Sure thing. Honestly, it's not even complicated.
It all starts with knowing the strength of the weed that you have. Weed that is 20% THC has 200mg of THC per gram. 10% has 100mg/g, and 30% has 300mg/g. I'm sure that most people know that, but I'm throwing it out there anyway. If you aren't sure what strength the weed that you have is, 20% is a good guess. (Especially if it's reasonably good bud) While there are strains as low as 10% and some claims of 45%+, the overwhelming majority of strains commonly available contain between 18-22%. With 20% being right in the middle. It's not perfect, but with varying degrees of legality around the world, some people will need to accept fuzzy math rather than hard numbers.
The second step is determining how you plan to use the tincture. Are you making a preparation that is truly medicinal so that you can treat depression, insomnia, or some other legitimate medical need, or; are you looking to party balls all night long? For an actual medicinal strength tincture, one should keep the dosage fairly low. 5-10mg/ml is just about perfect. (Many people claim that the reason that the states choose 5-10mg as a therapeutic dose is arbitrary. Except it's not. As demonstrated in my earlier post, when smoking weed 5-10mg is about the best a person can hope for.)
For partying purposes I go more towards a 20mg/ml tincture strength.
Before I even began the first tincture, I purchased (12) 4oz amber glass bottles with a 1ml dropper top. (Washed and boiled them to get them as sterile as possible.) Light degrades THC over time, so just storing in glass isn't enough. Amber glass prevents loss of THC from light exposure.
When it comes to making tincture itself, I have an 'Ardent' de-carb machine. (The one that can de-carb a quarter pound at a time), and an 'Ongrok' tincture making machine.
And the only other item needed to get under way was a sufficient amount of grain alcohol. (I use 190 Everclear, but that's just for sentimentality, any grain alcohol will do, but the higher the proof, the better the tincture)
Also, before getting going, choosing the right weed is essential. If you're trying to treat insomnia, an energy inspiring Sativa is probably a poor choice. And vice-versa. You probably don't want a couch locking Indica if you are planning to dance the night away. And something that tastes nice is always a bonus. Thankfully, there is no shortage of varieties and flavors.
- De-carb the weed, and let it cool down.
- Determine how much grain alcohol is needed. A 10mg/ml tincture for medicinal use would require roughly 18-19oz of grain alcohol with 1oz of de-carbed 20% weed. A 20mg/ml tincture for partying purposes would require 9-10oz of grain alcohol per 1oz of de-carbed 20% weed. Different people with different needs will have to do some math for this part. ((The number of mg x the number of grams) will give the total number of mg. Then (that total divided by the strength (10mg/ml, 20mg/ml, or whatever number the user decides)). This determines the number of ml of grain alcohol needed. (Total ml of grain alcohol needed divided by 30) Gives the number of ounces of grain alcohol needed. Not strictly necessary, but in case people want that number. So, an example: 20% weed x 28 grams = 5600mg THC/oz. 5600mg/20mg/ml = 280ml of grain alcohol needed. 280ml/30ml = 9.33333 oz of grain alcohol.
- I put the de-carbed weed and grain alcohol into the Ongrok machine, push the "4 hours/tincture" button, and then wait. After it's finished, I let it all cool down, pass it through a 90 micron filter, bottle it up, and refrigerate it immediately.
From there it depends on the user's own needs/wants. For someone looking to treat depression on their own, I would suggest the 10mg/ml strength but to start with 0.5 ml in 4oz of juice or kool-aid (my personal choice) every 4-6 hours and see how it goes. If a medicinal user wants to get really fancy, multiple tinctures from a variety of plants. A sativa dominant energizer when waking up, a neutral hybrid towards afternoon, a couch locking Indica towards bedtime can keep you medicated throughout the day without disturbing sleep patterns too much.
For partiers, I would suggest the 20mg/ml and start out with 1.5ml in 4oz of juice or kool-aid, and wait a bare minimum of 45 minutes before considering adding more into their body. It all depends on whether you want to get high, or emulate John Belushi.
And nobody NEEDS to use specialized machines to make a tincture. You can certainly de-carb the weed in the oven, and cook the tincture on your stove top. Although, make sure that there is plenty of air circulation if you do. Grain alcohol fumes can become rather explosive when allowed to build up in an enclosed space. My stove is gas burning, and it just seemed more prudent to not risk things. Not to mention that the Ongrok machine has serrated knife blades on its spindle. It absolutely pulverizes the weed into sub 90 micron particles guaranteeing a potent solution. I've never had more than 6 grams of mushy waste left over from turning an ounce of weed into a tincture.
Because everybody is unique, and their digestive system is more or less efficient due to personal health issues, their overall fitness level, what they ate, how much they ate, how recently they ate; there isn't really a definitive one size fits all dose. But a couple of attempts by an experienced user will quickly let them dial in just exactly how much they need or want to get the desired results.
The truth is, that I don't do anything really special or difficult to obtain my results. I just started out by researching the pharmicodynamics of THC and its metabolization rates. With a career of figuring out proper dosages for medications the rest was easy.
I decided on alcohol based tinctures rather than canna-butters or canna-oils because I can turn my tincture into canna-butter or oil by simply pouring it into those mediums, and cooking off the alcohol. But I can also make canna-sugar, canna-flour, and virtually any other ingredient "canna" by simply combining the two and simply letting the alcohol evaporate over time.
This allows me total control over the strength of any product that I make. Anything from barely high anti-depressants all the way to hospitalization level doses. I don't see the point in making anything even close to that strength, but to each their own.
One final thought: There is a semi-famous quote from Snoop Dogg. He said, "Man, I don't fuck with no edibles. Cuz they ain't got no off switch." And that is 100% true. Once the THC is in your blood stream, it is there until it is metabolized. So if a person doesn't know what they are doing, it's better to start off low and slow. You can always take more later, or increase the dose for the next time. However, if you jump straight in and take 150-200mg, and suddenly find yourself dizzy, diaphoretic, and having chest pains it's too late to do anything about it except endure. Even going to the hospital is of limited usefulness. While they can make sure you're not having a heart attack, they can't do much beyond babysitting you while you come down.
I hope that this lengthy post was helpful