Cannabis tincture recipe: How to make cannabis tincture

Cannabis tinctures extracted using alcohol are a great way to make concentrated marijuana edibles. This cannabis tincture recipe can be made with marijuana buds or concentrates such as kief, hash, or shatter (BHO).

In this article we’ll discuss how to make cannabis tinctures in everclear, vodka, or grain alcohol. You’ll learn about proper THC tincture dosage and potency, and get answers to questions you may have about DIY marijuana tinctures.

THC tinctures can be easily extracted in high-proof alcohol easily in your kitchen for immediate usage. The green dragon tincture recipe popularized by Master Wu is based on alcohol extraction. We’ll show you the best recipes for how to make green dragon tincture using everclear and cannabis flower, kief, shatter and other concentrates.

We’ll also discuss the cold freezer tincture extraction method that relies on extended production timeframes in everclear, vodka, or other high-proof alcohol.  You’ll also learn how to do alcohol-free cannabis tinctures using glycerin.

This green dragon weed tincture recipe is a great way to add a THC kick to any liquor or mixed drink.
This green dragon tincture recipe is a great way to add a cannabis kick to any liquor or mixed drink. This nip contains 60mg of THC tincture – note the cloudy appearance.

It’s important that you take precautions to make your weed or kief tincture safely (remember that high proof alcohol vapors are very flammable).  It’s also important to know how to determine the potency of THC tinctures, how much you should take, and how to incorporate your marijuana extract into alcoholic drinks and edibles recipes.

Each of the recipes below can be adjusted for different forms of marijuana including dried buds, kief, bubble hash, and weed concentrates such as rosin, butane hash oil (BHO), honey oil, dabs, shatter, etc.

Master Wu’s Green Dragon tincture recipe

Master Wu’s green dragon tincture recipe is an internet classic that used to be found on boards.cannabis.com (the site was bought by Weed Maps and is no longer live). It was a long drawn-out forum discussion with some helpful posts from Master Wu, many silly or irrelevant comments, and a lot of internet arguing.

We’ve compiled the basic Master Wu green dragon recipe below.  We’ve made countless batches and this method will deliver potent cannabis tincture fast. Any green dragon tincture made using heat provides a quick extract time, so you’ll be able to consume this cannabis tincture as soon as it cools.

The Polder candy thermometer helps you maintain the right temperature for your green dragon extract.
The Polder candy thermometer helps you maintain the right temperature for your green dragon extract.

Things you’ll need to make cannabis tincture

A note about decarboxylation in green dragon tincture

In this recipe we’ve made a slight modification to the temperature and heating time in the decarboxylation step compared to Master Wu’s original green dragon recipe. The original Master Wu recipe called for a 5 minute decarb  at 325 F degrees. We’ve opted for a lower temperature at a longer time which we’ve found is a safer bet when decarbing cannabis for edibles. Decarb times vary based on what type of cannabis you’re using.

The green dragon tincture recipe steps below are for cannabis flower, so you’ll learn how to decarb ground buds. If you’re making your tincture with other forms of cannabis, such as BHO tincture, you can first decarb the concentrate and then use it in the Master Wu recipe in place of the ground weed flower.

A Pyrex measuring cup let's you extract your tincture in boiling water.
A Pyrex measuring cup let’s you extract your tincture in boiling water.

Learn more about how to decarboxylate other forms of cannabis here:

Decarbing the marijuana flower or concentrate is a necessary step when making cannabis edibles. Decarboxylation transforms  THCA into THC, which produces the green dragon’s high. NEVER SKIP THE DECARB STEP! Your cannabis tincture won’t be psychoactive if you do.

How to Make Master Wu’s green dragon tincture recipe

  1. Grind: Grind up 4 grams of high-quality marijuana buds (flower) into a fine powder.
  2. Decarb: Place ground weed on a sheet of aluminum foil in a thin layer (fold the corners up to prevent spillage) and cook in 250 F degree oven for 30 minutes
  3. Combine: Place decarbed weed in a 1 pint pyrex container (or a heatproof glass jar) and mix with 2 ounces Everclear or 190 proof grain alcohol (substitute Bacardi 151 for a lower-quality final product; vodka can also be used)
  4. Heat water: Boil 2-3 inches of water in a small cooking pot (make sure the water level is much lower than the top of the pyrex cup with weed in it). Add 1 tablespoon white vinegar to water to reduce mineral deposits on pan.
  5. Double boiler: Place pyrex container in the middle of pan of water. Use candy thermometer to measure temperature, you want to boil this for 170 F degrees for 20 minutes.  Volume of alcohol will decrease as it evaporates.  Scrape sides down as alcohol evaporates so ensure plant material and residue on glass stays in contact with the boiling alcohol.
  6. Strain: Remove from heat and cool. Press cannabis tightly to release as much tincture as you can (a garlic press works great).
  7. (Recommended) Repeat the double boiler step above using the same weed and 1 oz of fresh Everclear for another 10 minutes at 170 F degrees to ensure a more complete extract.
  8. Filter: Filter tincture in a coffee filter. Pre-moisten filter with plain Everclear to prevent your tincture from getting absorbed aka wasted.
  9. Drink!: Can be consumed right away. Store in a cool, dark place away from children or pets.

Notes about making Master Wu’s green dragon tincture

Everclear green dragon tincture made with cannabis flower using a double boiler mason jar setup.
Everclear green dragon tincture made with cannabis flower using a mason jar. You could also use a double boiler or a Pyrex cup.

Before making this cannabis tincture recipe the first time, please read these notes.

Boiling alcohol releases very flammable vapors. Only make extract in well ventilated areas. Turn on your kitchen exhaust fan or use a box fan. Never make this in a small, enclosed kitchen or you risk blowing yourself up. This recipe is safe due to the small scale, but if you are planning on doing this tincture recipe with a large quantity of boiling grain alcohol and an open-flame heat source then you’re out of your mind.

You can use a mason jar instead of pyrex, but you do risk having it crack and losing your batch.  A pyrex measuring cup is a much safer bet. We found we were able to maintain a much stabler temperature using a small mason jar the first few batches, but later switched to the pyrex cup to be safe.  Not as easy to maintain internal temperatures due to the thicker glass, but still a much safer option so it’s how we make our tinctures these days.

Grind the weed up to expose as much surface area as possible.  Use a hand grinder, an electric spice grinder, or a blender.  Making sure your weed is fairly dry helps a bit.  Use good weed. Making a kief tincture helps boost the potency vs. using flower or trim. The more plant material you use, the more planty it will taste.  Using trim or sugar leaves isn’t recommended for this reason. Kief and concentrates deliver a much purer tasting product. BHO tincture is also more pleasant tasting than flower-based variants.

Blue bottles are perfect for storing green dragon tincture from this recipe.
2 oz. blue bottles are perfect for storing and dispensing green dragon tincture from this recipe.

You definitely need to use a candy thermometer to monitor and maintain the right temperature in the double boiler.  Maintaining the correct temperature is essential to make this green dragon recipe. Alcohol will boil off around 170 F degrees, you’ll notice it gently rolls or releases smaller bubbles compared to boiling water.  You’ll likely need to turn down your burner to a low setting once the water initially boils. Keep adjusting the heat to try and maintain 170 F degrees.  If it gets too low, bring up to a boil and just add another minute or two to the cook time.

When the boiling time finishes you’ll be left with a fraction of the original amount of alcohol, likely less than 1 ounce. If so, add enough plain everclear to bring the total volume up to 1 oz. This will help you dose THC content accurately using an eyedropper. Or you could add your tincture directly to a quantity of flavored alcohol such as peppermint brandy or other strong flavored liquors, so that you can bring it to a party to do shots. Be careful about overdoing it, start with a small quantity the first time and take more the next time if need be.  Never say “it’s been an hour and I barely feel it, let’s take a double dose” or you may pay a steep price for your boldness.

Make sure the water level in your pot stays higher than the level of the weed and alcohol in the pyrex cup. But not too high so splashing water gets in the weed/alcohol mash.

This recipe uses 4 grams of high-quality marijuana flower, similar to the 1/8 ounce amount called for on the original Master Wu recipe forum. You could also scale up the recipe; for example if you want to make tincture using an ounce of cannabis flower if you scale up the alcohol accordingly. Using weed flower means the final tincture will have a green “planty” taste that will overpower light beverage or food recipes.  Mixing them in strong drinks such as 4-6 oz of a strong, hoppy beer is a great way to consume them. The cloudy effect of the tincture added to the beer is a cool start to your journey.

Store tincture in a dark-colored glass bottle for long-term storage.

How to determine the potency of green dragon tincture

The potency of your green dragon tincture will vary based on the potency of the cannabis material used in the recipe, among other factors.
The potency of your green dragon tincture will vary based on the potency of the cannabis material used in the recipe, among other factors. Use potent buds for best results.

The potency of cannabis tinctures made with marijuana buds depends on several variables.  How strong is your weed or concentrate? Did you decarb properly to maximize THC? How much alcohol evaporated? Did your alcohol bath fully extract all of the available THC?

Potency of tincture using marijuana flower: Here’s how you can find out how much THC is in your cannabis tincture.  If you make your extract using marijuana buds, your potency can range from as low as 5% THC for low quality seeded Mexican brick weed, 15% – 20% for high quality flowers, even up to 30% and beyond for some strains.

If you don’t have the luxury of using tested buds from a dispensary, you’ll need to estimate. For example, if I have 4 grams of really good (but not super sick) AK-47 flower, I’d estimate the potency to be about 17%.  Each gram of flower is 1000 mg, so there would be 170 mg THC per gram. 4 grams of weed would be 4 x 170 mg which equals 680 total milligrams. Assuming proper decarb and a thorough extract, your final tincture would have 680 mg THC. If you have a final product equaling one liquid ounce or 30ml of tincture, each ml will have 23 ml of THC.

How to determine the potency of kief tincture (including dry ice hash): Estimating the THC content of weed tinctures made with kief or dry ice hash employs similar math.  The THC content of kief varies based on the amount of plant material in it. 73 micron dry ice hash is a pale yellow and very pure, whereas higher sizes such as 160 micron have more green material. 160 is as low quality as I’ll use to make tincture, but even then it’s far preferable to using purer kief since there’s less chlorophyll to contend with.

I use 160 micron kief extracted using dry ice hash in tinctures and other edibles recipes frequently since I save the 73 for smoking.  I estimate that the 160 kief is about 25% max, just over the potency of the flower itself. So for that same AK-47 flower above each gram of kief would be an estimated 250 mg. Using 4 g of this kief would yield 1000 mg THC total per batch of tincture. If the final product was 1 oz. or 30 ml, each ml of extract would have about 45 mg THC.

Potency for 73 or 90 micron kief is a bit higher, on average 30-35%, so if you want to make kief tincture with high quality kief you’ll get a stronger, cleaner-tasting result. The better the material you put in, the more potent your final product.

Potency of tincture made using shatter/dabs/honey oil/butane hash oil (BHO): Using shatter to cook edibles is a great idea for several reasons. The purity of the cannabis concentrate means your tincture will have a less planty flavor than if you used buds. Plus it’s a lot easier to determine how potent your tincture is. Since most BHO is in the 70-75% THC range, you can estimate 72% which means each gram (1000 mg) of concentrate has 720 mg THC.  Using 1 gram of shatter in your BHO tincture recipe that yields 1 oz of final product means that you’ll have thirty servings that are 1 ml each, with 24 ml per serving. To double the potency use 2 grams of shatter instead of one.

Potency of tincture made using marijuana trim or sugar leaves: Please don’t try this recipe with trim. It will taste like a chlorophyll smoothie. For best results, process trim first make dry ice hash to get some kief for this cannabis tincture recipe. Or just rub dried trim across a 72 micron screen such as your trim tray, it’ll take a while to get the 4 grams of kief needed but it’s well worth the effort compared to going through all the steps above and still yielding a planty, impotent tincture that makes everything taste like crap.

Potency of CBD tincture made with a high CBD marijuana strain
CBD tincture can easily be made using any of the recipes on this page. If you’re getting your CBD buds from a dispensary you’ll be able to tell easily the amount of CBD in each gram of flower.  If a strain is 11% CBD, then each gram would have 110mg available.  Assuming a thorough extraction with 2 washes of everclear, if you used 10 grams of CBD flower you’ll have a potential of 1100 mg CBD, or 110 doses at 10mg each.  Adjust the math accordingly depending on what type of source material you’re using.

It's easy to learn how to make kief tincture with everclear or other grain alcohol using the freezer extraction method.

Everclear freezer tincture recipe

If you don’t want the hassle of cooking your tincture in the steps above, then try this everclear freezer tincture recipe which combines freezing temperatures with long waiting times to extract the THC into your tincture. It will take a few months to make everclear freezer tincture, but the low effort required means with a little foresight you’ll be able to set sail. The longer it sits, the more complete the extract. But overdoing it means additional leaching of planty flavor.

Kief tincture made using the freezer method after 6 months of extraction
Kief tincture made using the freezer method after 6 months of extraction

How to make cannabis tincture in your freezer

  • Finely grind 4 grams of high-quality marijuana buds
  • Decarb your flower using the steps in Master Wu’s recipe above
  • Add to a small mason jar with a tight seal. Cover with very cold Everclear (190 proof grain alcohol) or Bacardi 151
  • Shake for a few minutes and place in a dark paper bag to block light.
  • Shake vigorously each day for 1 minute for 2-4 months. Preferably 6-12 months.
  • Strain, squeezing plant material tightly. Filter using coffee filter. Pre-moisten filter with plain Everclear to avoid absorption of the tincture.

The potency of cannabis freezer tinctures depends on how much total yield you get and how long it was extracted.  You can factor the potency using the formula used in Master Wu’s recipe above.  The longer it sits and the more you shake it will affect potency, up to a point.

This everclear freezer preparation can also use kief. I’ve never tried it with concentrates as I wasn’t sure they’d dissolve fully without heat, I usually use Master Wu’s recipe when making tincture with concentrated marijuana products.

Cold temperatures help prevent the chlorophyll in the weed from leaching into the alcohol. Try placing your mason jar of everclear in the freezer the day before to ensure it’s cold through the entire process.

Quick extract method of preparing cannabis tinctures

Some people swear by a variation of the cold extract method where you just shake dried and decarbed weed in a mason jar with everclear for 5 minutes.  They then strain it and consume it.  I’m not convinced that this fully extracts the available THC in the plant material, and I’ve seen little evidence that this works. So I’m not going to try it and risk a weakened tincture recipe, and I won’t try to convince you to do the same. Stick to one of the proven marijuna tincture recipes above for green dragon or longer extracted freezer tinctures.

When you add cannabis kief to everclear your tincture will have a hazy green glow.
This is what quick extract marijuana tincture would look like after sitting for 5 minutes. This bottle went into the freezer for a 1-year extraction.

Cannabis tincture recipe FAQs

Q: Tincture definition: what is cannabis tincture?
A: Per wikipedia‘s definition, a tincture is typically an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol (ethyl alcohol). In chemistry, a tincture is a solution that has ethanol as its solvent. In herbal medicine, alcoholic tinctures are made with various ethanol concentrations.  A cannabis tincture is made with high proof alcohol and marijuana flower, kief, or extracts such as shatter, BHO, wax, hash oil, etc.

Q: What is the best sublingual THC dosage?
A: Sublingual THC tincture is when you put drops of tincture underneath your tongue, where the location of blood vessels allows for quick absorption in the bloodstream. The ideal sublingual THC dosage varies dramatically based on the potency and which tincture recipe you followed. Commercial tinctures we’ve purchased at dispensaries require 1 drop at 1/4 mg each, so you’d need 40 drops for a 10mg THC dosage. But 40 drops of everclear-based DIY cannabis tinctures will be much more powerful.

Q: Does sublingual tincture burn?
A: Yes, tincture made with alcohol burns under your tongue. If you can stand the pain you’ll be rewarded with quicker effects, but sublingual tincture burn is definitely the reason we prefer consuming Master Wu’s green dragon tincture recipe in alcoholic drinks or beers.  This waters down the potency of the tincture and tends to complement the already-present alcohol taste.

THC tincture made in the freezer can be watered down and sweetened with sugar and flavorings for a potent shot.
THC tincture made in the freezer can be watered down and sweetened with sugar and flavorings for a potent shot.

Q: What is the best method for liquid cannabis tincture consumption?
A: Opinions vary. Alcohol-Based tinctures tend to be strong, hit quick, and burn like a bastard if taken sublingually.  Due to this, mixing in an alcoholic drink can lessen the burn. Try putting Green Dragon in 1/4 of strong, hoppy beer such as a nice IPA to help mask the flavor.  Putting it in a full beer makes the beer taste like the dragon, so unless you love the taste putting it in a few ounces of beer is much easier to drink. You can also add it to other drinks, or use in edibles recipes. If you’re using freezer tincture, you can mix with water to bring down the proof to a drinkable level. Cut 3:1 water to tincture for 63 proof (which still will burn even with sugar and flavorings added) or cut 4:1 to make it 42 proof.

Q: How to make tincture without alcohol: is there a cannabis tincture recipe that doesn’t contain it?
A: You can make cannabis tincture without alcohol using glycerin if you’re looking for an alternative to the traditional everclear approach used in the green dragon tincture recipe above. Glycerin tincture doesn’t absorb THC as well as high-proof alcohol, so your THC levels will be less potent.  But the sweet taste of glycerin is much more pleasant than the burning fire of using everclear tinctures. You can use a cannabutter machine for both alcohol or glycerin tinctures.

Q: Cannabis glycerin tincture vs. alcohol tincture: which is best?
A: Cannabis glycerin tinctures are generally less strong, but with a less burning feeling when you take them.  Glycerin is sweet tasting so that’s a plus. Glycerin isn’t an ideal extraction agent from a pure “max THC” perspective, but it has many use cases such as for medical tincture consumption. It’s also great for making CBD tinctures without alcohol, or for people using cannabis as treatment for alcohol dependency or other substance abuse issues so that taking grain alcohol-based tinctures wouldn’t be a good fit.

Q: Does tincture get you high?
A: ABSOLUTELY! Tincture gets you high assuming you make it right, take it on a fairly empty stomach, and take the right dosage. Dosage is the critical thing – if you have taken some cannabis tincture and are asking yourself if the tincture gets you high, make sure you wait a while before you take more. If you can take the burning, administering tincture sublingually under your tongue will boost response time.

Dr. Wu's green dragon tincture makes a gin and tonic cloudy with goodness.
Dr. Wu’s green dragon tincture makes a gin and tonic cloudy with goodness.

A: Help! Tinctures don’t get me high!
Q: If you’re sure you’ve made tinctures right, or you’ve purchased tincture from a dispensary and you still don’t get high it can be quite frustrating.  There’s a few reasons tinctures won’t get you high.  The cannabis in the tincture may not have been properly decarboxylated or extracted.  The extraction time may not have been enough. Make sure you have THC-based tinctures, since CBD will relax you but not intoxicate you. If you’ve purchased tincture, in some states each legal serving is only 10mg which isn’t enough for people with higher tolerance levels. The guy at a dispensary near me told me that the 300mg THC bottle I purchased was about 5mg per drop, but he was not informed properly and when I read the label it said only .25 mg per drop.  Since I like about 5omg THC when taking edibles, that’s a shit ton of dropper action – 200 drops or 1/6 the total bottle.  Nonsense!  That moment was reaffirmation of why I will always make my own tincture going forward. And it also was frustrating to spend that much money on such a low-potency product.

Q: What is the recipe to make CBD tinctures?
A:  The recipe for Master Wu’s green dragon tincture can also be used with CBD marijuana strains instead of THC-rich indica or sativa.  Using a CBD strain to make tincture is done the same way, using everclear or other high-proof alcohol. You can then consume it in beverages or use it for making edibles with alcohol tincture.

Q: How about an alcohol-free CBD Tincture recipe?
A: You can also use glycerin to make an alcohol-free CBD tincture. Similar to glycerin THC tincture, glycerin CBD tincture can be made with dry, finely-chopped CBD weed strains that soak in glycerin for an extended period of time.  I’ve had a glycerin tincture going for more than a few years now (it’s probably junk since THC degrades with time, but it’s kind of funny so I keep it going).  But for a CBD tincture with glycerine an extraction time of 4-6 months is enough.  Combine the cannabis with tincture in a mason jar, shake briskly, and let sit.  Keep doing this daily and turning upside down.  Store in a dark place at room temperature, or you can wrap tin foil around to keep light out. Keep the jar nearby and you’re more likely to remember to shake it.

Q: Can you make a CBD and THC tincture?
A: You can make tincture with a strain that is high CBD with moderate THC easily enough using the recipes on this page. Technically you could combine a CBD strain with a THC strain 50-50 and use that. But CBD often lowers THC effects.  Usually you want one or the other, so it’s better to make 2 separate tinctures and use them independently when you need them.  As Mr. Myagi taught us, “Walk left, safe. Walk right, safe. Walk in the middle, you get squished like a grape.”

Q: Indica tincture vs. sativa tincture: what is the difference?
A: Many stoners have been taught to say that indicas will give you a more sedated, stoney, couch-lock effect – versus sativas that offer a more upbeat, more active daytime high when smoked. Since most strains at this point have been crossbred, unless you have some old-school equatorial landrace marijuana strains kicking around you’re likely dealing with a hybrid. An Indica tincture can be made from indica-dominant cultivars; similarly sativa-dominant cultivars will produce a sativa tincture. If given the option I’d opt for a sativa tincture, especially for daytime use.

This 8-month everclear freezer tincture turned cloudy white after being watered down 2:1.
This 8-month everclear freezer tincture turned cloudy white after being watered down 2:1.

Q: How do you make everclear tincture not burn?
A: Everclear is 190-proof grain alcohol, so it’s going to burn like hell if taken directly in your mouth or sublingually under the tongue.  No way to get around that.  You can cut freezer-made tincture with water to reduce the proof strength.  50-50 with water and you’re still looking at 95 proof, which still will burn.  A 2:1 water to tincture will drop it to around 63 proof, which is a bit more reasonable to take a shot of.  Adding some sugar will help sweeten the burn.  Flavoring compounds added to everclear tincture with sugar can help mask the burn a bit further – consider soaking a cinnamon stick or some spearmint leaves for a day or two to add some flavor.  If you soak it too long then too much mint or cinnamon flavor will actually make it seem to burn more, so go easy and test it to ensure you don’t overdo it.

Q: Do you need to use 190 proof alcohol for tincture?
A: THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids transfer into alcohol more easily the higher proof they are.  If you can’t get 190 proof grain alcohol for your tincture, look for 151 proof. You’ll get less of a cannabis effect assuming the same amount of marijuana or concentrates are used, but it will still work. I’ve seen variations of Master Wu’s green dragon tincture recipe that call for vodka, but if you go that route get the highest proof possible.  80 proof vodka is essentially grain alcohol mixed with water at the distillery, and since the water can’t absorb the active cannabinoids it just reduces the ability of the solution to become a potent, psychoactive tincture. For freezer tincture extractions you’re better off using 190 proof everclear and then watering it down afterwards to achieve the desired proof so it doesn’t burn as much. Straight 190 freezer tincture is pure fire water and will burn quite a bit.

Q: How much tincture does an ounce make?
A: It depends on your method of preparing the tincture.  An ounce of weed, finely ground and decarbed, can be covered in just enough everclear to fully immerse it but with less alcohol it will reach a saturation point for how much THC can actually be extracted from the source cannabis.  Even with green dragon a second extraction is recommended to fully capture the available cannabinoids.  And if you continue to cook down the everclear it will reduce total tincture volume while increasing potency. A second extraction isn’t possible or practical with a freezer extraction, so too much weed to alcohol ratio will mean you’re leaving THC in the source material.

Q: How long does it take for marijuana tincture to kick in?
A: There are a few variables that affect how long it takes weed tincture to kick in.  Sublingually consuming tinctures under the tongue reach the bloodstream quickly and kick in the fastest.  If consuming your tincture with an alcoholic beverage, taking it on an empty stomach will hasten the onset of your high. Tinctures made into edibles that break down quickly, such as fully chewed gummy bears, will release quicker than tincture edibles that are swallowed whole. Doing this on a full stomach will further slow digestion and will prolong how long it takes for marijuana tincture to kick in.

Q: Tincture without decarboxylation: What if you forget to decarb cannabis in your tincture?
A: Sometimes getting high doesn’t help you follow directions. It happens. If you get high when making your recipe and forget to decarb your cannabis, your tincture extraction will have THC acid (THCa) instead of THC.  Since THCa isn’t psychoactive, guess what that means for your tincture? It won’t get you high. Bummer.  So do your best to avoid making tincture without decarboxylation unless you’re looking for the non-stoney effect.

Q: Flavored cannabis tincture: how to make flavored tincture from the green dragon tincture recipe above?
A: The high-proof alcohol that extracts THC from cannabis can also extract flavor compounds as well.  We’ve made tinctures that we then soak with cinnamon sticks, spearmint leaves, thyme, lemon thyme, vanilla… the list goes on and on.  Typically we’ll store the tincture and the additive in a mason jar for 1-2 days, test the taste, and continue soaking only if needed.  For a 8 oz sample of 190-proof freezer extract that was stored for 10 months, which we watered down to 1/3 strength to so we could take shots, we’d add 16 spearmint leaves and store in freezer (which reduces chlorophyll from the mint) and also did another jar of 8 spearmint leaves and 3 springs of lemon thyme (a form of thyme heavy on limonene).  The lemon-thyme and mint was the favorite of most taste-testers since it did a good job of masking the flavor of the tincture.  Try your own combinations and experiment, remembering you can always add more but can never take it away.

Q: Can sunlight get hot enough to extract cannabis in tinctures?
A: Sunlight degrades THC, so this method isn’t ideal.  If you do this, cover the glass container with tin foil to keep the light out. But the heat will degrade terpene profiles, better to use the freezer method than to steep it in sunlight like it’s summertime iced tea.

Q: How do I make cannabis edibles – do you have any recipes for making edibles with alcohol tincture?
A: Gummy bears are a common option to make with alcohol tincture.  Green dragon has condensed potency and works well in such recipes, but everclear freezer tincture isn’t potent enough per ml of tincture to avoid watering down the recipe.

Q: Are there any good cocktail recipes for making edible drinks with alcohol tincture?
A: We actually prefer making tinctures into marijuana cocktails that are variants of traditional cocktails.  This isn’t for everyone though – drinking and tinctures walk a fine line so don’t overdo it.  Check out these marijuana cocktail recipes for some inspiration.

When you add green dragon tincture to beer using a dropper a delightful, cloudy appearance takes over. Bottoms up!

Q: What are the best beers to use when taking tinctures?
A: We prefer strongly hopped beers when taking marijuana tinctures – think IPAs or Double IPAs.  The strong hop profile helps mask the taste of the tincture. Green dragon looks really cool when you add dropfuls to a beer, the hazy green drops slowly sink and then spread the cloudiness throughout the glass similar to watching grenadine spread through a tequila sunrise.  One tip for using tinctures with beer is to mix it with just a few sips, so you can quickly slug it down.  You can add green dragon to a whole pint, but then the whole thing tastes like tincture.  We prefer making BHO tinctures and kief tinctures, or using other concentrates so that there isn’t too much of a “weedy” taste compared to making them with weed flowers. But even with BHO tincture there’s a strong taste, and it’s not all that pleasant to want to drink 16 oz. vs. 2 oz. of it.  So add your tincture to just a sip in a glass and slug it down, then enjoy the rest of your beer while you wait for the effects to kick in.

Q: How to make marijuana tincture fast – what’s the best recipe?
A: The master wu green dragon recipe is the best way to make marijuana tincture fast. It can be made quickly and is available to take as soon as it cools.  Freezer tinctures take far longer to make, so you’ll be waiting quite a while to try it out.

Q: How to calculate the strength of tinctures of cannabis?
A: Calculating the strength of cannabis tinctures is a bit art and a bit science. Unless you’re making tincture commercially and getting it tested, you’ll need to try and calculate the potency based on how much marijuana or concentrates are used.  For each gram (1000 mg) of weed at 15% potency you’d have 150 mg THC. If you don’t know the potency of the weed you’re using you’ll need to estimate it, which can really vary depending on how good the bud is, how old it is (THC breaks down into CBN with age), how well you decarbed it, if your extraction maximized the potential available THC, etc.v Shatter is easy to estimate since it’s usually around 72-75% THC, so each gram is about 720mg THC. Similar to flower, proper decarbing and proper extraction methods can impact the final product of tincture.  Kief potency varies based on strain, and also by the size screen used (73 micron screens with 25 micron material removed is great, this removes many contaminates that contain less non-psychoactive material).  120 micron kief contains more than just the round trichome heads, but if you use a bit more it makes high quality tincture on par with 73. We usually roughly double the THC content of the source cannabis for the kief potency estimate at 25-73 microns. So 1 gram of kief from an 18% potency strain is around 36%.

Q: Can vodka be used for making DIY tincture? How to make THC tincture using vodka when everclear or other 190-proof alcohol isn’t available?
A: Try to get Bacardi 151 if your other alternative is 80 proof vodka.  There’s too much water in regular vodka to fully extract the cannabinoids including THC so your final product will be a bit of a letdown.  But on the other hand, if you’re looking to make a lower THC tincture you’ll be able to drink more of it, so you can experiment with fun cocktails without worrying about getting too messed up.

Q: What is the best method for how to take a tincture for first time users?
A: Go with beer for green dragon. Or water down flavored everclear freezer tincture 3:1 water to tincture to drop the proof to around 63% alcohol, add sugar, and some flavoring like mint, other fresh herbs, cinnamon, etc.

Q: What are the easiest ways to cook with tincture?
A: Gummy bears are a fun way to cook with tincture.  You can also drop tincture onto damn near anything – sauces, smoothies, Chinese take-out.  You name it, tincture makes it more fun.

Q: Can you smoke THC tincture?
A: You can try to smoke anything I guess, but that doesn’t mean you should.  190 proof alcohol is very flammable.  Put a few drops on a bowl and breathe in the burn?  No thanks.  THC tincture is already decarbed.  The reason you smoke marijuana is that when burnt it instantly decarbs and makes the THCa into psychoactive THC.  No need to light it on fire again.  Technically you could put it on some bud, let it dry so the alcohol burns off.  But if you want to do that then just smoke the source material in the first place, don’t make Green Dragon.

Q: How long does tincture last?
A: It depends on how strong the tincture is, method of consumption, body weight, your individual tolerance, whether it was eaten on an empty stomach, etc.  If you take tincture sublingually the effects will come on quicker and stronger, and it will fade quicker than compared to tincture swallowed on an empty stomach.  We find it typically lasts 4-6 hours when taken at a “normal” dose, and quicker on a micro dose.

Q: Can you use THC tincture for pain?
A: Using THC tincture for pain will allow your brain to alter your perception enough that you may be able to ignore the pain, but the strong psychoactive effects may not be for all patients suffering from chronic pain.

Q: Can you use marijuana tincture for brownies?
A: It’s generally better to make brownies with cannabis butter or weed-infused oils since most brownie recipes call for those ingredients.  Adding grain alcohol to brownie recipes is possible.  If you’re going to use marijuana tincture for brownies, use a highly concentrated form like green dragon  vs more liquid-heavy tinctures made in the freezer.  Too much liquid will alter the consistency of the batter and will also affect the final product with an alcohol flavor.

THC tincture made with ecarbed marijuana trim is a great way to use sugar leavers left over from a recent harvest.
THC tincture made with decarbed marijuana trim is a great way to use sugar leavers left over from a recent harvest.

Q: Can you make Master Wu’s tincture with plant trim and sticks?
A: If you find yourself with some nice frosty  sugar leaves obtained during a marijuana harvest, you can just freeze them and make weed tincture with plant trim.  Sticks have very low THC, and won’t impart much of a potent kick – they’re not worth your time. You’ll find that when you make cannabis tincture with trim or other low-THC plant material you’ll get a more “green” chlorophyll taste that isn’t desirable. But if you’re asking how to make weed tincture with plant trim then you likely have some leftovers from your recent harvest – and in that case you can just load your entire batch of ground up, decarboxylated trim in a mason jar and immerse in everclear using the freezer tincture method.  It’s a bit difficult to gauge the potency of tincture made with trim, so go easy your first time and work your way up. Blast off!

Q: What are the benefits of making BHO tincture?
A: BHO tincture is great! Highly recommended when making Master Wu’s green dragon recipe. You can estimate the potency of tinctures made with BHO/Shatter/Wax easily, and you can really concentrate the THC into a small amount of alcohol compared to making tinctures with ground and dried flower.  It’s easy to monitor BHO during the decarb process, looking for little bubbles of oxygen cooking out, so this helps you make sure you are decarbing it correctly.  Learn how to decarb BHO

Q: Does BHO tincture need to be decarboxylated?
A: Yes. All marijuana concentrates need to be decarbed before making tincture, unless you’re using distillate.  Distillate doesn’t need decarboxylation because the THC is already made available during the production process. But to make hash oil or kief tincture you’ll need to decarb first to activate it.

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