When you want powerful psychoactive effects and an extremely enjoyable method of consumption, nothing beats marijuana edibles. Edibles can give you the same kind of effects you’d get from smoking weed, except they’re significantly stronger and longer-lasting. Edibles can be found in all kinds of varieties including gummies, brownies, drinks, and more. You can also learn how to make the perfect marijuana edibles.
Although making marijuana edibles requires a little more effort than simply buying edibles, it’s a rewarding project for any marijuana lover. You can get as creative as you like, so no matter what kind of foods or drinks you enjoy, you can find a way to infuse them with the effects of marijuana. Plus, you can use any strain of marijuana you want to get your desired high.
Making edibles at home is fairly straightforward, although some of the steps are quite time-consuming. You’ll need to decarboxylate your weed, infuse it into some kind of fat such as butter or oil, then add it to other recipes or meals to enjoy the powerful effects. With that said, it’s well worth the time spent, especially as edibles give you such an incredible high. Here’s a guide on how to make the perfect marijuana edibles.
What Are Marijuana Edibles?
Before you start trying to make marijuana edibles yourself, it’s important to know exactly what they are and what to expect. Simply put, marijuana edibles are food or drink products that have been infused with the THC from marijuana. Examples include gummies, brownies, cookies, chocolate bars, tea, and more. They often taste like regular food products, but they also get you high.
Users generally opt for marijuana edibles over other methods of consumption when they want stronger effects. While most methods of consumption only get you high for a few hours, the high from edibles can last twice as long if not more. What’s more, consuming marijuana orally gives you a much stronger high than you’d get from smoking or vaping.
While many people take edibles simply for the interesting recreational high they provide, they can also be great for medical users. Edibles can provide powerful relief for issues such as chronic pain and inflammation, stress and depression, insomnia, and more. Some users try edibles when other methods of consumption don’t give them the relief they need.
The effects of edibles can be overwhelming for those who aren’t looking for a potent psychoactive experience. However, there are ways to curb the effects. For instance, some people take microdoses of edibles to get a more manageable high. You can also control how potent your edibles are by making them yourself.
How Do Marijuana Edibles Work?
Anyone who’s tried marijuana edibles will know how different the high is compared to other methods of consumption. However, some may wonder how edibles work and why they give you such a powerful and long-lasting high.
When you smoke or vape marijuana, Delta-9-THC (commonly referred to simply as THC) reaches your system instantly. This is why you feel the effects straight away, but the high only lasts for a few hours. In contrast, when you consume THC orally, it’s converted by your liver into 11-hydroxy-THC, a more powerful form of the chemical.
You’ll get the same kind of effects you’d expect from other methods of marijuana consumption. Edibles will make you feel happy and euphoric, stimulate your mind, enhance your senses, and give you soothing physical relaxation. However, the effects will be much more pronounced and last for much longer due to the strength of 11-hydroxy-THC.
Research on the Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Cannabinoids examined how the effects of smoking marijuana and using marijuana edibles differed. It found that the effects of smoking marijuana came on instantly and tapered off after around 2-3 hours. However, the effects of edibles didn’t kick in until 30-90 minutes after consumption, peaked at 2-3 hours, and lasted for 4-12 hours.
Since the effects are so different, it’s important to be cautious when you consume marijuana edibles. A dose of 10mg or less is recommended for beginners. But while packaged edibles tell you the exact dose, you may have to use some trial and error when making edibles yourself. You should only eat a very small amount first and wait until the effects wear off to increase your dosage.
How To Make The Perfect Marijuana Edibles
Making marijuana edibles at home is surprisingly straightforward, although it can take some time. There are many ways to make edibles, but it generally involves decarboxylating your marijuana, infusing it into fats (butter or oil works best), and then using your newly-made cannabis condiment in foods and drinks.
Firstly, you’ll need some marijuana. To make the perfect marijuana edibles, it’s usually best to start with around 7-14 grams of weed. You can choose your strain based on the kind of effects you want, and there are plenty of cannabis strains online to choose from. Some users also use cannabis concentrates such as Hash or Kief. The process is similar, but these are much stronger than weed and you generally don’t need to use as much.
No matter what kind of marijuana you use, you’ll need to decarboxylate it first. Decarboxylation generally involves heating your marijuana in the oven without burning it. This activates the THC, which can then bind to fats in butter, oil or other condiments. Without decarboxylation, your edibles most likely won’t work.
While there are many fat-based condiments you can infuse with THC, it’s best to use either butter or cooking oil. Making cannabis butter or cannabis oil will give you a versatile cannabis condiment that you can then use in various recipes or simply add to your favorite foods and drinks. Butter is generally better if you plan to make baked goods whereas oil is great for adding to drinks, but both can work well either way.
How To Decarboxylate Your Weed
The first step to making the perfect marijuana edibles is to decarboxylate your weed. This will activate the THC in your marijuana without burning it, allowing you to bind it to butter or oil. All you’ll need to decarboxylate your weed at home is an oven, a tray, and some parchment paper.
Preheat your oven to 245°F. This makes it hot enough to activate the THC in your weed but not hot enough to burn it. Cover a baking tray in parchment paper and spread buds of your weed across it. It’s best to use around 7-14 grams, although you can use more.
Place the baking tray in the oven and leave it there for around 30-40 minutes. It’s best to give your tray a quick shake every 10 minutes or so to ensure your buds are heated evenly. After the time is up, take your baking tray out of the oven and leave it to cool.
You might want to grind your weed at this point before you infuse it into butter or oil. The THC in your weed will now be active and ready for infusion.
How To Make Cannabis Butter
After decarboxylating and grinding your weed, you can infuse it into butter. Cannabis butter is a fantastic cannabis-infused condiment that you can use in all kinds of baked recipes or simply spread on top of foods for potent marijuana edibles. If you’d rather make cannabis oil, you can read below instead. Here’s how to make the perfect cannabis butter.
Ingredients:
- 7-10 grams of weed
- 1 cup of butter
- 1 cup of water
Step 1: Add your water and butter to a saucepan on moderate heat and wait for the butter to melt. Once it’s melted, it’s best to apply a low heat of around 160-180ºF. This will allow you to infuse THC into your butter without burning the weed.
Step 2: Add your ground weed to the melted butter. It’s best to use 7-10 grams of weed for each cup of butter and water you use. You can melt more butter if you want to use more weed. Stir your weed into the butter.
Step 3: Leave your weed and butter to simmer for around 2-3 hours while stirring occasionally. You want your mixture to simmer without reaching a boil. If it becomes too hot, lower the heat. The THC in your weed will bind to the fats in butter.
Step 4: After simmering for 2-3 hours, you can now strain your cannabis-infused butter. Place a strainer or cheesecloth over a clean glass container. Wait until all the butter has strained through and any excess plant material is left behind.
Step 5: Seal your container and place it in the fridge for at least an hour to harden. Once it’s hardened, cut to the bottom with a knife and remove any excess water. You can now use your cannabis butter however you want.
How To Make Cannabis Oil
Alternatively, you might want to make cannabis oil instead of butter. You can make cannabis oil the same way you make cannabis butter- simply substitute butter with cooking oil and take care to ensure it doesn’t boil. However, cooking oil in a saucepan is much more prone to scorching and the best way to make cannabis oil is by using a slow cooker or double boiler.
Ingredients:
- 7-10 grams of weed
- 1 cup of coconut oil (or another kind of cooking oil such as olive oil)
- 1 cup of water
Step 1: Create a double boiler by placing a glass cooking bowl inside a saucepan of hot water and fill the bowl with a cup of coconut oil. Alternatively, if you have a Slow Cooker, simply fill it with a cup of oil. Either way, make sure you use low heat.
Step 2: Add your ground, decarboxylated weed to your oil and stir it in thoroughly. Allow the mixture to simmer and make sure you keep it a low or moderate heat below 245°.
Step 3: Allow the mixture to simmer for around 4-6 hours while stirring occasionally. It’s best to let it simmer for as long as possible to ensure the THC is infused into the oil, but make sure your mixture doesn’t come to a boil.
Step 4: Once you’re ready, strain the mixture into a clean glass container using a cheesecloth. This will separate the oil from any excess plant material. Allow time for the mixture to fully strain through. Allow the oil to cool and it’s ready to use. You can store it in the fridge.
How To Use Your Cannabis Butter Or Oil
Once you’ve made your cannabis butter or oil, there are many ways to add them to delicious marijuana edible recipes. You might simply want to add them on top of your meals or snacks, but there are also more creative ways to use them.
One of the most popular ways to make cannabis edibles is by using cannabis butter or oil in recipes for baked goods such as brownies, cookies, cakes, and more. This usually requires simply replacing some butter or oil with your cannabutter or cannaoil. You can also find cannabis recipes online.
You can also infuse cannabis butter or oil into drinks. If you want to add some psychoactive effects to tea, coffee, smoothies or juices, simply add some cannabis-infused butter or oil. Melt your butter before adding it to drinks and make sure you only use a small amount so you don’t ruin the flavor.
If you need some inspiration, check out our top 5 marijuana edible recipes. These are a great place to start if you want to make some perfect marijuana edibles. Make sure you’re careful with edibles- it only takes a very small amount to get seriously high, so only eat a small serving at first no matter what kind of edibles you make.
Conclusion
You can make the perfect marijuana edibles right at home. You’ll need to decarboxylate your weed and infuse it into butter or oil, but once you’re done, you can make all kinds of incredible edible creations infused with the effects of THC.
Although making edibles can be a lot of fun, you might prefer to buy edibles online. You can find all kinds of high-quality readymade edibles from baked goods to candies to beverages. You can also find various other great cannabis products at GreenSociety.ca.
Definitely going to try to make edibles soon after reading this ??