What Is Vape Juice?
Before we walk you through making your own cannabis e-liquid, we first need to define it. At its most basic, vape juice is a substance you insert into a vape pen or e-cigarette. The liquid contains flavour and nicotine (optional), which heats up when the vape is in use and turns into a vapour, which is then inhaled.
Many smokers turn to vaping e-liquid containing nicotine as it still delivers nicotine to the body without the unpleasant odour, taste and toxins of a regular cigarette. However, not everyone vapes nicotine vape juice. Many people enjoy vaping nicotine-free e-liquid and cannabis e-liquid. THC vape juice is especially popular.
No matter which type is used, e-liquids allow vapers to experiment with different flavours, strengths and ingredients, especially if you make them yourself.
How to Make THC Vape Juice?
Now that you’ve learned more about e-liquid, let’s get down to business and discuss how to go about making it.
There are three easy ways to create cannabis e-liquid:
Long-Term Extraction
Fast-Track Infusion
Rosin Extraction
Below, we’ll explain each of these methods to help you get started.
Long-Term Extraction
If you have the patience, the long-term extraction method could be worth trying. Instead of using high temperatures, long-term extraction uses time to allow cannabinoids, such as THC and CBD, to diffuse into the mixture. This method is the longest, taking up to three months to complete.
But besides taking quite a bit of time to finish, this method is nearly foolproof. It’s as simple as grinding your cannabis buds, decarboxylating them, mixing them with your PG/VG, and letting the concoction sit for three months, only mixing occasionally.
What You’ll Need
Here are a few things you’ll need to have at hand before you get started:
Cannabis buds
Mix of food-grade vegetable glycerin (VG) and propylene glycol (PG)
Aluminium foil
Baking tray
Airtight glass jar
Rice press/sieve
Cheesecloth
Metal spoon
Syringe
Bottle
Oven
Directions
Follow these instructions step by step to create premium THC vape juice using the long-term extraction method.
Step One
Preheat oven to 121 °C
Step Two
Grind your buds, but ensure you don’t go overboard. If the pieces are too small, they won’t filter properly. Grind until they are relatively coarse, but even.
Step Three
Spread the ground buds evenly on the baking tray and cover with foil. Place the tray into the oven for about 30 minutes. This will decarboxylate them so that the THC in the strain is activated.
Step Four
While the decarboxylating process is taking place, it is time to mix your PG and VG. You can mix it to whatever percentage you want, but just keep in mind that you want a good balance of both. PG brings out the flavour of the e-liquid, while VG is what makes it viscous and creates thick clouds. A good mix is 60% VG and 40% PG, but it is ultimately up to you.
Step Five
Once the decarboxylating process is finished, remove the tray from the oven and let the buds cool. You must allow this cooling process to take place, as this is what converts THCa to THC. Once cooled, transfer buds to an airtight jar.
Step Six
Cover the buds in the jar with the PG/VG solution and stir.
Step Seven
Screw the lid on and store it in a cool, dark place such as a cupboard. You may need to occasionally stir the mixture during the next three months or add more PG/VG solution. We suggest stirring every two weeks and adding PG/VG solution when needed.
Step Eight
Once three months have passed, take your mixture and stir it.
Step Nine
Pour your mixture into a sieve/ rice press and cover it with cheesecloth. Squeeze the liquid into a clean glass bottle. The cheesecloth is crucial as it acts as a filter to prevent bud particles from mixing with the final solution.
Step Ten
Use a syringe to add the e-liquid to a cartridge, and you’re good to go. Time to start vaping!
Fast-Track Infusion
If you don’t have the patience to wait three months for your THC vape juice to be ready, the fast-track infusion method is best.
While it is very similar to the long-term extraction method, this one uses heat to speed up the process. All you have to do is break up buds, mix with VG, and then apply heat.
What You’ll Need to make your own THC Vape Juice
To create your THC e-liquid using the fast-track method, you need the following:
Cannabis buds
Mix of food-grade vegetable glycerin (VG) and propylene glycol (PG)
Aluminium foil
Baking tray
Airtight glass jar
Rice press/sieve
Cheesecloth
Metal spoon
Syringe
Bottle
Oven
Stove
Double boiler
Thermometer
Water
Directions
Here are step-by-step instructions to create THC vape juice using the fast-track method.
Step One
First, preheat the oven to 121 °C.
Step Two
Grind your buds until they are relatively even. Don’t overdo it.
Step Three
Spread the ground buds evenly on the baking tray and cover with foil. Place the tray into the oven for about 30 minutes.
While the decarboxylating process takes place, it is time to mix your PG and VG, just like you would in step 4 of the long-term extraction method above.
Step Four
Take the tray out of the oven and let the buds cool. Once they are cooled, place the buds in a jar and cover them with the PG/VG solution.
Step Five
Add water to the biggest container of your double boiler, about half an inch deep. Then, add some water to the smaller container. Add the pot to the stovetop and keep checking the temperature with a thermometer until it reaches 105 ℃.
Step Six
Place the jar containing the bud mixture in the double boiler and heat it until it reaches 85 ℃. Keep it at that level for about 1 hour or, if you want a more potent solution, leave it on for longer. Use the thermometer to ensure you maintain this heat, as it is necessary to infuse the THC into the VG/PG solution. Do not let the temperature get higher than 85 ℃.
Mix in some more PG/VG solution during this phase, but not too much, as it will lose potency.
Step Seven
Once you think the mixture is ready, remove the double boiler from the stovetop and allow the mixture to cool.
Step Eight
Once the mixture is cooler but still warm, strain into a clean jar using a sieve/rice press and cheesecloth.
Step Nine
Use a syringe to add the THC e-liquid to your vape or e-cigarette. It’s now ready to vape.
Rosin Extraction
Another quick way to make your own THC vape juice is the rosin extraction method. Rosin is a low-risk extract by nature, making this the cleanest way to make your own THC e-liquid. No solvents or harsh chemicals are used in this process. All you have to do is apply a little heat and pressure to extract the resin. You can even create rosin yourself using fresh buds. For this method, you press raw cannabis buds in your rosin press or hair straightener to create rosin wax.
What You’ll Need
For the rosin method, you will need:
Dried cannabis flowers or buds
Rosin press or hair straightener
Parchment paper
Toothpick
Pyrex glass
Natural flavouring or terpenes
Stirrer
Directions
Here’s how to create THC vape juice using the rosin method.
Step One
First, sandwich a compact bundle of cannabis buds in parchment paper. Once this is done, get your rosin press or hair straightener ready. Set them to about 121 °C.
Step Two
Press the parchment paper containing the buds between the hot plates and squeeze hard. Continue applying force as the resin starts flowing. When it stops, remove the pressed buds and set the rosin press/hair straightener aside and allow it to cool down.
Step Three
Keep repeating the process until you have about 0.5 g of Rosin. You’ll need about 3 g of dry buds or flowers to get this amount of rosin.
Step Four
Take the parchment-covered in rosin and stick it in the freezer for about 20 minutes. Once that time is up, remove the rosin covered paper and use a toothpick to scrape off the rosin.
Step Five
Next, you will want to add 1 ml of flavouring or terpenes (whatever you choose) to a glass vial or Pyrex glass, then add 0.5 g of rosin. You can make more if you want. Just keep the ratio of 1 ml of terpenes for every 0.5 g of rosin in mind.
Step Six
The final step is heating the mixture, and there are various ways you can go about this. One option is holding a flame under the glass until the mixture boils and then mixing it. Alternatively, you can heat the glass container in a bowl with a small amount of boiling water until it can mix easily. We recommend using hot water as the lighter method can be dangerous.
Step Seven
Your THC e-liquid is ready to be vaped!
Benefits of Making Your Own Cannabis E-liquid
There are numerous benefits to making your own THC e-liquid, the most important being control. When choosing the DIY route, you have complete control over the e-liquid and can remove any harmful additives that could degrade the juice’s quality. You also get to choose the exact dose of THC you prefer and how intoxicated you want to get, as you are not restricted by the level of THC in a particular product. Furthermore, you don’t have to worry about what you’re inhaling, as you know each and every ingredient that is in the juice.
Not all store-bought e-liquid is safe. There are many unregulated products from unreliable companies on the market, which means you can inhale toxins and other undesirable additives not mentioned on the label. If you buy store-bought e-liquid, ensure you get it from a company that does third-party lab testing to ensure it’s safe.
All CBD e-liquids sold on CBD Village are third-party lab-tested to ensure safety and quality, so you can be at ease when buying from us.
Try CBD Vape Juice
If you’d still rather buy vape juice than create your own THC vape juice, we have a range of top-quality CBD e-liquid you could try, such as the Cali Greens Vape 600 mg 10ml CBD E-Liquid. Made with 100% organically grown hemp and food-safe ingredients, this product is one of the best – and safest – CBD e-liquids you will ever try. Unlike THC e-liquid, CBD e-liquid cannot get you high, as it simply does not contain enough THC to have intoxicating effects. If you’d prefer a quality CBD e-liquid that contains no THC whatsoever, the Mr Nice 600 mg CBD E-Liquid could be just what you need.