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  There are a few common rules to processing marijuana that will be mentioned throughout. These simple principles about the chemical nature and limits of marijuana are important for understanding how to process the plant material to result in a quality product.

  DRYING THE HARVEST

  Ask Ed

  Ed:

  What is the correct way of drying plant clippings?

  Courtney,

  Las Vegas, Nevada

  Courtney:

  In Las Vegas, where it is very dry, the buds and leaves dry out quickly if left out on a warm autumn day. If the grass is dried outdoors it should be kept in the dark or in a deeply shaded area since light and heat destroy THC. Line the clippings thinly on a cookie sheet, cardboard, newspaper, or other flat surface. Turn it several times if it is drying unevenly.

  Indoors, there are several ways to dry the leaves. Trays of leaves can be placed in a space at room temperature with a draft from an open window. Leaves and trim can be loosely bagged in paper grocery bags and set in a cool, dark area that has some airflow. In moist areas the trim and leaf can be placed in a food dehydrator on a low setting, or they can be dried in an enclosed space with a dehumidifier.

  Solubility

  THC is not water soluble; it is soluble in oils, fats, and alcohol. The tinctures and foods presented in the book are extracts of THC from trim or leaves using alcohol, butter, or oil as the solvent.

  Assimilation

  Assimilation refers to the time it takes for cannabis to have an effect after it is used. Another aspect of assimilation is the quantity that is required to reach a certain state of medication or highness. Different methods of intake are assimilated with varied efficiency. Smoking, vaporizing, tinctures, and eating all produce distinct highs.

  The benefit of quick assimilation is that it is easier to titrate, to figure out how much to use. Smoking or vaporizing has a fast onset, so you know quickly whether or not you have a sufficient dose.

  Ingesting tinctures sublingually—that is, droplets placed under the tongue—is almost as fast as smoking or vaporizing, because it goes directly into the bloodstream from the mucous membranes, the same way smoke is absorbed by the blood in the lungs. Five minutes after a tincture is dropped on the tongue, its effects are felt.

  Drinking or eating cannabis has a slower onset. One important factor is whether cannabinized food is eaten on an empty or full stomach. Food is digested more efficiently and faster on an empty stomach; the high starts coming on after 20 to 30 minutes and peaks in one or two hours. It can be intense with several peaks and last four hours or more, but it is more likely to last two to three. On a full stomach, the high begins 45 to 60 minutes after ingestion and peaks two to three hours later. It may last four or five hours or more, but it is not as intense.

  While the high can be enjoyable and long lasting, it is harder to determine the right amount to use since the feedback loop can take up to four hours. As a result it is easier to eat more or less than intended and end up with a too-heady buzz, or not much of a buzz at all.

  Dosage

  Assimilation differs from person to person and is not entirely attributable to a person’s weight or metabolism. Other factors may make what is not enough for one person too much for another.

  Trying to distinguish between marijuana’s psychoactive and therapeutic effects is difficult. It is also difficult to establish a consistent dosage through all methods of intake. When the same material is used and the same processes are followed, this is somewhat easier to determine. Caution should always be used when trying out a new variety or a new technique for processing. It may take a little careful experimentation to find the right amount, and the amount that is right for you may not be the same for someone else.

  Kief.

  Photo: Steep Hill Halent

  Chapter 2.

  Kief/Dry Sift—

  Manual, Machine, Dry Ice

  Kief, also known as “Dry Sift,” is composed of the unpressed glands scraped from dried mature flowers and leaves using a screen. It is very popular because it is easily gleaned from leaves and trim.

  Kief is the easiest marijuana product you can make. Tiny resin-filled glands cover the buds and leaves. These tiny stalked glands, known as trichomes, are the only part of the plant that contain significant amounts of cannabinoids, such as THC and CBD, as well as the pungent terpenes that give each marijuana strain its distinctive aroma, taste, and medical and psychoactive qualities. Making kief consists of collecting those trichomes. There are a number of techniques for separating them from the plant material and sorting them.

  Dry Sift.

  Photo: Ed Rosenthal

  Celebration Pipe’s large bowl is perfect for smoking with friends—try some kief on a bed of bud. Made from lava stoneware, the pipes are individually sculpted, then plated with precious metals.

  Kief can be smoked just as it is collected; you can add the kief to your pipe without further processing or preparation. It is often pressed to make hash. It can also be used to produce tinctures or cooking ingredients. Those uses are discussed in their respective chapters. This chapter explains various screening techniques to produce kief, as well as two methods using dry ice to enhance the process.

  Because kief is so easy to collect from dried cannabis, it is one of the oldest marijuana preparations and is known in many corners of the world. Alternately spelled as kif, kief, kef, or kiff, the word appears in many languages. The origin of the word is the Arabic kayf, which means well-being or pleasure. The term was historically used in Morocco and elsewhere to mean a mixture of marijuana and tobacco, not unlike modern-day blunts, though it was typically smoked using hookahs. In Amsterdam and other parts of Europe, kief is sometimes called pollen or polm, and many of the screens and devices used to separate kief from other plant material are called pollen screens or pollen sifters.

  The marijuana plant produces three basic types of resin-rich glands that grow to different sizes expressed in microns or micrometers, which is a metric measurement equal to one millionth of a meter. Marijuana glands or trichomes range from as small as 15 microns to as large as 500 microns. That lets you easily separate the different glands by using screens of corresponding sizes.

  The bulbous glands are the smallest, ranging from 10–15 microns. These tiniest glands perch atop equally tiny one-cell stalks that cover the leaves of late vegetative plants.

  The capitate-sessile glands are the middle size, ranging from 25–100 microns, and are more numerous than the bulbous glands. “Capitate” means globular, and that’s what they look like—spherical globs of resin that lay on the leaf and flower surfaces.

  Capitate-stalked glands are the ones most visible on the buds of mature, flowering marijuana plants, as these rich resin balls are the largest at 150–500 microns, and they sit high on stalks that can reach 500 microns. These are the glands that hold most of the cannabinoids and terpenes and are found most abundantly on the upper leaves, flowers, and bracts (the tiny leaves surrounding the flowers) of unfertilized female plants. These are the glands that are captured to make kief.

  The maturity of the plant and its variety and environmental conditions all affect gland size. For instance, many Moroccan varieties may have glands that are under 80 microns. Many sativa varieties also have small glands. “Hash plant” varieties often have glands that are 120 microns or larger. Most sinsemilla is in the mid-range, between 80–110 microns.

  To give you a sense of these sizes, a human hair is about 70 microns or a bit more; the finest beach sand is 100 microns; playground sand is roughly 250 microns; and the eye of a needle is more than 1200 microns.

  To measure the size of the glands with precision in the marijuana you’re working with, use a microscope and a slide with a micron scale etched on it. Some microscopes come equipped with a scale called a reticule built into one of the eyepieces to measure microns. Count the number of hash marks the gland spans and multiply by the conversion factor for the magnification power.

&
nbsp; Some grinders come with an extra compartment that catches kief.

  Photo: Wacky Willy’s

  HOW KIEF SCREENING WORKS

  THC and other cannabinoids and terpenes are concentrated in glands that cover many parts of the marijuana plant, but they are concentered in the upper leaves, flowers, and flower bracts of unfertilized female plants. They are also found on the seed covering and surrounding areas of pollinated plants. Screening cured plant material is one of the easiest ways to rescue these glands for use.

  There are several different methods to prepare the plant material for processing and for screening or sifting kief. In countries close to the 30th parallel, such as Nepal, Afghanistan, and Lebanon, small amounts of kief have traditionally been made using a silk scarf stretched tightly over a bowl. Dried marijuana, frequently cured for as much as six months, is rubbed on the taut silk cloth. The cloth’s fine weave allows the small glands to pass through to the bowl, leaving the vegetative material on top. Silk scarves are still used in parts of the world, but the nylon or metal mesh screens used for printing (still often called silk screens) are more durable and come in a variety of dimensions and mesh sizes.

  One of the simplest methods of making kief is by gently rubbing the plant material over a fine screen. The size of the openings in the screen determines which size glands and how much residual plant material will make it through. The vigor used in rubbing it on the screen has a profound effect on the quality of the final product. Different grades of kief are produced by varying the amount of time the material is sifted, the screen’s gauge, and the pressure used. Sifting the same material a few times yields more kief, but each sift results in a higher proportion of plant mixed with the glands. Kief color ranges from golden-white for the purest kief to a greenish gold. The greener it is, the more plant material it contains.

  Assortment of Dry Sift and Bubble Hash.

  Photo: Ed Rosenthal

  MECHANICAL SIFTER RESOURCES

  There are many industrial mechanical sifters out there for handling big jobs with precision. Geologists use simple cylindrical sifters that attach to paint mixers to sort soil samples. The ironically named Humboldt Mfg in Illinois makes some of the best lab sifters: HumboldtMfg.com/rotary_lab_sifter.html.

  There are also many designed for food, pharma, and other laboratory uses. Here are a few sources:

  Gilson Company, Inc.

  GlobalGilson.com

  Prater-Sterling

  Prater-Sterling.com

  Russell Finex

  RussellFinex.com

  Kief or pollen-sifting boxes are good tools for making small amounts. They can be as simple as wooden stash boxes with a screen above a pullout drawer that catches the glands that fall off your weed in normal handling. Other boxes are made specifically to capture different grades of kief, separating the glands from the vegetation by shaking it. Over-vigorous shaking or rubbing is counterproductive because too much vegetation is collected, lowering the quality. Use cold material. Freezing makes it crisp so the glands break free easier.

  Some larger sifters are automated much like a paint mixer, so you can add the material, flip a switch, and let the sifter do the work.

  Compact DIY solutions are inexpensive and easy to make using screens used for printing T-shirts and posters. All you need is the proper screen, a frame to stretch it on, and a smooth hard surface such as glass or metal to collect the kief.

  Printing screens made of nylon, polyester, or metal are available at art supply stores or online. The mesh sizes are typically described in terms of the number of threads per inch, so a higher number is a finer screen. Meshes range from around 40 to 400, with 110 and 156 being the most common for printing T-shirts. Screen mesh from fine to coarse can be purchased pre-stretched in aluminum or wood frames, or as rolls or sheets.

  PREPARING FOR SCREENING

  Very little preparation or work is needed to make excellent kief. Kief making is so quick that small quantities can be sifted or sieved easily while trimming cured bud or preparing for another process.

  Kief is best made from dry, well-cured, coarse marijuana. Many people like to salvage kief from trim that they might otherwise discard. The stems can be sorted out, but don’t have to be. The more bud bits you use, the better quality kief you’ll get.

  For the best results, start with trim and leaf that is dry but not overly crisp. If it is too dry the vegetative material becomes brittle and can crumble into dust or powder that can pass through the screen along with the glands you’re trying to collect. Kief made from over-dried material contains more green matter, tastes more like chlorophyll, and is less potent. Similarly, densely pressed material or “brick” marijuana does not work as well for kief as loose material does.

  Thoroughly clean the material by removing seeds, stems, and sticks.

  Photo: David Downs

  When to Sieve

  In the mountains of the Hindu Kush region, hash makers have traditionally waited for cold, dry weather to sift their kief. Curing is key to all fine marijuana products, so waiting for the cold is a way of making sure that the buds drying in open air are in a state of prime readiness. Cold also freezes the dry leaves and trim, making the tiny trichome stalks brittle. That lets the glands break free more easily. Less agitation or pressure to free the glands results in less vegetative material in the kief. As a practical benefit, keeping the glands intact also reduces the amount of resin clogging the screen, though this rarely happens, even in moderate temperatures.

  As with overly dry marijuana, overly brittle, frozen vegetative material can become powder and pass through the screen. Moistening the material by airing it in a space with high humidity might help. Using a finer screen may be another solution. Having several sizes of screen mesh allows you to use the right one for the material and temperature.

  To make pro-quality kief, the colder the plant material you start with, the better. Prepare the material by putting it in a freezer overnight.

  There is no need to overthink the process. Remember, kief is simple. Kief of decent quality can be made in all weather conditions. Cool temperatures, around 60°F (15°C) or lower, are best for working with marijuana. Low to moderate humidity is okay, and if the material is particularly dry, a little extra humidity can be helpful.

  MANUAL SCREENING

  Manual screening is cost effective and no more labor intensive than sifting flour. It is possible to buy ready-made screens or kief boxes from many sources and in many sizes. The screen, usually wire mesh, comes framed and often includes a solid bottom drawer where the kief is collected. Most art supply stores sell plastic screens for printing that are already stretched on frames made of wood or aluminum.

  Making your own screens or boxes requires no special skill. Frames to stretch screens over are easy to make or buy. Just decide how big you want it, and pick a screen size and material. Stainless steel mesh screen or “wire cloth” is sturdy, durable, and rarely needs cleaning. Nylon or polyester silk screen mesh is more flexible but should be replaced annually. The frames and silk screen materials are available at art supply stores.

  Turning any chair into a comfortable workstation, the Trim Bin from HarvestMore reduces stress injuries and increases productivity. The tray includes a screen to catch glands.

  GLANDS AND SCREENS: A GUIDE

  Matching screen size to gland size is important for maximizing your kief yield.

  Most marijuana glands are typically between 75–125 microns or micrometers, though they vary based on the type of gland, the maturity of the plant, and other factors.

  Mesh screens are usually sized by a “mesh” measurement that indicates how many strands of wire or nylon it has for every inch of material. Detailed mesh-to-micron conversion charts can be found online, but the chart below shows common mesh sizes and the micron size of the openings between strands. (LPI stands for lines per inch.)

  Kief sifting generally works best with screens between 100 and 130 microns. Plants with larger crystals need a scre
en of 150 microns to capture the glands. Screens in the range of 100–150 lines per inch usually work well. But not all mesh sizes are created equal. The size of the openings varies based on the diameter of the strands. Screens made of nylon, polyester, or stainless steel have different strand diameters at any particular mesh size, and finer mesh screens use strands of smaller diameters. Stainless steel screens are the most durable and don’t shed. Plastic and nylon screens should be replaced periodically because they shed strands as they age and wear.

  If you build your own screen or have a screen without a tray, a piece of glass or mirror makes a good surface for catching the kief and gathering it up. Whatever you use, smoothness is the crucial quality of a catch tray, as the glands you’re collecting can be smaller than the diameter of a human hair. You don’t want to lose any to texture. A credit card, ID, business card, or other straight edge can be used to gather the filtered material into a pile.

  THE SCREENING PROCESS

  Place the collection tray under the screen. Start with a handful of trim, leaf, or small nugs, as you prefer. Leaf doesn’t require any preparation before rubbing but use a grinder to prepare the bud.

  Once you’ve ground the bud, or if using the whole leaves, gently rub the material softly against the screen. A softer touch or action minimizes the amount of vegetative matter that passes through and keeps more of the glands intact. This first pass is the cleanest and most potent kief.

  Connoisseurs sometimes use multiple screens progressing from coarser to finer mesh. In the first pass, they use a mesh with fewer than 100 strands per inch. This first screening cleans out the bulk of the vegetative matter. The sifted material is collected and placed on a finer-mesh screen. Since the material has already been reduced to a coarse grind by the first screen, the second, finer screen only needs to be shaken or tapped lightly to create cleaner kief. The kief remaining on the second screen should be saved—for ingestion, capsules, tinctures, or salves. Screening with successively finer meshes yields different products and flavors.