# In Home and DIY Testing your Cannabis for THC and CBD Potency



## Hackerman

I am planning to test for CBD in the strains I have coming up. I was looking into the different avenues available to us.

For me, sending out samples is out of the question. I'm too anal to wait for an answer. And, at $40 or more a test, it's not a great option.

Setting up a small lab for High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) or Gas Chromatography would be fun and certainly would be a learning experience but it definitely wouldn't be cheap.

Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) is probably the cheapest way to go but there seems to be quite a learning curve required to obtaining accuracy. 

While I was looking for supplies for TLC I realized there are a number of home testing products for sale. Some use TLC and others use chemical dye test methods.

I have to wonder if there's any use in the drug test kits they sell for parents to test their kids for pot use.

Here are a few of the home kits you can buy....

http://corp.cbscientific.com/product/combo-kit-test4-cbd-medical-marijuana-kit-thc-percentage-kit/

http://www.cannalyticssupply.com/

http://www.thctestkits.com/

Has anyone tried any of these? Any comments?


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## bombbudpuffa

Haven't tried them but might be willing to guinea pig in a week or 2.


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## Rosebud

Talk to me.. i need stuff tested.


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## Hackerman

I have been reading a little and this seems pretty straightforward. I'm going to post a couple links so I don't loose them.

Here is a very nice and simple explanation of the various types of chromatography. The read that's important to us is the first one, _Introducing chromatography: Thin layer chromatography_ 

http://www.chemguide.co.uk/analysis/chromatogrmenu.html#top

Buying the plates seems to be the most expensive part of this method of testing so I searched out ways that we can make our own plates. Pretty simple, really. This guy is about a ho-hum as they get but it's a nice video on how to make our own TLC plates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNDQkM3jasA

I'll have more as I find it.

EDIT: Instructables.com is great source for many things.... http://www.instructables.com/id/Preparing-your-own-thin-layer-chromatography-plate/

A more detailed look...

https://chem.libretexts.org/Core/Analytical_Chemistry/Lab_Techniques/Thin_Layer_Chromatography


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## bombbudpuffa

Good find Hack!


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## Hackerman

Now, THIS is what I'm talkin' about....

https://www.mydxlife.com/shop/analyzer-kits/

The web site reviews were great but that could be padded by the site. I'm going to check into this one a little. If they could get this price down to about $100, every one of us would own one.

Certainly pretty slick.

White paper... https://www.mydxlife.com/wp-content/uploads/MyDx_WhitePaper-1.pdf


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## The Hemp Goddess

Pretty cool Hackerman.  Doubt that we will see the price drop from $700 to $100.  However as more and more states legalize cannabis and more and more people want to test that cannabis, I am guessing we will see more products like this and the price will drop.  Great research.


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## Hackerman

More home kits. 

This one has a pretty in depth youtube vid showing the entire process.

https://montanabiotech.com/2013/03/...-at-home-thin-layer-chromatography-t-l-c-kit/

And, the software that goes with it...

http://www.sweday.com/Products.aspx

More TLC kits. This one is called AlphaCat...

https://www.alpha-cat.org/the-test/how-it-works/


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## bombbudpuffa

Here's another one

http://compassionateanalytics.com/?location=0

https://test4kits.com/product/thccbd-combo-test4-kits/


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## Hackerman

So far, every one except Test4 uses the same TLC.

Only Test4 uses a dye system. I may buy one of the kits just to see what I get but I was reading the reviews and they are mostly all bad. I love this one......

_ByLarryowen2on July 20, 2016
Verified Purchase
Everything tested over 20 percent even my lawn._


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## bombbudpuffa

Hackerman said:


> So far, every one except Test4 uses the same TLC.
> 
> Only Test4 uses a dye system. I may buy one of the kits just to see what I get but I was reading the reviews and they are mostly all bad. I love this one......
> 
> _ByLarryowen2on July 20, 2016
> Verified Purchase
> Everything tested over 20 percent even my lawn._



Haha haha that's awesome!


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## bombbudpuffa

I think I'm going to try this one next week and see what they do.

http://corp.cbscientific.com/product/combo-kit-test4-cbd-medical-marijuana-kit-thc-percentage-kit/


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## The Hemp Goddess

Actually unless you are retesting a known sample, you really won't know how accurate it is.  Can you guys get dispensary bud that has been tested by a certified lab to compare your results against?


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## Hackerman

That would be a problem for me. With no baseline, the best I can do is compare one to the other.

However, I definitely plan to test my lawn grass. LOL This would certainly invalidate the test altogether if it actually showed THC content.


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## bombbudpuffa

The Hemp Goddess said:


> Actually unless you are retesting a known sample, you really won't know how accurate it is.  Can you guys get dispensary bud that has been tested by a certified lab to compare your results against?



I wish. No base line here either.


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## The Hemp Goddess

Even if your lawn tests 0%, I think that you need something to verify the accuracy of these.  I'm thinking you either get a sample tested yourself by a certified lab or you have someone send you a fresh sample of dispensary bud with the test results.


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## Hackerman

There seems to be a number of DIY versions of the CB Scientific method. This method really only gives a 'high. medium. low' type of result. Anything more precise will require some type of chromatography. 

Here are a couple of the home methods... These are all CBD only.

Test 1:
2% Lye to 100ml Rubbing alcohol (If solution too light then add 4g Lye to 100ml rubbing alcohol, if is too dark then 1g lye to 100ml or 200ml rubbing alcohol).
2g Lye to 100ml rubbing alcohol, 5ml of this added to .2g cannabis/.2g activated carbon.
Shake few seconds (if too light add 30-60 seconds of shaking) and wait 10 minutes for almost clear purple 1% or hard to see thru purple 15% or higher.

Test 2:
(5g Lye to 100 ml rubbing alcohol) 5 drops added to 10ml Rubbing alcohol, 5ml of this added to .2g cannabis/.2g activated carbon (If coloring too strong then add only 2-4 drops to 10ml solution)
Shake few seconds and wait 10 minutes for almost clear purple 1% or hard to see thru purple 15% or higher.

Test 3:
(5g Lye to 100 ml rubbing alcohol) 5 drops added to "white" test strip, 5ml rubbing alcohol added to .2g cannabis/.2g activated carbon and shaken few seconds (if too light add 30-60 seconds of shaking), test strip "dipped" into cannabis solution 1-2 seconds and let to air dry. White = 0% CBD, very very light purple=1% CBD, dark purple=15% or higher.


Notes:
Test should work for fan leaves even in veg, roaches, roach paper, buds, scrapings from pipe, etc etc.
Heating is not always required but may help (police field tests do not require heating of samples), prep Cannabis sample by folding up in aluminum foil and placing in pre heated oven of 302-325 degrees Fahrenheit (150-176 degrees Celsius) for 5 minutes.
Looking at coloring from top of vials may help in judging amount of fade.
Use different test tube for each sample.
The more crystal clear the test tube is the better (glass probally best), the plastic ones should be last resort (they give a murky white dull tint).

Alternatives:
Nail polish remover (ethyl acetate) could work as alternative of Rubbing alcohol, Nail polish remover costs around 1 dollar.
3-4 drops of the 2% Lye solution put on a test strip paper and dipped into the Rubbing alcohol/Cannabis/activated carbon solution.
Blotter paper MIGHT work as a test strip, or it may be possible to dip a piece of blotter paper into test 1 or 2 solution to get better fade, blotter paper is cheap in art sections of stores.


I am going to try some of the home methods. I'm also going to buy a couple of the home kits. One is actually TLC and should be every bit as accurate as any lab (given the ability of the operator)


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## Hackerman

Let's see if this works....



clearheaded said:


> I found this at another site.. fairly similar to what chimera said, however this uses easily obtained materials and gives an idea of %. which would give mass instead of roach size.. anhoo
> 
> "This method gets tweeked here and there over time....currently working on tweeking it to pre test male plants.
> 
> --------------
> 
> Pheno seedz' CBD test method
> 
> ------------
> 
> 1.5 ml micro centrifuge vial (snap top)
> 0.08 gram lye
> Tiny roach sized "pinch" of plant material.
> 1ml of 50% iso rubbing alcohol (although 70% can be used)
> 1 tiny Carbon pellet (sold at pet stores in fish dept)
> 
> --------------
> 
> Do the following in this exact order.
> 
> Add 0.08 grams of lye to vial, add plant material, add carbon pellet (on top of plant material to get better visability of color change), add rubbing alcohol as close to top of vial as possible (about 1ml). Close vial securely and shake for 60 seconds (making sure lye is not stuck to bottom..give few light taps if lye is stuck), wait 10 minutes and shake another 60 seconds, after 10 more minutes the color reaction should be ready.
> 
> Green = 0%
> Yellow = 0-3%
> Orange = 3-5%
> Maroon with slight purple = 5-8%
> Light purple = 8-12%
> 
> --------------
> 
> LYE safety should be researched and understood before trying the testing.
> 
> DO NOT add over 0.08 gram lye as the more you add then the hotter the chemical reaction will be and you can get burned, 0.08 is the most sensitive amount for percent testing (under 0.08 and you may not get any color reaction)....I burned my finger when I tried 1.5 gram of lye.
> 
> You should try to use dense samples over fluffy samples (fluffy samples do not react as good).
> 
> You should perform the test 3 times to each plant...using the highest percent as final result. Taking a pinch from different buds or different areas of a bud.
> 
> Wash hands often and make sure to wash work area after, cover work area in paper towels or paper in order to better clean up after.
> 
> Purple Nitrile gloves are better suited than latex gloves when dealing with lye.
> 
> As extra pre caution you can wrap toilet paper or something around the vial during the shaking process.
> 
> Drain cleaners can not be used instead of actual lye (drain cleaners add dye to the lye).
> 
> from my breedbazy thread posted by cbdseeker"
> 
> View Image



Images didn't come with the cut and paste. If you want to see the images, the thread is here at IC Mag.. 

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=347984


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## The Hemp Goddess

Wow, how do you measure 0.08 gram of lye?  That is really a small amount.

I think I may be a bit ignorant when it comes to testing and how it works.  How can it work when the thing you are measuring does not have a definitive quantity?  For instance why would a larger quantity not show more CBD than a smaller quantity?

Another caution on working with lye.  It is a strong base and caustic--just as capable of burns as a strong acid--one of the reasons I NEVER used drain cleaners.  And it can cause eruptions or dangerous gas if mixed with the wrong thing.  Handle with care.


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## Hackerman

Actually, the proportions are not all that critical other than calibration. I could do it in a larger test tube and use different quantities for the tests. I have been reading about the chemical reasons why this works (and why the color test does not work on THC) and it's not that difficult to understand.

The lye basically heats. The carbon is a filter that draws from the mixture and what's left is the reaction of the CBD and the mixture. And, it's purple in color. The test takes advantage of that simple reaction. I read a bunch of different tests using different compounds other than lye and iso but it was always about the same result.... purple.

There is a thread at Jorge's forum with some very nice posts about how and why it works in the lab. I'll grab a link and post it here later.

This color thing is not a great test. The one you buy isn't all that bad because it's already been calibrated. Since I am doing my own from scratch, there will be the process of calibrating the mix and the resulting color to determine what colors are 'high, medium or low'. To do that, I would need some real tests to determine percentages. I don't really plan to take it that far.

However, I have 3 phenos here of that Med Tree Continuum and I could use this test to tell which pheno has more CBD. Not how much. But which of the 3 has the most. That test would be pretty accurate once the portions of lye and iso are established.

I bought the activated carbon, the Sodium Hydroxide and the vials on eBay just to try and to learn.... might be fun. Cost me about 20 bucks. Quite frankly, this is just more for fun that to really establish any accurate test results.

What I did buy that should actually work is the one called a 'Grow Buddy' from Montana Biotech. This is actually a very nice and affordable Thin Layer Chromatography kit. Given the user's ability, this should give as accurate a result as most labs. Unless someone is running HPLC or Gas or maybe near infrared spectroscopy, this is about as accurate as it gets.

It's a little more expensive but if I can learn to make my own silica plates (which doesn't look too hard) this might be very affordable in the long run.

The bad news on this process is that I imagine there is going to be a small learning curve. I have been reading a lot about TLC and there are definitely right ways and wrong ways to do it. If you want good results you have to do it the right way.

Still, it should be fun and almost certainly a learning experience.

HG, this is what I bought.... https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sodium-Hyd...var=484957997241&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Is this any different than standard drain cleaner. I have used drain cleaner for years for all different things so I am pretty aware of the potential for injury. I have burned myself a couple times but you DO NOT want to get drain cleaner in your eyes. I have seen that happen. Safety glasses are an absolute must.

Also, keep in mind that most of these tests are stuff we pulled from 1930's and 1940's patents. This was about all they had in those days. Today, we have better methods and these old methods are seldom used in the lab. However, they are no less accurate now than they were then if conducted properly.


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## Hackerman

Here is the thread http://www.marijuanagrowing.com/showthread.php?8730-Test-THC-and-CBD-at-home

Here are a couple excerpts...

Hemp Husbandry

Robert A. Nelson
2000


6.5 ~ Identification

Colorimetric tests are the simplest method of identifying cannabinoids. Hundreds more sophisticated analytical methods have been developed, as a review of Chemical Abstracts will reveal.

The Beam test is relatively specific. It gives a purple color with 5% ethanolic KOH, based on the oxidation of CBD, CBG, etc., and their acids to hydroxyquinones. However, THC does not react to the Beam test. Only two plants (Rosemary and Salvia) out of 129 common species tested give a weakly positive reaction. Among some 50 pure vegetable substances such as mono- and sesqui-terpenes, aromatics, etc., only juglone, embelin, and alkyl dioxyquinone develop a color reaction close to that of Cannabis. The reaction is not always dependable; it can be absent if the ethanol is hot. (22, 23)

A modification of the Beam test uses absolute ethanol saturated with gaseous hydrogen chloride. When added to an extract of suspect material, it gives a cherry red color which disappears if water is added. However, the test also gives more or less similar red color reactions with pinene, tobacco, julep, sage, rosemary, and lavender, etc..

The colorimetric test of Duquenois and Moustapha is not so specific as the Beam test, but it is very sensitive. The test reacts to CBN and CBD, but not to THC:

Vanillin (0.4 gr, acetaldehyde (0.06 gr) and 20 ml 95% ethanol is stored in a bottle. Extract the plant material with petroleum ether, then filter it and evaporate the solvent. Add exactly 2 ml of reagent and 2 ml concentrated hydrochloric acid. Stir the mixture; it turns sea-green, then slate gray, followed by indigo within 10 minutes. It turns violet within 30 minutes and becomes more intense.

The Duquenois-Negm hydrogen peroxide/sulfuric acid test is suitable for following the development of the resin and its potency. Macerate cannabis in chloroform or light petroleum ether for several hours. Evaporate 0.2 ml of the extract in a porcelain dish. Add 2 drops 30% hydrogen peroxide and 0.5 ml concentrated sulfuric acid. Rotate the dish gently, and observe the color of the liquid after 5 minutes. A pink color indicates CBD; blood-red color indicates a high concentration of THC. Violet or strong brown indicates THC. CBN produces a green color which quickly turns green-brown. (24)

The identification of cannabinoids has been made irrefutable by the modern development of gas chromatography, especially when combined with mass spectrometry.

Laboratories which do not possess these technologies can use diode-array and programmable variable-wavelength ultraviolet absorption detectors in conjunction with thin-layer chromatography (TLC) or high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), or a combination of both, and make comparisons with published data in conjunction with the specific absorption spectrum for the cannabinoids (200-300 nm). The combination of these techniques can overcome the problem of errors due to interference which often occur when single methods are used. (25)

http://www.hempbasics.com/hhusb/hh6thc.htm


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## Hackerman

Here's another thread at ICMag... 

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showthread.php?t=347984

And, this was just posted moments ago....

https://steemit.com/cbd/@thecleanga...cbd-indicator-test-clear-and-accurate-results


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## bombbudpuffa

Good finds!


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## Hackerman

I should have everything I need to try this by the end of the week. I have 3 Continuum plants about 4 weeks into veg. According to the writer, that should be enough. He even mentioned that leaves, will show.

So, I'll be trying it by this weekend.

Would be nice if the community would develop some decent quality tests. I can see 'in home' testing becoming a thing. Especially, testing for pesticides.

All in good time.


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## WeedHopper

What up Bro?
Hey,,i got an old fashion way of testing your Weed,,,send it to me and i will smoke it and get back with your info. :smoke1:


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## Hackerman

Don't laugh, that's how I test my weed now. LOL

I have a few friends that I use for testing dummies for pot, concentrate, edibles, etc. LOL I can't tell one pot from the other except for taste. 

However, this is CBD and I'm not sure how it's supposed to make them feel so, how will I know if it's working? LMAO

I'm sure that better and better methods will emerge. I mean, we're all not still smoking out of corn cob pipes and using wheat straw papers. LMAO Things will change, usually for the better.


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## Rosebud

Cbd's are very hard to titrate for folks, as there is no way to get too stoned except for you cant walk because you are too relaxed.  I think when you're dealing with non-stoners that want cbd so as they don't get stoned but can sleep better, etc it is way hard to tell them to start with 3 drops and see where you end up.  I have had thc pot tested for 50 bucks a gram sample.  Too much for me to test all these cbd;s I just popped, but just for curiosity.

 i think the high we get is an entourage effect. do we need to test for terpine profiles? Fun stuff. Hackerman, fascinating thread, thank you.

One last ramble. my trainer is not a stoner. Her REM sleep was increased by two hours. WHAT?????? Amazing.


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## Hackerman

Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle. This actually works.

I did some experimenting today with that home test procedure and I must say, I am impressed. There are definitely some bugs to work out but I think this method can work very well.

I have enough material for hundreds of tests (all for about $20) so at pennies per test, I am going to run this thing up and down the flagpole.

My first test was just exactly per the instructions and I used a tiny clipping of flower from one of my continuum plants. I trimmed some off of each plant a few days ago and I have been letting it dry to use with these experiments.

The first test was pretty cool. It wasn't even complete and it was already showing purple. At the completion of the test it was a nice dark purple.

Yeah, well, I'm not easily convinced and being the skeptic that I am, I grabbed a little sample of some Cinderella99 I have. Let's see if that shows up purple, too. 

As you can see in the first pic, the 2 are pretty darn different.

So, I grabbed samples from all 3 phenos of continuum and ran the tests again. Pic #2.

I'm not sure if pheno 3 is actually weaker than the other 2 or if I mis-weighed something or didn't shake right or, or, or. So many variables in one test.

I am going to run a score of tests on all 3 phenos from all parts of the plants, including stems and leaves and if I consistently get lower ratings for pheno 3, I may actually believe all this. Not sure I'm ready to toss the pheno 3 clones yet but, we have something to work with that's not $50 a test.

So far, this is still a 'has it or doesn't have it' test for me. If I can prove there is actually accuracy in the gradient of color, I'll be surprised. I am thinking it's more because of variances in the test procedure, However, the science is solid and it's actually from patents filed back in the 1940's so, who knows.

I must say, for the few dollars spent and the fun had, it's a great cannabis toy if you're into CBD. LOL

One variable that's hard to control is the weighing of small quantities like 35mg. I had a nice glass enclosed scale at one time but, it was lost in the sea of monsters. LOL The typical scales we (certainly I) use are only accurate to about a 10th of a gram.

I could scale everything up and use bigger vials, more solvent, etc but, it might be smarter to get a better scale. LOL

I am going to be doing a bunch of tests with too much lye, too little lye, shake longer, shake less. just to see if it really is consistent.

Anyway, Like I said, great Canna-toy. LOL 

View attachment hometest-1.jpg


View attachment hometest-2.jpg


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## 2RedEyes

Way to go Hack, so the purple indicate cbd present? And the one thats not purple is a known non cbd? Interesting...keep up the good research!


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## Hackerman

Yes, the purple denotes the presence of CBD. The more CBD, the darker purple. Those vials are C99, pheno 1, pheno 2, and pheno 3 of the Med Tree.

I have run a few more tests and the pheno 3 keeps coming up short. I even added more weed than recommended, thinking the color would be darker but it wasn't. ???

I can't get into my flower room right now but tomorrow I'll be running more tests.

I was talking to Curt and we're going to see if we can figure which chemicals will do this for THC. CB Scientific does have a THC test that's based on color and uses about the same procedure so we just need to figure what chemicals they're using. Shouldn't take long.

It was nice of him (and people like him) to share this stuff with the community. All this makes me wish I had kept taking chemistry class past high school. LOL


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## screwdriver

Hackerman said:


> One variable that's hard to control is the weighing of small quantities like 35mg. I had a nice glass enclosed scale at one time but, it was lost in the sea of monsters. LOL The typical scales we (certainly I) use are only accurate to about a 10th of a gram



With the resolution you need, the scale will be quite expensive.  Used one might be cheaper but would probably need to be calibrated.
A different option would be to use a balance with a known weight.  Small piece of aluminum can be filed down to get the weight you need.  You can easily make a balance with things around the house. All you need is access to a precision scale to make your weight.  Use the same home made weight for all test material and you may get more consistent results.


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## Hackerman

C'mon, this is the 21st century. Everything is cheap. LOL

I almost bought this one for $100 https://www.ebay.com/itm/300g-0-001...441534?hash=item280f10a77e:g:vCkAAOSwLVZVlkOl

but that company didn't have great reviews and this scale actually had better ratings....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Jewelry-Sc...124589&hash=item1c845332c0:g:yVEAAOSwlndZCxwD

I bought the second one for about $30.

From the tests I have run, quantities don't seem to be critical. That 1mg rated scale should be fine. I also ordered some funnels. LMAO Trying to get all this stuff in that tiny vial is.... LMAO

Here are some early test results........

From left to right....

First is a sample of pheno 1 (the strongest so far based on yesterday's tests). It's a bud from the top of the plant and is mostly pistils and some tiny sugar leaves. This is the best there is and can be the base line for now. Everything is above or (more likely) below this line.

Second from the left is also pheno 1. This is lower buds. Barely developed. Just a few pistils and some real real young bud. This is the same as the next one to the right except I used pellets of carbon in this one and I used granules in the 3rd

Third from the left is as described previously with carbon granules rather than pellets. The granules work better. The carbon granules are there to provide Oxygen.

Fourth from the left is still pheno 1. These are sugar leaves from the flowering plant. Again, to call these sugar leaves is stretching it since it's all from real real low and undeveloped buds and their leaves are barely developed much less have any sugar on them yet. Still, it shows a nice presence of CBD.

Fifth from the left and last sample of this pheno. This is a leaf from a clone of pheno 1. Still in the veg stage and not showing any color at all. Maybe a little yellow, whatever that means.

I was surprised that the very undeveloped bud showed as dark as the very top pistils. There is one variable that could be affecting things. I used dry for some tests and fresh for a few others (the pistil tests were fresh).

I'll redo all the tests to confirm these results. I am going to natural dry some samples first.

OK, the next 3.

These are pheno 3. My worst. Tests on this plant constantly shows poor results.

The first one is the basic undeveloped buds similar to what I used in the previous tests with pheno 1.

The first test shows a very light purple. Compare this to the 3rd from the left in the last test group and you are comparing phenos 1 and 3. Same basic plant matter (undeveloped buds). This also confirms yesterdays tests where pheno 3 was much lighter than phenos 1 and 2 using the same basic plant matter (undeveloped buds).

So, in the next test, I thought I would double the amount of cannabis and I used 70mg of the undeveloped bud similar to the previous test.

As you can see, using twice as much cannabis did not affect the results at all. ??? Almost the same color with twice as much pot.

After continual tests of pheno 3 showing light consistently, I considered mulching the pheno 3 clones and only flowering the pheno 1 and 2 clones.

So, I went back and got some nice pistils from the very top branch. Not off the cola (I couldn't do it LOL) but right below it.

I was surprised to see how dark it was.

With pheno 1, the undeveloped buds showed about the same as the top pistils. On the pheno 3 tests the difference between the undeveloped buds and the top pistils was day and night.

So, more stuff to retest and confirm.

Sure is sweet that each test is only pennies compared to the $10 per test the commercial products are charging. I am going to stabilized the variables and see how consistent I can get the results. 

View attachment hometest-4.jpg


View attachment hometest-5.jpg


View attachment hometest-6.jpg


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## Hackerman

Here is a c&p from a thread at ICMag. This home testing thing is getting better and better. Once they get the wrinkles ironed out, it should be pretty easy for us to home test our stuff.

These tests are not intended to replace lab test. More like..... I have 5 phenos of a strain. Using this test, I can (quite accurately) ascertain  which one has the most/less CBD and THC and from there, determine what clones to take, etc. Once that's all determined, the plant you select can be sent to a lab for accurate and wide span testing.

I'll bet I've run 100 of these tests already and it's still all under 100 bucks with enough stuff for hundreds more tests. And, through all these tests I continue to get consistent results that pheno 3 has less CBD than the other 2. I'm curious if it shows higher in THC.

Anyway, for those who are interested here's the cut and paste....

_ DIY THC and CBD testing at home.
I don&#8217;t know if most of you guys know about these simple test kits you can make at home, but you can test for THC and CBD cannabinoids at home with some pretty simple lab supplies and chemicals that you can buy on eBay or Amazon for cheap.

These are great tool to have around if you are breeding for a curtain cannabinoids or want to test something you just bought.

These are color indicating tests. You will start out with a somewhat clear liquid and it will change to blue or purple depending on the test. I will talk about this later.

I first found out about these tests when I saw a guy on youtube selling color indicating cbd tests for the home breeder for around $50 for three tests, so I did some research and found out that this was a well known test that was developed decades ago. It&#8217;s called a &#8216;&#8217;beam test&#8217;&#8217;. I also found out there&#8217;s another test that&#8217;s called &#8216;&#8217;the Duquenois reagent test&#8221; and it was developed around 1930 or so. This test is for THC and the government used it for testing the presence of cannabis in general and not for isolating just one cannabinoid. For example: a drug test or cannabis residue, like in a pipe. They found out later that there were other none cannabis compounds that would react to this test and it was not used later. But these tests will be very accurate for us to test the levels of cannabinoids in the bud we are testing because there won&#8217;t be any other contaminates. Both of these test kits can be made for pennies each.



Before I get into how the tests are made I&#8217;d like to let you know that some of the chemicals used can be very dangerous if not handled properly, so proper safety precautions are needed so as to not get hurt.

Things you will need to protect yourself:

1# Chemical resistant gloves

2# safety glasses

3# have a place nearby to wash in case of a spill or if any chemicals get into eyes. Something as simple as a large bucket of water nearby you can flush eyes or skin off quickly before running to a sink.

4# all of the chemicals used in this experiment can be washed off or neutralized with water just in case you need to in a emergence.

5# do not use anything metal when performing this experiment! A violent reaction will happen!!! No metal tools or containers can be used, only plastic, glass, rubber can be used&#8230;.

6# if you don&#8217;t really know what these chemicals are don&#8217;t try and mix any of them other than the ones I say. Lye is very alkaline and hydrochloric acid is very acidic, mixing them would not be good.

7# Use caution when storing these chemicals. Keep them away from people that don&#8217;t know how to use them, it goes without saying it, but I&#8217;ll say it anyway. Keep them away from children and pets!

8# do these experiments only in a well ventilated room.

Bottom line is, think first and don&#8217;t be stupid!



Ok now that that&#8217;s out of the way, on to the fun part! I&#8217;ll start off with how you make the extract out of the bud you will be testing.

Things you&#8217;ll need:

1# A scale. I think we all have one of these lying around. One that can weigh very small amounts like tenths of a gram or one hundredths of a gram.

2# small plastic or glass jars to mix in

3# 1 or 2ml dropper

4# 100% alcohol/ethanol or as close as you can get. 90% rubbing alcohol will not work it has to be higher than that. 95% or higher. You can buy denatured alcohol at the hardware store.

5# An oven. I like to use a cheap toaster oven so as to not make my kitchen oven smell like ****. But do what you want.



The first thing you&#8217;re going to do is take about 1 gram of the bud to be tested and place it in a piece of aluminum foil and fold it over and then fold all the edges closed.

Place the bud and aluminum foil in the oven for 30 minutes on 220f/110c. let cool.

Take your crispy bud out of the oven and weigh out ½ gram or .5000 on the scale in a small jar or shot glass. Now get your dropper out and put 5 grams of alcohol in the glass with the bud and mix well. Let that sit for at least one half hour then suck the liquid out and put that in another jar or glass without getting any bud material in the glass. That is your extract you will be testing.



The first test will be the Duquenois reagent test. This is for testing THC.

There are many ways to perform this test; this is just my modified version of this test. The original test called for chloroform to be used to stabilize the mixture and separate the organic layer. But chloroform is some nasty ****. This is the stuff the Nazi&#8217;s used to kill countless people. It&#8217;s very gaseous and is a silent killer when working with it. I also don&#8217;t like buying it for obvious reasons. It can be made with bleach and acetone easily if you know what you&#8217;re doing.

Things you&#8217;ll need:

1# Glass test tubes or shot glass

2# a dropper

3# hydrochloric acid 37% or higher

4# vanillin which is a synthetic vanilla

5# 100% ethenol

6# amber glass bottles with dropper built in if you want to store the reagent for later use.



We will be making the reagent first.

Weigh out 5 grams of vanillin and dissolve that in 100ml of alcohol then put in amber bottle. That is your reagent.

Get a test tube and place three drops of your cannabis extract in the test tube followed by ten drops of reagent. Mix well. Now carefully put 10 drops of hydrochloric acid in the same test tube with your reagent and extract. Mix well and wait for color change. This may take up to thirty minutes to get to its full color.

You should see a deep blue or royal purple to black color for a high THC strain and light blue or purple for a low THC strain. Little to no color change or off color means very little to no THC.

This test is best used when comparing two strains side by side or two phenotypes of the same variety so you can see the difference in color to know which one has more THC. (darker=more THC), (lighter=less THC).

I have found that One turned purple and one turned blue which can make it difficult to compare them so I just looked at how dark the colors were. In cases like this it&#8217;s best to have a known variety that you can compare to, but most of time you will get purple as your main color.






The beam test: This test is for CBD.

Things you&#8217;ll need:

1# Glass test tubes

2# a dropper

3# 100% alcohol

4# potassium hydroxide (AKA) Lye

Dissolve 5% lye into ethanol which is five grams of lye to 100ml alcohol. Mix well.

Grab a clean test tube and put three drops of extract into the test tube followed by 10 drops your dissolved lye, mix well. You should see a pink to purple color in the presence of CBD. It may take up to thirty minutes to see any color change. Pink is low CBD and purple is higher CBD.

I don&#8217;t have any CBD samples at the moment to show you, but you will get the same purple color as the THC test.

You can also play with the concentrations of the mixture or concentrate the extract by striping the ethanol and make the test more sensitive for very low THC and CBD._

And, here's a link to the post, in case you want to see the pictures or follow the thread....

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=8180934&postcount=2


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## Hackerman

Just FYI, I finally received my supplies and these tests really work. CBD and THC. 

Tests consistently show similar results. There is going to be a curve while all the little bugs are being worked out but I am running these tests right now and getting great results for only pennies per test.

The Continuum is showing very very high in CBD and almost zero THC. A Cinderella99 sample and some other high THC strains are showing high THC and no CBD.

I wish I had a 50/50 strain to test.

I am going to start running tests on e-juice and rosin to see if I can get some consistent results. Would be awesome to be able to make an edibles test.

Anyway, just thought I would update you to let you know that home testing for pennies is right around the corner for everyone. 

View attachment funk.jpg


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## Hackerman

OK, gang. It's done, smooth and the wrinkles are ironed. LOL

If anyone want to try this I am more than happy to walk you though it.

There are a couple things that need to be purchased on ebay or Amazon because they are not likely available locally. However, much of the stuff is readily available.

Amazing how accurate it's starting to get. 

For THC tests, the Vanillin is available online but the denatured alcohol and muriatic acid come from Home Depot.

For CBD the NaOH or KOH is an online buy but the alcohol and carbon are usually available locally.

Couple glass vials, some rubber gloves and safety goggles and you're on the road. LOL

Pretty neat, for sure. And, like I said, very accurate in terms of a home test. Not as good as HPLC or Spectrography but I'll bet it's as accurate as TLC. And, cheap.

Next project is sexing plants by extracting DNA and viewing the chromosome chain for the big Y.

All that's needed here is some home chemicals (salt, etc) and a 2000x microscope that can be had on eBay for $200 to $300. Figures that I sold mine last year. LOL


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## Hackerman

Just a heads up for you people growing CBD strains. The tweaking is done on these tests and they are working like a charm. I get a nice light to dark gradation using different strengths of samples. I don't want to put percentages to it but some of the other people have compared their results to lab tests and are starting to make color/potency charts. Quite frankly, as a home grower, I don't need any more info that what I'm getting. I don't really care about 10%, 20%, 30%. I'm OK with high, medium and low. LOL You can definitely tell one plant from the next. That's all I need.

The denatured alcohol can be purchased anywhere locally. Home Depot, etc. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING THAT SAYS GREEN.

The GREEN stuff is just diluted and won't work. Same goes for the alcohol and muriatic acid.

The reagents will have to be bought online. KOH is Potasium Hydroxide. And Vanillin is artificial vanilla flavoring. Again, do not buy drain cleaner and vanilla flavor. These need to be lab grade 90%+ stuff.

I bought a pound of KOH on eBay for about 10 bux. It's a pretty small package and should last me for years. 

The Vanillin is the same. About 10 bux for an 8 or 10 ounce bottle. Enough for a lifetime.

If you need help on what to buy before you buy it, put a link here and I'll tell you if its the right stuff.

I don't know how you guys are going to breed CBD plants without this test.

And, the THC test as well. I know some of you wanted high CBD and no THC for your friends. These tests tell you in minutes.

Albeit, smoking it will work too. LMAO


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## Rosebud

can i just send you some samples?


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## 2RedEyes

I think it&#8217;s a great idea but I also think it will take further experimentation to define the results. In other words use some of the tested plants so you can see what they do for you. Then you&#8217;ll be able to relate those results and know more about what they mean and help yourself to more consistent grows.


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## Hackerman

It's so easy to do Rosie. You'll want to be doing it all the time. Once you do it, it's fun.

All you do is put some pot in a shot glass or glass vial and add the alcohol. This extracts the trics from the plant matter.

Then, mix some KOH and alcohol in a small vial.

Take 3 drops of the alcohol extract and add to it, 10 drops of the KOH mix. That's it. 

Pretty simple.

You would use the same precautions you would use whenever using alcohol or drain cleaner. Not a big deal.

Are you an Amazon or Ebay person? Which one? I'll post a couple links to the KOH. The denatured alcohol is at Home Depot.


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## Rosebud

Ok, yes on amazon.thanks Hackerman.


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## Hackerman

Belle Chemical is pretty dependable. I bought their NaOH and I liked it. Here is their Potassium Hydroxide. I bought a pound because it's so cheap and I knew I would be doing a lot of testing. And, for 10 bux... what the heck. LOL

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075DJCR79/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I also bought this one and it works well..

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TPI5WO2/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Here is an Amazon link to the vanillin for THC testing, if you're going to test for that also.....

I bought this one...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IAZHW0I/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I didn't see any other lab grade vanillin on Amazon. If you search, add the word reagent to your search and it will return mostly lab grade.

Also, keep in mind that the vanillin is still a caustic base and can cause burns. It smells so delicious when you open the bottle. It's tempting to take a whif. Don't. And, as I was told by one of the chemists working on this.... "No, Hack, it's not safe so don't snort lines of it or you'll die". LMAO

Same with the KOH. It's no more dangerous than drain cleaner but... you would be careful not to splash drain cleaner in your eyes, too. So, gloves and goggles, please.

The denatured alcohol is available at any hardware store. Don't get anything GREEN,. The contents should read Ethanol and Methanol. Maybe some other 'proprietary' blend. But, still, Ethanol and Methanol.

Let me know if you have question on the alcohol.

Do you have some little coke vials? They make nice for mixing and....... I know we ain't a using 'em for coke no more. LMAO

Last week at our Wednesday gig, some of the older guys were doing coke. I was just shaking my head. I was wondering if I was going to get to see someone go into cardiac arrest while I was on break. LOL There is an age when it's time to quit. LMAO


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## Rosebud

Thank you Hackerman, i don't have those little jars all i have are the cobolt blue ones, and it sounds like color is important. Do they need lids? do you shake it? would juice glasses work?
Old guys doing that is pretty scary I bet.  
I have gloves and my led glasses should work, oh i do have goggles too. awesome.


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## Hackerman

I would mix the reagents (vanillin and alcohol) and the (Potasium Hydroxide and alcohol) in bottle or jars because you can store this and use it over and over. Amber jars or bottles are great for this.

As far as the extraction and testing, you can do that in shot glasses. Instead of shaking it, just stir it.

There are detailed instructions at ICMag. I will cut and paste them here.

When you get around to doing it, I'll walk you through it.


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## Hackerman

Here are the instructions as he wrote them. I would print them out and have them at my side when I do the testing.....

Before I get into how the tests are made I&#8217;d like to let you know that some of the chemicals used can be very dangerous if not handled properly, so proper safety precautions are needed so as to not get hurt.

Things you will need to protect yourself:

1# Chemical resistant gloves

2# safety glasses

3# have a place nearby to wash in case of a spill or if any chemicals get into eyes. Something as simple as a large bucket of water nearby you can flush eyes or skin off quickly before running to a sink.

4# all of the chemicals used in this experiment can be washed off or neutralized with water just in case you need to in a emergence.

5# do not use anything metal when performing this experiment! A violent reaction will happen!!! No metal tools or containers can be used, only plastic, glass, rubber can be used&#8230;.

6# if you don&#8217;t really know what these chemicals are don&#8217;t try and mix any of them other than the ones I say. Lye is very alkaline and hydrochloric acid is very acidic, mixing them would not be good.

7# Use caution when storing these chemicals. Keep them away from people that don&#8217;t know how to use them, it goes without saying it, but I&#8217;ll say it anyway. Keep them away from children and pets!

8# do these experiments only in a well ventilated room.

Bottom line is, think first and don&#8217;t be stupid!



Ok now that that&#8217;s out of the way, on to the fun part! I&#8217;ll start off with how you make the extract out of the bud you will be testing.

Things you&#8217;ll need:

1# A scale. I think we all have one of these lying around. One that can weigh very small amounts like tenths of a gram or one hundredths of a gram.

2# small plastic or glass jars to mix in

3# 1 or 2ml dropper

4# 100% alcohol/ethanol or as close as you can get. 90% rubbing alcohol will not work it has to be higher than that. 95% or higher. You can buy denatured alcohol at the hardware store.

5# An oven. I like to use a cheap toaster oven so as to not make my kitchen oven smell like ****. But do what you want.



The first thing you&#8217;re going to do is take about 1 gram of dry bud to be tested and place it in a piece of aluminum foil and fold it over and then fold all the edges closed.

Place the bud and aluminum foil in the oven for 30 minutes on 220f/110c to decarboxylate the sample..... let cool....
(this is to convert THCA and CBDA into THC and CBD)

Take your crispy bud out of the oven and weigh out ½ gram or .5000 on the scale in a small jar or shot glass. Now get your dropper out and put 5 grams of alcohol in the glass with the bud and mix well. Let that sit for at least one half hour then suck the liquid out and put that in another jar or glass without getting any bud material in the glass. That is your extract you will be testing.



The first test will be the Duquenois reagent test. This is for testing THC.

There are many ways to perform this test; this is just my modified version of this test. The original test called for chloroform to be used to stabilize the mixture and separate the organic layer. But chloroform is some nasty ****. This is the stuff the Nazi&#8217;s used to kill countless people. It&#8217;s very gaseous and is a silent killer when working with it. I also don&#8217;t like buying it for obvious reasons. It can be made with bleach and acetone easily if you know what you&#8217;re doing.

Things you&#8217;ll need:

1# Glass test tubes or shot glass

2# a dropper

3# hydrochloric acid 37% or higher

4# vanillin which is a synthetic vanilla

5# 100% ethenol

6# amber glass bottles with dropper built in if you want to store the reagent for later use.



We will be making the reagent first.

Weigh out 5 grams of vanillin and dissolve that in 100ml of alcohol then put in amber bottle. That is your reagent.

Get a test tube and place three drops of your cannabis extract in the test tube followed by ten drops of reagent. Mix well. Now carefully put 10 drops of hydrochloric acid in the same test tube with your reagent and extract. Mix well and wait for color change. This may take up to thirty minutes to get to its full color.

You should see a deep blue or royal purple to black color for a high THC strain and light blue or purple for a low THC strain. Little to no color change or off color means very little to no THC.

This test is best used when comparing two strains side by side or two phenotypes of the same variety so you can see the difference in color to know which one has more THC. (darker=more THC), (lighter=less THC).

I have found that One turned purple and one turned blue which can make it difficult to compare them so I just looked at how dark the colors were. In cases like this it&#8217;s best to have a known variety that you can compare to, but most of time you will get purple as your main color.






The beam test: This test is for CBD.

Things you&#8217;ll need:

1# Glass test tubes

2# a dropper

3# 100% alcohol

4# potassium hydroxide (AKA) Lye

Dissolve 5% lye into ethanol which is five grams of lye to 100ml alcohol. Mix well.

Grab a clean test tube and put three drops of extract into the test tube followed by 10 drops your dissolved lye, mix well. You should see a pink to purple color in the presence of CBD. It may take up to thirty minutes to see any color change. Pink is low CBD and purple is higher CBD.


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## Hackerman

Those little glass vials are about 25 cents each everywhere.

And, these little plastic vials make nice for the tiny 13 drop samples we test. You can use something larger like a juice glass but you'll probably have to take bigger samples and use more of everything so it doesn't get lost in the size of the glass.

These are nice and cheap. About a nickel each. They are called 1.5ml centrifuge vials if you want to search Amazon or your favorite shopping site....

https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-5ml-Micr...706973?hash=item1e8e2373dd:g:GyMAAOSwOA1aDbjP

Test tubes also work and can be bought at your local science shop or online.


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## Hackerman

Just FYI. I tested this on edibles today and it works like a charm. I had some coconut oil that I made from some Cinderella99. Moderate/High in THC and low in CBD.

The tests on the oil reflected just that.

A tiny speck of oil and the reagent.... bingo.

Pic 1. Oil
Pic 2. Results

Nice to have something to test edibles with. 

View attachment oil-3.jpg


View attachment oil-4.jpg


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## Rosebud

Wow


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## Hackerman

Well, this is totally cool. I finally got around to playing with the thin layer chromatography.

This takes a lot more effort but the results are (supposedly) way more accurate than the easy home tests above.

However, I did the home tests on the same samples after doing these TLC tests and the results were just as clear. Plus, these tests cost a couple bucks each while the home tests above cost only a few pennies each.

After sampling and developing the plates, you take a picture of them and upload them to an online quantification tool and it does the quantification for you. After that, you can figure the percentage of each cannabinoid on the plate. Pretty awesome. 

View attachment buddy-1.jpg


View attachment buddy-test-JustTLC-1.jpg


View attachment buddy-test-JustTLC-2.jpg


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## 2RedEyes

Looks impressive Hack, but I dont know what it means...


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## Rosebud

:yeahthat:


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## Hackerman

Think of an ink blot.

If you take a green sharpie and put a dot on a napkin or piece of absorbent paper and let the paper wick up water from one end to the other, the green spot would bleed, right?

OK, simple enough.

What you may never have noticed is that while the green ink spot is bleeding it is also separating the yellow and blue. And, not in even amounts. It may be a yellow blot with a dark blue border. That's how much yellow and blue it took to make the green color.

That is paper chromatography.

This is done on silica plates but the same principle applies.

A tiny drop of the sample is placed at the bottom of the plate. The plate sits in chloroform and wicks up across the sample to the top of the plate, along the way, separating each cannabinoid (THC, CBD, CBN and CBG).

Then, you spray dye on it to show the blots and... bingo.

The large blots at the top of the plate are THC. The next blots down are (I think) CBD. Might be CBG. I need to go back and review more.

Anyway, you can use software to "map" the sizes of the blots, thus determining the percentages of each cannabinoid from each sample.

This method (when compared to HPLC) is supposed to be accurate to about 0.5% which is pretty darn accurate.

Personally, I am going to stick with the simple method using the lye and alcohol. That test really tells me everything I want to know and it is soooo quick and easy. I test all my edibles and rosin that way. Basicallly, it very clearly and accurately shows, NONE, A LITTLE BIT and A LOT of either CBD and/or THC.

Quit frankly, for me, that more than good enough.

I made butter yesterday and before tossing the scrap, I ran a quick test on it and it showed way high in THC still, so I rinsed it again real good and got a ton more butter. Glad I checked before tossing. LOL

This TLC was great fun and it was good to learn something new but it won't be my regular method of testing potency.

It will be good for knowing CBD from CBG from CBN. Those all show up as purple on the other tests. Only the chromatography will separate those cannabinoids out separately.


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## Hackerman

To further explain a little. The first picture is of the 2 plates. Each plate has 5 sample (dots) at the bottom.

The chloroform wicks from bottom to top and drags the sample, separating it on the way up.

The one sample on the left side of the one plate went off the edge and it was messing up the test so I cut the picture to show only 4 samples so the software would more easily recognize and map all the blots.

So, what you are seeing in the results are 2 separate tests of 4 samples each.

Lane 1 is Afghan Kush, lane 2 Med Tree Continuum, lane 3 Cinderella99 and lane 4 is Lemon OG.

Sounds like a lot but it's really pretty simple.


----------



## Hackerman

Here's a little rig I made up for doing the Duquenois and Beam tests. This is all that's needed. Whenever I want to run CBD or THC tests on a sample, I can just grab this rack and it has everything I need right there. 

View attachment myrigforhometests.jpg


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## Hackerman

Just FYI, there's been some conversation at ICM about this and it seems pretty clear that you can test at about 3 weeks from seed and the plant will display an accurate ratio of cannabinoids that you can expect at maturity.

Quantity will be less, of course, but the ratio will remain consistent.

Pretty neat.

Next comes DNA sexing.


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## pute

Old thread....last post was 2018


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## Dan789

Still relevant no matter how much time has intervened, though as determining THC potency is something every grower should use, just as @Hackerman has laid out... Kudos for this.


----------



## Weirdscenes

WeedHopper said:


> What up Bro?
> Hey,,i got an old fashion way of testing your Weed,,,send it to me and i will smoke it and get back with your info. :smoke1:



Heh heh heh. Love this stuff love tech info - would defo be messing with this stuff if I wasn't an old gadgee. 
Nowadays I'm happy with WeedHoppers approach to testing


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## Weirdscenes

pute said:


> Old thread....last post was 2018


Not any more bud


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## pute

I guess I have a different way of taking the "PEPSI CHALLENGE".....I smoke it.  The real challenge is what people say about your smoke when you aren't around.  So go ahead and play scientist....


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## radomvam

Because of the popularity of medical CBD, I've read that devices have emerged to quickly and inexpensively measure % cannabidiol, tetrahydrocannabinol, and other cannabinoids at home. Prices range from $80 to $120,000. Techniques range from simple visual detection to high-performance liquid chromatography. Basically, the instruments focus on measuring THC and CBD. I honestly haven't tried these instruments, but I wouldn't trust the cheap models. Maybe on specialized sites, you can find professional information.


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