The Method described uses no dangerous or illegal ingredients, and is Safer or at least as safe as a DMT extraction, this is for educational purposes only.

CBD isomerization to THC using zeolite clinoptilolite

pros: easy, no dangerous chemicals used.
cons: only around 50% of the CBD converts, so you will have a mixture of around 50% CBD & 50% THC.

ingredients:
1.CBD crystals 99%. (CBD is legal in most EU countries and the USA)
2.Zeolite clinoptilolite in powder form. (its categorized as a G.R.A.S substance by the United States Food and Drug Administration and is considered edible.)
3.ethanol (optional)

equipment:
1.Oven
2.aluminum foil
3.scale


how it works:
Zeolite is an aluminum silicon that has negatively charged anions, when CBD is heated at 105°C (221°F) to 150°C(302°F) the anions attract the CBD molecules causing them to rotate.
Usually for this to occur, dangerous acids or metal salts have to be used, But in this method we only use zeolite.

method: weight 1 gram of CBD crystals and 1 gram of zeolite clinoptilolite powder, mix them until they become a homogenous powder, now take a big piece of aluminum foil at least the size of 2 A4's,
put your powder in the center and start folding very tightly, you can make it a small ball to apply even more force, the reason we need it tight is to minimize the contact with oxygen as much as we can because oxygen (and water) interferes with the isomerization causing a lot of Δ8-THC to be produced and while Δ8-THC is found naturally in the cannabis plant and is psychoactive (although slightly less psychoactive than Δ9-THC) many people like their conversions to contain mostly Δ9-THC, after we make sure our aluminum foil is packed tightly we warm our oven for 10 minutes to 150°C (302°F), aluminum foil can safely be used in the oven up to 200°C (392°F).
once the oven starts to get close to 105°C (221°F), put your aluminum-packed powder in and set a timer to 15 minutes, once the 15 minutes pass take it out of the oven let it aside to cool, once it gets in a comfortable to touch temperature, carefully open it, you will find a black powder inside and you will think you burned it, but this is normal, the conversion should be complete.

edit: in case you decide to use the flame in Jar method to minimize oxygen in your reaction, remember that glass is very bad at conducting heat, so you will need to adjust the timeframe accordingly in order to allow the container to catch up the target temperature, in other words extent the duration of applied heat or start applying heat on the container before you start the timer, you will probably have to experiment and find what works best for you as far as heat goes, since different ovens and equipment (jars etc.) will produce variable outcomes.


!UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES DO NOT SMOKE ZEOLITE! , however zeolite is edible.

how to get the THC/CBD mixture out of the zeolite(optional): here we will use ethanol, put your zeolite powder containing THC in a jar and add ethanol, if you made under 10 grams of powder add 10ml of ethanol per gram, you can lower the amount of ethanol used as you scale up in the amount of powder, the ethanol will dissolve your cannabinoids and then you have to filter the zeolite out, you can use coffee filters, filter 2-3 times, collect the filtered cannabinoid containing ethanol inside a clean jar and heat it using a hot water bath until all ethanol evaporates, even if you think all ethanol has evaporated heat it for more time or leave it open for 24 hours for safety, once the ethanol is evaporated, you will be left with a clear yellow to orange sticky compound.
Be aware that simple filtration could possibly leave zeolite particles in the distillate which would make it dangerous to vape/smoke, i suggest that you simply use your product orally if you are not sure about its purity.

key note:
1.You need pure CBD crystals for this, no crude oils, and no full spectrum extracts, impurities will lead to impurities.
2.You need zeolite clinoptilolite in powder form, no specific μm, just powder.

what does zeolite clinoptilolite do to the body according to NCBI:
"Zeolite clinoptilolite (ZC) reduces ammonia concentration and improves the integrity of the intestinal barrier. Furthermore, ZC acts on intestinal lymphoid tissues with a positive impact on the intestinal ecosystem and boosting the immune system."
source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih...pmc/articles/PMC6515299/

Thank you for this post and the information in it. 👍


Kind regards,

The Traveler

Wow, no involvement of any toxic chemicals! (Except the ethanol ofcourse)

So far approval from Administrator and Moderator but extraordinary claims do require extraordinary proof. I would like to see somebody or actually several somebody's try this and document their runs. In addition i'd like to see the final result clinically analyzed by somebody like benzyme.

thanks for commenting pandora, yes i also look forward into seeing people in here trying out the method and reporting their results, this is actually a very old method, for anyone interested in more information about it, here is a google patent of it: https://patents.google.com/patent/US11352337B1/en

also here's a pic of what the final solvent-cleaned product looks like:

I find this claim very plausible. The reason is because the zeolite contains acidic sites that can act in the same capacity as strong mineral acids do in other analogous reactions that form THC from CBD. Chemists might say that it illustrates that the same reaction can be catalysed by both a Brønsted–Lowry acid and by a Lewis acid. Clinoptilolite's affinity for ammonia is something of a hint that it contains Lewis-acidic sites - places that will bind with a 'lone pair' of electrons from another atom or molecule, or in this case the π-electron cloud of the double bond of the terpenoid moiety in the CBD molecule;

Have there been any investigations into a higher conversion of CBD into THC? Though I think that balance of CBD/THC can be highly therapeutic and beneficial.

One love

With TsOH, 95%+ yield is very easy to do, selective to d8 or d9 whichever you prefer

This is amazing.

Couple of questions...

Did you try the end product yourself?

Does the high cbd content change the duration or prolong the onset with oral use?

Is the dosage different considering the entourage effect?

A short effects report would be helpful. SWIM is considering trying this out.

Thanks for commenting void.

Many different and unique ways exist for this conversion,and yes 100% conversion methods exist , ranging from using amberlyst catalytic beads to different acids,metal salts including pyrophoric metals, what people are currently trying to find is not new catalysts since there are many known already, but ways to convert as much CBD to Δ9-THC with ND Δ8-THC, most of the easy to find methods convert mostly to Δ8-THC, for higher Δ9 Conversions one must minimize exposure of the reactants to oxygen and water.

For me a 50/50 CBD/THC distillate is highly psychoactive (oral administration) at the
100-150mg range

I have not spent any money for THC since I found about this conversion.
I am not sure about the synergy between CBD and THC, the 50/50 Distillate has a decent psychoactive effect at the 100mg+ range. (Orally)
Will wait to hear your results if you try it.

I am wondering if there is a simple and safe way to improve on this wonderful tek by finding a way to keep oxygen away from the proces?

Like, can we put it in a jar filled with nitrogen gas for example? Or maybe a noble gas if nitrogen would react with it?

Or maybe add something else that would grab most of the the oxygen around it away?


Kind regards,

The Traveler

Nitrogen would be OK but something like CO₂ or argon might be better simply because they are more dense and would be less inclined to drift away. Use of inert atmospheres is a well-established technique. If you can get argon use that, basically.

I'm now wondering if THCA might be formed in any appreciable quantity in these or similar conditions with a CO₂ atmosphere, but maybe that's a tangent too far.

Awesome! CO2 is really easy to get (lookup CO2 cardridges for bike tires).

And any ideas on how to best contain the gas in the container without the container going pop when it heats the gas inside?


Kind regards,

The Traveler

Normally this is achieved using a gas bubbler (like a brewing airlock) if you have a gas line, but if you're using a gas cartouche you can discharge it into a balloon, then attach the balloon to the reaction vessel somehow.

If CO₂ presents problems, you could look at using a wine-preserving cartouche instead. Afaik, these contain argon, and I wouldn't be surprised to find that nitrogen was available too.

Small, non-refillable argon cylinders are available from welding suppliers and good hardware stores.

thanks for commenting traveler.

a simple way i found is to simply put the aluminum foil that contains your powder in a high temperature safe jar and add a small piece of pressed cotton wet with ethanol inside and ignite it, then close the lid and let the fire use all the oxygen, then put the whole jar in the oven.

edit: standard glass jars are not high temperature safe, we need a jar/flask from borosilicate glass (pyrex) or another heat resistant glass, but generally anything sold as oven/microwave safe should be okay.

Of course, it's a classic and so very simple - nice one!

Frankly, this makes me embarassed to have forgotten about it

Attention skeptics!

This works without a doubt.

It was so easy an idiot like SWIM could do that.

Couple of things worth mentioning.

It is also possible that you end up with a hash like substance at the end which sticks to the foil. This can more easily be separated if put in the freezer, and with an ethanol wash after that of course.

The CBD does alter the effects somewhat as well, the potency not as much. It should be carefully dosed an any increase gradually, because it can get overwhelmingly potent.

All in all it provides a "full" experience and feels like bud without the side effects. SWIM didn't notice cardiovascular ups and downs, changes in appetite, dry mouth was less, red eyes unknown, and no difficulty breathing.

SWIM realized that he might be allergic to something that naturally occurs in the plant that causes the breathing issues. Considering the conversion is only THC/CBD, the allergic reaction also didn't happen.

This method is dirt cheap, easy to make, and effective. Recommended to anyone, and can be done anywhere. Give this gal some credit for providing an easy to understand TEK that required an outstanding understanding of chemistry.

Good fun! Would love to try it out too!
But the result, can it be vaped also? Or only oral?

I too can confirm this works!

I have tried two bakes so far, both of 1g, which resulted in a pinkish brown sticky hash-like product. This dissolved easily in pure isopropyl alcohol with a bit of encouragement from a bath in hot tap water, the zeolite filtered out nicely leaving a clear pinkish solution, and evaporation of the alcohol overnight on a warm radiator left a honey like substance.

Lacking any specialised extract consuming gear, I just went with old hash oil consumption practice and rolled a tobacco joint with a small dab of it smeared down the paper... very nice! Seems to be a bit more visionary than hash. I've no experience consuming pure THC / CBD so this is very interesting.

I'm wondering if my oven was on the cold side to produce resin rather than the black powder mentioned in the original post? Is there any disadvantage, other than excess electricity use, to baking for longer to perhaps ensure maximum conversion?


Thanks for the introduction to this really easy bit of kitchen chemistry!

Frac4