10 Reasons why you shouldn't use butane to make oil
BHO aka butane hash oil is, for many consumers, one of the first cannabis concentrates they ever tried. On the black market, it has always been one of the most accessible and affordable options, but there’s more than one reason behind why we don’t see it available on legal store shelves, and here we’re going to talk about why you shouldn’t go ahead and make a batch yourself.
1. It’s dangerous to breathe in the fumes
At room temperature butane is an alkane gas that can be incredibly toxic if you breathe it in, something that’s impossible to avoid when this cannabis concentrate is made indoors or anywhere ventilation is poor.
2. Butane is explosive and flammable
This gas is highly flammable, and it comes with an autoignition point of 689°F at room temperature, which means that all it takes is a single spark, or the hot coal on a cigarette to light a whole room full of it on fire. Since you also need heat to evaporate the liquid in good time, without waiting around for days, the whole process of extraction is very dangerous.
3. It will never fully evaporate
Most of the butane will dissipate over time, even at room temperature, however,
there will always be traces of the chemical left behind, and there is no good way to get rid of it.
4. Traces left behind could be hazardous to your health
Butane is a toxic chemical, so any remaining traces are almost certain to have an adverse effect on your health if they’re inhaled or consumed some other way via cannabis concentrate. It could hurt your mouth, throat, lungs, stomach, and who knows what else, so it’s really not worth that much risk.
5. Lower concentration
Butane hash oil is full of all kinds of impurities, which means that no matter how well you filter the solvent, there will always be a lower concentration of cannabinoids compared to other types of cannabis concentrates.
6. Harsher hits
Butane is dirty, and when you use it to make BHO, those awful chemicals that are left behind will make every single hit harsher than any other type of oil. Sure, it’ll get the job done, but you might bring up a lung in a coughing fit in the process. Why go through all of that, when there are much better options on the market?
7. Quality suffers
No matter which way you look at it, using butane as a solvent to extract the cannabinoids reduces the quality of the end product. Hence, it seems like you end up with more because there are far too many impurities and nowhere near enough of the good stuff.
8. Headaches
Only one thing is guaranteed if you smoke a lot of BHO, and that is the headaches and nausea that are bound to follow the high. Though the occasional person seems to get off scot-free, most experience some sort of uncomfortable side effects from consuming butane hash oil.
9. BHO is no good no matter how you slice it
In case you haven’t gotten the memo yet, butane hash oil is terrible in virtually every way, from being a hazard to your health, to posing a danger just to make a batch.
10. There are much better and safer ways
There are so many different solventless ways to make unique, high-quality, delicious concentrates without spending any more money than you would on a can or two of this toxic gas, and without all of the explosive risks that go with dealing with flammable butane.
Want to learn more about how to make cannabis concentrates both safely and effectively? Then head on over to our guide which will take you through the process from beginning to end.
