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- Message-ID: <163302Z02101993@anon.penet.fi>
- Newsgroups: alt.drugs
- From: an13252@anon.penet.fi (the Objectivist)
- Date: Sat, 2 Oct 1993 16:28:12 UTC
- Subject: FILE: Isomerization
- 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 any
- ether in extremely well-sealing containers and store only in appropriate
- locations which will not have sparks, flamers, or heat. This article
- formerly recommended freezing ether, but one problem with this suggestion
- is that most freezers have a circulating fan that could cause a
- small spark. Even at normal freezer temperatures, ether is still
- quite volatile and can leak slowly from many containers. [Edited by Erowid: Feb 26, 2002]
- 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.
- 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.
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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