Recreational and medical marijuana has become decriminalized in South Africa as of Tuesday 18 September 2018, and we fully supported this exciting movement.
It is important to note however, that dealing marijuana or smoking it outside your own home remains illegal.
Now you’re living in a country where you can legally grow (and love and care for) your own plants for recreational and medical use. It’s the perfect opportunity to start making your own marijuana products too!
Make Your Own CBD Oil: DIY CBD Oil
The most tricky part of this entire process is trying to get your hands on the right kind of marijuana. If you’re already growing your own, you know how difficult it is to source seeds for a plant that is predominately rich in CBD (cannabidiol), but contains minimal THC.
The two major types of cannabis plants are Indica and Sativa. In general Indica strains, high in CBD, will provide you with a sense of deep body relaxation. On the other hand, sativa strains, high in THC, tend to provide a more energizing experience. THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is the compound in marijuana that causes the well known ‘high’.
Those who wish to relief of minor symptoms for (or avoid) anxiety, pain, sleeplessness, hair growth, ect. during their marijuana experience should rather choose strains with low THC levels and higher CBD levels. Doing this has been shown to reduce anxiety and counter the effects of THC (which is not for everyone).
Indica plants are short, bushy plants with wide leaves. They produce products with higher counts of CBD and lower counts of THC.
Sativa plants are different in that they grow tall and thin with narrow leaves. Products produced from these plants have lower counts of CBD and higher counts of THC.
It can be difficult to know exactly the ratio of CBD and THC in your plants, the legality of weed in South Africa being the reason for this. However, if you look at the leaves of your plant and you are able to distinguish whether what you are growing is primarily Indica or Sativa – then that is a good place to start.
Oil high in CBD and low in THC will not make you high. By using predominantly CBD buds (that are high in CBD), is the only way to ensure that what you are making is in fact actually a CBD oil, that will not make you stoned.
CBD oil without THC is also not entirely the way to go though. THC and CBD are the power couple of cannabis and they work best together. That being said, your ideal bud for CBD oil should be of a strain know to be high in CBD and very low in THC – this will result in an oil that will not make you high (measuring less than 0.3 percent THC).
Making CBD Oil
That all being said, one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to cannabis products or strains. So, if you are growing your own strain that you know fits your own personal profile, that is ultimately the best.
Strains like ACDC and Harlequin are particularly High in CBD and low in THC, with is great to make CBD oil with. When making an oil for the benefits of CBD, concentrate on minimizing amounts of THC.
How To Make CBD Oil At Home
So, how is CBD oil made??
Don’t stress, we’re here to show you just how easy it actually is! All you really need is your marijuana (high CBD), a carrier oil (such as olive oil or coconut oil), an oven, and a jar! So if you’ve always wondered how to make CBD oil with coconut oil, no need to look any further.
On the other hand, if you are looking to make a CBD tincture, replace the carrier oil with an undiluted form of alcohol, such as vodka.
P.S if you are wanting to make an alcohol-free tincture, then you can use an organic vegetable glycerine instead of the spirits.
Excited to make CBD oil?
Our guide to making your own CBD oil is extremely easy to follow, check it out:
CBD Oil Recipe: Homemade CBD Oil
Variations of this recipe can be used to tweak it into a CBD lotion recipe too, so experiment and be sure to have some fun!
Step 1: Gather your greens!
Wherever you got them from, make sure they’re dried, cured and looking of top notch quality (look at those crystals sparkling!). Some things demand quality over quantity.
You can keep your buds whole, or you can grind them up. We prefer grinding it up first, and an electric herb grinder (like our Nutribullet) actually works pretty well for this.
Step 2: Decarboxylation!
This step is optional, but we do recommend it for the best results, as it will lead to more of the CBD being absorbable by your body.
So spread your cannabis out on a tray (just the cannabis, nothing else) and pop it in the oven for around 30-40 min (for more potent oils this time can be longer) at approximately 180 °C – if it burns at any point, you have done it wrong.
Step 3: Extraction
Time to make CBD oil:
Put your decarboxylated weed into a jar. The size of the jar doesn’t really matter, but try to choose a jar where you are able to fill it to about ¾ with marijuana.
Step 4: Add Variations
Here’s where the variations come in (oil, alcohol or vegetable glycerine).
Now you fill your jar to the top with either: the oil of your choice, the undiluted alcohol or the vegetable glycerine.
Step 5: Rest
Now all that’s left to do is to put the lid on your jar, put the jar in a cool dark place and wait for it to infuse for at least six weeks. We left ours for two months!
Shake the bottle so that what’s in it moves around at least once a day too.
When making a tincture, the jar can be left to infuse for several months and it won’t ever go bad, it will merely continue to get stronger.
Step 6: Ready to use
Your oil is now ready!
After the waiting period (yes, we know you’re excited), your oil will be ready to use as you please.
So strain out the buds with a fine sieve or a tea towel – squeezing the oil/tincture into the glass bottle it will be stored in. We like to use dropper bottles because they are so convenient and double up as a way to drop the oil under your tongue too.
Conclusion
Making your own CBD oil or tincture is really easy and a great project from start to finish – especially if you’re growing your own plants too.
The most difficult part of the whole process is making sure you can get your hands on some good quality marijuana that suits your needs. If you are considering making this oil for yourself or even your pets, you should know that there are plenty of human and pet CBD oils in South Africa that aren’t too expensive and are useful if you don’t have the time (or energy) to make your own oils.
We hope you enjoyed reading about how to make your own CBD oil! This recipe works really well for us, let us know what you think!
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