Solvent Science

The Problem is not with the ALCOHOL, but the WATER.

While modern medicine continues to deny its effectiveness, Rick Simpson oil has comforted many suffering from a wide range of conditions, including asthma, arthritis, anxiety, and even cancer. But not all RSO is created equally, and taking bad RSO, or misusing it, could make a patient’s condition worse or lead to other health issues. Whether you’re using quality Genesis Pharms Whole Plant Concentrate (RSO) or making your own at home, it’s critical to understand the science behind producing quality RSO.

When it comes to making safe and effective RSO, the key is in the solvent. At Genesis Pharms, we only use pure isopropanol alcohol - and there’s a good reason behind our choice. After consulting with chemists, we found that the difference between ethyl alcohol and isopropyl alcohol is a single carbon atom, and ethyl is an intoxicant while iso is not. It’s important to remember there shouldn’t be any alcohol in your final product, but you can easily remove it with proper heat control. We routinely get the residual solvent down to between none-detected and a couple of hundred ppm. So with Genesis Pharms Whole Plant Concentrate, you would need to consume thousands of grams of oil to get a single gram of alcohol.

We also know that water is a breeding ground for living organisms. Those who use 95% alcohol have water acting as a solvent. The result is a large amount of water and water-soluble matter in the final product. It’s difficult to remove water from the final product and even more challenging to remove water-soluble matter. Genesis Pharms Whole Plant Concentrate does contain minuscule amounts of water; however, there is not enough present to support microbial or fungal life. By leaving water in your product, you run the risk of having living organisms in your oil – and the last things you want to ingest are living organisms!

These photos illustrate the disbursement of ethanol and anhydrous (without water) oil in water. We put both oils in 98 degree water to emulate the body. The RSO made with ethanol has only a small amount of oil that sank to the bottom and a high amount of water-soluble material floating on top. The Genesis Pharms oil settled at the bottom, leaving no water-soluble material floating on top. That’s why Rick Simpson says to use only anhydrous alcohol when making RSO.

Hydrous vs. Anhydrous

Front Side – On the left is RSO made with ethanol. On the right is Genesis Pharms RSO made with anhydrous alcohol. Both were warmed to body temperature and applied to a sheet of paper.

Back Side – The backside of the paper shows that a good portion of the product made with 95% alcohol and 5% water has soaked through, while the Genesis Pharms RSO, made with anhydrous alcohol, has not.

In conclusion, if you’re making RSO at home, we strongly recommend using anhydrous alcohol. Although you will get a lower yield, you will be making a better-quality product, and that’s what matters. If you have experience using ethanol, try using an anhydrous solvent. You’ll see a difference in the quality of oil you produce.

If you’re in the industry, please put public safety in front of your profit and stop spreading disinformation. Science doesn’t care about your bottom line; it pinpoints the facts. At Genesis Pharms, our mission is to use the power of cannabis to help anyone in need. There is a best choice for those of us trying to help others.

If you have any questions about Genesis Pharms Whole Plant Concentrate, RSO production, or anhydrous alcohol, please contact us here.

Comments are closed.