How to Make Green Dragon

This is a step by step guide on how to make “Green Dragon”. There are many different recipes/methods on how to make Green Dragon, so ill show you how I made mine & I’ll also include the “rule of thumb” recipies/methods for making Green Dragon along with links to these recipes/methods.





What is “Green Dragon”?

Green Dragon is an alcoholic beverage (tincture/extract) made by leaching the leaves, buds, & stems of the cannabis plant in a high-proof alcohol (higher is better), most commonly Everclear. The THC dissolves into the alcohol resulting in a dark green or brown liquid. Sugar or honey is often also dissolved in the alcohol to mask the extremely bitter taste of the extract.





Basic Preparation:

Green Dragon is a method for extracting the active ingredients found in cannabis leaves, buds, & stems. These chemicals, mainly THC, are not very soluble in water, but much more soluble in organic solvents such as alcohol. In addition, the chemicals responsible for the bitter and “grassy” taste of cannabis material are insoluble in alcohol, but more soluble in water. Chlorophyll is soluble in alcohol. Baking (as in “drying”) the dry buds and leaves prior to adding them to the alcohol in either method increases the potency of the resulting preparation. This is because the baking process converts the inactive tetrahydrocannabinol acids (THCA) into the active THC.

Caution: The amount of pot shown here would work for most regular stoners if it’s a high-grade marijuana (“chronic”). You would most likely get high enough that you wouldn’t be disappointed, but not quite high enough that you would get a panic attack. No guarantees, so each person has to experiment and figure out the right amount. Somebody who has not been high in a really long time would be very sensitive, so they would need to use less pot or use cheaper stuff (“schwag”). A total pot-head would need to use more pot. On an empty stomach you’ll reach a peak high at about 60 to 90 minutes & can last between 4-8hrs (depending on strength & dose taken), whereas a toke or a bong hit takes about 15 to 45 minutes to peak & only last a few hours, so be careful not to take more doses until 90 minutes have passed.





Revisions:

How to make it taste better: Water curing the buds, trim, & leaves will remove most of the chlorophyll & other chemicals in the material, (except the THC & cannabinoids), which is mostly responsible for the bitter taste. Also adding flavored extracts to the the mix, either in cooking process or after your done will improve taste.

How to make it stronger: after your done, you can make it even more stronger/concentrated by letting the Green Dragon mixture sit in the water bath on very low heat to let more of the alcohol evaporate, the liquid will get thicker, but will be more concentrated.

The baking: some people find it better baking the material @ 200F for 20mins better than 325F for 5-8min





Lets Get Started.





Supplies:

Cannabis plant material – Leaves, Buds, & Stems (no seeds if you can).

High-Proof Alcohol – Everclear 190 (if sold in your area), Everclear 151 or Bacardi 151.

Candy or Digital cooking Thermometer.

Containers – 1 pot (for water bath), 1 or more containers (metal or glass) to put mixture in, & a container (prefably glass) to store “Green Dragon” in. Strainer – mesh strainer (or mesh coffiee strainer, paper strainers arnt recommended) & Cheese Cloth or tea towel

Grinder – coffiee grinder, blender, weed grinder or even scissors.

Baking pan or aluminum foil

Measuring Cup

Scale – for weighting plant material





Optional Supplies:

Potato masher, ricer, or even a garlic press

Flavored extract – to make it taste better.





Step 1: Weigh out your plant material. The rule of thumb is .5 – 1.75 grams of High Grade Cannabis per 1 fluid ounce of Alcohol, or 1/8th per 2oz of alcohol. (use 2-3 times the amount if using schwag or leaf material). This can be tweaked to your tolerance.

This is what I used to make my “Green Dragon”. (I made mine stronger than most recipes because I have a high tolerance)





10.3 grams of "Big Bang" buds @ 18% THC





1 3/8oz of "Big Bang" popcorn buds, trim, Leafs & stems





Shot of popcorn buds, leaves, & stems.





.7 grams of kief cake (pressed kief).





7 grams of keif





another shot of kief





Not included in the pictures is about 7 grams of schwag. Total weight of plant material is 63.5 grams or about 2.3oz





Step 2: Grind or cut up plant material using your choice of supplies. (the finer the better, NOT TO A DUST THOUGH). the finer the material is the better the extraction is.





Step 3: Pre-Heat oven to 325F. Spread out ground up plant material evenly on a baking pan (preferably lined with foil). Place pan in oven for 5-8 minutes @ 325F (or when material turns a bronze color) to activate the THCA to THC. DO NOT let temperature get over 380F (this is the temp when THC starts to vaporize, we dont want that).









Shot of ground up material in pre-heated stove w/ a digital thermometer to make sure temps stay in range. Also notice color of the material before baked.









Shot of material after about 7mins @ 325F, notice the color change to a bronze (the THCA is now activated into THC).









Another shot of what the plant material is supposed to look like after baked. (pic courtesy ocitown)

Step 4: Take activated plant material & measured alcohol & place inside your cooking container(s), take this and place it in the pot of water for water bath (like a double boiler). Place thermometer inside the alcohol & plant mixture. Turn on stove & cook the mixture @ 168-172 for 20-35 minutes stirring every 5mins or so, not letting the temperature get over 173F (boiling point of alcohol). Be careful with this step, because high-proof alcohol is very flammable, thats why we use the double boiler method.

Pot w/ water for the water bath (kept water @ about 190-210F)





Baked material in 750ml of 190 Proof Everclear in cooking container.





another shot of baked material in cooking container (also courtesy of ocitown)





750ml (25oz) Everclear 190





Setup of the double boiler & mixture





Shot of thermometer to regulate temps, kept between 168-172F cooked for 30mins





Step 5: Place cheesecloth inside your strainer, & place this over another container (I used the glass measuring cup for easy pouring), then pour your cooked cannabis & alcohol mixture through the strainer, then squeeze out all the liquid you can from the cheesecloth, either by using a spoon to mash the material down, or if you have a masher, ricer or garlic press then use it to do the same. If not you can just twist the cheesecloth really tight to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.





Cheesecloth in strainer over measuring cup w/ the cooked mixture poured in it, drained, & squeezed (twisted the cheesecloth) to the last drop.





Shot of plant material in cheesecloth in a ricer to squeeze out every last drop of liquid, this can get you up to 15% more out of the material (courtesy of ocitown)





Shot of the strained mixture = 8oz of "Green Dragon" (25oz cooked down to 8oz)





Shot of material after its been all used up & no good, this can be tossed in trash (courtesy of ocitown)





Step 6: Pour your now “Green Dragon” into your storage container of your choice.





Shot of my "Green Dragon" in my storage container.





Step 7: Dosing – Start with 1-2cc/ml. you can take it straight (very hard to stomach), or mix into your favorite drink & then just sit back & wait. I took 2cc on empty stomach & felt it at about 15mins in, & peaked @ about 80min, very strong body high, & really blazed after smoking as bowl