I’ve thought about this project for a few years now and finally got around to scoring some DMSO, (DiMethyl SulfOxide), from a health food store to give it a try. A few months ago when I found some roll-on applicators in a small store specializing in products from Mexico called The Little Mexican Store I bought a few then finally put it all together. Various sizes like 2.5, 5 and 10ml blue and amber glass vials with removable roll-on tops from 75¢ to $1.75. Some larger ones at the health food store were $6 each but I didn’t get any of those. SS ball and and cup tops are also available and I wish I’d picked up a 10 pack for $17.50.
Simply stated DiMethyl SulfOxide is a solvent that can carry a variety of substances through the skin and has been used on it’s own for pain relief tho when blended with the appropriate medications can be much more effective. Used a lot in veterinary work for relieving sore joints in horses and other critters. Back in the 70s and 80s it was quite the thing with older folks for joint pain but was eventually banned or restricted in Canada quite likely from pressure the pharmaceutical companies put on the gov’t as they couldn’t profit from it. The same thing has quite likely extended the time line for getting pot legal for medicinal purposes.
The blurb on the label of the bottle states, " Helps to temporarily reduce the pain associated with musculoskeletal conditions of the large joints, such as post-traumatic soft-tissue injuries, acute bursitis, strains and sprains." I have fairly advanced arthritis that is not getting better with age and causes a lot of very sharp pain with spasms in my hands making chores like trimming less of a labour of love like it should be.
A small 60ml/2oz bottle of 90% DMSO costs $13 but after checking at the local farm supply I ordered a 16oz bottle of 99% for $16 so 8X as much for three more dollars. Stronger too so may have to dilute it with distilled water a bit and get a little more.
Anyway I made some Qwiso using 34g of sugar trim from my outdoor CBD girl and got 3.62g of dark oil off it. Reclaimed 500ml of the ISO from 750ml input with my countertop still and evaporated the rest off on my hotplate finishing in a hot water bath. This plant is supposed to be up to 20% CBD and around 0.03% THC but I haven’t had it tested to be sure of it’s content other than doing a Beam’s test to confirm it does have CBD. A cutting I took last fall is nearing the end of flowering indoors and once cropped a sample will be sent to a lab in Vancouver for some actual numbers.
I have a DIY still I’ve used for years but last year bought a countertop distiller that has a temperature control so it can be easily adjusted for various solvent tho the gasket isn’t compatible with naphtha and leaked like a sieve running down the sides when I tried naphtha in it. Talk about a fire hazard. Worked great with ISO to reclaim the bulk of it. Some is in the used pot and that’s been saved until I have a bunch of it that I’ll put in the still and see how much I can get back from it. You have to be careful not to let it run dry of solvent and possibly burn the oil but I think that’s more a problem with the ones that have no temp control and are really made to distill water.
I removed the big chrome nose made to hold a packet of carbon to remove taste and odour from water/alcohol that’s being distilled and attached some food grade clear tubing to feed directly into the receiving vessel which in this case is an empty 500ml ISO bottle. As I knew I had about 600ml in the still I unplugged it when the bottle was near full and it stopped very quickly.
The left-over ISO/oil mix was removed with a syringe and put in a beaker for final evaporation first on a variac controlled hot-plate then in a water bath to get the last out without scorching the oil. I may have cooked it longer than I should have before the water bath because later when mixed with the DMSO and heated to 250F very few decarb bubbles emerged. I prefer decarbing in the solvent being used for the final product whether it be DMSO or coconut oil rather than the oven to preserve as many of the terpenes as possible. The boiling point for DMSO is 189C / 372F so no problem heating to 250F to decarb in it.
I got 3.62g of oil from the 34g of sugar trim then added 25ml of DMSO to the little beaker it was in and heated to 250F for about 20min only getting a few decarb bubbles when I stirred it then sucked it up into my 30cc glass syringe to force it thru a 0.22µ syringe filter but that plugged right up due to suspended particles in the sol’n. I figured I needed it really clean so it didn’t gunk up the ball on the roll-on unit but if left standing all the gunk floats to the top and it can be drained out really clean without the fine filter. I later discovered those filters can be bought with a 1micron pre-filter built in to get most stuff before hitting the finer pores of the real filter tho that would gum up too if no separation is done first.
Tried this setup using a small medical valve I took from a Heimlich Chest Drain Valve unit they let me keep after using it to fix my collapsed lung. I was worried that the valve would separate from the syringe as it’s just stuck on without any screw attachment like the other side where the filter screws into the outlet of the valve. I wanted the DMSO mix to separate overnight so lowered it down into the beaker to touch the bottom so it couldn’t fall off but when I tightened the clamp to the post it must have put too much pressure on it and it cracked at the junction of the valve and syringe slowly leaking into the beaker. As everything was clean and the gunk was still in the syringe I just filled two 10ml roll-op vials and capped them.
I figure the best way to do this for the average Joe/Jill is use a suitable sized plastic syringe and stand it tip down in a tall glass until it has separated for 24 hours then just carefully squirt it out into the roll-on vials or another clean container. The DMSO an be had as a gel too for use as an ointment but I’m not sure if it will remain a gel if heated as I did mine. Decarbing the pot being before extracting the oil would also work then gentle warming to blend them should be enough. Wouldn’t have to be so fussy about filtering it as much either. Nor does the DMSO have to be as strong. It just gets the meds thru the skin faster when stronger but could be a little irritating at full strength. Mine has a bit of a tingling/burning sensation when first applied to thinner skin but fades by the time it dries and hasn’t left any sign or redness on the skin. Works great for my joint pain.
Make sure to clean the area where it is too be applied well as it will carry almost any contaminants along with the meds into your skin and bloodstream
I think the hardest part of it for the inexperienced will be making the oil from pot but there is lots of info how to do it or pre-made could be used as well if you have a source. As to how much oil to use per ml of DMSO mine is about 1.5g/10ml and seems very effective tho I plan to experiment with different amounts in future batches. Will also depend on the levels of CBD etc in your oil. Also want to try it with THC oil to see if it works for catching a buzz and THC/CBD blends. Water solubles will work too as DMSO works with both.
I hope it helps others as it seems to be helping me.
