How To Make Rick Simpson Oil: A Step-by-Step Extraction Guide

Making Rick Simpson Oil (RSO) requires washing high-potency cannabis with a food-grade solvent, filtering the liquid, and systematically evaporating the solvent under precise temperature controls. Successful extraction hinges on maintaining a strict heat ceiling below 240°F (116°C) to prevent cannabinoid degradation while ensuring complete solvent purge. This protocol delivers a highly concentrated, full-spectrum therapeutic oil containing activated THC, CBD, and essential terpenes.

Pre-Extraction Planning, Safety Protocols, and Equipment Checklist

Producing Rick Simpson Oil is a highly precise chemical extraction process that carries inherent safety risks due to the flammability of the solvents used. To ensure a safe, efficient, and successful run, you must establish an optimal working environment. The entire solvent-evaporation stage must be conducted outdoors or in an exceptionally well-ventilated space equipped with active air extraction, as solvent vapors are heavier than air and can pool near the floor, presenting an explosion hazard.

Before starting, acquire high-potency, properly cured female cannabis flowers. While Rick Simpson historically recommended heavy Indica-dominant strains for their physical sedative properties, high-quality hybrid or Sativa-dominant strains may also be utilized depending on your specific therapeutic needs.

Essential Gear and Materials Checklist

• Biomass: 1 ounce (28 grams) of high-quality, dry cannabis flower (yields approximately 3 to 4 grams of high-grade RSO).
• Extraction Solvent: 1 gallon of 190-proof (95%) food-grade grain alcohol (Ethanol) or 99.9% USP-grade Isopropyl alcohol.
• Heating Device: A high-quality electric rice cooker with an open-top design and a sensitive "Warm" toggle switch. Do not use gas stoves, hot plates with open heating elements, or any appliance that produces an open spark.
• Filtration: Two unbleached coffee filters, a large funnel, and a fine mesh stainless steel strainer.
• Mixing Vessels: Two deep, high-grade borosilicate glass bowls or food-grade stainless steel mixing pots.
• Monitoring Instrument: An infrared laser thermometer or a digital candy thermometer.
• Stirring Tool: A long-handled silicone spatula or stainless steel spoon.
• Finished Product Storage: 3ml or 5ml medical-grade plastic oral syringes with airtight caps.
• Safety Gear: Nitrile gloves, splash-resistant safety goggles, and a chemical respirator mask equipped with organic vapor cartridges. Keep a Class B fire extinguisher within arm's reach of your outdoor workstation.

Operational Parameters

• Estimated Budget: $150 to $300 (excluding the cost of cannabis).
• Total Duration: 4 to 6 hours (including setup, extraction, primary evaporation, and final decarboxylation).
• Required Environment: Outdoors or an open-air garage with active cross-ventilation. Absolutely no open flames, pilot lights, smoking, or sparking electronics within 50 feet of the extraction site.

The Step-by-Step RSO Extraction and Reduction Protocol

Step 1: Deep-Freezing the Materials

To maximize the purity of your RSO, place your dry cannabis flower and your chosen solvent into separate airtight glass containers and freeze them for a minimum of 12 to 24 hours prior to starting the extraction. Freezing locks the plant lipids, fats, and green chlorophyll inside the plant material, making them insoluble during the solvent wash. This ensures that the solvent strips only the target therapeutic compounds—cannabinoids and terpenes—resulting in a cleaner, better-tasting, and more potent final concentrate.

Step 2: The Primary Solvent Wash

Retrieve your frozen cannabis and solvent from the freezer. Place the cold cannabis flower into one of your clean, dry glass bowls. Gently crush the flower using a clean wooden dowel or a silicone spatula to increase the surface area, but do not grind it into a fine powder. Pour the freezing cold solvent over the cannabis until the liquid rises roughly one inch above the plant material.

Using your spatula, gently stir and agitate the mixture for exactly three minutes. During this window, the solvent will rapidly dissolve the trichome heads containing THC, CBD, and terpenes.

Warning: Do not leave the solvent in contact with the cannabis for more than five minutes. A longer soak will begin dissolving plant chlorophyll, waxes, and lipids, turning your oil black, bitter, and less potent.

Step 3: Filtering the Extract

Place your stainless steel mesh strainer over your second clean glass bowl and pour the mixture through it to separate the bulk plant material from the cannabinoid-rich liquid. Set the damp plant material aside; you can perform a secondary wash with fresh solvent to extract any remaining cannabinoids, though this secondary wash should be kept separate as it will contain higher levels of impurities.

Next, line your funnel with an unbleached coffee filter and place it over a clean glass collection jar. Pour the strained green-gold liquid through the coffee filter. This slow filtration process removes fine plant particles, trichome stalks, and microscopic debris, leaving you with a translucent, amber-tinted liquid.

Step 4: The Primary Solvent Evaporation

This stage must be performed outdoors. Set up your electric rice cooker on a stable, flat surface away from any potential ignition sources. Pour the filtered liquid into the inner pot of the rice cooker, filling it no more than three-quarters full to prevent bubbling over. Turn the rice cooker on to its high setting.

As the liquid heats up to the boiling point of ethanol (approximately 173°F / 78°C), the solvent will begin to rapidly evaporate as vapor.

Pro-Tip: Position a small electric fan a few feet behind the rice cooker to blow the rising solvent vapors away from the unit. This prevents the heavy, flammable gas from settling near the heating element or thermostat of the cooker, minimizing the risk of combustion.

As the liquid level drops, slowly pour the remaining filtered liquid into the pot. Once the bulk of the solvent has evaporated, the mixture will thicken, darken, and the rate of bubbling will slow significantly.

Step 5: Transfer and Final Decarboxylation

When the liquid inside the rice cooker reduces to a thick, dark, syrupy consistency, the temperature of the oil will begin to rise rapidly past the boiling point of the solvent. When the mixture is about one inch deep, put on your heat-resistant gloves and carefully remove the inner pot from the rice cooker.

Pour the thick concentrate into a small, high-heat silicone cup or a shallow borosilicate glass dish. Place this container onto a low-temperature heating device, such as a coffee mug warmer or a convection oven set precisely to 220°F to 230°F (104°C to 110°C).

Watch the oil closely. You will see small, uniform bubbles rising to the surface. This is carbon dioxide (CO2) gas escaping, which indicates that the non-psychoactive THCA is converting into active, therapeutic THC. This process is called decarboxylation. Maintain this temperature until all bubbling stops completely. This can take anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes. Once the bubbling ceases, the decarboxylation is complete and all residual solvent has been purged.

Step 6: Packaging and Storage

Allow the finished RSO to cool slightly until it is warm to the touch but still highly fluid. Take your plastic oral syringes, place the tip directly into the warm oil, and slowly pull back the plunger to draw the oil up into the barrel.

Seal each syringe with an airtight cap and allow them to cool to room temperature. The oil will cool into a thick, dark, semi-solid paste. Store your filled syringes in a cool, dark place, such as a medical lockbox or a refrigerator, to preserve the cannabinoids and prevent thermal degradation over time.

Solvent Thresholds and Temperature Control Metrics

Understanding the physical properties of your solvents and the critical temperature ceilings of cannabinoids is vital for producing clean, non-degraded RSO. The following table provides the operational parameters required for different extraction setups.

Resolving Common RSO Extraction Failures

• Scenario: The oil remains thin, runny, and smells faintly of alcohol after cooling.

  
  
  
  • Root Cause: The final heating and purging step was cut short, leaving residual solvent and water trapped inside the oil matrix.
  • Actionable Fix: Place the oil back onto your heating device or into a convection oven set to 220°F (104°C). Stir the mixture thoroughly every 15 minutes to release trapped solvent vapors. Continue heating until all tiny bubbles stop rising and the oil cools to a thick, tacky, molasses-like consistency.

• Scenario: The finished RSO has a bitter, deeply green, or grassy flavor.

  
  
  
  • Root Cause: The solvent wash was performed at room temperature, or the cannabis was soaked in the solvent for too long, stripping excessive chlorophyll, plant waxes, and lipids.
  • Actionable Fix: While you cannot easily remove chlorophyll once extracted, you can prevent this in future batches by deep-freezing your solvent and cannabis for a full 24 hours prior to extraction. Limit your primary wash to a maximum of 3 minutes and avoid aggressively grinding the plant material.

• Scenario: The oil turned black, smells scorched, and has a sleep-inducing effect.

  
  
  
  • Root Cause: The temperature exceeded 250°F (121°C) during the reduction or decarboxylation stage, causing the THC to degrade into CBN (cannabinol) and scorching the organic plant compounds.
  • Actionable Fix: Always monitor the oil temperature using an accurate infrared thermometer. Never let the rice cooker run completely dry; always transfer the mixture to a controlled heating element (like a coffee cup warmer) while it still has a syrupy, liquid consistency.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which solvent is the safest and most effective for making RSO?

High-proof, food-grade ethanol (such as 190-proof Everclear or organic cane alcohol) is the safest and most effective solvent. It is highly efficient at stripping cannabinoids and terpenes, leaves no toxic residues if purged properly, and is safe for human consumption even if micro-traces remain.

Can I make Rick Simpson Oil using a slow cooker instead of a rice cooker?

A slow cooker is not recommended for the primary solvent evaporation step because it does not maintain the specific boil control required and often lacks an open-top design that allows vapor to escape quickly. Slow cookers can also overheat the oil at the bottom of the pot, causing premature degradation of the cannabinoids.

How do I know when the decarboxylation process is completely finished?

Decarboxylation is complete when the rapid release of tiny, uniform carbon dioxide bubbles in the warm oil slows down and stops entirely. At this point, the oil will transition from a bubbling, active state to a completely flat, quiet, glassy surface.

How much RSO will one ounce of high-quality cannabis flower yield?

One ounce (28 grams) of high-potency cannabis flower with a THC content of 20% or higher will typically yield between 3 to 4 grams of pure, highly concentrated Rick Simpson Oil, depending on your extraction efficiency and wash time.

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