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If like us you’ve been using e-cigarettes and marvelled at the technology which allows quick and easy vaporisation of the nicotine without (as many) health dangers as inhaling combusting material, then you’ve probably also wondered how easy it would be to make your own cannabis e liquid that actually gets you high.
Well, good news – it’s surprisingly easy, and there are numerous ways to make your own cannabis e liquid. Today we’re going to take you through our chosen method, right from the buds (or hash!) to the e-liquid you can put in your e-cigs and vape.
Let’s start with a little background on cannabis e liquid:
Traditional nicotine and flavoured e-liquids are made from the extracted nicotine (very toxic on its own!) mixed with either PG (Propylene Glycol) or VG (Vegetable Glycerin) and flavouring.
PG and VG are the odourless liquids that are combined with flavour and nicotine to create e-juice. They produce a vapour when you heat them up, allowing them to be inhaled. PG and VG have a different consistency to each other, and also have a slightly different taste. They each also have distinct mouth and throat sensations when vaped. A lot of e-liquids you can buy use a combination of PG and VG, though the ratio can vary dramatically. Some vaping set-ups can only work with a certain level of PG and VG.
The cannabis e liquid we are going to make today uses a product called EJ Mix, which is a combination of different forms of PG designed to bind with your cannabis without separating. You can achieve the same result buying PG or VG from Amazon and using that to make your cannabis e liquid, but reports online state that this mixture comes out rather unstable and can separate over time.
The makers of EJmix state that it is the missing link between herbal extracts and ejuice, using a blend of propylene glycol and PEG200, PEG300 and PEG400, which transforms all extracts, essences and oils into an eliquid that vaporizes smoothly and never separates.
Here is Bloomsdays talking about EJ mix and what it does:
So, without further ado, here is what you’ll need to create your cannabis e liquid:
- Refillable vape pen / cartridge to put your mixture in
- EJ Mix (Google buy EJ Mix UK)
- Hair Straighteners or T-Rex Extractor
- Baking Paper
- Cannabis buds, Hash or Extract
- Metal Mesh (Optional – read this guide for more info!)
If you can’t get hold of cannabis extract, the easiest solution is to make your own Rosin Oil. See our Rosin Oil guide on ISMOKE Magazine. If you already have Shatter, RSO or any other form of cannabis extract, you can skip the first step below.
Step One:
Take your bud or hash and separate it into 0.2-0.5 gram portions. If you’re using mesh (good for letting the rosin oil seep through while containing the bud or hash, separating it), cut a piece that you can fold to encase your herbs – use just enough mesh to wrap it.
Next, wrap that packet in some baking paper, which will catch the Rosin oil as it separates from the herbs/hash under heat and pressure.
Use straighteners or if you have one the T-Rex extractor and press down hard for 10 seconds. By hard, we mean literally as hard as you are willing to press without fear of breaking your girlfriend’s straighteners. The more pressure here, the better. If you are using a T-Rex extractor you’ll have the option to set a temperature. The lower the temp the tastier and more stable the extract, but for mixing into EJ mix an unstable extract isn’t a bad thing as it will mix together more easily.
When you unwrap your delicious little parcel you should have a thick oil stuck to the baking paper, which you can then collect together using a thin metal tool of some kind. Make sure you stay safe, and don’t leave hot items unattended!
If you still have hash left in the mesh you can press again in new baking paper to get more rosin out. You can also keep the ‘rosin chips’ if you’ve used bud to make edibles. Here’s a video of someone going through this process:
Note: In our experience, hash produces a lot more rosin oil than bud. In reality it will depend on the resin produced by each strain, but we have had great results using soft Moroccan hash.
That’s it! You now have your own cannabis extract.
Step 2:
Now you have your extract we are going to mix that with the EJ mix, at a ratio of 1:1. The bottle comes with a pipette and has info on the back allowing you to easily work out how many drops will make it a 1:1 ratio, providing you can weigh or have a rough idea how much your extract weighs. If in doubt, use less and then add more drop by drop.
It won’t absorb it straight away – place the mixture in the microwave and heat for 10 seconds, which will warm everything up and get the bonding started. Use the metal tool to stir the mixture until it’s dissolved together.
It’s that easy. You can put this mixture in any vape pen cartomizer or cartridge. It may be hard getting it into the vape pen, so pipettes or syringes could be a good idea for this step.
The mixture itself retains the cannabinoids contained within the cannabis extract, so it can pack a punch! The mixture will pick up a slight PG taste, which can’t seem to be avoided, but we don’t mind it. You can also taste the lovely cannabis taste, and if needed, you can add more flavour.
The vape pens smell a lot less than smoking, and in our experience you can easily get away using them in a public place.
You can store the liquid directly in your vape pen, but you can also purchase plastic bottles from Amazon/Ebay if you have a lot of cannabis e liquid and want to store some for later.
That’s it – happy vaping!
