Extract of marijuana dissolved in some type of solvent such as an alcohol or ether.

The most simple extraction of hash oil is done by powdering or finely chopping some pot and adding to it an amount of solvent such as:

- a highly concentrated rubbing alcohol (90% or higher)
- a high proof ethanol alcohol such as everclear - but gin will work if you like
- chemical grade petrolium or diethyl ether

Soak the marijuana in your chosen solvent for a period of time in a glass jar with an airtight seal such as a snapple bottle or a canning jar. Shake it violently every once in a while, for a few minutes. The solvent will change from clear to green, as the marijuana turns from green to brown. Eventually the solvent will reach its saturation point. It will be very dark. At this point the solvent is probably saturated with the essential oils.

You have two options from here:

1. You may use the oil as-is - take some of the solvent out of the jar with a long eyedropper or similar tool, and apply the solvent to your bowl, a joint, your vaporizer, or even a cigarette (excellent choice for smoking outdoors.) Be ABSOLUTELY SURE to evaporate off all of the solvent before you light up! If you used some form of drinkable alcohol you can put it in some gelcaps available for purchase at your local Vitamin Shoppe.

After using all of your solvent, be sure to re-use the plant material - it is not exhausted yet.

2. Remove the solvent from the plant matter and evaporate it off. This is difficult without a distillation machine, but can be done with a hot plate and some ingenuity. Be sure to remove all of the solvent, but be wary that any solvent you use will be very flammable, and the evaporated vapor can cause brain damage, drunkenness, and/or make you unconscious. This may or may not be desirable. (For more information, consult the novel Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.) After all is said and done, you will end up with a dark brown goo. This can be stored in a smaller container (such as an eyedropper bottle) and you can add smaller amounts of fresh solvent for use as needed.

After evaporating off all of your solvent, be sure to repeat this procedure until the solvent extraction no longer absorbs any color from the plant material.

There is also another way to make hash oil, using butane. Using the butane method will eliminate the nasty, un-wanted materials extracted with ether, rubbing alcohol, etc. The butane won't pull the chlorophyll, vegetative oils, waxes, etc. out along with the amber colored oil you want - the said contaminants will make the oil have a blackish color (you don't want that.) You can use all parts of your plant, even the large fan leaves which also contain the oil you want.

Materials needed:

  • Marijuana plant material (fan leaves, trimmings, etc.)
  • 8 oz. can of butane gas (available at a camping supply store)
  • Metal pipe/tube (don't use PVC unless you want those lovely toxic chemicals in your hash oil) about 1 to 2 feet long, 2 to 3 inches in diamater and two caps to fit over the ends of the pipe.
  • A beaker that is large enough to hold the fluid that will come from the bottom of the pipe.

Process:

  1. Take the two end caps for the pipe; in one, drill a small hole in the center (big enough so you can fit the butane can's nozzle where the gas is dispensed.) In the second cap, drill a few holes concentrated towards the center (this will be where the extracted oil drips out.)
  2. Take the cap with multiple holes in it, and line the inside with a coffee filter or similiar material. Then, put the cap on one end of the pipe as snuggly as possible (this will be the bottom.)
  3. Take your plant material and shred it up to about the consistancy of a finely chopped salad and fill your pipe (don't pack it too much.)
  4. Place the other cap with the single hole on the top of the pipe as snuggly as possible.
  5. Now, find a place outdoors (the butane gas vapors need to evaporate off safely, DO NOT DO THIS INDOORS) where you can safely complete the last steps. Make sure you choose a place where there aren't going to be ANY sparks or flames.
  6. The filled pipe needs to be mounted on something sturdy via a clamp so that the bottom of the pipe is inside of the beaker, but about 3 to 5 inches above the beaker's bottom.
  7. Take the can of butane gas, turn it upside down, and dispense all of the liquid into the top of the pipe through the single hole (this should only take a few seconds.)
  8. Once the can is empty, move away from the pipe to a safe distance. The butane is highly flamable, do not smoke, or do anything else which produces a flame or sparks near the mounted pipe (unless, of course, you want to blow yourself up.)

Since butane has a very low boiling point, the collected oil in the beaker will be likely to start boiling and it will evaporate itself off from the hash oil. As the oil cools down, you will see the beaker begin to build up frost and the evaporation process will slow down. You can speed it up again by placing the beaker in a pan of luke-warm water (not hot, just warm.) It will take anywhere from 15 to 40 minutes for the butane to evaporate off from the extracted oil from your plant material.

Once the evaporation of the butane is complete, redissolve the extract in a high-percentage alcohol such as isopropanal or everclear. Then transfer the redissolved oil into storage vials. Let these sit out for a few days to let the alcohol evaporate off. If you have done everything correctly, the final product you should end up with is a beautiful, honey-colored oil extract that is very pure and potent.

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