Say No to QWISO and Use Food Grade Ethanol for Cannabis Extractions Instead
Isopropyl alcohol is the “ISO” in QWISO, the term stands for “Quick Wash Isopropyl.” ISO is one of the cheapest and most commonly used solvents for cannabis extractions. Look in any place you’d find information on cannabis extractions and you’ll find fan-boys for QWISO.
The Isopropyl is Always in the End Product
You can wash and vacuum purge and re-wash and re-wash QWISO with ethanol and the result will still test positive for Isopropyl. Use isopropyl for extractions and you’ll be slowly poisoning anyone who uses it. Isopropyl alcohol is poison to animals (yes, humans are animals). The MSDS information on the chemical is pretty clear. The real danger is through repeated exposure, since the damage accumulates. Who only takes one dab of oil… Right?
(MSDS Info) Potential Acute Health Effects:
Hazardous in case of eye contact (irritant), of ingestion, of inhalation. Slightly hazardous in case of skin contact (irritant,sensitizer, permeator).
Potential Chronic Health Effects:
Slightly hazardous in case of skin contact (sensitizer). CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: A4 (Not classifiable for human or animal.) by ACGIH, 3 (Not classifiable for human.) by IARC. MUTAGENIC EFFECTS: Not available. TERATOGENIC EFFECTS: Not available. DEVELOPMENTAL TOXICITY: Classified Reproductive system/toxin/female, Development toxin [POSSIBLE].The substance may be toxic to kidneys, liver, skin, central nervous system (CNS). Repeated or prolonged exposure to the substance can produce target organs damage.
Less Expensive Ethanol Methods
Yes, ethanol is expensive AND there are ways to reduce your costs with it.
Use a Still
One way is to use a still to reclaim about 80% of the ethanol back from each run. Having a still also allows you to re-distill cheaper alcohols to 95% pure before doing an extraction.
Dry Ice Saves Ethanol!
Another way to lower your ethanol costs is to reduce the volume of your plant matter first. Follow the directions for dry ice hash, only keep everything in the bucket (no mesh screen or smooth surface) and then do an ethanol wash with it. Awesomely simple. :)
Use Care and Be Clean
You’re making extractions of a truly medicinal plant, let’s keep the contaminates we introduce to a minimum. We want the best results while doing the least damage and using food grade materials and tools goes a long way toward that goal.