Making CBN from Cannabis for sleep

Hello My Buddies...

 

I know how so many of us have suffered from insomnia as a result of our benzo tapers and or jumps. When sleep is evasive the effects can extend in to the next day and exacerbate many other symptoms from withdrawal. I see so many different posts on things to try, some of which are simply not good for our healing brains; gabapentin, trazadone, mitazapine, passion flower, valerian and so on... 

 

But I get it, when sleep is needed we will try just about anything. Insomnia is the very thing that brought many of us to benzos to begin with, sigh... 

 

There have been many posts here on BB regarding Cannabis or MMJ. I have also received quite a few PM's regarding this topic. Much of what has been posted is either completely untrue, half-true, confusing or down right dangerous. So I thought that I would try to clarify some of this and suggest what I believe to be the best use of cannabis in treating insomnia.

 

There are hundreds of compounds in the Cannabis plant. The most common is THC, that is what gets one high. Some of us don't want to get high, just relief. There is CBD which is an anxiolytic but not necessarily good for sleep. The newest and most recently studied cannabinoid and most promising in providing relief for insomnia is CBN. This has been shown to have great promise in the treatment of insomnia and is only mildly psychoactive. It is mostly a sedative and will not get one too high, dose dependent of course. 

 

There are many wonderful CBN products available in legalized states, but for many who live in non-legal states CBN's benefits are not easily obtained, let me change that... 

 

CBN is not naturally found in great quantity in cannabis plants. This may change as strains are developed over the next few years. CBN is mostly "created" in cannabis due to the process of degradation of THC from heat, light and exposure to air. A CBN content of more than 5% is rare in cannabis whereas THC can now be as high as 25% and up, this will get one super stoned. CBN content can also be increased by letting a marijuana plant grow longer than normal, over-ripe so to speak. But grow my own? Really?

 

Okay enough of the background stuff, the bottom line. CBN which is an excellent sedative and natural sleep aid can be made by degrading any available cannabis. Here is how to do it:

 

Finely grind the cannabis and place in an oven at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for many hours, at least 48 and up to 72 hours. The THCA in the plant will convert through the process of decarboxylation first to THC and then to CBN as it fully degrades. The attached video explains this in detail.

 

As one bakes this in the oven it will smell, big time... so prepare for that.

 

If the cannabis to be prepared has a THC content of 20% each gram will equal 200mgs. Try to know the THC content but this is not necessary, just titrate slowly.

 

The ideal dose is different for everyone for sleep. Anywhere from 1-20mgs... Many mix it in with cookies or other edibles and eat it an hour or so before bed. BE CAREFUL. The problem with eating edibles is that if one takes too much there is no way to un-eat it and one may become too buzzed, not good. Until the ideal dose is found the best way to dose may still be good old fashioned smoking of the cannabis. This way one can titrate the dose as needed, one puff at a time. Eating and digesting does have its benefits as it stays in the system longer and can be even better for staying asleep.

 

Okay the disclaimer. I in know way endorse this for those who live in a non-MMJ state. I am not a doctor, consult with yours. Big Pharma has despised, besmirched and illegalized this wonderful plant for many years, it is starting to become clear just why. In God We trust. Genesis 1:29 "I give you all plants bearing seed".

 

CBN will not have any effect on GABA receptors or healing from benzo damage.

 

Good luck to you all, I hope this provides some relief and much needed sleep... 

 

 

Wilson

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8PQ7nm5JIY

 

 

 

thank you 

cool.  gonna try this soon.

 

I can only imagine the smell, and what my neighbors would think....

 

I live in a totally legal state (Washington), and went to a fairly popular and busy MJ store. When I asked them about CBN, they looked at me like I was a green bug, and steered me towards a bottle of CBD oil. I've tried a few drops, good for anxiety, but not for sleep. What do I need to ask for? any brand names?

Wilson, can one use a crock pot?  I used a tiny one to make a butter and, if so, it would be a good way to get around the smell.  I placed it under a wide open window with a fan blowing on it.  A good 48 hours, if I recall, and no smell at all, not even a hint of it. 

Wilson, can one use a crock pot?  I used a tiny one to make a butter and, if so, it would be a good way to get around the smell.  I placed it under a wide open window with a fan blowing on it.  A good 48 hours, if I recall, and no smell at all, not even a hint of it. 

 

 

 

I don't see why not... The temperature is critical so as close to 200F as possible..

I got some transdermal patches and capsules of cbn from marys medicinals. But they are ridiculously expensive.

Thanks so much, Wilson!

 

I have yet to try this but I am super open to it.

I got some transdermal patches and capsules of cbn from marys medicinals. But they are ridiculously expensive.

 

Hi Magnolis,

 

Yes they are expensive... with 1 gram of 20% thc flower you could make 200mg of cbn or more than 20 doses! I find it amazing that cbn is almost equal to the strength of valium mg for mg...

 

All the best,

 

 

Wilson

Thanks so much, Wilson!

 

I have yet to try this but I am super open to it.

 

Well hello Professor Teal!

 

I hope that you are doing well, miss your PM's, stay in touch, you are on to something big!

 

Wilson 

Wilson

 

I haven't been able to try my cbn yet because I'm on 10 mg valium. So you are saying cbn is equal in effectiveness to 10mg valium ?  How much cbn? 10 or 20 mg

Wilson

 

I haven't been able to try my cbn yet because I'm on 10 mg valium. So you are saying cbn is equal in effectiveness to 10mg valium ?  How much cbn? 10 or 20 mg

 

Hi Magnolis,

 

I was just noting that a valium dose of 10mg is prescribed for sleep and 10mg of CBN is also recommended for sleep, interesting in that regard. It just goes to show the strength of CBN... I am not sure what dose to try of the CBN but I don't think that valium and CBN would be a problem taken together. But by all means check with your physician though  ...

 

I used cannabis in various forms; cbn, cbd and thc all through my taper, no problem with my decreasing valium dose, my doctor approved of it. I would start low and see what occurs. In what form are you thinking of using the cbn, edible, patch,vape or smoke?

 

Also CBN is really only good for sleep although it may be good for anxiety as well but cbd is probably best for anxiety.

 

All the best,

 

 

Wilson 

 

I have some transdermal patches, capsules and oil. I'M. READY. INSOMNIA BRINGS ME DOWN!

 

What's the advantage to vaping an oil vs under tongue?

I have some transdermal patches, capsules and oil. I'M. READY. INSOMNIA BRINGS ME DOWN!

 

What's the advantage to vaping an oil vs under tongue?

 

Vaping and smoking act super fast and wear off quicker. Sublingual almost as fast but lasts longer. Edibles and patches come on slower but last much longer but are more difficult to titrate.

 

Wilson

 

The ideal dose is different for everyone for sleep. Anywhere from 1-20mgs... Many mix it in with cookies or other edibles and eat it an hour or so before bed. BE CAREFUL. The problem with eating edibles is that if one takes too much there is no way to un-eat it and one may become too buzzed, not good. Until the ideal dose is found the best way to dose may still be good old fashioned smoking of the cannabis. This way one can titrate the dose as needed, one puff at a time. Eating and digesting does have its benefits as it stays in the system longer and can be even better for staying asleep.

 

 

Wilson, a few more questions.

 

So just to be clear, you're saying this degraded product can be smoked, right?  Somehow I was always under the impression it was only used for edibles.  And sublingual too, one could try a minuscule amount under the tongue?  How long roughly do the effects of sublingual last?

 

The batch I have is less than 10% THC and gave me a high from Hell (smoking).  It was terrific for pain relief though, which is my objective here.  (It didn't make me sleepy at all).  Any thoughts on whether it would still work for pain relief but *without* the psychoactive effects if I were to degrade it?  In other words, does degrading provide the same benefits but without the high?  That would be the ultimate for me!

 

Appreciate all the tips/info. 

 

The ideal dose is different for everyone for sleep. Anywhere from 1-20mgs... Many mix it in with cookies or other edibles and eat it an hour or so before bed. BE CAREFUL. The problem with eating edibles is that if one takes too much there is no way to un-eat it and one may become too buzzed, not good. Until the ideal dose is found the best way to dose may still be good old fashioned smoking of the cannabis. This way one can titrate the dose as needed, one puff at a time. Eating and digesting does have its benefits as it stays in the system longer and can be even better for staying asleep.

 

 

Wilson, a few more questions.

 

So just to be clear, you're saying this degraded product can be smoked, right? Yes. Somehow I was always under the impression it was only used for edibles.  And sublingual too, one could try a minuscule amount under the tongue? Yes, since it was decarboxlated it is now active without smoking first. How long roughly do the effects of sublingual last? Any ingested cannabis stays in the blood stream longer than smoking, 3-6 hours depending on the person maybe more or less.

The batch I have is less than 10% THC and gave me a high from Hell (smoking).  It was terrific for pain relief though, which is my objective here.  (It didn't make me sleepy at all).  Any thoughts on whether it would still work for pain relief but *without* the psychoactive effects if I were to degrade it?  In other words, does degrading provide the same benefits but without the high?  That would be the ultimate for me!

 

Appreciate all the tips/info. 

 

 

... In order for any flower to take effect when eating it must be decarboxylated; fancy word just means heated to the point that the THC acid converts to THC. When one smokes it the heat from smoking it does it automatically.

 

So if one is planning on ingesting it needs to be baked for at least 2 hours at 200F degrees. This will still be psychoactive as the THC has not been degraded at all.

 

If one is planning on using the Cannabis for sleep it must be fully degraded/converted into CBN, this takes 48-60 hours at 200F. By doing this the THC is destroyed and all its psychoactivity is gone. CBN is still mildly psychoactive, but more sedative-like.

 

I will repeat this as it is important: 1 gram of flower at 10% THC will have 100mg of THC. The legal maximum dose in Colorado is 10mg per edible, so dose accordingly. If you made 20 cookies they would each have 5mg. Eat 1/4 cookie and wait 30 mins, another 1/4 and wait another 30 mins. Learn your dose. You can always go up but not uneat a cookie... 

 

I am not recommending this at all, everyone should check with their doctor and lawyer 

 

 

Wil***.... 

 

 

Thanks so much, Wilson!

 

I have yet to try this but I am super open to it.

 

Well hello Professor Teal!

 

I hope that you are doing well, miss your PM's, stay in touch, you are on to something big!

 

Wilson 

 

Thanks sir!! i'm off to portland today for a conference! very excited. my sleep suffered last night. not sure if it was related to the fact that I *knew* I had to be up early, or what. I eventually fell asleep at who knows what time... 11:30? 12? 1? i have no idea.. haha. and alarm was off at 4. getting ready to leave for the airport. I tried melatonin combo, then magnesium....then listening to videos. Finally I did the "i'm turning off the background noise, and I'm going to lay here with my eyes closed and just rest because at least I'm resting, maybe I'm in stage 1 sleep, but I'm going to stop trying to sleep" and I slept. for anyone reading this, this can sometimes help. when you resign yourself to not sleeping, but don't actually get up and overstimulate yourself. one day i will try CBN!

You can get cbn in Portland . It's a recreational state.

If you grow your own you can let the plant mature past the harvest window, that would help to degrade THC into CBN. Selecting Indica is, of course, the strain of seed you want. There are seed vendors out there that offer high CBD/CBN strains with lower THC content.

The harvest window usually starts at 8 weeks into the flowering stage. I have some Bubba Kush and Aurora Indica that I let go past 8, 9 or maybe even up to 11 weeks before harvest.

Looking at the trichomes (the little THC containing "crystals" or "frost") through a jeweler's loupe will help. When they are at peak THC production the trichomes will appear milky-white. Letting them go past harvest window they will slowly turn amber or orange, that's a sign of THC degradation into CBN. 

If you grow your own you can let the plant mature past the harvest window, that would help to degrade THC into CBN. Selecting Indica is, of course, the strain of seed you want. There are seed vendors out there that offer high CBD/CBN strains with lower THC content.

The harvest window usually starts at 8 weeks into the flowering stage. I have some Bubba Kush and Aurora Indica that I let go past 8, 9 or maybe even up to 11 weeks before harvest.

Looking at the trichomes (the little THC containing "crystals" or "frost") through a jeweler's loupe will help. When they are at peak THC production the trichomes will appear milky-white. Letting them go past harvest window they will slowly turn amber or orange, that's a sign of THC degradation into CBN. 

 

All true rockfan! But for those who wish to degrade ALL of the THC to CBN baking many hours at 200F is the only way... Just finished some Blue Mystic, amber trichs, epic grow! I remember my college days and the "roach Jar", stuff just made us sleepy  now that sleep is the goal, lot's to learn and try.

 

Do you happen to know a strain naturally high in CBN? I see only ones in the 1-3% range. With the above referenced method we can get all the THC converted up to 25% CBN.

 

All the best,

 

 

Wilson 

If you grow your own you can let the plant mature past the harvest window, that would help to degrade THC into CBN. Selecting Indica is, of course, the strain of seed you want. There are seed vendors out there that offer high CBD/CBN strains with lower THC content.

The harvest window usually starts at 8 weeks into the flowering stage. I have some Bubba Kush and Aurora Indica that I let go past 8, 9 or maybe even up to 11 weeks before harvest.

Looking at the trichomes (the little THC containing "crystals" or "frost") through a jeweler's loupe will help. When they are at peak THC production the trichomes will appear milky-white. Letting them go past harvest window they will slowly turn amber or orange, that's a sign of THC degradation into CBN. 

 

All true rockfan! But for those who wish to degrade ALL of the THC to CBN baking many hours at 200F is the only way... Just finished some Blue Mystic, amber trichs, epic grow! I remember my college days and the "roach Jar", stuff just made us sleepy  now that sleep is the goal, lot's to learn and try.

 

Do you happen to know a strain naturally high in CBN? I see only ones in the 1-3% range. With the above referenced method we can get all the THC converted up to 25% CBN.

 

All the best,

 

 

Wilson 

 

AH yes, the old roach jar! I'm sending off $ for some "Hash Plant" seeds from Crop King (Canadian seed bank). I'm sure there are other strains but CKS is the only one I really looked at and given their reliability for strong genetics and stealth delivery, I'm sticking with them. Hash Plant is (according to them) an 8 week 80% indica strain with 12% THC, 3.5% CBD, 3.3% CBN it should really shine going past harvest window. Ooooh, I can't wait!! *wrings hands feverishly with menacing grin*  As far as the oven trick, oh yeah I'm trying that for sure. I don't want to get blasted too much either, I want to relax and CBN seems to be what I'm aiming at.

 

 

Hey Rock,

 

Sounds like a plan, a good indica properly grown is an amazing medicine indeed, good luck. Have you ever cracked feminized automatics? Amazing, 3 weeks veg and 7-10 flower, anytime of year (except freeze) and indoors is perfect. They stay small but yield nicely, good balcony plant for beginners, simple almost foolproof. 

 

My one complaint about 48 hour decarboylation is most of the valuable terpenes get cooked off, but the CBN that remains is miraculous for sleep. Mixing in some CBD with the CBN and a small amount of THC is a very relaxing almost benzo-like medicine. In edibles, an amazing couchlock takes over. 

 

The future is very bright indeed for this God-given herb. I work with a few cancer patients and they are doing well and are so grateful for the option of cannabis to help them through their travails. 

 

God bless you my friend, I hope you are healing well and getting along nicely, 

 

Wilson 

When I'm waiting for my home-grown to finish, I will stock up on an oz or two of good old Mexican brick to keep me satisfied. May sound strange to some but I prefer that over the super powerful "frankenstein hybrid" stuff that won't let you remember your name for a few hours after just two hits. (not to mention the nasty anxiety) I LOVE to sit back with the headphones on and nurse an entire joint of the weaker brick-weed while blasting Sabbath, Floyd, Zep, Tull, Moody blues etc. It's not just the effects, it's the ritual as well. Higher CBN content? Break open a bud of it and the trichs look a bit amber/orange. Nice, now I'm drooling.

When I'm waiting for my home-grown to finish, I will stock up on an oz or two of good old Mexican brick to keep me satisfied. May sound strange to some but I prefer that over the super powerful "frankenstein hybrid" stuff that won't let you remember your name for a few hours after just two hits. (not to mention the nasty anxiety) I LOVE to sit back with the headphones on and nurse an entire joint of the weaker brick-weed while blasting Sabbath, Floyd, Zep, Tull, Moody blues etc. It's not just the effects, it's the ritual as well. Higher CBN content? Break open a bud of it and the trichs look a bit amber/orange. Nice, now I'm drooling.

 

Yep Rockfan, we are kindred spirits... Can't beat the old Vinyl albums, start to finish... I am a fan of most of your faves, but I would add Supertramp, Yes, The Beatles, The Who and Sting/Police...

 

Best of everything to you my friend, No nutes last 3 weeks! 

 

Wilson 

Just wanted to add to the post, not about making CBN but about cannabis in general. I finally got a MM card this week (even though thankfully CA passed the prop to legalized it, all that will take a while to work out). And yesterday I went and got a few things and tried a chew last night. It's called sensi-chew, and it also has melatonin in it. i took such a small amount, maybe a 1/3rd of a recommended dose. I felt like it kicked in in 5 minutes! I didn't pass out or feel drugged, but I felt a little drunk and mostly relaxed. I laid down in bed and just laid there and relaxed, I did "try" to sleep and I was thinking about it, and it felt like it wasn't happening, but then eventually i said out loud "i can't sleep" to my husband and then I swear right after that I was out It was a different feeling than taking a pill, for sure. I woke up a few times at night thirsty, but I know I managed to get back to sleep relatively quickly, and I was definitely in bed for 8-8.5 hours, not sure how much of that I was asleep but I'm sure it was at least 7. I also got honey infused with cannabis to try. It's nice to have another natural option that seems to help!