Tokers and smokers, THC pens are a miracle. But, have you ever wondered how to make your own THC vape pen juice? Over the last few years, we have seen a wave of popularity take them into the mainstream of cannabis culture. These futuristic gadgets can seem like alien technology if you’re unfamiliar, but today I’m going to show you how approachable they are by explaining a simple way to make your own vape oil at home. Note that the total process can take nearly two weeks to complete—but it will be completely worth your efforts!
With the past season spent indoors due to COVID-19 and with some states experiencing the shuttering of medical and recreational marijuana dispensaries due to COVID-19 shutdowns, many cannabis enthusiasts and medical marijuana patients saw their access to marijuana products impeded. If this pandemic has shown cannabis users anything, it’s that they need to have a backup strategy if they are to continue to enjoy marijuana during the days of an apocalypse.
Below we’ve provided a simple recipe to get you started with making your own infusions, tinctures, and juices for your vape in your own home!
What is a Vape Pen or E-Cig for Cannabis Oil?
If you’re recently joining the weed vaporizer scene, a vape pen is a device made of three essential parts: a battery, an atomizer, and a cartridge. Vape pens and e-cigs are different from Juuls or puff bars because those have a single unit which houses the battery and the atomizer, leaving you only the cartridge to play with. Vape pens allow a little bit more freedom of customization and, most importantly, are what you use for vaping cannabis oil.
The cartridge is where you’ll be inserting your homemade vape juice so that you can consume it as you would any other flavored vape juice. Usually it’s the little clear, glass part that you see the liquid in. This piece attaches to the atomizer, which contains an electric coil that heats and eventually vaporizes your vape juice putting your homemade tincture into a form you can inhale. The atomizer, in turn, connects to the battery which you will recharge in order to power your vape.
When buying parts to build your vape it is important to make sure that you are buying and fitting quality parts. There are a wide variety of vaporizer parts available, so it is a good idea to shop around and do your due diligence when building your vape. Buy from reputable suppliers and licensed vendors. Shoddily made parts or those bought from unlicensed suppliers can put you at risk of ingesting dangerous chemicals and metals in your body through your vape.
New to Vaping Tincture and Cannabis E-Juice?
Vape juice is the liquid that you put into your vapes which you vaporize and inhale to achieve those desired effects. The recipe you’re getting today is actually a tincture which can either be vaporized or consumed orally. A tincture is a mixture of alcohol and vegetable glycerin infused with marijuana, and some of you may already be familiar with tinctures through personal use. It is vaporized or consumed orally by placing a few drops under the tongue where it can most easily be absorbed into the bloodstream.
Are Tinctures Better Than Edibles?
Though tincture and edibles can both be consumed orally, tinctures have an upper hand in the fact that they bypass the liver and the first metabolic processes, making them easier for the body to metabolize. The tincture can also give you a gauge for measuring the effects you get, whereas an edible can lie dormant for as many as 90 minutes before coming at you full force in an instant. This doesn’t necessarily mean that one is better than the other, but those who find consuming edibles to be too risky of a business have found tinctures to be their ideal solution.
What are the Ingredients in THC Vape Juice or Tincture and What do You Need to Make a Vape Juice?
Scale
The first thing you’ll need is a scale. With it you’re going to measure out 7 grams of the best strain of pot that you have got stashed away and start tearing it into little pieces. You’ll want it to be the same consistency as if you were about to roll a joint with it. Avoid using a grinder as the tincturing process can pull out nasty stuff like chlorophyll in ground up weed. For the best results we recommend making a dry ice hash instead of plain flower, not totally necessary but takes A LOT of the variables out of the tincturing process.
Alcohol
Next you’re going to grab some super high proof hooch. We’re not talking White Claw here, 180 proof at least. DO NOT use rubbing alcohol or isopropyl. Doing so is a fast track to inflamed lungs, and we don’t want those.
Vegetable Glycerin
You’re going to want to get your hands on an equal part (in relation to alcohol) of USP – FOOD GRADE vegetable glycerin. Don’t try to use non-food grade glycerin as testing standards are significantly lower, and you don’t want to chance breathing in irritants.
Jar
Finally, you’re going to need a sterile, glass canning jar (like a mason jar) on hand.
The Process for Infusing THC Vape Juice or Tincture
- Place your alcohol along with your dry ice hash or flower into your sterilized jar and make sure that all of the plant matter is covered a quarter of the way by the alcohol. (The vegetation might soak up some of the liquid and you may need to add more as it does so). Once that’s done, place the jar in a dark cool place and allow the plants to infuse into the tincture liquid. This process takes anywhere from 12-14 days.
- Once your tincture has been properly infused, strain the alcohol through a cheesecloth into a new sterile jar to remove all of the spent cannabis.
- Add 3 parts vegetable glycerin to your new jar (1 part is equal to the amount of alcohol in your tincture), and shake for a full 2 minutes to make sure that your mixture fully combines. Congratulations! You’ve made marijuana vape juice!
How Much Flavoring and CBD Do You Put in E-Juice?
Step 4 (Optional): The final flavored tincture ratio should be 1 part flavored juice per 3 parts cannabis tincture. The same ratio applies with CBD oil. So why not add some flavor or CBD to your juice? This will really take it to the next level. The easiest and most effective way to flavor your tincture is to make your own flavored juice by repeating the processes above with something like lemongrass, mint, or tobacco instead of cannabis and mixing properly with your initial tincture—voila! Flavored vape juice!
What Does Vegetable Glycerin (VG) Do in Vape and is it Safer than Propylene Glycol (PG)
Vegetable Glycerin is a natural chemical that is taken from vegetable oils, making it safe for vegetarians to consume as opposed to its counterpart PG—Propylene Glycol. Though both are FDA classified as “reasonably safe to ingest,” some cannabis enthusiasts have particular preferences when it comes to choosing between the two.
Vegetable glycerin is much thicker than propylene glycol and has a slower absorption rate for cartomizer as well as wicks. One commonly noted with Vegetable Glycerin is that it is known to sometimes clog weed vape devices and require additional maintenance. It does, however, provide a smoother vaping experience and also has an accompanying sweet taste, which some prefer. Most important for some, is the ability Vegetable glycerin gives you to puff the thickest, most billowy clouds wicks However, this can cause issues clogging up vape mechanisms which may require frequent
Propylene glycol is not nearly as viscous as Vegetable Glycerin and is much more easily absorbed by wick tanks and cartomizers. It has no noticeable flavor, so it allows for users to enjoy more delicately flavored concentrates. Here we will be using the vegetable glycerin for the tincture, but feel free to use whichever option sounds the most preferable to you!
That’s a Wrap on How to Make Your Own Weed E-Juice
Making your own oral tinctures and vaporizing them is an extremely effective way of getting all the vital components that are present in herbs, into your body. This is beneficial if you wish to heal yourself using cannabis and therapeutic herbs. Experiment with different flavor combinations and stock your medicine cabinet with your very own hand-made tinctures! Now you know how to weather the storm if there’s ever a shortage of tinctures or weed vape juice available to you.
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