Phoenix Tears – What You Need to Know
2 Sep 2019
If you’ve been surfing around on cannabis dispensaries, you may have come across a product called Phoenix Tears. There is some controversy around Phoenix Tears and the claims made around its medicinal properties. If you’re interested in finding more about this product, hopefully, our guide will help you get a better understanding of Phoenix Tears. At Cannabismo, we carry a variety of RSO (Phoenix Tears) and related products.
Cannabis is a surprisingly versatile plant. Not only can you use it recreationally, but cannabis has also been shown to have numerous medical benefits as well. Many of these benefits of cannabis may be attributed to one of the two major cannabinoids found in cannabis, namely THC or CBD. And the great thing about these compounds is that they’re relatively easy to extract and concentrate. All this gives rise to countless products. The list includes concentrates, distillates, and even edibles. One of these famous extracted products is called Phoenix Tears.
What are Phoenix Tears?
Phoenix Tears is a cannabis oil extract that was first named by a Canadian cannabis activist, Rick Simpson. It goes by other names, such as Rick Simpson Oil (RSO) or Fully Extracted Cannabis Oil (FECO). Additionally, it’s been marketed as a miracle cancer cure. Unfortunately, while the benefits of cannabis and its effect on cancer have been studied in mice, there has been no full-scale clinical study to confirm any of the medical claims made by Rick Simpson.
How to Use Phoenix Tears
Phoenix Tears can be used in different ways, similar to CBD oil and other cannabis extracts. The main method of use is placing a small amount of it under the tongue. This offers a quick and immediate effect. It can also be used topically to ease joint pain and for other medical issues. To dose phoenix tears you should start low, work your way up to see what dosage is right for you.
How to Make Phoenix Tears
When making Phoenix Tears, you use a solvent extraction process with either food-grade alcohol or isopropyl alcohol. The extraction process is relatively simple. You could even it do it at home using high-quality alcohol and a rice cooker.
The first step is to get some bud and crush it in a bucket or a similar container. Then you add your solvent, in this case, alcohol. You then mix the solvent with the plant matter for several minutes. Make sure you agitate the plant matter enough from top to bottom.
Then you pour off your solvent and repeat the same process. The first wash gets around 80% of the essential oils out of the plant. On the second run, you’ll pick up any remaining oils. Then filter your solvent by using coffee filters or micron screens to get rid of any plant matter.
Cooking off the solvent
This mixture should now be yellow or golden in colour. Next, it’s time to get rid of the solvent so you just have the essential oils left behind. To do this, simply take advantage of the fact that alcohol evaporates at a relatively low temperature.
You can pour your solvent into a rice cooker and turn it up to high to start boiling off the alcohol. Make sure you do this in a well-ventilated room. Additionally, it would be good to have a fan angled in such a way as to blow the fumes off the rice cooker.
As the level of solvent in the rice cooker drops, you can keep adding batches of your extract to the rice cooker and keep boiling off the solvent. Eventually, you’ll end up with a small amount of oil at the bottom of the rice cooker, which will start to look like it’s boiling. At this point, you can collect your extract and use it as cannabis oil.
There are a couple of nuances to the process of making Phoenix Tears which Rick Simpson describes in detail on his website, so be sure to check that out if you’re going to try this yourself.
Issues With Using Home Made Phoenix Tears
While making your own Phoenix Tears is a great science experiment which produces a usable product, homemade Phoenix Tears bring up a few issues that pre-made Phoenix Tears don’t. The main concern is that it’s really difficult to know the THC and CBD content of the oil you’ve made. That’s because it depends on both the strain of cannabis you used and the effectiveness of the extraction process. So using this oil can be a bit tricky since you’ll never know the potency of your concentrate until you use it.
If you are going to use your homemade oil regularly, make sure that you test each batch separately for potency. You want to just apply a drop sublingually. But if you just do that consistently on many different batches of homemade Phoenix Tears, you may find that sometimes you overdose, and sometimes the oil does nothing, depending on the batch.
Another issue with using a solvent extraction method is that you may struggle to know when all the solvent has boiled off. That’s why we recommend that you use food-grade alcohol instead of something like pure ethanol or isopropyl alcohol. Even if there is some food-grade alcohol left over, it won’t do you any harm, unlike other solvents.
So, if you want the health benefits of Phoenix Tears, without any of the hassle and unreliability of doing it at home, why not use a cannabis dispensary and buy a pre-made tincture instead?
The Benefits of Tinctures
‘Tincture’ is the medical term for any herbal extract that has used alcohol s the extraction method. Tinctures usually come in glass bottles with droppers that allow for precise dosing. Cannabis tinctures were actually incredibly popular before cannabis was criminalized. This was due to their ease of use and immediate effects.
Phoenix Tears isn’t technically a tincture since the alcohol has been boiled off, leaving just the concentrated cannabinoids behind. However, the benefits of cannabis tinctures and cannabis oils are very much the same, as is their method of use.
Many of the medical benefits ascribed to cannabis come from the two cannabinoids found in the plant. Any extraction process, from solvent extraction, to dry sifting or solvent-less extraction, will produce a product that contains these cannabinoids. So what sets tinctures and oils apart from other methods of consuming cannabis, in terms of their benefits?
Ease of Use
Many people dislike smoking or vaping cannabis since the smoke can easily irritate your lungs and probably isn’t very good for you long-term. Edibles are another popular way of consuming cannabis. But some people dislike the taste of most edibles or find that the effects take too long to kick in.
Cannabis oil is great because all you need to do is apply a drop under your tongue and the effects will set in almost immediately. This is because there’s an artery directly under your tongue and this goes directly to your brain without having to go through your gut first.
This makes sublingual applications more reliable and faster acting than edibles, and easier to use than smoking or vaping.
Also, since most tinctures come with droppers, it’s easy to dispense just the right measurement of weed tincture each time, consistently.
Long Shelf Life
Tinctures are incredibly stable and can last for years if stored correctly. THC is a very stable molecule and the alcohol helps prevent any degradation from light or heat. Just make sure to keep your bottle tightly closed and shake well before using, as alcohol can easily evaporate, and the product can separate if not used.
Versatility
While the traditional way to use Phoenix Tears is sublingual, it can also be used in other ways depending on your needs. If you’re looking for pain relief from joint pain, use it as a topical agent to soothe pain directly in the area. A tincture tends to evaporate quickly, so oils are a better option for topical applications unless there’s a benefit to the astringency of alcohol, such as with irritated skin or acne.
You can also use tinctures as an edible if you don’t mind the wait. Since THC is stable at high temperatures, you can add it to cooked foods, or you can add it to your salads, smoothies or your evening cup of tea. Many people find that using tinctures as an edible produces a higher sedation effect, making it perfect to guarantee a good night’s sleep.
Where to Buy Phoenix Tears?
Cannabis oils and cannabis tinctures are great products and are surprisingly easy to make at home. However, since homemade products come with some issues, and are usually a bit of a pain to make on a regular basis, you should also investigate various online dispensaries to find a product that works for you.
Cannabismo is Canada’s leading supplier of cannabis products. We pride ourselves on both the quality of our products and the quality of our customer service. We stock a wide range of tinctures as well as cannabis oils and Phoenix Tears, so you’ll be able to find a product that fits your needs.
If you have any questions, we’re always happy to talk to our customers and offer them advice. So check out our website and see why we’re one of the most popular and trusted cannabis dispensaries in Canada.