Making your own CBD Oil can be an easy task or a daunting chore. Having the right equipment and quality raw materials are key to processing your own high-quality CBD Oil. In this short article you'll get the steps to make CBD Oil safely and efficiently, and although there are several variations as to length of soak times and maximum temperatures, the CBD Oil made using the following instructions yields great results. 

Pictured below are three ounces of CBD flowers. On the exterior of the CBD flowers are trichomes, which contain the cannabinoids and other desirable compounds that will constitute the majority of the CBD Oil. The goal is to collect the trichomes from the CBD flowers with alcohol, and then to extract or evaporate the alcohol, which leaves the CBD[a] and other cannabinoids that were extracted from the flowers in the vessel where the alcohol was removed. 

    Three ounces of high-CBD flowers        Trichomes containing the medicinal compounds

Many CBD Oil makers prefer to chill their alcohol and CBD flowers in the freezer prior to mixing the two to start the extraction process. By using chilled materials, less plant matter such as chlorophyll and plant waxes will be leached into the alcohol, thus giving a more potent end product. If you are soaking beyond ten to fifteen minutes, I wouldn't focus on this part of the process and just begin with alcohol either chilled or room temperature. 

  CBD flowers chilling with alcohol

Here is the process in a few simple steps:

Soak the CBD flowers in food-grade alcohol for 3-15 minutes, depending on your preference. 

   Some prefer to shake and/or stir the CBD flowers     You can also just let the mix sit

After the soaking is complete, you need to separate the alcohol from the CBD flowers. The easiest way seems to be using conical grease filters as they will drain much faster than using coffee filters. 

CBD flowers were strained and the alcohol was filtered through a conical grease filter used in restaurants. 

Once you've separated the CBD flowers from the alcohol mixture, you can save them for a second run of the process, although you may only yield a minor amount of CBD Oil at a lower potency than the first soaking of the CBD flowers, as that takes the vast majority of the trichomes from the CBD flowers. 

The alcohol now contains the majority of the cannabinoids and terpenes from the CBD flowers, and for decades, people have simply ingested the alcohol tincture containing the Cannabis compounds. But using an alcohol-based means of getting CBD didn't appeal to many, and children shouldn't ingest alcohol to get their dosing of CBD, so by removing the alcohol the CBD Oil is created. Below is a photo of the alcohol distiller The Green Oil Machine which holds just over a gallon of alcohol. 

There are two basic means of getting rid of the alcohol: evaporation and distillation.

You can evaporate slowly using an open container and the air, or you can use a heating device to speed up the process. Rice cookers have been used by many, but doing the process outdoors is highly recommended. Fumes from the alcohol being boiled off can collect on the floor and find a pilot light or a spark and an explosion could occur. Never use a rice cooker to make CBD Oil indoors. But using a rice cooker, you're simply adding the alcohol mixture to the rice cooker and boiling the alcohol off. Paying attention during the entire process is key when using a rice cooker, as you can burn the CBD Oil if you're not watching the alcohol level lower. Once the alcohol nears its end, turn down the temperature and focus on stirring the CBD Oil and remaining alcohol to prevent overheating of the CBD Oil, aka burning. Once the alcohol is removed, the CBD Oil is ready to consume. 

The distiller option allows you to reclaim your alcohol versus having the alcohol evaporate into the air, thus costing money to replace the alcohol if making the CBD Oil is a regular activity. 

Place your alcohol mixture into the distiller, and turn the setting above 175* F and the alcohol will begin to boil at 173* F and as it boils the vapors will be collected by the machine and converted back into alcohol. As the alcohol boils off into vapor and is collected, the Cannabis compounds are concentrated into the remaining alcohol, until the alcohol is gone and what is left is the CBD Oil.

When most of the alcohol is gone, turn down the temperature and use a spatula to move the remaining alcohol mixture around to keep it from overheating. If the mixture still has alcohol present, turn the temperature up for 15-20 seconds and the boiling alcohol will cause bubbles until the alcohol is gone. As alcohol is the primary component of a common tincture, small amounts of residual alcohol won't have any affect on the Oil, as it would be a very miniscule amount.

The finished CBD Oil ready for consumption

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