"You give a few pot heads a bunch of weed and nothing to smoke out of and they suddenly become engineers. It's amazing."
https://www.reddit.com/r/StonerEngineering/
With thanks to @salad_bar_breath !
@salad_bar_breath No doubt, I was impressed too!
@freemo got to see it.
🇳🇱
@freemo
LOL, When, well - just now.
I guess the short form was unclear. Meant: Freemo has got to see this!
Imagine all the bubbling action when it's in use. Glass cleaning might be less fun, but it's a great build. 😜
Cleaning is easy with a little chemistry knowledge. Acetone will instantly clean anything.
I dont tend to smoke bud though. Not that I wont, I just dont like the effects on lung health so try to minimize anything like that.
@freemo
Ah, very good to know, that acetone works well.
Lung effects, that is something to keep in mind. What method do you think would be less worrisome? Vaporizing dry flower?
@design_RG @freemo Vaping is less carcinogenic and hard on your lungs, so that seems like the way to go long term. Though smoking occassionally won't hurt you.
@salad_bar_breath
Ah, thank you!
In order from healthiest to least healthy I'd say it goes like this
1) Edibles (particularly if in healthy good)
2) dabbing shatter on a temperature controlled rig, ideally the shatter should be purified and not heated too much as to agitate the lungs. But less pure shatter is still ok if its plant material but not as good
3) dry vaping buf
4) smoking a joint
5) smoking a tobacoo join or blunt
6) injecting weed :)
@freemo
Great to know, thank you.
'buf' being?
Would making a tea like infusion from dry flower work? Thought about it but haven't tried, would hate to loose good plant material to testing.
Don't smoke tobacco at all, so the casual joint feels a bit harsh on lungs sometimes.
You could make a tea infusion and it would have some effect in getting you high and overall be healthy.
The issue with that approach is you would waste a LOT of weed since the vast majority would not dissolve in the water. It would be weak in terms of potency and youd waste the vast majority of active ingredients.
THC and CBD are fairly selective towards nonpolar solvents so water cant really dissolve much if any of it where oils can.
You are better off dissolving it in some oil and eating that.
@freemo
TY, glad I hadn't tried the experiment then, the tea route seems inneficient and wasteful.
The dissolving in oil is intriguing! I like to eat Zatar, a middle East condiment mix based on Thyme, which is nice with olive oil and some pita bread.
Got to try adding some fine shredded flower to it and see.
If the flavor is an issue get 000 sizes gelatin capsules and fill them with the oil. While water eats through them oil will not eat the casing and will effectively make edible pills for you you can swallow.
Just be careful when you do that there is absolutely no water in the oil, not even tiny droplets from cleaning the pot, as those will cause the pills to burst.
@freemo
Never tried biting into bud, so no idea if tastes bad or not. Mixing a bit with zatar might work, as it is delicious and fragant too.
Would be curious to know the total production of weed this year in Canada, the first year after legalization in October 2018.
I was very surprised to go for a kid's birthday party, and seeing a big cannabis plant growing happily in their backyard garden plot.
Then saw it in other people's homes, in containers or in the ground directly. I think there must have been a lot of new home gardeners this year!
@salad_bar_breath
Its a bit gritty with bud in it. I tend to recommend you dissolve it in oil first, use a cheese cloth to filter, then use the oil.
You dont have to but it improves the texture of the food.
As for flavor, depends on just how strong it is. Me personally the flavor makes me want to puke.
@design_RG @freemo Make sure you cook your spiced up Zatar in the olive oil (you can slow heat it for an hour or something like that), else it won't activate the cannabanoids.
That sounds really delish btw :D
Thats only partly true. The only time you need to carboxylate THC is if you have very very fresh bud. Cured bud is already naturally decarboxylated.
Generally to do a good extraction you rfirst grind the bud and leave it out for a few days until it is bone dry then grind it again to a fine power. When bud becomes dry it will also naturally decarboxylate.
Long story short, unless you frew the weed yourself and harvested it a week ago you most likely dont need to decarboxylate.
Zatar is really delicious, if you have any Arabic food stores nearby it's worth try finding it. Preserves well on a sealed bag or jar, and packs flavour and calories when mixed with good virgin olive oil.
The mix components and taste does vary a bit from brand to brand, the ones I liked best were prepared in Syria, and now not available due to the country's destruction in civil war.
It should have thyme, sumac, sesame seeds which give it texture and flavour. Sometimes there's a nice lemon taste, which feels perfect. Yummy indeed.
Yuo can also add it as dry powder on top of bread, or on top of something like ricotta that has bland taste.
Inquiring minds demand to know. So... Test.
Test apparatus as prepared. Additional green matter added as Zatar, and a bit more extra virgin olive oil.
Preliminary report, taste was not any issue, delayed for observable results should be at least an hour, as other edibles, I assume?
Factor to consider, infusion time - just a few minutes in this case, but longer, overnight possibly better?
did you dry the herb first and grind it super fine. also heat the oil to get it to dissolve. These steps make a huge difference.
@freemo
No, I didn't dry it, just took an average sized bud from sealed glass storage, it was still sticky with resin. Broke it up with findertips and nails, trying for the finest possible shred. Then used the small knife on the photo to chop any of the larger pieces in half.
Fineness I think would be important, also the contact/extration time for the oil to work, longer being better. Warming up the oil, seems a nice idea, got to try that. Next experiment coming soon!
A lot nicer, less messy, no stinking the house, the clothing, unlike the smoking method (where I feel the need to leave and do it outdoors or on the shed in backyard.
Really enjoying the ideas and discussions we get involved here in the fediverse. 
@design_RG
Not drying it will make a huge difference in potency for several reasons. First off you cant grind it nearly as fine when moist, you need a fine powder to do a good job, second the water itself reduces the effecacity of the solvent, third it reduces the temperature the oil can reach and thus firther reduce the extraction.
If done non dried bud extraction and sonetimes it barely works at all. Most of the effect ia the inability to grind it to a powder. Surface area is everything on an extraction.
Those make perfect sense, I will need to try for the finest possible shredding. Drying up a small quantity, like the needed amount for a joint at that moment, seems a bit more complicated. How to do it, being such a small amount?
Got to report that it worked as expected, given the amount used; the usual I would prepare and roll by hand.
This saved the unpleasant smells in the room, clothing, etc. Nothing objectionable by housemates or close neighbours.
Glad we are having this conversation!
Leave it out for a few days in a dry warm place and your good. You can also put an oven on very low.
If you want to make edibles efficiently its usually not a spur of the moment thing. You can make it the way you did of course but its just soooo much waste.
@design_RG That thing is magnificent.