How to Make Cannabis Tinctures the Easy Way?

Imagine you're chilling in a park, and you want to enjoy some cannabis. But vaping or smoking? Not an option. And edibles? Let's face it — they take ages to kick in. That's where cannabis tinctures come to the rescue. 

These discreet, fast-acting liquid extracts are perfect for when you need a precise, no-fuss dose. They're easy on your lungs, affordable to make, and super versatile. And in this article, learn how to make your own tincture at home, so you're never caught off-guard! 

What Exactly is a Cannabis Tincture?

A cannabis tincture is a potent liquid extract created by steeping cannabis buds in a solvent, usually alcohol, commonly referred to as "Green Dragon." If alcohol isn't your thing, oil can also be used as a substitute. Here, both alcohol and oil act as carriers, extracting compounds like THC and CBD from the cannabis plant. 

Tinctures are one of the easiest and most discreet ways to enjoy cannabis. Compared to vaping or smoking, they're gentler on your lungs and offer a precise, controlled dose every time. They can also work almost instantly, depending on how you take them.

They're also super simple to make, as you'll soon find out, and can be stored for ages without losing their potency. This makes tinctures especially popular among medicinal cannabis users. And did we mention it — they are cheap to make, too!

How to Use Cannabis Tinctures?

Cannabis tinctures are pretty versatile. You can add a drop to your favorite food or drink for a subtle infusion, or you can go the sublingual route by placing a drop directly under your tongue and holding it there for a few minutes.

When you consume tinctures with food or drink, the effects take a little longer to kick in. This is because the cannabis compounds must travel through your liver before reaching your bloodstream. 

Alternatively, the sublingual method is much quicker. Here, the extract is absorbed directly into your bloodstream through the tissue under your tongue, so you'll feel the effects in no time.

How to Prepare Cannabis Tinctures at Home?

Before diving into the tincture-making process, it's important to check the laws in your area. In many areas, CBD tinctures are completely legal, but THC-based ones might be a different story. Once you're confident you're in the clear, it's time to roll up your sleeves and start gathering your supplies.

What You'll Need

Here's a checklist of what you'll need to make about two ounces of tincture:

• Eight grams of buds
• Herb grinder (or your hands if you're old-school)
• Oven (for decarbing the cannabis)
• Six ounces of alcohol, food-grade (we'll talk about this in a minute)
• Unbleached cheesecloth or coffee filter
• Digital weighing scale 
• Two freezer-safe airtight jars
• Medicine droppers (for easy dosing)

Got everything? Let's get started.

Step 1: Break Up the Buds

First, grind your cannabis buds into small pieces. If you can't find a grinder, don't sweat it — you can break them up with your fingers. Just aim for a fine, even consistency.

Step 2: Decarboxylate the Cannabis

Raw cannabis doesn't contain active THC or CBD. Instead, it has compounds like THCA and CBDA that need to be "activated" through heat — a process called decarboxylation. Without this step, your tincture won't deliver the effects you're looking for.

To decarboxylate your cannabis, follow these steps:

• Set your oven to preheat at 250°F or 121°C
• On a baking sheet, start spreading the ground buds evenly 
• Start baking it for 30 minutes if you're using a strain rich in THC or 45 minutes for a strain rich in CBD

As the cannabis heats, its volume will shrink a bit, so you might want to grind up a little extra to ensure you end up with eight grams of decarbed flower. Any leftovers can be used for cannabis oil or topicals, so nothing goes to waste!

Step 3: Freeze the Alcohol and Cannabis

Once your cannabis is decarbed, weigh out 8 grams and transfer it to an airtight jar. Place this jar in the freezer. Next, pour food-grade alcohol (around six ounces) into a different jar and pop that into the freezer as well. Both need to chill for at a day, at least.

What's the point of this freezer treatment? This technique, called cold ethanol extraction, has some cool (pun intended) science behind it. Freezing helps trichomes — the parts of the plant that contain terpenes and cannabinoids — detach more easily. 

It also encourages these compounds to combine with the cold alcohol. Plus, freezing helps prevent lipids and chlorophyll from mixing into your tincture, leaving you with a clear, golden liquid rather than a murky green one.

Step 4: Soak the Cannabis in Alcohol

Post the 24-hour chill session, take the cannabis and alcohol out of the freezer. Pour the frozen alcohol (around three ounces) into the jar of frozen cannabis, seal it tightly, and shake it like your favorite cocktail for a bit. This step extracts the terpenes and cannabinoids from the plant material.

If your jar feels too frosty to hold, grab oven mitts or a hand towel for a better grip. After shaking, put the cannabis-alcohol mixture along with the extra three ounces of alcohol back in the freezer for a brief period of a couple of hours.

Step 5: Strain it Out

Once everything has been frozen over for a couple of hours, retrieve the cannabis and alcohol mixture and shake it vigorously for another five minutes. 

Next comes the straining process. Begin by pouring it through cheesecloth to remove larger particles. Next, filter it again using an unbleached coffee filter to capture any finer residues. After straining, put the leftover cannabis back into the freezer.

Step 6: Time for Another Wash and Strain

It's time for round two. This second wash ensures you get every last bit of cannabinoid goodness while removing any leftover impurities. 

Repeat the process: add the remaining frozen alcohol to the jar, shake it well, and strain it through the cheesecloth and coffee filter. By now, your tincture is nearly ready.

Step 7: Let Some of It Evaporate

At this point, you have a tincture, but it's not quite concentrated enough yet. To intensify its potency, you'll need to let some of the liquid evaporate, aka reduce the liquid by half. Leave it open in a well-ventilated area, allowing the alcohol to evaporate over a few hours slowly. 

Keep an eye on it to ensure you don't lose too much liquid.

Once the volume is halved, you're left with a highly concentrated tincture. Seal the container tightly to preserve it.

Step 8: Time to Store Your Tincture

Pour the finished tincture into a dropper bottle for easy dosing. Make sure the bottle is dark or amber to protect it from light exposure, which can degrade its quality.

Store your tincture in a cool, dark place, like a pantry or fridge, and it'll stay fresh for weeks. Whenever you're ready, just grab your dropper, and you're good to go.

What's the Best Type of Alcohol to Make Cannabis Tinctures?

For the most effective cannabis tincture, the best choices are 190-proof Everclear alcohol or 200-proof food-grade ethanol. These high-proof options are powerful solvents that easily extract cannabinoids and terpenes from the cannabis plant.

Why high-proof alcohol? Lower-proof alcohols contain more water, which slows down the extraction of the cannabinoids and can introduce unwanted compounds into the tincture.

And always use alcohol that is food-grade to ensure safety. Avoid rubbing alcohol or other non-consumable types. While some people use vodka, it's less effective and takes longer to produce a quality tincture.

No need to worry — food-grade alcohol won't make you drunk when taken in small amounts.

Can You Make Cannabis Tinctures Without Alcohol?

Yes, you can! If alcohol isn't your thing due to its taste, aftertaste, or mouthfeel, you can try using oil as a solvent instead.
These are made by infusing decarbed cannabis into a carrier oil like coconut oil, MCT oil, or olive oil. Tinctures made with oil are milder in potency and flavor but are versatile — you can even use them as skincare products or add them to your food.

While the effects of oil- and alcohol-based tinctures are similar, the main difference lies in the extraction process and the final taste.

How to Prepare an Oil-Based Cannabis Tincture?

Once you've decarbed the cannabis, continue with these steps:

Step 1: Combine Cannabis with Oil

Add the decarbed cannabis to your chosen oil in a saucepan, double boiler, or slow cooker, and start cooking them.

• Slow cooker or crockpot: Cook on low heat for 4 to 6 hours, stirring occasionally
• Saucepan: Cook on low heat for 3 hours, stirring regularly
• Double Boiler: Cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours, stirring occasionally

Pro Tip: Keep the temperature below 245°F (118°C) to prevent burning the cannabis, which can destroy the cannabinoids within.

Step 2: Filter the Mixture

Once cooking is complete, filter the oil and cannabis blend through a coffee filter or cheesecloth to remove the plant material.

Step 3: Store the Tincture

Pour the filtered oil into a sealed container and keep it in a cool and dry location. Your oil-based tincture is now ready to use!

Benefits of Cannabis Tinctures

Let's take a look at why tinctures are one of the best ways to use cannabis, especially if you can't smoke or vape it.  

• Fast-acting and Discreet

Taking cannabis tinctures sublingually, or under the tongue, has one major advantage: you experience effects much faster than other methods. Because the cannabinoids are absorbed directly into the bloodstream through the mucous membranes, one can expect effects in around 15-30 minutes, which is significantly faster than edibles. 

Tinctures are also odorless and convenient to use in public and private. They are good for someone who needs to use cannabis as privately as possible since they can just pick up the dropper and consume it. Unlike smoking and vaping, tinctures won't produce a noticeable smell or require a specific tool in order to consume.

• Easy Dosage Control

Tinctures let you dose accurately. They are great for both new and old users. You can easily dispense the exact dosage of whatever cannabinoid like THC or CBD you wish to take with a dropper.

Individuals who use THC or CBD can start with small doses of microdosing and work their way upward until they reach the dosage they prefer. This prevents them from taking too much right away.

• Long Shelf Life

If stored properly, tinctures stay good longer than many other cannabis products. As long as you store them in a dark cool place, they can last for a number of years and are unlikely to spoil. Surprisingly, they will also retain a large part of the cannabinoid content for a long time.

In contrast to cannabis flowers, tinctures are far less likely to degrade due to water, light, and air damage when they are stored correctly.

So, as you understand, people who use medicinal cannabis often find tinctures useful. 

• Won't Irritate Your Lungs

When you smoke cannabis through joints, pipes, or bongs, whether it be a cannabis flower or concentrate, you are inhaling the burnt plant. Furthermore, these burnt plant materials produce tar, carcinogens, toxins, and other harsh by-products that may be detrimental to your health. When you smoke cannabis, it can irritate your lungs and make you cough. Smoking regularly for long can lead to chronic bronchitis or worsen pre-existing bronchitis or lung problems.

People with asthma, COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), or other breathing problems can experience flare-ups and have more difficulty breathing if they smoke. Vaping is still breathing vapor. Even at high temperatures, it has an underlying solvent or irritant that can affect your lungs. 

In contrast, tinctures provide an easy smokeless, and lung-friendly way to consume cannabis. They let users experience the effects of THC, CBD, terpenes, etc., while keeping their lungs away from harmful smoke. Because of this, they are ideal for medical cannabis patients, older users, and anyone interested in less harmful, non-inhalation-based options.

Also, tinctures can be just as fast as smoking when taken under the tongue. Again, this allows users to experience the same kind of immediacy and control over effects without the downsides of inhalation.

Taking tinctures sublingually (meaning under the tongue), delivers one of the quickest experiences of cannabis — as opposed to inhaling. Since the mucous membranes in your mouth make it enter the bloodstream directly rather than going through the digestive tract. Because of this, you can typically experience the effects after 15-30 minutes. Therefore, tinctures can be a great option for patients who need fast relief from pain, anxiety, or other symptoms.

On the other hand, edibles usually begin to take effect an hour to two hours or more. Because edibles have to go through the digestive system and have their cannabinoids metabolized in the liver before entering the bloodstream, you need to wait a bit before the effects occur. THC gets metabolized into 11-hydroxy-THC (11-OH-THC) in the liver. This metabolite is believed to give smokeable or sublingual THC, a more potent high that lasts longer. However, this also means that the duration and onset times are unpredictable. 

Tinctures are a happy medium between the instant high of smoking/vaping and the longer-lasting high from edibles.

Absorbing something under the tongue works fast — the effects will show around 15 to 30 minutes. As a result, people who want quick relief may consider tinctures a good option if they prefer a smokeless alternative to cannabis.

Summary: How to Make Cannabis Tinctures the Easy Way?

Cannabis tinctures are convenient, potent, and versatile. They're quick to make, easy to store, and even easier to use. Whether you prefer the sublingual route for instant effects or want to infuse your favorite recipes, tinctures have got you covered. 

Plus, with the choice of alcohol or oil as your base, you can customize them to suit your needs and taste. So why wait? Get your supplies, follow these steps, and start making your very own cannabis tinctures today.