From: [k--or--e] at [sdcc13.ucsd.edu] (Zzzzz -- huh?)
Subject: THC/Isomerization
Date: Sat, 31 Dec 1994 12:13:35 -0800 (PST)

Greetings.  I have the answer to your question.  Unfortunately, I
cannot post this message due to my horrible newsreader.  If you would
kindly forward this message to alt.hemp, it would be greatly
appreciated by all.
                        smile big time!
                                -Me

             A Treatise on the Alchemical Method of Isomerization
     of Tetrahydrocannabinol, and the Extraction and Purification
thereof
                                  Version 2.4
                         Oct 02 1993 12:14:31 AM EST


 Disclaimer
 ~~~~~~~~~~

I am not a trained chemist. You probably aren't, either. I am not
responsible for your actions, and you are not responsible for mine.

 Overview and Theory
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The threefold object of this procedure is to extract from the
vegetative material of the cannabis plant a crude oil, to further
purify this extract, and finally, to rotate the molecules into their
most pharmacologically active form, the delta-9 isomer of THC. In the
first step, the inert plant material
that remains is calcined (alcohol burned away and ashes cooked over
low heat) so that the Salt component of the plant is left behind. In
the final step, an acid is used to perform the actual molecule
rotation (isomerization), and the Salt (ashes) from the first step
are added. This accomplishes two things: The acid remaining in the
solution is neutralized, and the Salt is once more reunited with the
Essence of the plant to produce a true alchemical Manifestation.

Whatever your opinion of alchemy and belief, or lack thereof, in its
validity as a scientific discipline, the process I offer here for
your use is tried and true. If all safety precautions are taken and
you invest patience and care in your efforts, the procedures are
quite safe, and the results well worth the time and energy.

For further reading on the subject of alchemy:

   Atwood, A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mastery, 1850
   Hitchcock, Remarks on Alchemy and the Alchemists, Boston, 1857
   Waite, Lives of the Alchemystical Philosophers, London, 1888
      "   The Occult Sciences, London, 1891
   Bacon, Mirror of Alchemy, 1597
   S. le Doux, Dictionnaire Hermetique, 1695
   Langlet de fresnoy, Histoire de la Philosophie Hermetique, 1792
       "        "      Theatrum Chemicum, 1662
   Valentine, Triumphal Chariot of Antimony, 1656
   Redgrove, Alchemy Ancient and Modern
   Figuier, L'Alchimie et les Alchimistes, Paris, 1857

   Gold, D., Cannabis Alchemy, date unknown


Why Bother Doing All This?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cannabis has been used for thousands of years as one of the mildest,
safest, and most effective substances available for use in both
recreational and social relaxation, and as an organic treatment of
many medical conditions. However, when any plant material is burned,
harmful smoke is produced containing carbon monoxide and many other
carcinogenic and toxic compounds such as benzopyrene, benzanthracene,
the nitrosamines (also found in bacon), hydrogen cyanide, nitric
oxides, acetaldehyde, toluene and phenol.

The female flowering tops of cannabis have been shown to contain less
than one-third the total "tars" than equivalent amounts of tobacco.
and of twenty-nine areas of the lung, only the large air passageway
is irritated more by cannabis than by tobacco. Cannabis also has a
positive or neutral effect on most other areas of the lung, and most
of its negative impact upon the respiratory system in general can be
eliminated by use of a pipe which filters the smoke through water
before inhalation. However, there are still many times when a person
either cannot, or does not wish to, smoke. One example can be found
in the fact that cannabis can be excellent therapy, both medically
and emotionally, for persons with HIV, yet inhaling cannabis smoke
increases the risk of a fatal infection in the lungs, especially when
the cannabis has been improperly cured and dried and aspergillus
fungus is present (note that this fungus poses little or no health
risk to persons with normally functioning immune systems). The
ingestion of purified THC is a much safer alternative in such cases,
having no effect whatsoever on the lungs if taken orally and
negligible effects on the lungs when vaporized and inhaled. Despite
its current verboten status in society at large, enough people have
chosen to use cannabis for one reason or another that I feel this
information will find an appreciative audience.

Keep in mind that when THC is ingested through pyrolysis (burning and
smoking), only half of it is assimilated and used by the body.
Ingesting (eating/drinking) the hemp in a form that the
gastrointestinal tract can best deal with results in more THC being
absorbed, but this has the possibility of unknown effects via
decarboxylation. In addition, it is difficult to precisely gauge
dosages when ingesting THC directly without the benefit of
experience. With vaporization, that THC which would have been burned
and wasted becomes available for whatever its intended effects. This
is of great economic advantage, given hemp's current artificially
inflated market price. Also, the smoker may easily titrate the doses
(that is, easily self-administer them, at whatever speed is best)
until the desired effect is precisely achieved.

Finally, remember that this is a *VERY* time-consuming process. Make
sure you can either stay awake for as long as it takes, or have
friends to work in shifts. Obviously, the more solvent you have to
boil off, the longer it will take. Always assume it will take longer
than you think. It's best to not rush around, to ensure that you can
take all the time you need to work on this at the slow, steady pace
it requires. It's not strictly necessary to do all the stages
immediately following each other -- you can take breaks in between
stages -- but it helps to keep your mind focused.

Now, with all the formalities concluded, let's begin.

Initial Extraction
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In a previous version of this file, I recommended ethyl alcohol as
the menstruum (solvent) for the initial extraction. However, after
further reading and experimentation, I now recommend acetone instead
of alcohol. THC's solubility in acetone is, it would seem, much
greater than with any other solvent (except for petroleum ether,
which we use in stage 2 to purify this first-stage oil). The reason?
Alcohols are too water soluble for the best
possible purity, and too many other non-psychoactive materials remain
in the finished oil. In the interest of brevity, and to save wear and
tear on your obedient typist's fingers, it's your own responsibility
when reading the following to substitute "acetone" wherever you see
"alcohol" used.

Fill a large pot with water, and heat to boiling. Place in the water
a glass jar filled with loosely packed, cleaned female flowers of
cannabis. (Male flowers and even leaves may be used, but only if
there is no other alternative.)

Add sufficient solvent to completely cover cannabis. Solvent may be
any alcohol of 95% or greater purity (i.e., rubbing alcohol works),
but ethyl alcohol is best, as it is non-toxic and will not harm you
if you "screw up". My personal recommendation is either 99.99%
laboratory alcohol, or, since this is damn difficult to acquire,
Everclear 190 proof grain alcohol. 151 proof rum isn't the greatest,
but if the others are too hard to acquire, this may be your only
option.

MAKE SURE THAT THE SMALL GLASS JAR IS HELD IN PLACE SOMEHOW!
Otherwise, when enough of the solvent boils away, the jar will be
light enough that the water pressure will tip it over, and then you
will be extremely unhappy (and possibly unlucky enough to witness a
gigantic ball of flame lighting up your kitchen, and maybe even
yourself). A set of rubber lab grips attached to a heavy base works
nicely.

Place a watchglass over the top of the jar so that the alcohol will
be constantly recirculated instead of boiling off, and keep water at
a gentle boil for three to four hours. Let everything cool, and
strain all liquid thoroughly from the plant fibers.

Place fibers in a cast iron skillet. Ignite the alcohol to burn it
off, and while you continue with the extraction of the essence, keep
a very low flame under the ashes of the fibers for one hour, stirring
them occasionally. If you have an assistant, it's best to have them
stir the ashes while you keep working with the essence.

To remove the alcohol, you need an accurate thermometer. Set up the
system the same way as before, but this time, do not cover the jar.
Place thermometer in jar and heat the essence to 220F. Keep a small
mirror held over the jar. When the mirror stops fogging up -- i.e.,
no more steam -- enough of the water has boiled away. IMMEDIATELY
turn off the heat and remove the jar from the hot water (don't forget
to wear gloves!). This is crude extract, and can contain anywhere
from 10 to 50 percent THC.

It's perfectly all right to use this oil any way you like. But you
can do better.


Purification Stage
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To further extract and purify the essence, petroleum ether must be
used as the solvent. USE ONLY ELECTRIC HEAT WITH A QUICK SHUTOFF
SWITCH, AND DON'T LET OPEN FLAME ANYWHERE NEAR YOU! Petroleum ether
is one of the most explosively flammable things in existence, so
treat it accordingly -- keep the container in the freezer at all
times unless you actually need some.

Dissolve the crude extract from the previous step in 5 times its own
weight of ether, amd add to this volume an equal volume of water.
Both the water and the ether must be as cold as possible. Close the
holding container TIGHTLY, and gently shake up and down. Uncap to
relieve pressure buildup, re-cap, and repeat until you're sick of it.
Set it down somewhere cool and safe, where it won't get knocked or
vibrated, and let it settle into layers. This will take about a half
hour.

(The bottom layer consists of alcohol, water, tars, and minor resins.
The next layer up is the emulsion layer, and the top layer is the
ether extract which is holding the THC in suspension.)

Now you need to blow the bottom two layers into another container,
which is easy to do if you set up the first container as a bong.
Attach a tube to where the bowl would normally go and hang the other
end in the sink. Very gently, blow into the tube where you would
normally inhale. MAKE SURE THE BOTTOM END OF THE TUBE THAT EXTENDS
DOWN INTO THE CONTAINER IS *ALL* THE WAY DOWN TO THE BOTTOM!
Otherwise, you will blow all the good stuff into the sink, and you
will be very unhappy. Just watch the water level, and don't blow too
hard. Don't try to get every last drop; just get as much as you can
without getting too close to the ether-THC layer.

If you like, add more ether and water and repeat this stage. When
it's purified enough for your taste, cook the ether extract in the
double boiler at 104F to evaporate the ether, again making sure to
hold the extract jar in place.

This being the next step up from crude, I guess you'd call this
resulting sticky stuff "forty-weight", or something like that. And,
as before, it's perfectly fine to stop here. Read on for the gory
details on the final stage...because you know you can do better.


Isomerization
~~~~~~~~~~~~

This stage rotates all the existing lesser cannabinoids and
cannabinols into THC, and all the existing THC into the most active
isomer, delta-9-THC. This step involves the use of sulfuric acid, so
I shouldn't have to remind you to wear long rubber gloves, don't
inhale its fumes, DON'T TREAT IT CASUALLY BECAUSE IT CAN EAT HOLES IN
LOTS OF THINGS, INCLUDING YOU.

Dissolve the extract in 10 times its own weight in ether. SLOWLY, add
one drop of sulfuric acid for each gram of extract, stirring with a
glass rod. Heat as in the initial extraction, with the jar covered by
a watchglass. Cook two hours, stirring occasionally, and allow to
cool.

Mix the solution with an equal volume of cold water and one-half its
volume of cold ether, and repeat the shaking and separation steps.
Take extract and slowly add the calcined ash from the first
extraction. Stir it all in, and run the solution through filter paper
to strain the ash sediment out. Check for any remaining acid by
adding a small pinch of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). If the
solution fizzes, keep adding bicarb very slowly until fizzing stops.

Add fresh water and ether, shake and separate. Cook at 104F until the
ether is evaporated. Voila! You now have essence of cannabis, which
can contain anywhere from 85 to 99 percent THC.



Expected Yield and Consumption Methods
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In general, you can expect to produce about one ounce of oil per
pound of cannabis. Depending on the potency of the individual plant,
of course, this amount can vary greatly; however, the potency of the
finished essence will always be of the highest possible.

To use the oil in cooking, thoroughly mix it into a fat or oil.
Examples: sour cream, olive oil, milk. For best results, the
resulting mixture should be GENTLY heated before adding it to the
rest of the food. Example: mix oil with butter over low heat, and use
as regular butter in cookies, etc.


---
 * Origin: COBRUS - Usenet-to-Fidonet Distribution System (1:2613/335.0)

- [5] ALT.HEMP (1:375/48) ------------------------------------------- ALT.HEMP -
 Msg  : #3145 [201]                                                             
 From : Jason                               1:2613/335      Sun 01 Jan 95 01:51 
 To   : All                                                                     
 Subj : Pt 2/2: THC extraction/forward                                          
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To "vaporize" the oil, place it on a metal surface (tinfoil works,
too). Heat the surface, and inhale the vapors through a tube. For
best results, build a "vaporizer" machine with an enclosed area so as
not to waste the vapors (plans can be found in back issues of _High
Times_ magazine). Actually, it doesn't REALLY "vaporize" in the
strict technical meaning of the word, but I'll assume noone cares
about atmospheric pressures and such.

The oil can even be mixed with crude cannabis and smoked in a
cigarette, and although half of the potency is lost due to the
burning, it's still fun, and tastes wonderful. My preferred method of
doing this is to use a long, thick needle and heat it with a lighter
for about 3 seconds. Wait just a second before dipping it into the
essence -- if it's too hot, the oil will vaporize on contact and be
wasted. Don't dip it in too far at first until you get the hang of
working with this stuff; it has a very unique consistency and
behavior, and it sticks to damn near anything.

Lay a cigarette paper (preferably Modiano; these have the lowest
content of "residue" materials) out flat, holding it down with your
fingers at both sides. "Paste" the oil onto the paper with the
needle, putting a nice, even coat over as large an area as you can
get without smudging your fingers (leave a little unncoated space
near each edge so you can roll it without getting your fingers
covered in oil). Roll your cannabis in the paper as you would
normally.

Before smoking the rolled cigarette, place in a LOW warm oven
(100-125F) for five to ten minutes to melt the oil. This will not
only distribute it more evenly by soaking into the cannabis, but the
heat will bring the taste and potency to its peak potential. Smoke
while still warm.


Dosage
~~~~~

For an average cannabis user who smokes perhaps once or twice per
day, 3 or 4 drops of the essence, either eaten or vaporized, will be
quite sufficient for an enjoyable "high" of four to five hours. For a
novice user, 1 or 2 drops will usually be quite enough. Individual
idiosyncrasies are always present, and no two people will need the
same amount, nor will they be affected the same way. Some rare
individuals may experience paranoia and psychotic reactions to
cannabis, and such individuals would be well advised to discontinue
its use. But on the whole, cannabis is a safe and enjoyable pleasure
to be enjoyed in moderation, like anything pleasant in life, and
truly lives up to its reputation as it has for thousands of years.
DEA Judge Francis Young in September, 1988, called it "in its natural
form, one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to
man." May it continue to be enjoyed as long as life exists on Earth.





-Jason