Cannabis Alchemy by D Gold Circa 1971
- Thread starter Gray Wolf
- Start date
montroller
Member
This is the best I could do
http://imgur.com/a/Nbzh2
let me know if I missed anything and I will also upload these to my ICmag albums incase they vanish from imgur but with the file size restrictions you probably won't be able to read them on there.
Edit: I guess you can read them
http://imgur.com/a/Nbzh2
let me know if I missed anything and I will also upload these to my ICmag albums incase they vanish from imgur but with the file size restrictions you probably won't be able to read them on there.
Edit: I guess you can read them
Any fumes were 'flushed' down the sink drain via a hose for clandestine use... lol.
What a day!
What a day!
If you use montroller's link, you can examine the clear middle picture in fine detail.
Near the top of the condenser column is a tube connected to the condenser coil inside, the tube vents any solvent fumes that aren't re-condensed, looks like a filter in the line, but I don't remember it.
Notice there is a 'T' in the pipe between the condenser and 'sauce pan' vessel, this is to divert the solvent from the condenser, I recall the purpose was to allow a visual check when nearing the end of solvent recovery, you'd open the side valve, and take note if the solvent flow had slowed, if it was near the end you could stop and pour off, or watch carefully for the last of the solvent go down the drain.
Notice in the bottom picture the faucet is running to flush any fumes down the drain.
Just the addition of a $50 PID controller and solid state relay on the hot plate with the thermocouple placed in the water kettle would bring it up to date on the cheap.
You know if you had a chemical rated pump you could pull vacuum on it to increase speed or to gain lower temp operation, and you could run a chiller on the condenser vessel instead of loading it with ice. Oh, and you could make it larger, much larger.
Near the top of the condenser column is a tube connected to the condenser coil inside, the tube vents any solvent fumes that aren't re-condensed, looks like a filter in the line, but I don't remember it.
Notice there is a 'T' in the pipe between the condenser and 'sauce pan' vessel, this is to divert the solvent from the condenser, I recall the purpose was to allow a visual check when nearing the end of solvent recovery, you'd open the side valve, and take note if the solvent flow had slowed, if it was near the end you could stop and pour off, or watch carefully for the last of the solvent go down the drain.
Notice in the bottom picture the faucet is running to flush any fumes down the drain.
Just the addition of a $50 PID controller and solid state relay on the hot plate with the thermocouple placed in the water kettle would bring it up to date on the cheap.
You know if you had a chemical rated pump you could pull vacuum on it to increase speed or to gain lower temp operation, and you could run a chiller on the condenser vessel instead of loading it with ice. Oh, and you could make it larger, much larger.
This is the best I could do
http://imgur.com/a/Nbzh2
let me know if I missed anything and I will also upload these to my ICmag albums incase they vanish from imgur but with the file size restrictions you probably won't be able to read them on there.
Edit: I guess you can read them
View Image View Image View Image
Good job on the peectures!!!
Still waiting on mine, but I did get a request from Dave to test the ISO -3 coming out soon, so expect to have pictures of it soon.
Hee, hee, hee, welcome back Dave!!!
^ Let him know we now know with pictures the design of the original device, maybe he'll then offer full documentation on it to present his case why his upcoming Iso-3 is a major improvement in all respects.
Any garage mechanic could reproduce the original in a single weekend project. Speaking of which, the corrugated copper or brass tubing coil was fairly fat, 3/4" OD, maybe even larger. I recall the color being more yellowish, so it probably was brass.
Easy to make this thing slick to use, instead of a stainless steel lower collection vessel, use a Teflon/PTFE coated pot, pic below, or
https://www.amazon.com/T-fal-Specia...id=1477066900&sr=8-3&keywords=teflon+pot&th=1
And Dave, about that patent you mentioned... please do share.
No questions? Did you understand how you can immediately stop the process by cutting power to the hot plate, and then opening the water bath valves letting ice water replace the hot. Everything about this device was designed that way, smooth.
Hash oil history, pages 66-68 of the February '77 issue of High Times Magazine is decent and confirms David's recollections. I learned how to get a screenshot and crop it, but the resolution when I upload it directly to ICMAG is too low to read.
Any garage mechanic could reproduce the original in a single weekend project. Speaking of which, the corrugated copper or brass tubing coil was fairly fat, 3/4" OD, maybe even larger. I recall the color being more yellowish, so it probably was brass.
Easy to make this thing slick to use, instead of a stainless steel lower collection vessel, use a Teflon/PTFE coated pot, pic below, or
https://www.amazon.com/T-fal-Specia...id=1477066900&sr=8-3&keywords=teflon+pot&th=1
And Dave, about that patent you mentioned... please do share.
No questions? Did you understand how you can immediately stop the process by cutting power to the hot plate, and then opening the water bath valves letting ice water replace the hot. Everything about this device was designed that way, smooth.
Hash oil history, pages 66-68 of the February '77 issue of High Times Magazine is decent and confirms David's recollections. I learned how to get a screenshot and crop it, but the resolution when I upload it directly to ICMAG is too low to read.
Attachments
Last edited:
montroller
Member
^
The article begins with a quote from the DEA Acting Administrator John R. Bartels, Jr. from 1974.
Mr. Bartels should know, he was the lead witness describing in detail the operations of the Brotherhood of Eternal Love at the Senate Hearing in '73. This link takes you straight to an online read, just click the pages to turn them, there are pics of the labs.
https://archive.org/stream/hashishsmuggling00unit#page/n0/mode/2up
The article begins with a quote from the DEA Acting Administrator John R. Bartels, Jr. from 1974.
Mr. Bartels should know, he was the lead witness describing in detail the operations of the Brotherhood of Eternal Love at the Senate Hearing in '73. This link takes you straight to an online read, just click the pages to turn them, there are pics of the labs.
https://archive.org/stream/hashishsmuggling00unit#page/n0/mode/2up
montroller
Member
The common tech back then was to powder the cannabis and boil it in ethanol? 
and the yield was only 4%. That alone answers a lot of questions about why it never really took off after the war on drugs started cracking down. No way was it worth the risk with active cannabinoids averaging ~23%.
and the yield was only 4%. That alone answers a lot of questions about why it never really took off after the war on drugs started cracking down. No way was it worth the risk with active cannabinoids averaging ~23%.
^ The original Isomerizer doesn't boil the material, it's a reflux process, the warm solvent drips down from the condenser coil into a screened basket holding the herb which is suspended over the solvent/oil boiling under it. See Cannabis Alchemy by D Gold chapter one...
https://archive.org/stream/CannabisAlchemy/cannabis-alchemy#page/n0/mode/2up
They finally put a crimp in the TJ border in the early seventies, dried up the availability of cheap bricks, but let the coke in just fine, leave it to the US government to screw things up worse than royally.
You are correct that an ethanol/isopropyl extraction with the Isomerizer produces a product best reserved for oral ingestion, etc. rather than dabbing. The instructions that came with mine told you how to do a secondary wash with petroleum ether, I recall using the suggested coke bottle and my thumb in lieu of a separatory funnel, and got a sweet, almost clear amber oil. See GW's blog at Skunk Pharm Research on "Polishing extracts,"
https://skunkpharmresearch.com/getting-the-green-and-waxes-out-afterwards/
The original isomerizer instructions also suggested filtering the pet ether/oil solution through activated carbon/charcoal, I recall buying the activated carbon powder, but never felt the need to employ it.
The original isomerizer only needed better control of the heating element, a Variac would have done fine back then, we have cheap PID controllers now. With the temp microprocessor controlled you could first distill pentane out of Coleman fuel or white gas, and then use the pentane for a single solvent extraction keeping the reflux/recovery temp nice and low. If you're in a country where going the local chemical supply house to pick up reagent grade solvents isn't practical for one reason or another, this machine is what you want.
So, I repeat my inquiry, "David, do you have a patent or may someone reproduce these?"
https://archive.org/stream/CannabisAlchemy/cannabis-alchemy#page/n0/mode/2up
They finally put a crimp in the TJ border in the early seventies, dried up the availability of cheap bricks, but let the coke in just fine, leave it to the US government to screw things up worse than royally.
You are correct that an ethanol/isopropyl extraction with the Isomerizer produces a product best reserved for oral ingestion, etc. rather than dabbing. The instructions that came with mine told you how to do a secondary wash with petroleum ether, I recall using the suggested coke bottle and my thumb in lieu of a separatory funnel, and got a sweet, almost clear amber oil. See GW's blog at Skunk Pharm Research on "Polishing extracts,"
https://skunkpharmresearch.com/getting-the-green-and-waxes-out-afterwards/
The original isomerizer instructions also suggested filtering the pet ether/oil solution through activated carbon/charcoal, I recall buying the activated carbon powder, but never felt the need to employ it.
The original isomerizer only needed better control of the heating element, a Variac would have done fine back then, we have cheap PID controllers now. With the temp microprocessor controlled you could first distill pentane out of Coleman fuel or white gas, and then use the pentane for a single solvent extraction keeping the reflux/recovery temp nice and low. If you're in a country where going the local chemical supply house to pick up reagent grade solvents isn't practical for one reason or another, this machine is what you want.
So, I repeat my inquiry, "David, do you have a patent or may someone reproduce these?"
Last edited:
Yes! It can be used to reflux extract, or to recover the alcohol from a QWET or winterizing operation, by refluxing the alcohol so that it collects in a beaker, leaving the concentrate behind.
Attachments
This is the best I could do
http://imgur.com/a/Nbzh2
let me know if I missed anything and I will also upload these to my ICmag albums incase they vanish from imgur but with the file size restrictions you probably won't be able to read them on there.
Edit: I guess you can read them
View Image View Image View Image
Gray Wolf pm'd me this morning David can't find any pictures of of the original device... and not one to be found in the entire universe? Government conspiracy.
I'll double down on my standing offer, up from one to two grand for one, and I'll make it three if it's complete with the original device's manual.
^ That's the 'toy' version the government let David go on producing.
Here's the full tilt implementation of the original design as espoused in Cannabis Alchemy,
http://imgur.com/a/Nbzh2
Iso2 knockoff's (the Super Flower Tower) manual,
https://www.superflowertower.com/images/operation-overview-super-flower-tower.pdf
Here's the full tilt implementation of the original design as espoused in Cannabis Alchemy,
http://imgur.com/a/Nbzh2
Iso2 knockoff's (the Super Flower Tower) manual,
https://www.superflowertower.com/images/operation-overview-super-flower-tower.pdf
Last edited:
Tynehead Tom
Well-known member
wow , I remember the cannabis alchemy book. I had a long lost copy of that many years ago now. Also had that leaflet, the red oil report among a pile of other magazines and memorabilia. Lost in a fire many years ago now.
cool stuff!
cool stuff!
miltiano32
Member
Cant wait to hear about this.
CANNABINOIDS OF THE FUTURE - BOON OR DISASTER?
by D Gold
Hi Everyone,
About a month or so ago, Graywolf asked me to write an article on the history of cannabis extraction, as I witnessed it. He also asked me what I thought the future of cannabinoid chemistry might be. Well …. Thanks a bunch Graywolf! Keep me up thinking an extra hour every night for a month contemplating what the hell might be next. Not actually complaining, mind you. I do love it!
My first thoughts on the future was that the future is here, the future is now, we done done it all already. When the basement Alchemist can perform the same experiments and procedures that previously only happened in university laboratories, or were carried out by government-funded scientists in Israel or Spain or at Harvard, we have come a long way. There’s not much that our intrepid Alchemists have not figured out. (Note that I left out those so-called researchers at University of Mississippi government “farm”. They have been about as useful in advancing the science as … you supply the metaphor).
But then, something dawned on me that hit me pretty hard. There is a massive universe of unexplored cannabinoid chemistry out there that may eventually yield incredible medicines and euphoriants. It is likely a vast untapped mine of chemical wonders, and right now it is being abused, neglected, prostituted, besmirched, and possibly worse. In fact, the way that this vast potential resource of wonderfulness is currently being treated will most likely lead to disaster. Unless some young brave Alchemists step up and develop the research as it should be.
What the hell am I talking about? Synthetic cannabinoids! Spice! K-2! That horrible crap that the media has labeled as “synthetic marijuana” that makes big news as people freak out on unknown chemical mixtures that may or may not actually contain some synthetic cannabinoids.
When “herbal smoking mixtures” first began to be advertised in High Times, which was decades years ago, I laughed, figuring that they would be gone in a few months, when the novelty of smoking something that did nothing wore off. The fact that they lasted so long, and commanded such substantial advertising investments, caused me to wonder. When I found out that the herbal mixtures were being infused with synthetic cannabinoids, I finally understood why the mixtures had achieved commercial longevity.
The scientist behind synthetic cannabinoid analogues is named Dr. John W. Huffman. He has made a number of variations on the THC molecule that substantially change the effects from those of organic cannabis. He has developed about 450 different variations of the different cannabinoid molecules. Huffman is to be commended (somewhat) for publicly telling people to avoid all the compounds he is creating, and smoke organic cannabis instead. In other words, he is developing many different cannabis-derived compounds, but nobody is ever supposed to take them, and find out if they are any good.
When I first heard of Huffman, I had some hope. Put one little line across the top of the “u” in his last name, changing it to an “o”, and you have the name Hoffman. The same name as one of the greatest scientists ever to grace mankind with his work, the late, great Albert Hoffman. (Who lived to the age of 102!)
Dr. Hoffman believed in his work, partook of his creations regularly and often, and is a shining example of a scientist who holds the key to an invention which may be of immense benefit to mankind.
But the scientist who has provided the finest example of how an altruistic Alchemist with a possible world-changing discovery should conduct his or her life and affairs is one of my all-time heroes, Dr. Alexander (Sasha) Shulgin.
Dr. Shulgin started with the medicinal cactus that is sacred to Native Americans and synthesized over 200 different compounds by rearranging the molecule. Even though all of these compounds are of the same chemical family, the effects all differ … some slightly … some greatly.
But, instead of making the compounds, publishing the synthesis, and claiming no responsibility for the actual consumption of his creation, Sasha personally tested every compound he synthesized.
Sasha and his wife, Ann, worked out a well-defined set of protocols for testing all of Sasha’s new creations. Sasha would take it first. If he liked it and saw potential, Ann would then test it. If Ann agreed it was worthwhile, Sasha would test it on a group of friends who eventually became very experienced in assessing Sasha’s new creations. Everything was done according to scientific protocol and the results are to be found in two massive books which Sasha and Ann published - PIKAL and TIKAL.
There is a tremendous difference between how Sasha conducted his affairs and how Huffman is going at it today. I suppose we are fortunate that Huffman is exploring making the new cannabinoids, but what good is that when nobody is doing any actual testing? There are 450 brand new cannabinoids now in existence. Only a handful of which have been taken by humans, if that.
Instead of learning the possibilities and pitfalls of each new creation, all we see now as a result of Huffman’s work is international crooks trying to make a buck by peddling dangerous drugs under the guise of legal smoking herbs.
If the only way that synthetic cannabinoid chemistry goes forward is through the routes it has taken with Huffman and Spice, we may never learn of some potentially wonderful cannabinoid compounds. We need to know if there is some compound out there waiting to be synthesized and discovered … maybe a variation on the molecule that is even more powerful as an anti-cancer medicine than THC and CBD … or more euphoric than extracts from the natural plant.
With the remarkable medical benefits we have seen from the natural cannabinoids, it stands to reason that even more efficacious compounds may be created by tweaking our favorite molecule. If what Sasha did with the humble desert cactus is an example of what can be done with the natural array of cannabinoids we now know and love, there are hundreds of as-yet-undiscovered cannabinoid medicines and euphoriants waiting for us to discover them and put them to good use. Who knows how wonderful an undiscovered cannabis compound might be? Only one way to find out.
I would love to see some forward-thinking men and women in this new batch of upcoming young Alchemists address this situation, develop these new analogues of cannabinoids, and test them in the scientific manner that Sasha and Ann developed. The first step would be to re-create and test the synthetic creations Huffman has already developed, followed by development and testing of new analogues.
Synthesis is quite a step up from organic extraction. Huffman’s syntheses have been published, and an Alchemist who is experienced in process work can follow the instructions and duplicate the original work. Coming up with new variations on the molecule, however, requires a through knowledge of chemistry and much experimentation. A Ph. D. in chemistry is a good start.
Now, I would like to address those who may think I am full of shit with all this. You very well might be right. The organic molecule(s), as put into the plant by Mother Nature herself, may be the pinnacle of cannabinoid wonderfulness, and it could well be human folly to think that we can outdo her divine plans. In my experience comparing certain sacred organic and synthetic compounds, human intelligence has done a pretty remarkable job in approaching Mother Nature when it comes to synthetics, but has never exceeded, or even matched, her organic offerings.
However, we have seen so much amazing healing with natural cannabis that I can’t help but think that there may be great medicine in tweaking the molecule.
Maybe this is a good place for a cool quote from Art Kleps, founder of the Neo-American Church of the sixties: “If God wanted us to take synthetics, he would have invented them himself.”
Consider the fact that we have seen dramatic provable healing when treating cancer with a gram of oil daily. In medicine, great importance is put on the ratio between the dose where effects are realized, and the amount it takes to kill the patient. The New England Journal of the American Medical Assn. published a study that said one would have to smoke ¾ of a ton of marijuana in 15 minutes to receive a lethal dose. I don’t know what fraction of this a gram daily is, but it is damn infintisimal.
What intrigues me about this ratio is that one can, theoretically, take hundreds of grams of strong oil daily, and live thru it. I personally don’t think there is any strain of cancer that could survive in a human organism that was treated with 100 grams of strong hash oil daily.
I tried a personal study on this. Never got near 100 grams. I took up to 4 or 5 grams of strong whole-plant oil daily for about a year or so. Near the end of this experiment, I had elevated liver numbers, and cut way back. Next test my liver numbers were fine.
So I think that if we can find a way that a person could take 100 grams of oil daily, or some equivalent thereof, that could be the end of cancer. (Maybe even 10 grams). The problem is, I tried, and I don’t how a person could take giant doses regularly. All that supercharged, concentrated euphoria gets pretty rough to handle.
But this data causes me to think that maybe some human Alchemy, combined with Mother Nature’s guidance and support, may be the answer to bringing what we know about treating cancer with cannabis into the world of modern medicine, and modern Alchemists may even develop an analogue that western-trained physicians could prescribe as a single molecule cure for cancer. (To be honest, I don’t think the odds are actually in favor of this happening, but our data has shown that there is a pretty significant chance, and I would hate to lose it because of the absolutely convoluted nature of modern medicinal cannabis research today.)
And a last thought. There are a vast amount of organic elements present in our favorite plant that, when isolated and concentrated, may provide medicinal benefits that we haven’t even contemplated … let alone sought and discovered. For example, I have been taking 1 gram capsules of the terpene d-Limonene. Kind of like an organic Valium when needed, and a real fast way to convert a sativa high into an indica high. Sloan-Kettering Cancer Research Institute has done 17 studies on d-Limonene as an anti-cancer drug. Could this terpene be at least partially responsible for the Rick Simpson effect of cannabis oil? We don’t know. But it sure is possible.
So, to sum it all up … we certainly don’t know what lurks in the cannabis molecules after tweaking, but we sure do have enough data to know that there is a damn good chance that it may be absolutely spectacular. And it would be a shame to lose the potential possibilities because those doing the studies have no interest in consuming and evaluating the compounds they make, in order to find out what needs to be known. Hopefully, as I have said earlier, those modern Alchemists who study, work with, and love this magical plant will follow Sasha and Ann’s example, and put some serious human science into creating and evaluating these fascinating new compounds.
I’ll close by saying if Sasha still had 20 years or so left in his lifespan when Huffman first started his work, Sasha would have grabbed the ball and run with it … and we would possibly have hundreds of brand new and different cannabinoids to play with today.
D. Gold
by D Gold
Hi Everyone,
About a month or so ago, Graywolf asked me to write an article on the history of cannabis extraction, as I witnessed it. He also asked me what I thought the future of cannabinoid chemistry might be. Well …. Thanks a bunch Graywolf! Keep me up thinking an extra hour every night for a month contemplating what the hell might be next. Not actually complaining, mind you. I do love it!
My first thoughts on the future was that the future is here, the future is now, we done done it all already. When the basement Alchemist can perform the same experiments and procedures that previously only happened in university laboratories, or were carried out by government-funded scientists in Israel or Spain or at Harvard, we have come a long way. There’s not much that our intrepid Alchemists have not figured out. (Note that I left out those so-called researchers at University of Mississippi government “farm”. They have been about as useful in advancing the science as … you supply the metaphor).
But then, something dawned on me that hit me pretty hard. There is a massive universe of unexplored cannabinoid chemistry out there that may eventually yield incredible medicines and euphoriants. It is likely a vast untapped mine of chemical wonders, and right now it is being abused, neglected, prostituted, besmirched, and possibly worse. In fact, the way that this vast potential resource of wonderfulness is currently being treated will most likely lead to disaster. Unless some young brave Alchemists step up and develop the research as it should be.
What the hell am I talking about? Synthetic cannabinoids! Spice! K-2! That horrible crap that the media has labeled as “synthetic marijuana” that makes big news as people freak out on unknown chemical mixtures that may or may not actually contain some synthetic cannabinoids.
When “herbal smoking mixtures” first began to be advertised in High Times, which was decades years ago, I laughed, figuring that they would be gone in a few months, when the novelty of smoking something that did nothing wore off. The fact that they lasted so long, and commanded such substantial advertising investments, caused me to wonder. When I found out that the herbal mixtures were being infused with synthetic cannabinoids, I finally understood why the mixtures had achieved commercial longevity.
The scientist behind synthetic cannabinoid analogues is named Dr. John W. Huffman. He has made a number of variations on the THC molecule that substantially change the effects from those of organic cannabis. He has developed about 450 different variations of the different cannabinoid molecules. Huffman is to be commended (somewhat) for publicly telling people to avoid all the compounds he is creating, and smoke organic cannabis instead. In other words, he is developing many different cannabis-derived compounds, but nobody is ever supposed to take them, and find out if they are any good.
When I first heard of Huffman, I had some hope. Put one little line across the top of the “u” in his last name, changing it to an “o”, and you have the name Hoffman. The same name as one of the greatest scientists ever to grace mankind with his work, the late, great Albert Hoffman. (Who lived to the age of 102!)
Dr. Hoffman believed in his work, partook of his creations regularly and often, and is a shining example of a scientist who holds the key to an invention which may be of immense benefit to mankind.
But the scientist who has provided the finest example of how an altruistic Alchemist with a possible world-changing discovery should conduct his or her life and affairs is one of my all-time heroes, Dr. Alexander (Sasha) Shulgin.
Dr. Shulgin started with the medicinal cactus that is sacred to Native Americans and synthesized over 200 different compounds by rearranging the molecule. Even though all of these compounds are of the same chemical family, the effects all differ … some slightly … some greatly.
But, instead of making the compounds, publishing the synthesis, and claiming no responsibility for the actual consumption of his creation, Sasha personally tested every compound he synthesized.
Sasha and his wife, Ann, worked out a well-defined set of protocols for testing all of Sasha’s new creations. Sasha would take it first. If he liked it and saw potential, Ann would then test it. If Ann agreed it was worthwhile, Sasha would test it on a group of friends who eventually became very experienced in assessing Sasha’s new creations. Everything was done according to scientific protocol and the results are to be found in two massive books which Sasha and Ann published - PIKAL and TIKAL.
There is a tremendous difference between how Sasha conducted his affairs and how Huffman is going at it today. I suppose we are fortunate that Huffman is exploring making the new cannabinoids, but what good is that when nobody is doing any actual testing? There are 450 brand new cannabinoids now in existence. Only a handful of which have been taken by humans, if that.
Instead of learning the possibilities and pitfalls of each new creation, all we see now as a result of Huffman’s work is international crooks trying to make a buck by peddling dangerous drugs under the guise of legal smoking herbs.
If the only way that synthetic cannabinoid chemistry goes forward is through the routes it has taken with Huffman and Spice, we may never learn of some potentially wonderful cannabinoid compounds. We need to know if there is some compound out there waiting to be synthesized and discovered … maybe a variation on the molecule that is even more powerful as an anti-cancer medicine than THC and CBD … or more euphoric than extracts from the natural plant.
With the remarkable medical benefits we have seen from the natural cannabinoids, it stands to reason that even more efficacious compounds may be created by tweaking our favorite molecule. If what Sasha did with the humble desert cactus is an example of what can be done with the natural array of cannabinoids we now know and love, there are hundreds of as-yet-undiscovered cannabinoid medicines and euphoriants waiting for us to discover them and put them to good use. Who knows how wonderful an undiscovered cannabis compound might be? Only one way to find out.
I would love to see some forward-thinking men and women in this new batch of upcoming young Alchemists address this situation, develop these new analogues of cannabinoids, and test them in the scientific manner that Sasha and Ann developed. The first step would be to re-create and test the synthetic creations Huffman has already developed, followed by development and testing of new analogues.
Synthesis is quite a step up from organic extraction. Huffman’s syntheses have been published, and an Alchemist who is experienced in process work can follow the instructions and duplicate the original work. Coming up with new variations on the molecule, however, requires a through knowledge of chemistry and much experimentation. A Ph. D. in chemistry is a good start.
Now, I would like to address those who may think I am full of shit with all this. You very well might be right. The organic molecule(s), as put into the plant by Mother Nature herself, may be the pinnacle of cannabinoid wonderfulness, and it could well be human folly to think that we can outdo her divine plans. In my experience comparing certain sacred organic and synthetic compounds, human intelligence has done a pretty remarkable job in approaching Mother Nature when it comes to synthetics, but has never exceeded, or even matched, her organic offerings.
However, we have seen so much amazing healing with natural cannabis that I can’t help but think that there may be great medicine in tweaking the molecule.
Maybe this is a good place for a cool quote from Art Kleps, founder of the Neo-American Church of the sixties: “If God wanted us to take synthetics, he would have invented them himself.”
Consider the fact that we have seen dramatic provable healing when treating cancer with a gram of oil daily. In medicine, great importance is put on the ratio between the dose where effects are realized, and the amount it takes to kill the patient. The New England Journal of the American Medical Assn. published a study that said one would have to smoke ¾ of a ton of marijuana in 15 minutes to receive a lethal dose. I don’t know what fraction of this a gram daily is, but it is damn infintisimal.
What intrigues me about this ratio is that one can, theoretically, take hundreds of grams of strong oil daily, and live thru it. I personally don’t think there is any strain of cancer that could survive in a human organism that was treated with 100 grams of strong hash oil daily.
I tried a personal study on this. Never got near 100 grams. I took up to 4 or 5 grams of strong whole-plant oil daily for about a year or so. Near the end of this experiment, I had elevated liver numbers, and cut way back. Next test my liver numbers were fine.
So I think that if we can find a way that a person could take 100 grams of oil daily, or some equivalent thereof, that could be the end of cancer. (Maybe even 10 grams). The problem is, I tried, and I don’t how a person could take giant doses regularly. All that supercharged, concentrated euphoria gets pretty rough to handle.
But this data causes me to think that maybe some human Alchemy, combined with Mother Nature’s guidance and support, may be the answer to bringing what we know about treating cancer with cannabis into the world of modern medicine, and modern Alchemists may even develop an analogue that western-trained physicians could prescribe as a single molecule cure for cancer. (To be honest, I don’t think the odds are actually in favor of this happening, but our data has shown that there is a pretty significant chance, and I would hate to lose it because of the absolutely convoluted nature of modern medicinal cannabis research today.)
And a last thought. There are a vast amount of organic elements present in our favorite plant that, when isolated and concentrated, may provide medicinal benefits that we haven’t even contemplated … let alone sought and discovered. For example, I have been taking 1 gram capsules of the terpene d-Limonene. Kind of like an organic Valium when needed, and a real fast way to convert a sativa high into an indica high. Sloan-Kettering Cancer Research Institute has done 17 studies on d-Limonene as an anti-cancer drug. Could this terpene be at least partially responsible for the Rick Simpson effect of cannabis oil? We don’t know. But it sure is possible.
So, to sum it all up … we certainly don’t know what lurks in the cannabis molecules after tweaking, but we sure do have enough data to know that there is a damn good chance that it may be absolutely spectacular. And it would be a shame to lose the potential possibilities because those doing the studies have no interest in consuming and evaluating the compounds they make, in order to find out what needs to be known. Hopefully, as I have said earlier, those modern Alchemists who study, work with, and love this magical plant will follow Sasha and Ann’s example, and put some serious human science into creating and evaluating these fascinating new compounds.
I’ll close by saying if Sasha still had 20 years or so left in his lifespan when Huffman first started his work, Sasha would have grabbed the ball and run with it … and we would possibly have hundreds of brand new and different cannabinoids to play with today.
D. Gold
