- Honey oil
Honey oil (often shortened to oil, and sometimes referred to as "BHO", or "butane hash oil", which is particular to the method by which it is made) is an essential oil that has a viscosity ranging from thick to runny, extracted from the cannabis plant through a process known as
supercritical fluid extraction . It is commonly smoked using hot metal blades or plates, inhaled using specially designed vaporizers, or smoked from a bed of ashes. It is also mixed with lower quality cannabis to intensify the potency. Honey oil is considerably more potent than cannabis itself, due to its extreme purity and lack of other vegetative matter.Honey oil is a psychoactive drug in the same class as cannabis, from which it is derived, and contains a similar blend of
Cannabinoids . The THC content of honey oil is variable based on the particular strain of cannabis from which it was derived, and is similar to that of hashish.The name honey refers to the colour and consistency of the oil; there is no actual honey involved.Manufacturing
Honey oil is made by separating the resins of a cannabis plant from the plant material using one of a number of
solvents .Ethanol is a common solvent used in the preparation of honey oil, but other solvents may include:methanol ,isopropyl alcohol , various highlyvolatile non-polar liquid solvents (e.g.hexane ,toluene ,xylene ,naphtha ) andbutane . Solvents are selected based on their ability to dissolvecannabis resins and volatility, leaving minimal chemical residue.The most refined grades of honey oil are made using only the flowers and leaves of the female cannabis plant. This material is placed in a metal sleeve and washed in chemical solvents to separate the resin from the plant material. The solvent slurry is optionally filtered, then reduced by evaporation, resulting in paste that varies in colour from amber to dark green. This paste if filtered will be translucent and runny. If the paste is not filtered, it may by very thick, and opaque. Alcohol extracted oil contains plant
sugars , whichcaramelize when smoked to produce a harsh taste. Remaining solvent residues from improperly prepared oil can produce undesirable aesthetic qualities and potential health problems when smoked.Effects
Physical effects
The effects of extracted resin are comparable to smoking the same plant from which it was extracted, but often intensified due to it's much higher potency. This can sometimes cause overwhelming effects if the extract's high concentration of
cannabinoids is not taken into account.See also
*
Cannabis (drug)
*Cannabis (hashish) rosin
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