1/2

Notice to Reader

This book is made available for entertainment, archival, and informational purposes only, in accord with the First Amendment of the USA Constitution. It is presented as a historical novelty of the 1973 edition. The author and publisher advocate no illegal activities of any kind, and make no express or implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for any purpose, or otherwise, with respect to this book or the information it contains;. For medical, legal, or spiritual advice, we urge that you consult the appropriate licensed practitioner.

EATING IT VERSUS SMOKING IT

Smoking is one of the many bizarre rituals of mankind. It is practiced universally, more or less, in both primitive and sophisticated societies. Who can say whether it is natural or not? Perhaps, at least for some of our species, it is as much a genetic imperative to smoke as it is for spiders to spin and lemmings to drown. Many of us feel, however, that it is not in the best interest of our lungs to inhale vast volumes of cinders. The heat, tars and harsh smoke from any material, be it tobacco, pot or gentle herb, irritates, interferes with oxygen intake and may hasten pulmonary disorders in persons predisposed to these.

The logical alternative to smoking grass is to ingest it. Convenience, however, often motivates our choice. It is simpler to light a joint than to spend an hour over a hot stove and another hour waiting for the product of our labour to take effect. Furthermore, many of us are so programmed for compulsive smoking that it is unlikely that we would change the pattern for any reason so minor as the well-being of our breathing apparatus. So, unless the reader is some kind of health nut with a fetish about maintaining the function of his lungs, why would any decent, normal, pot-smoking citizen want to switch to eating?

Well, the author is not trying to talk anyone into or out of anything, but it may be enlightening to examine the relative advantages and disadvantages of these two methods of getting stoned.

Smoking, as we have already indicated, is irritating to the throat and lungs. If one is already a user of tobacco, he will at least be mentally inured to taking in smoke. If one is not a cigarette smoker, he will probably fail to inhale the pot smoke properly and in sufficient volumes to achieve the desired state. The ingestion of grass is hedonistic rather than masochistic. Ingested in normal amounts, there are no unpleasant side effects. Consumed in excessive quantities, it may cause a listless feeling and bloodshot eyes the following day.

When cannabis is smoked, the effect is almost instantaneous. Some so-called "creeper" grasses may take five minutes or so to come on completely, but some of the high is usually felt right away. The high from smoking usually lasts from one to two and a half hours, and can be recaptured when it is waning by taking a few more tokes.

When cannabis is ingested, a person must wait thirty minutes to an hour and a half before the first stages of the high are even noticed. After this, the euphoric state continues to increase. It may then last from four to eight hours, and in some cases even longer. This long high can be of great value to a person who is going to be in a place where he cannot conveniently re-stone himself with the difficult-to conceal smoke. It is always such a contra-hedonistic bother, for instance, to try to sneak a few hasty booster tokes in the toilet stalls during the intermission at a double feature. If the theatergoer ingests rather than smokes his pot, he can stay deliciously high even through an entire Wagnerian opera and still feel like he's in Valhalla upon arriving home.

Although ingested cannabis may take as much as 90 minutes to take effect, most of the recipes in this book are designed to work more swiftly. Several of them may even give the gourmet the first noticeable buzz within fifteen minutes.

Because of their different avenues of absorption, the psychopharmacological effects of ingested cannabis are bound to be somewhat different than those from the smoked material. A good amount of the active components are altered or destroyed during combustion when smoked. The various enzymes and other digestive fluids which must work on the cannabis resins before they can be assimilated alter the structure of the active materials somewhat, and no doubt also the subtle qualities of the high. These differences, though they are subtle and perhaps too susceptible to subjective description to be reported here, will be clearly observable even to the novice connoisseur. Other differences which are more easily described are due to the delayed reaction after ingestion. The effects here will be less pronounced during the initial stages than those from smoking. But as the minutes progress, the "hash eater's" high may become far more overwhelming than anything that the smoker has ever experienced. This may be furthered by the fact that the eater does not get the same immediate signals which tell the smoker that he has had enough. So when he finally comes on, he may really come on—and still keep coming on.

For any and all of the above reasons, ingested cannabis is often more hallucinogenic than the smoke. Spatial distortions, macroscopia (objects appearing larger than normal), and microscopia (appearing smaller) are also more likely to occur. One should keep this in mind if he is planning to drive a vehicle or take on any task which demands accurate perception, judgement and response.

The ritual of rolling a joint or packing a pipe and passing it among a small circle of friends has its undeniable magic. But so does the alchemy of the kitchen and the pleasures of sharing good food with good companions.

One probable advantage of smoking is that it is virtually impossible to overdose in this manner. If a person has smoked too much he will either stop or pass out (hopefully not in bed while holding a lighted joint). One may eat ten times too much and still be eating more before the first effects of the high have even arrived. If he does so, he may eventually lose consciousness for anywhere from 12 to 48 hours, depending upon how much was taken. Unless the consumer is a daring astronaut of inner space who thrives upon bold and sudden leaps into uncharted regions of expanded or deflated consciousness, we generally recommend that the average gourmet exercise some caution when trying to determine the outer limits of his drug tolerance. When beginning to experiment with doses of any unfamiliar material, the best rule, of course, is to start with small amounts and increase gradually as needed.

The Nature of Cannabis

GETTING THE MOST OUT OF IT

To derive the best and most economical results from cannabinated cuisine, we must keep in mind several facts about the physical and chemical nature of cannabis and how it is broken down and absorbed in the digestive tract. It is not the author's intention to burden or confound the reader with too many of the complexities of science. Yet a rudimentary understanding of some details will be of value in making certain decisions which will give the best results for the least investment.

SOLUBILITY OF CANNABIS

THC, the active substance in grass and hash, is not soluble in water; it is soluble in oils, fats and alcohols. This has been known for thousands of years. Recipes from India and other hash-eating civilizations usually require that the ganja be sauteed in butter or ghee (clarified butter) before combining it with the other ingredients. Still, in the enlightened Twentieth Century, we find otherwise intelligent people boiling, and often only steeping, the leaves, seeds and stems of marijuana in water and drinking cup after cup in pursuit of a high that may never arrive. Then they discard the leaves, which, though soggy, are still potent. If the grass is of excellent quality and has much resin on the outside, it is possible, after strenuous boiling, that a portion of these resins will be softened by the heat and will float out into the tea water. Clearly, though, boiling in water is not an efficient way to extract oil-soluble materials.

Most of the recipes in this writing involve some form of extraction of the cannabis resins into an oil or alcohol medium. This is accomplished by any of the following methods: soaking or boiling in alcohol; sauteing or boiling in oil or butter; combining, uncooked, with oil or butter; combining, heated or unheated, with an oil/water emulsion such as milk. Milk contains butter fats in emulsion with water. Cannabis materials can be boiled in milk and will dissolve into these fats. This emulsion solubility is the basis of the ancient beverage from India known as bhang.

DIGESTION OF CANNABIS

There are several ways that a person can ingest cannabis with varying degrees of effectiveness. The simplest, though not the most appetizing, is to chew up and swallow either 5 to 20 grams of marijuana, 1/2 to 2 grams of hashish, or 1/10 to 1/2 gram of hash oil. These amounts are subject to wide variation because of the vastly different potency grades of the products available and the differences in individual tolerances. When these materials are taken straight (on an empty stomach, of course), you may have to wait an hour or more, depending upon the activity of your digestive system, before the initial effects are experienced. It takes less cannabis and less time when the material has been properly dissolved in a suitable medium. The second point, therefore, is akin to the first. THC is more efficiently assimilated if it has been dissolved in fats or alcohol.

When fats or oils are ingested, the liver receives a signal to secrete bile, which is then concentrated in the gall bladder and ejected into the duodenum. Bile is a viscid, alkaline fluid which aids in the emulsification, digestion and absorption of fats. Cannabis does stimulate bile flow to some extent. But if cannabis resins are taken into the system without the presence of fats, there may not be enough bile secreted to bring about their complete assimilation. Eventually, in about two to four times as many minutes, some percentage of the resins will be assimilated.

When food is taken into the stomach it is churned about while hydrochloric acid and enzymes begin its digestion. After the contents of the stomach become liquefied, small amounts of it are ejected into the duodenum at 20-second intervals until a certain amount accumulates. Then this process of ejection slows down. Some very small quantity of fat may now be absorbed directly into the blood through the intestinal capillaries. Next the bile begins its work, emulsifying the fat (dispersing it in water in miniscule droplets) and rendering some of the fatty acids watersoluble. Now a greater amount of these fats can be assimilated through the duodenum. Any which are not are digested in the small intestine by pancreatic lipase (an enzyme). As the digesting food is passed from the duodenum to the lower portions of the small intestine, more of the stomach's gastric contents are ejected into the duodenum and similarly acted upon. The total process of emptying the stomach may take from one to four hours.

Note: there is a rumor that vegetarians do not get as stoned on grass as meat eaters. This notion is not absolutely without foundation; it is merely a distortion of the truth. It has been noted several times in scientific literature dating back at least to the early nineteenth century that while carnivorous animals (fish, dogs, swine, vultures, crows, etc.) invariably and speedily exhibit the intoxicating influence of marijuana, the graminivorous ones (vegetarian grazers), such as the horse, deer, monkey, goat, sheep, and cow, experience but trivial effects from any dose administered. Human beings are capable of adapting to either vegetarian or carnivorous diets. The personal eating habits of an individual, no matter how long-standing, have no influence whatsoever upon his ability to enjoy the pleasures of cannabis.

ALCOHOL AND SUGAR

An alcohol solution of the cannabis resins is very readily assimilated even in the absence of digestive secretions. The stomach serves largely as a food reservoir in which food is prepared for further digestion Only a few substances, such as water, alcohol and certain drugs, are absorbed directly through this organ. Alcohol is rather swiftly absorbed through the stomach lining and will act as a vehicle to carry into the system other substances with which it is combined. Because honey and other sugars are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream through the intestinal capillaries, they may also serve to some extent as an assimilation vehicle. But since THC does not dissolve in sugars, the degree of absorption is rather limited.

The signal for the stomach to slow down the process of ejecting its contents into the duodenum is caused by a hormone (enterogastrone). This hormone is released from the intestinal mucosa when sugars and/or fats are present in the small intestine. If too much sugar is present, the fats containing the active resins will be detained longer in the stomach. From this information we may summarize another guidepoint: The presence of a little sugar in alcohol or in an oil-based confection may somewhat facilitate the assimilation of the THC. Too much sugar, however, can interfere with the digestion of the fats and their payload of THC.

CHOICE OF CUISINE

A prefatory comment has already been made about the foolishness of most marijuana cookbooks. Some of their recipes are for such esophagus-expanding delights as marijuana in spaghetti or hashish stroganoff. Now imagine a stomach full of spaghetti or stroganoff with several grams of cannabis mixed up in it. After two or three hours, how much of this grand dinner will have been absorbed into the body? From what we have just discussed we may establish a third guidepoint: A little of the right kind of food will aid in the assimilation of the cannabis resins; too much food will merely dilute its potency and waste much of it.

For the same reason that cannabis is best combined with small morsels rather than huge meals, these morsels should not be taken on a stomach that is already full.

It might be added that the active resins of cannabis are rendered more soluble (even slightly water-soluble) in an alkaline situation. An acid condition interferes with their solubility. Indications are that the resin is best absorbed under the influence of the alkaline juices of the upper part of the small intestine. Absorption in the lower intestine is probably quite minimal. Any further absorption occurring here will not give an additional high, but will merely perpetuate a sluggish hangover and state of listlessness.

EFFECTS OF COOKING ON CANNABIS

The question is sometimes asked: "What is the effect of cooking heat upon cannabis? Will it destroy potency?"

Under normal circumstances, there is no appreciable loss of potency from cooking. For the most part, temperatures which would burn or destroy the active principle would as quickly ruin the recipe itself.

Losses of THC potency are usually the result of oxidation. Unless cannabis is kept in an airless environment, it will be subject to oxidation. In a freezer the rate of oxidation is almost nullified. At room temperature (20ƒC) oxidation is quite gradual. Ten percent may be lost over a period of several months. At higher temperatures, in the tropics, for instance, this depreciation is only slightly higher. If the cannabis is kept in a very hot place, say 150ƒ or more, a more substantial loss of potency may be expected during the same amount of time.

Cooking temperatures will accelerate the oxidizing process, but the lengths of time usually involved are too brief for much loss to occur. It has been suggested that the amount of marijuana be increased to compensate for longer cooking periods as follows:

Temperature - Degrees C.

Grams of marijuana

There is no harm nor even likelihood of overindulgence from these slight increases.

In many instances, it is possible that cooking will increase the potency of marijuana. In freshly harvested hemp much, and sometimes all, of its THC is present in the form of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid. The percentage depends upon such factors as time of harvest and the climate in which it is grown. Unripe grass or grass grown in northern climates is likely to contain more THC acid than THC. The acid is not psychoactive, but upon drying much of it converts to active THC by a natural process known as decarboxylation. Most of the remaining acid will convert to THC during a period of two years. Unfortunately, much of this THC will oxidize in this much time. If the decarboxylation could take place in an oxygenfree environment, oxidation would not simultaneously occur. The application of heat can further decarboxylate unconverted THC acids in the dried product. During smoking, although much of the THC and its acid are destroyed by the flame, all that reaches the smoker's lungs has been converted to the active form of THC. If the material containing the THC acids is heated to about 100ƒC for 75 minutes in a nitrogen or carbon dioxide atmosphere (one free of oxygen), all of these acids will convert to THC. Traditional cannabis recipes often call for the sauteing of the ganja in oil or butter before using it. The oil protects the product from the oxygen while the heat activates the THC. This activation also occurs in the extraction of hash oil from weed and in any hash manufacturing procedures where heating or boiling is involved.

Let us attempt to summarize what we know of the effect of heat on cannabis. While too much heat or overcooking can destroy THC activity, normal cooking temperatures for normal cooking times can increase potency by activating the THC.

The author was once invited to a dinner at the country home of some friends who were growing their own. The piece de resistance was a salad of freshly picked marijuana leaves. The salad chef very thoughtfully gave these greens a thorough dousing with olive oil to aid in the assimilation of the high. We all ate copious amounts of the salad before dinner. It was fragrant and quite palatable, but none of us got even slightly stoned. At first we thought that it was simply poor grass, but later when we smoked some that we had dried in the sun, we realized that it was one of the best homegrown harvests we had ever had. Even the lower leaves were good. Now we understand why this happened. This grass, grown in a northern climate, contained, in its fresh state, most of its THC in the form of its acid precursor. Since it had not been dried to convert the acids to THC, we might as well have been eating lettuce. Of course, the idea of eating a big bowl of marijuana leaves was a turn-on of its own.

CANNABIS AND APPETITE

A point which should not be overlooked in any treatise on cannabis cooking is the appetite-stimulating property of this substance. This phenomenon has been noted both in clinical studies and in private use. The smoking of grass will often give the user a good case of the munchies. But when it is ingested, it may very well turn him into a gastronomical nymphomaniac. Some grasses are more inclined to do this than others. So when you are consuming cannabis, don't let your cupboard be bare.

We should also point out that food can bring you down. If you are excessively stoned and want to come down a ways, a good meal, a decent snack, or just a tablespoon of honey in warm water will usually put your feet nearer to the ground.

As we have mentioned earlier, too much food in a cannabis dish can defeat your high before it even has a chance to happen. Furthermore, some people— especially those with weak digestive systems—may get a bit queasy when trying to digest cannabis products. The stomach often tries to reject that which is difficult to digest. Too much food may worsen this condition. Even if you are one of the majority who has no problem digesting cannabinated cuisine, too much food in the tummy can be damnably distracting when you are trying to experience euphoria.

CANNABIS AND TASTE

Many of the ancient and modern cannabis preparations are, for the most part, attempts at covering up the taste of marijuana, which many persons find disagreeable. Majoon is a typical example of this approach. It is a confection sweetened and amply spiced with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg or other condiments which adequately, if not thoroughly, disguise the hemp flavor. Some of these recipes have been included here because they are delectable and dependable, not to mention classical.

Most of the author's own recipes, however, are devised upon the premise that the flavor of cannabis is delicious if prepared correctly and combined with other ingredients which are harmonious with its essence. Many of these recipes treat cannabis as a condiment without which the flavor of the preparation would doubtless suffer.

Preparing Cannabis Material

AVAILABLE CANNABIS PRODUCTS

Cannabis products are derived from the female Cannabis sativa or C. indica plant. The psychoactive substance in cannabis is called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). In India and other Eastern countries cannabis products come in four basic forms: ganjah (the resin covered flower tops), bhang (the leaves from below the tops), charas (the resins gathered from the tops), and hashish or mimea (the resins extracted with fat in boiling water and solidified). Some of these names mean different things in different locales. The terms bhang and hashish, in some places, are given to intoxicating beverages made from cannabis.

In the United States and most Western nations the available cannabis products are marijuana, hashish and hash oil. The term marijuana refers to all usable parts of the plant. The whole flower tops with little or no broken leafy material is usually the most potent and expensive form of this product. This broken leafy material may be either shakes (the potent crumblings from the dry tops) or the less potent leaves from the lower parts of the plant. A typical sample of decent quality marijuana sold on the American black market would consist of approximately equal portions of tops and shakes with a substantial amount of seeds included.

The term hashish here includes both the fat extracted hashish or mimea and the gathered charas resin, The term charas is rarely used in America. Sometimes this product is wrongly called kif or pollen hash. Kif is actually a blend of ganjah and black tobacco prepared in Morocco. Pollen, of course, comes from the male, rather than the female, plant. Hashish may be 5 to 8 times as potent as the marijuana from which it was derived.

Hash oil is a solvent extraction of the active oils and resins from either hashish or marijuana. There are different grades of hash oil determined by the degree of refinement and the percentage of active THC. Brown oil is the crudest extraction, but it may be 2 to 4 times as concentrated as the hashish from which it came. Higher refinements include red oil, amber oil, honey, oil, and white oil, in that order.

A modern technique known as isomerization may further increase the potency of hash oil without reducing its volume. This treatment of the product was originally achieved by Dr. Roger Adams and reported in The Journal of American Chemistry Society (volume 63, Page 2211: This process converts one of the inactive components of the oil to active THC and at the same time transforms the lower rotating THC molecule to a higher rotating and more potent isomer. These conversions may increase the potency by as much as six times and also improve the quality of the high. Isomerization removes much of the heavy sleepinducing characteristics from cannabis and allows a more buoyant and uplifting high. Practical methods for carrying out this isomerization process are given in the And/Or Press publication Cannabis Alchemy-Making High Potency Hash Oil by David Hoye, available from the Twentieth Century Alchemist P.O. Box 3684, Manhattan Beach, California 90266.

PREPARATION OF BASIC MATERIAL FOR CANNABIS RECIPES

The following concoctions are useful in the preparation of fast-acting and potent cannabis recipes. It is not absolutely necessary, however, that all of these materials be on hand. Perhaps the most useful and most easily-prepared among these is canna-butter. This substance is also known as Sacred Ghee in India, where it has been in use for thousands of years.

PREPARATION OF GHEE

Many recipes from India call for the use of ghee. Ghee is clarified butter. In India it is made from water buffalo butter, but any butter will do. Ghee was invented by our Eastern ancestors as a way of preventing the butter from becoming rancid in the absence of refrigeration. Properly prepared ghee can be kept at room temperature or in a moderately cool place for many months without spoiling. It has a mildly tangy butterscotch flavor, which becomes less pronounced the more it is filtered.

There are two basic methods for preparing ghee: skimming and precipitating. The skimming method is accomplished by heating 500 g. or more of fresh butter in a saucepan at a medium-low temperature, but hot enough that it boils and produces a froth at the top. This froth is skimmed from the surface with a spoon, and discarded. Light boiling is continued and further skimming is done until no more froth appears. It may be necessary to tilt the saucepan at an angle to remove the last particles of froth. The remaining butterfat is ghee. It should be poured into a jar while molten, capped, and stored in a cool place. If it is kept in the refrigerator, it will last even longer. This type of ghee will have a strong butterscotch flavor.

To prepare ghee by the second method, a wok is recommended, but any pot will do. If a wok or cast iron pan is used, it must be absolutely clean. If it is not, the ghee will blacken and taste of metal oxides. To clean the wok place a handful of salt and a little salad oil inside the bowl and scour with the aid of a cloth or paper towels. Repeat with fresh salt and oil until no more oxides appear on the towel. Wipe the remaining salt away with cloth or towels. Never use water to clean a wok or cast iron pan.

Melt 1/2 or 1 kg. of butter in the wok at medium-low temperature. Allow the molten butter to simmer for a while. White particles will float to the top. Stir frequently to insure that nothing sticks to the bottom. Eventually the butter will start to bubble over. Remove the wok from the stove and let it stand for about five minutes. During this time, the white particles will sink to the bottom. When they have settled, pour the ghee into a jar. If a purer form of ghee is desired, it may be filtered while hot through several layers of cheesecloth. The more it is filtered, the less butterscotch flavor it will have.

The color of cooking ghee is slightly darker than gold. If it gets any darker than this, your wok or pot is too hot. While the ghee is cooking, steam will rise from it. There will be less volume to the ghee than the original amount of butter.

You may use either salted or unsalted butter to make ghee. The salt and other non-fat impurities are the particles which are removed. Sweet butter is more costly than the salted product, and, unless it is kept in the freezer, it tends to become rancid more quickly. Ghee made from rancid butter has a horrible taste and is bad for you. If you use unsalted butter to make ghee, the residue will have a dark color and a strong butterscotch flavor. It is quite tasty when mixed with honey. If salted butter is used, the residue will be too salty to

PREPARATION OF CANNABUTTER
(THE SACRED GHEE OF INDIA)

Melt 1/2 kg. of butter or ghee in a saucepan. Add to this 50 - 100 grams of finely sifted marijuana. Simmer and stir for a few minutes until the butter takes on the greenish color of the grass. Pour the butter through a fine strainer. While pouring, hold the leafy mash at one corner of the pan with a tablespoon. Tilt the pan slightly and press the mash firmly to squeeze out as much butter as possible. A little heat may be applied beneath the mash to help the butter to flow out better. Strain the salvaged butter which collects in the lower corner of the pan. If absolutely no debris is wanted in the butter, it should be strained through a piece of muslin or several layers of cheesecloth. However, if this is done, much of this active butter may be lost by absorption. Do not discard the leafy material. It still contains considerable resins. It can be simmered in milk or vodka and sweetened with honey or sugar to make a tasty and effective beverage. Hot milk or vodka may also be used to salvage cannabutter from the straining cloth.

More sifted leaf can be heated in the strained cannabinated butter if extra potency is desired. Much of the first batch of cannabutter will get soaked up by the second batch of grass. Strain and salvage as before and attempt to recover as much cannabutter as possible from the mash. Again, the milk or vodka beverage can be prepared from it.

Pour the cannabutter into a jar, cap it, and store in refrigerator or freezer. If ghee has been used, it may be kept in a cool cupboard when refrigeration is not available. Cannabutter can be kept for very long periods in the refrigerator if water is poured over it. The water and cannabutter should be chilled before this is done to prevent any butter from dislodging and floating to the top. The water will remain on top of the butter and act as an oxygen shield.

A simpler and more potent cannabutter can be made by blending the melted butter or ghee with hashish or hash oil instead of grass. It is not necessary to heat the mixture as long as when the grass is used. Just heat and stir until all of the hash or oil dissolves in the butter. Because it dissolves so easily, as much hash or oil can be added as the chef desires. Furthermore, there is no residual pulp to be concerned about. Just dissolve and stir the ingredients together and it is ready for use or storage.

CANNABUTTER FROM SEEDS

The outer portion of marijuana seed hulls is fairly rich in THC. The inside of the seed contains only protein, moisture, and the nonactive fixed oil. The seeds are quite nutritious and have been used by man for food in some parts of the world (also by canaries all over the world). The finest thing that can be done with good seeds, of course, is to plant them. This, for various reasons, is not always practicable.

Cannabutter can be prepared by simmering 1 cup of seeds in 250 grams of butter or ghee at a low temperature for about 5 minutes. Because of their nonporous texture it is easier to strain the butter from the seeds than from the leaves. Also there are hardly any essential oils or terpenes on the seeds. The resultant cannabutter is virtually tasteless and can be used either by persons who do not favor the taste of cannabis, or to surreptitiously turn on a parent, teacher, boss, governor, president, etc.

ETHICAL COMMENTARY

A principle of ethics should be pondered before attempting to stone anyone without their consent. To deny a person his right to use marijuana or any other substance is to deny him his personal sovereignty and freedom of choice in matters which concern only his own body, mind and soul. To stone an unconsent subject is merely the reverse side of the same coin person must always have the right to decide what or will not be taken into his own body. Without realization and preservation of this most essential; private freedom, all other freedoms and rights h little or no significance.

POOR RICHARD'S CANNABUTTER

If one has a collection of fine twigs culled from marijuana siftings, these can be used to prepare cannabutter in much the same way that the seeds w used. If larger stems are all that are available, a preparation can be made using oil instead of butter as solvent.

Pour a cup of salad oil or coconut oil into a blender. Turn it on to "Chop" speed. Cut up or break stem lengths not exceeding two inches. Add these to spinning blender a pinch at a time. When no m stems can be added to the oil without clogging rotors, pour everything—oil and stem pulp—into a saucepan and heat for ten minutes. Strain the oil; return it to the blender. Repeat the process using r stems and a little more oil to compensate for which was lost in the first extraction. It is possibly repeat this process several times until the oil is tot; saturated. The final preparation is strained and k under refrigeration in a bottle or jar. It can be use< most recipes which call for cannabutter.

If you have rich friends who use a lot of grass, them to save their seeds and stems for you.

ANOTHER COMBINATION

In Nepal and Tibet, hashish is often made by boiling ganja (marijuana tops) in water with fat. The mixture stirred constantly. Afterwards the liquids are allowed to cool. The fat, which contains the active resins, floats to the top and solidifies. It is then kimmed from the watery solution, which contains he unwanted debris and chlorophylaceous material. Aside from being a practical way of separating the at-soluble resins from the water-soluble wastes in almost the same step as the extraction, this arrangement has several other advantages. The boiling temperature of water is lower than that of oils and fats. 'prolonged, high-temperature boiling in unwatered fat night decompose much of the active material. The water keeps the temperature down to a relatively safe level. Furthermore, the water increases the total volume of the boiling solution, thereby allowing more marijuana to go into the cauldron. If the cauldron were filled with fat, the result would be a lot of fat obtaining weak concentrations of THC. With the water/fat combination the active oil-soluble materials re concentrated into the small percentage of fats present in the brew. Because the water-soluble portions of some crops of marijuana are harsh-tasting and acrid to the throat, it may be desirable to apply this practice in the preparation of cannabutter. It is not always necessary, however, being largely a matter of our personal taste and the type of grass used. Thoroughly chew and swallow a pinch of your grass. If it causes an unpleasant burning sensation in the mouth and throat, you will most likely want to remove the water-soluble components by this method.

Fill the boiling pot 1/3 the way with crushed and crumbled marijuana tops. Fill the pot 3/4 the way with 1 part butter, fat, or oil and 4 or more parts water. Boil this for 30 minutes. Stir frequently. With a poaching spoon, remove as much debris as possible from the bottom. Allow the liquids to cool to room temperature, then place the pot in the refrigerator. The butter on top will harden and can be removed in one piece. If oil has been used instead of butter, it will be necessary to use the freezer to solidify it.

If a still stronger product is desired, the cannabinated oil or butter can be recombined with fresh water and more grass and the entire process repeated. Another possibility is to use cannabutter which has been prepared by the non-water method as the fatty base for this butter/water extraction.

The method of separating can also be applied to salvage cannabutter which has turned out to be harsh and acrid. In this case boil 1 part cannabutter for la minutes in 2 parts water. Allow liquids to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate or freeze for an hour and remove the block of purified cannabutter from the top. Much of the harsh materials will have separated into the watery portion and can be discarded.

A similar procedure may be employed to remove any harsh-tasting substances from cannabis tar. A volume of tar is boiled for 10 minutes in 5 volumes of water, cooled to room temperature and refrigerated for an hour or so. Do not freeze in this case or you may have to chop through ice to retrieve much of your tar. While still cold, remove solidified chunks of tar from the water. Be certain that all of the tar is recovered. Save the tar; discard the water.

PREPARATION OF CANNABIS TAR

Place 250 grams of marijuana (seeds and stems may be included) in a large double boiler or heat bath, cover with alcohol (about two litres), and boil for 45 minutes. If available, pure grain ethyl alcohol may be used. If not, vodka is a fair substitute since it contains about 50% ethyl alcohol in water. These are expensive solvents in countries where liquor taxes are high. Because all of the alcohol will be removed by evaporation before the tar is used, one may use isopropyl rubbing alcohol instead. It contains 70% isopropyl alcohol and 30% water. In the USA, it is much cheaper than vodka or pure grain spirits. Be sure to use no kind of rubbing alcohol other than isopropyl compound. This is the kind that is usually sold. Some rubbing alcohols are ethyl alcohol with a bitter nauseant added to discourage drinking. Do not use this latter type, as it will leave a horrid-tasting residue.

Keep a constant watch on the boiling pot. Be cautious not to let the alcohol boil over. Remember that alcohol boils at a lower temperature than water. Also remember that alcohol is combustible. It is safer to use a hot plate or electric range than a gas burner for this process.

After 45 minutes, strain the boiled materials and save the green solution (the extractions). Add more alcohol to the mash while it is still damp and repeat boiling for another 45 minutes. After straining the second extractions, combine them with the first ones. A third extraction may be carried out. But since its active content will be rather low, it is best to save this extraction to be used as the first extraction solvent the next time you make tar.

Fill a clean double boiler half way with the strained extractions. Heat these without a lid and under wellventilated conditions until the liquids have boiled down to about one-quarter way. Add more extractions to bring liquids back to the halfway mark. When the last of the extractions are in the pot, continue boiling until the scent of alcohol is no longer detectable. The problem at this point is to evaporate off any remaining moisture without scorching the tar. If 100% pure alcohol is used, this problem does not exist, since double boiling may be continued until only the tar remains. If vodka or rubbing alcohol is used, there will be a considerable water content which must be removed. There are two practical methods of achieving this.

The boiled-down extracts can be poured into a pyrex baking dish and left in an oven overnight with the heat at the lowest possible setting. In the morning, if all moisture is gone, the tar can be scraped up while still warm and put up in a jar.

The alternate method requires more effort but less time, if you are in a hurry. Fill the lower compartment of the double boiler with salad oil rather than water. Be sure that the pot is completely dry. Otherwise the oil may spatter when heated. Heat the double boiler as before, but at a slightly higher temperature. Oil boils at a higher temperature than water. You may continue boiling off the water until it is gone, without scorching the tar. When evaporation is completed, pour the molten tar into a jar. Any which clings to the pot can be loosened by adding some hot vodka. This vodka solution can be sweetened with honey and served as a cordial or used as a stoning cooking brandy.

CANNABIS COOKING BRANDY

Since cannabis resins are very soluble in alcohol and also easily assimilated in that medium, an excellent way of introducing them into many dishes is through the addition of a cooking brandy or rum which has been well saturated with hemp products. This cooking brandy is not at all similar to Creme de Gras, for which a recipe is given later. Creme de Gras is a delicately flavored liqueur made from marijuana. Cannabis cooking brandy is not intended for pleasurable drinking. It can be used in any recipe that would call for a rum or brandy, such as mince pie, rum babas, rum- or brandy-soaked pound cakes, and even egg nogs, which contain sufficient egg-milk-nutmeg mix to ameliorate that somewhat coarse and overwhelming character of the cooking booze. Cannabis brandy is a handy item to have in the cupboard around the holidays. And holidays are great to have any time of the year.

The preparation of this brandy is quite simple. Place whatever cannabis materials you have on hand and wish to use in a mason jar. These may be anything from your best flowering tops to leftover stems, seeds, roaches (with paper removed), siftings too fine to smoke, and general debris. Cover these with rum, brandy, or even vodka if you prefer. Allow them to soak at least a week. After soaking, place the mason jar in a hot bath as shown in the illustration. Loosen the top to allow the escape of expanding fumes. Heat for 30 to 45 minutes. Strain the liquids while hot and pour them over new seeds, stems, etc. Repeat the soaking, heating and straining process as before. The repetition may be continued three or four times until the liquor has been thoroughly saturated with resins and is too dense to extract any more. Strain after the final extraction and put it up in a bottle for use. If you have any scraps of hashish, these can be added to the final product after it has been strained and while it is still hot. The hashish should be pulverized or shaved before adding. Similarly, if you have any remnants of hash oil clinging to the walls and bottom of its former container, these can be loosened by adding some hot brandy, etc., and swirling it about. This may then be added to the strained liquor. Do not add hashish or hash oil to the unstrained liquids. Much of it would only get lost among the stems and debris. After the first straining, the soggy hemp materials should be returned to a mason jar and covered with fresh brandy. There are still some resins in these materials that are worth salvaging. The remains from subsequent strainings can be soaked in the salvaging liquids after these liquids have been strained. These liquids may eventually be used to extract fresh materials. With a few mason jars in the cupboard, a continuous extracting process can be maintained and nothing will be wasted.

Shake the bottle of cannabis brandy well before using. Much of the active material will have settled to the bottom. If the solution is supersaturated, some resins may precipitate in gummy lumps which do not redissolve upon shaking. If this is the case, heat the cooking brandy in a hot bath, shake gently until dissolved, and add the brandy to the recipe while still hot. Do not have the heat on while the bottle is in the bath, or it may crack. Bring the pot of water to a boil and turn off the heat. Warm the base of the bottle under hot running water for two minutes, and stand the bottle in the bath for five minutes. Repeat the entire process, if necessary. Keep the bottle top loosened so that the expanding air and vapors can escape.

Recipes

2/2