Learn more about cannabidolic acid, known as CBDA, how to harness the powerful properties of CBDA, and how to consume this cannabinoid acid through a CBDA tincture, raw cannabis leaves, cannabis juice, and more.
How to Make a CBDA Tincture (Cannabidolic Acid)
As I continue to learn more about the amazing cannabis plant, I get more and more excited about the benefits of the many different cannabinoid acids.
You may be familiar with the word, cannabinoid, but cannabinoid acids may be a whole new concept.
You probably know the cannabinoids THC and CBD, but there are also cannabinoid acids called THCA and CBDA.
I've recently gotten a ton of questions from members inside my Well With Cannabis Facebook Community about the potential benefits of CBDA and how to use it in homemade food and personal products.
This post will explain what cannabidolic acid or CBDA is, the preliminary health benefits of CBDA, and how you can consume CBDA by making a CBDA tincture or consuming raw cannabis.
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What Are Cannabinoid Acids?
If you understand the process of decarboxylation, you know that this is an important step in vaping, making cannabis edibles, topicals, and more.
Decarboxylation is the process that turns cannabinoid acids into their active cannabinoid forms.
This process also gives us the 'high' associated with THC.
You likely are familiar with many different cannabinoids in their activated forms of THC, CBD, CBN, CBG, CBC and more.
But before these cannabinoids were activated through decarboxylation, they started as acid precursors called cannabinoid acids.
These acids include THCA, CBDA, CBNA, CBGA, CBCA and are present in the trichomes of the plant.
The trichomes are most abundant in raw or dried cannabis buds or flowers and in varying levels on sugar or fan leaves.
THCA vs. CBDA
THCA or CBDA are the two most abundant cannabinoid acids in cannabis.
This post will specifically focus on the health benefits of CBDA extracted from CBD dominant cannabis strains.
Visit this article for a full overview of the health benefits of THCA, or tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (coming soon!).
What is Cannabidiolic Acid (CBDA)?
CBDA is short for cannabidiolic acid.
This is a cannabinoid acid found in the trichomes of raw or dried cannabis plants.
Trichomes are predominantly present in the buds and leaves.
CBDA comes from CBD-dominant cannabis plants or hemp and may, or may not, fall below the Federal legalization limit of 0.3% THC.
That makes accessing CBDA easy if you grow your own hemp or CBD-dominant cannabis plants at home.
Please check your local laws for regulations and legalities surrounding growing your own hemp and cannabis plants.
I grow these plants legally at my farm in New York as a licensed hemp farmer.
CBDA vs. CBD
You're probably already familiar with CBD oil, whether it be purchased or you make your own CBD oil at home.
CBDA is what exists naturally in the plant before the decarboxylation process occurs.
Decarboxylation is the process that converts CBDA into CBD and THCA into THC, respectively.
CBDA that has been decarboxylated becomes CBD.
Both CBDA and CBD are non-intoxicating, meaning they do not produce a ‘high’ feeling.
But that doesn't mean they are useless!
Research suggests that CBDA has many potential health benefits.
CBDA Effects
CBDA is non-intoxicating, meaning it will not cause a ‘high’ feeling.
What Are the Benefits of CBDA?
There is an exciting amount of preliminary evidence to support the idea that CBDA has many anti-nausea, anti-inflammatory, and pain-relieving properties.
CBDA for Nausea and Vomiting
One of the most common reasons I see members of my Well With Cannabis Community using CBDA for is to treat nausea and vomiting.
Using CBDA as a natural treatment of nausea and vomiting could be very beneficial in treating chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, cyclic vomiting syndrome, and even potentially cannabis hyperemesis syndrome.
Thankfully, there is new emerging scientific evidence to support these anecdotal reports.
One study published in the British Journal of Pharmacology reported that CBDA shows promise as a natural treatment for nausea in rat studies.
This study also concludes that CBDA has shown even greater significance in the ability to inhibit vomiting (1).
CBDA For Pain & Inflammation
Many of my Well With Cannabis Facebook Community members also report that they use CBDA to manage pain.
These anecdotal reports can be supported by a study published in Drug Metabolism and Disposition.
This study suggests that CBDA contains a selective inhibitor for COX-2 activity.
Inhibiting COX-2 gives a similar response to using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDS (2).
Therefore, CBDA could be a natural treatment for acute and chronic inflammation and a potential replacement for common over-the-counter pain relievers such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and more.
CBDA for Cancer
Another interesting benefit of CBDA is that research shows that it also has shown potential anti-tumor abilities.
As published in Toxicology Letters, CBDA may fight against the mutation of tumoral cells in breast cancer patients (3).
While more research is needed, this is a very promising option, as a quarter of a million women are diagnosed with breast cancer in America each year (4).
How to Consume CBDA
Like with all things cannabis, there are many ways you can consume CBDA.
To get the most benefits, you want to ensure that your preparation process does not involve heat, as heat can facilitate the decarboxylation process.
CBDA can be consumed through either raw, fresh cannabis, or dried and cured cannabis.
Raw Cannabis Leaves or Juice
CBDA can be consumed through eating raw, fresh cannabis flowers or leaves, like sugar leaves and even some fan leaves.
Like kale, spinach, and celery, consuming raw cannabis is also nutritious, like eating a dark green leafy vegetable.
If you're working with leaves, remember that it is essential to consume clean, raw cannabis.
Like any other lettuce or vegetable, raw cannabis has the potential to carry microbes such as salmonella and e. coli from their growing environment to the point of human consumption.
This is especially important for those who are immunocompromised.
This is still one of the best ways to consume CBDA through CBD-dominant plant leaves and flowers.
You can do this by adding raw leaves to salads, making cannabis pesto, making cannabis juice or adding the leaves to a smoothie.
Dried Cannabis Buds or Kief
You can also harness the benefits of CBDA through traditional, dried CBD-dominant hemp or cannabis flower.
To keep the benefits of CBDA, you simply skip the entire process of decarboxylation all together.
You can then extract the CBDA from the flower through the tincture making process.
I have two different tincture-making processes you can try, the traditional long-soak Green Dragon Tincture method and the more modern QWET Freezer Tincture method.
Feel free to experiment for yourself with these different recipes to make a CBDA dominant product, be sure to start with CBD-dominant flower first and do not decarboxylate or introduce any heat.
Where to Buy CBDA Products
If you want to make your own CBDA tincture with the instructions below, you're going to need material to work with.
I am proud to offer 3rd-party lab tested CBD flower available for purchase in my shop.
If you don't want to make your own CBDA tincture with the instructions below, CBDA can also be found in a wide variety of products in my shop.
I am proud that many of my full-spectrum CBD products are 3rd party lab tested and verified to contain CBDA.
My best selling 500mg CBD oil contains 10mg of CBDA, resulting in 0.3mg of CBDA in every 1mL serving, along with 16.6mg of CBD.
How to Determine The Dosing For Your Recipe
Want to calculate the dosage of your cannabis edibles and homemade cannabis recipes?
While a calculator is no replacement for lab testing, this tool has been designed to help you get a more accurate guesstimate of the potency of your cannabis infusions and extractions.
Unlike other calculators available online, this calculator aims to provide more accuracy by accounting for the losses associated with decarboxylation, infusion oils, or extraction solvents used.
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How to Make a CBDA Tincture (Cannabidolic Acid)
Ingredients
- 14 grams *NOT decarboxylated CBD-dominant cannabis flower frozen
- 8 ounces 190-proof Everclear Grain Alcohol frozen
Instructions
- Place the NON-decarboxylated cannabis flower in a pint-sized mason jar inside the freezer. Freeze overnight at a minimum, ideally 24 hours.
- Place the high-proof alcohol in a pint-sized mason jar inside the freezer. Freeze overnight at a minimum, ideally 24 hours.
- When ready to prepare, pour the frozen alcohol into the mason jar containing the frozen decarbed cannabis flower. You only need to add enough alcohol to cover the plant matter completely*.
- Screw the cap tightly and shake gently. Place back in the freezer for 5 minutes.
- Remove the jar from the freezer, shake gently, and place it back in the freezer for 5 minutes.
- Repeat the above step one more time for a total of 3 times.
- Remove from the freezer again and strain the cannabis tincture through your preferred straining system, separating the plant-matter from the alcohol, into a clean mason jar. A coffee filter works well here for straining.
- You now have a golden QWET CBDA tincture. You can store this in a mason jar, amber-colored tincture jar, or other glass containers. You can store at room temperature, in the refrigerator, or freezer.
- You can choose to evaporate off as much or as little alcohol as desired. Click here for instructions on how to safely evaporate off the alcohol if needed.