Healing Without the High: A Fast and Easy CBGa + CBDa Tincture Recipe

Whew! What a week! I’m going to warn you in advance. This CBGa + CBDa tincture recipe is a real conversation starter. If you make it and tell people that you made it, get ready to chat.

With all of the hubbub about cannabis and covid in the last couple of weeks, I’ve gotten a lot of questions and DMs about how to use these cannabinoids and how to use them in edibles recipes. 

During the whirlwind of this week, in between all of my Cannabis Coaching Institute, Secret Door Bookstore, Wake + Bake and solo mom duties, I decided to put together this fast and easy CBGa and CBDa Tincture Recipe to start using as part of my cannabis wellness routine, and wanted to share it with you.

Ever since I started studying cannabis, I’ve fallen love with acidic cannabinoids and am so excited to see everyone’s interest in this rabbit hole.

If I were a betting woman, and there was a line on this in Vegas, I’d say that we’re going to come to find that the acidic compounds found in cannabis to be at least as beneficial – if not more so – than their “activated” or decarboxylated counterparts.

Already, in preliminary animal and in vitro studies, CBDa has been potentially found to be:

• potentially have a more dramatic effect on inflammation than THC and may be used in small doses with or without THC for acute pain
• as effective at seizure management as CBD when used in an entourage role (along with other cannabinoids)
• effective at blocking the replication of Covid-19 in human cells (along with CBGa)

Keep in mind that we have no clinical trials on CBDa or CBGa at the time of this writing, so we don’t know much about these cannabinoids, but we’re starting to get a fuller picture of how all of these cannabinoids work together. They also have a high safety profile (as long as you use plant material that is lab tested for residual pesticides and heavy metals).

Now that we’re seeing that the acidic cannabinoids may have a binding affinity on cells that may help us avoid viral infections -like Covid 19, I hope it causes an increase on research on these cannabinoids so we can see exactly how powerful they are. 

Even though CBD, THC, and even CBG are more heavily studied, there are a lot of reasons to incorporate their raw forms in cannabis formulations and edibles recipes. It can be a lot more simple to work with these compounds because you get to skip the decarboxylation process and I’ve personally found them to decrease my inflammation and I have been incorporating them regularly for acute pain and mood enhancement.

In this quick and easy CBGa and CBDa tincture recipe, we’ll cover some of the benefits of raw or acidic cannabinoids. Then, I’ll show you how I make my tincture, how I calculate the dosage of it, and how much I take.

[author’s note on the words “fast” and “easy”: this week we got new bookshelves in for the Secret Door and had to move every book at least twice, we prepped for a new cohort and graduating class at CCI (Congratulations August cohort!), 6 year olds are walking tornados and stomach bug magnets, and as some twisted joke, hank the dog got sick… so this “fast and easy” tincture and post took way longer than expected. If I can do it, you can do it way faster and easier!]

DIY or DFY for CBDa Tinctures?

While I love DIY to the core of my being, I’m so thankful that there are some companies – like Society’s Plant – who are making done-for-you options like CBDa capsules and their CBD + CBDa tincture.

I’m ordering some to have on backup, so the next time my week gets crazy, my tincture doesn’t get forgotten at the bottom of the freezer again. 

If you want an easy option, or to send some to friends and family members who feel more comfortable with a product that has a COA, I highly recommend Society’s plants line of raw cannabinoid formulations (I partnered up with them and got you the coupon code WAKEANDBAKE for 25% off your first order).

Benefits of CBDa, CBGa, and THCa in edibles

We went over some of the known physical benefits from CBDa, CBGa and THCa, but here are some benefits from using these cannabinoids in your edibles recipes and cannabis formulations.

1. Skip the decarb
   • by skipping the decarboxylation process, you cut at least an hour and a half off of the process of making your edibles or cannabis tinctures
2. Flavor
   • when we tested the tincture recipe below, we got the feedback that it was, “fresher tasting, floral, and smooth”. If you or your loved ones don’t like the taste of conventional edibles, you may enjoy this light and more floral extraction.
3. Terpene preservation
   • Most terpenes found in cannabis are volatile and get lost during the decarboxylation process. The more fresh floral and smooth smell and flavor likely come from preserving some of these more illusive terpenes in extraction and edibles making.

4. Adds to the entourage effect

Whether you’re making edibles and tinctures for fun, medicine or both, there are few downsides to including more of these powerful cannabinoids into the mix. You may find a ratio or balance that you love, and these compounds can be doing their healing magic in the background while you kick back and enjoy the feel good vibes of THC.

What’s the difference between CBDa, CBGa, and THCa?

The little a at the end of each of those names signifies that the compound is the “acidic” version of that compound. The cannabis plant produces these phytocannabinoids in their acidic form and it takes heat, light, and/or time for these compounds to convert into CBD, CBG, and THC.

When we add heat to these compounds when we’re smoking or making edibles, tinctures and oils, the process is called decarboxylation. If we skip the process of heating them, we retain the carboxylic acid chain.

Because we have very little research on what each of these compounds can be used for, and zero research on the difference between what they do in the human body, the main differentiation is that THCa is non-intoxicating when compared to THC.

Raw Cannabis Tincture Recipe: CBGa and CBDa Tincture Recipe

The process to make this cannabis tincture is the same as all other cannabis tincture recipes, but you skip the decarboxylation process. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions I get when teaching cannabis tinctures.

Can I make this non-alcoholic? 

Yes! Well… kinda. You can infuse a liquid oil with non-decarboxylated cannabis and will get a mixture of raw and decarboxylated cannabinoids.

If you want to skip the alcohol, keep the temperature low and consistent (I use my ardent on the infusion cycle) at around 180-190f for about an hour.

Ardent did some research that showed that heating the bud in oil will keep it from decarboxylating all the way.

You’ll likely get partial decarboxylation from the heat, so you’ll have a mix of CBDa, CBGa, CBD and CBDa. If you live in a place where you have access to THC, you can also do this to get a mix of THCa and THC.

Dosage for CBGa + CBDa Tinctures

How much should I take?

Dosage is highly personalized and because we still don’t have clinical trials (at the time of this writing) that studied CBDa and CBGa on humans,  we don’t have any generalized dosage information.

Even though these compounds aren’t intoxicating, it’s still a good idea to start low and go slow and find the minimum effective dose. I start all cannabinoids, even raw cannabinoids at 3mg twice a day and then titrate up from there. Just because these compounds don’t get you high, doesn’t mean they’re not powerful.

Working with a Cannabis Coach can help you refine this and reach your health goals a lot faster with a lot less trial and error.

Doing Dosage Math for your CBGa + CBDa Tincture Recipe

QWET Tincture, Golden Dragon Tincture, or Ice Dragon CBDa and CBGa Tincture Recipe

You will need:

• Two mason jars with a plastic lids
• Non-Decarboxylated CBD and CBG plant material – I used 5 grams of each from Sacred Smoke Herbals and highly recommend their organic, small family farm sourced CBD and CBG flower (you can use the code WAKEANDBAKE for 15% off here)
• Enough 80 proof+ alcohol to cover your cannabis* – calculate your dosage math first and modify from there. I used 1 cup, but will make my next batch with 1/2 cup of alcohol because it was a little weak.
• Room in the back of your freezer

Instructions:

1. Head over to the THC/CBD calculator and enter your numbers. Keep a record of these numbers so you’re aware of how much you’re taking per dose.
2. Place the non-decarbed cannabis and alcohol in the freezer SEPARATELY. Allowing them to get really cold is said to help the trichomes break off without the chlorophyll and other plant compounds seeping into your tincture (which can be hard on your palate).
3. Wait at least 60 minutes or overnight.
4. Place the frozen cannabis into your mason jar full of frozen alcohol.
5. Put the lid on the mason jar and shake for several minutes.
6. Place in the coldest part of your freezer (usually the back).
7. Shake again every 30 minutes for 2 minutes and place back in the freezer.

The tincture will be ready to use in a few hours, though I found it to be more potent after several days. You can leave the tincture in the freezer for a couple of weeks, if you’d like.

When the tincture has reached the desired potency, strain out the plant material and pour the tincture into dark glass dropper bottles.

Have you tried this recipe? I’d love to hear from you! Let us know how it went in the comments below and share your favorite raw cannabis tincture hacks.

With Love,

CT