Sure, staying at home could be a bore for some, especially with all the fun possibilities the great outdoor promises. However, with the ongoing health crisis, you might find yourself with no other option but to stay within the comfort of your home and temporarily ditch the outside world.

Fortunately, with CBD, you may now find new ways to enjoy your time at home and skip the stress that comes with this pandemic. Promising a soothing effect that puts the body at ease, CBD is sure to make your stay a lot more rewarding.

To let you get the most out of this compound and enjoy your stay at home, we have prepared a brief guide that will let you create your own CBD oil right at the comfort of your home.

Interested to know how? Read on to learn more.

Can You Extract CBD at Home?

Believe it or not, creating your own CBD oil at home is not rocket science and can be learned easily. Sure, while you might have to experiment first to get a fuller grasp of the most effective techniques, extracting CBD at home requires very little effort and supplies.

Generally, the process can be done in two methods, namely the oil method and the alcohol method.

Here, we will discuss everything you need to know about each of them.

Oil Method

Considered to be one of the safest ways of extracting CBD, the oil method involves the use of oil, such as coconut and olive oil, as solvents to extract CBD from hemp plant material. Under the said method, you will need to prepare a high-quality cannabis plant, along with your selected carrier oil, an oven, a double boiler, a mason jar, a towel or cheesecloth, a herb grinder or knife, and a baking tray.

To start the process, you will need to put the raw cannabis into the decarboxylation process. To do so, you will need to condense the hemp flowers to a fine consistency using a herb grinder or a knife. Once you’ve reached your desired texture, put the ground flowers into the baking tray and heat it at approximately 110 °C or 220°F for 90 minutes.

Once the material achieved a light brown complexion, you may now proceed by mixing the ground-up cannabis with the carrier oil of your choice in the mason jar. After thorough mixing, saturate the cannabis with the oil. Once done, you can now start the boiling process by placing the mixture in the top section of the double boiler. Fill the bottom section with some water and leave the mixture to wait for 3 hours. Once done, you may now take the oil-cannabis mixture and put it in a container. Place the towel or cheesecloth over the opening and pour the mixture into another bowl. Extract as much oil as possible and seal the container to cool in a dry place.

Alcohol Method

If you’re out of coconut or olive oil, you may still create your CBD oil at home using the other method, called the alcohol method. Similar to the previous technique discussed, this process requires very little effort and only a few tools.

To start, you will need to prepare a high-quality cannabis plant, food-safe grain alcohol, a bowl, a wooden spoon, a grinder, a piece of cheesecloth or a sieve, and a double boiler.

Similar to the oil method, the first step is to put raw cannabis into the decarboxylation process. Once it’s done, you may now put the grinded materials into the bowl along with your chosen alcohol. Pour in enough alcohol to submerge the plant and stir for about 5 to 6 minutes.

Next, you will now need to separate the CBD-infused alcohol from the plant matter. To do so, put the cheesecloth or the sieve on the opening of the bowl and filter out the solvent. Be sure to repeatedly squeeze the mixture from the cloth to extract as much alcohol as possible.

From there, pour the extracted oil into a double boiler and heat it for about 30 minutes on a low flame. This will help make the alcohol evaporate from the solution. Once done, transfer the liquid into a jar and leave it in a cool, dry place.

Conclusion

Ready to make your very own CBD oil at home? Embrace the comfort and convenience of staying at your own place and enjoy the promises of cannabidiol today.

Which among the two methods would you like to follow?

Running out of your CBD stock? As the world faces a health crisis, buying CBD products might come as a challenge, especially with the imposed quarantine in different parts of the world. Fortunately, with the presence of online shops that offer delivery services, you can still somehow manage to buy and receive the products you are aching for.

However, while this method might appear convenient, there are still certain risks involved in shopping CBD-infused products online. Not only could you end up with the wrong item but you might also fall victim to scammers and fraudsters.

Buying CBD Products – Tips to Consider

To avoid getting into that pitfall, it’s important to know the right techniques when shopping CBD online. To help you with that, here is a list of tips that you should keep in mind before, during, and after making your purchases.

• Check the shop’s background

While it’s easy to spot retailers online, it’s a challenge to distinguish the legitimate ones from the fake ones. With this possibility, it is always important to research about the store you’re eyeing before going straight into the checkout. To make sure that you’re not going to end up with the wrong shop, don’t be scared to browse through the internet and look for available reviews and recommendations. You may also ask you, friends, for shop suggestions and may even go through the government’s list of accredited CBD sellers. If you want to skip the hassle, the best bet is to go into popular e-commerce platforms, such as Amazon.

• Know the Law

Of course, given the fluctuating legal status of CBD, it’s important to research more about the law surrounding the compound before purchasing any CBD-infused items. Specifically, it’s important to see the THC content of a CBD product and examine whether it meets the imposed minimum THC level provided by the state you are in.

If you are in the USA, get to know the cannabis law in every state. In most cases, the maximum amount of THC allowed ranges from 0.3% to 0.5% or less. To know whether the product you are seeing meets this standard, be sure to check out the item information on the site before making your transaction.

• See Whether the Product Has Been Tested by a Third-Party Lab

Of course, purchasing CBD online poses a few health risks. Without careful attention to detail, you might end up with a product that is low in quality or is even unsafe to the body. To avoid that from happening, the best you can do is to check whether the item has been tested by a 3rd party laboratory.

To confirm this, see whether lab reports for the item is readily available somewhere on the company’s website. If you can’t find any, it’s best to skip the item and look for another one that has been approved by a third-party lab.

• Be critical of the prices

Of course, when it comes to CBD products, prices still come as an issue. While it’s favorable for your wallet to see cost-effective products, you may want to double-check an item if it poses a price that is way cheaper compared to the standard price in the market. Often times, a way too low-price signals a red flag for buyers as it may suggest possible issues about the product being sold. The same goes for rocketing prices. If the item is being sold at a way too high price, you can always have the choice to turn back and look for other shops online.

The Bottom Line

The ongoing health crisis might have affected your flexibility in buying your desired CBD products. However, once you’ve found the right online retailer, your problems are sure to be wiped off right away.

Be sure to buy only in reputable sellers. Follow the tips mentioned above and get ready for your item to arrive straight on your doorstep.

Cannabis products and the plant itself may be becoming more mainstream in the United States but there are places in which adult-use recreational marijuana remains prohibited. Because of this, a lot of people who want to consume legal cannabis and experience the freedom of using the plant in a legitimate environment choose to participate in cannabis tourism.

What exactly is Cannabis Tourism?

This is a subset of tourism that has been rising in the past few years when marijuana is gaining mainstream recognition. If you are not familiar with this, just think about other types of tourism. Cultural tourism is the kind where travelers aim to experience and take part in the culture of the destination, while medical tourism is the type where tourists go to a destination to seek healthcare.

With this, it is easy to understand that cannabis tourism is a subset in which tourists go to places where they can consume legal marijuana. This offers the peace of mind of consuming the plant in a safe and potentially more accepting environment. Moreover, this gives travelers the chance to try out unique marijuana and CBD products that are only available in your destination of choice.

Planning on going on a trip and take part in the destination’s cannabis tourism industry? Here are 4 important tips you should remember:

• Research about and comply with marijuana laws

As a tourist, the responsible thing to do is to do your research about the place you are planning to visit. One of the first things you should review is the laws in the place. You do not want to get entangled in any kind of legal issues, particularly marijuana-related ones. For example, did you know that Amsterdam is planning to ban tourists from buying marijuana products? Failing to know this can lead to headaches and wasted money.

Aside from knowing cannabis-related laws that cover your destination, you want to make sure that you comply with the laws. This includes the amount you are allowed to carry on your person to the places where you can purchase legal products.

• Respect the local culture

All kinds of hobby and enthusiast groups have developed a culture that can be unique to the place’s particular community. If you come from a place where you have a certain set of norms and accepted behaviors, you cannot expect other communities to have the same set of values. This is why research is important. It lets you know what to do and what not to do when it comes to marijuana. Of course, you must respect the local culture as a tourist.

• Seek out unique experiences

The reason you are going on a tour is to experience new things that you could not in your home state or country. Because of this, you want to make sure that you get the most out of your trip by seeking out unique strains and products. You might also want to look for establishments that offer one-of-a-kind experiences such as cannabis cafes, bus tours, and other similar places and activities.

• Consult local budtenders

Not sure where to start? The best way to go is to find a dispensary and consult the budtender. These individuals are familiar with the place’s laws and culture. Moreover, you can also expect them to be knowledgeable about products and experiences that could be worth your while.

Going on a cannabis tour is definitely one of the must-have experiences any cannabis enthusiast should have. This way, they can expand their horizon by checking out what communities in other places have to offer. It can also serve as a networking and research opportunity for those planning to launch their own business.