your mix and store as you would other forms of CBD oil.

As you can see, making CBD oil at home can be a time-consuming, complicated and expensive product. But here’s the good news: buying CBD online is simple and cost-effective. Want to save yourself the work and begin exploring the potential benefits of CBD? Head over to our internet CBD store, and browse our selection of lab-tested, full-spectrum CBD products.