How to Make Green Dragon Without the Smell? - GreenPassion.org - Dedicated to Medicinal Cannabis Cultivation and Education

BecomingInsane · #1 (**permalink**) 11-11-2009, 12:40 PM

I need to make some Green Dragon for two weeks from now, but I live at the bottom of an apartment complex with thin walls and floors. I am also the manager for the block, so if someone smelled something they would come to me to report it... and that would be kinda awkward.

Are there any methods of preparation that will reduce (or eliminate) the smell, or any ventilation techniques I can use? I heard of the slow method of simply mixing in a container and storing for 30+ days, but it seems potentially inconsistent, and I don't have 30+ days. In either case, the pre-baking process seems like it would stink up the entire complex.

Also: If the recipe needs 75% alcohol, then I can get it now. But if it needs 95%, then I can only start it the night before (not available where I live).

Thanks for any tips or ideas,
BecomingInsane

jangel · #2 (**permalink**) 11-11-2009, 01:26 PM

Do you have an over the stove vent hood? That should suck the odour out of your home and above your building. I would think it would anyway.

Peace

BecomingInsane · #3 (**permalink**) 11-11-2009, 02:59 PM

Thanks for the quick reply.

I do, but I don't think it vents the air above the building. My guess would be it gets piped out near my window, which would mean anyone walking past, or above, would still smell it. That said, it probably isn't any better to let it dissipate in the apartment! lol

For the slow method: Is the pre-baking absolutely necessary for the TCH to be absorbed by the alcohol? And would placing the container by a medium heat source speed up the 30+ days into 10-20 days? Just wondering what possibilities I have that people have tried.

jangel · #4 (**permalink**) 11-11-2009, 04:06 PM

Yes, heating the herb is nessacary as it carboxilizes the canabinoids and makes them able to be absorbed by the alcohol. Yes, you can also just heat it slowly over say a coffee maker so that it evaporates at a less stinkie rate. You will get some smell, but not the extent you will by boiling it.

BecomingInsane · #5 (**permalink**) Today, 12:23 PM

I just wanted to share my green dragon experience with you guys. It was pretty successful for a first try. As a newbie, I hope this will benefit people who have been wanting to try, but haven't known enough:

I very carefully studied and followed the revised Master Wu recipe posted by Fredfarted here: Anybody interested in Green Dragon?

Here are the following points I think might be helpful to other newbies:

I didn't have a coffee grinder. So to grind it really fine, I used a cheese grater with small holes, put the result in a shot glass, and went crazy with scissors until cutting required little to no effort. The resulting herb filled about half of the shot glass.
I wrapped and closed the chopped herb in a small sheet of tin foil so that it wouldn't get blown around by the convection oven.
The water bath should be started very early. Depending on the stove, it may take quite a while to get the water to a consistent 170 F. I set my dial to 8/9 for 10 minutes to heat it up, and then just below 6/9 ended up being about the right setting to get it to stabilize at exactly 170. Once making sure that it's stable, THEN start the pre-baking.
A good tip for getting the water to 170 is to make sure the thermometer is touching the metal of the pan. That will tell you where the temperature is headed.
Pre-baking was much less smelly than I anticipated (in fact, the entire process wasn't that smelly). I simply had a desk fan pointing out one window, and two other windows open because my stove van was far too loud. Doing this at 2 in the morning was a great idea. It could only be smelled from around the kitchen area, and the smell was distinct, but not exactly the smell of pot. It was a bit rotten but floral.
I got a basic meat thermometer that measures up to around 300 F. I kept that in the mason jar and made sure it stopped increasing at 170. I started the time as soon as I put the jar in the hot water bath. At one point I had to remove it from the element and lower the dial slightly to prevent it from going over.
Every 5 minutes I stirred the mixture. Carefully, or else it sticks to the sides.
You lose a lot of GD if you don't filter the result carefully. A paper coffee filter was doable, but clearly not ideal. The problem is you need to squeeze most of the GD out of the used herb, and this makes the coffee filter collapse, rip, or miss the funnel. Also, the filter soaked up at least a ml of GD, which has now gone to waste. Something rigid like a mesh kitchen sink catch would have worked much better, because you could squeeze the GD with a spoon without the filter moving around, and it doesn't steal your GD.
Everything the GD touches becomes stained with the smell until cleaned very well. Your cleaning cloth will also become stained with the smell. So restrict the number of intermediate cups/tools that you use. It does seem to come out with enough soap though.
Don't be shocked if it looks like you have very little GD. The expected ounce doesn't look like much, but a 1 ml dosage is only a few drops so it will do the job.
If you don't have an eyedropper or 1/4 teaspoon measurement (1.23 ml) then measuring out a dose of 1 ml is difficult. I used a small bottle cap from a water bottle, and worked backwards from a 1/4 cup to figure out how much to fill the cap. My calculations showed about 1/4 of a cap (yes, it doesn't look like much at all!).

To summarize the self-titration:

Code:

Dosage:   1 ml
Delivery: 473 ml Beer 

Delay:  10 minutes
Climb:  30 minutes
High:   75 minutes
Drop:   60 minutes
Linger: 180 minutes

On an empty stomach. Intense full body stone with some drunkeness during the climb. Relaxed, slowed time, but with rapid changes in feelings and type of high. Overall, quite worth it.

jangel · #6 (**permalink**) Today, 01:15 PM

Thanks for posting that ! Great explanation. Does this still retain the alcohol affect and influence or is it burnt off? I have several people that cannot take any alcohol so this is very important to me.

Peace

BecomingInsane · #7 (**permalink**) Today, 03:18 PM

I'm not sure. I felt a bit drunk at first, but I did drink it with a 470 ml beer on an empty stomach. The thread that I linked to said it's best with beer, but if you were to take it with something else, I somehow doubt there'd be much of an alcohol effect. There's only two shots of alcohol and the product gives 30 doses. That means each dose is at most 1/15th of a shot, which is really nothing. Furthermore, I think most of the alcohol burns off in the cooking process because its boiling point is lower than water. That said, I'd wait for verification from someone who's tried or knows more than me.

jangel · #8 (**permalink**) Today, 03:49 PM

This is for people that are alcoholics and have not drank in years. I would not risk it for these people. It would never be right.

Peace