Welcome aboard.

I'm not so sure your friend really realized what he had. If that's how my friend guided me through it the first time, I'm not sure how I'd feel about the molecule nowadays.

That said, our approach was very spiritual and meditative and I got the most I could out of it and continue to now under those pretenses.

Good luck on your future extraction -- Q21's tek is amazing, it's all I use, it's easy with practice, and doesn't take long to complete at all. With a good freezer, you could have spice ready to smoke in 6 hours or less from start to finish. As for me, it takes about 12 hours to have it ready to go due to a crappy freezer that takes forever to freeze things. (being in a mini fridge)

There's something special about making your own. Some of your own personal essence makes it into that product, making the product and the experience very unique and personal to you. I have the strong belief that the extractors "energies" have an effect on the spice, but that's just been my experience so far. Also, you'll be able to control more variables -- you can choose the smoking method that you prefer, you could make changa or enhanced leaf (my personal favorite), you can set up your own set and setting and have a lot more freedom to explore the space you're in.

You're at the right place, good luck on your travels