For those who prefer to avoid smoking or vaporizing cannabis (for any number of reasons), cannabis-infused edibles can be a great solution. Edibles represent one of the fastest-growing product categories among medical and recreational dispensaries nationally. Nearly 5 million edible products were sold in Colorado alone in 2014.

For those living in less tolerant states, you can make your own weed edibles at home with surprising ease. In this guide, we’ll cover how to make edibles, how to determine dosage and the science of why the high associated with edibles feels so strong.  We’ll also talk about making CBD edibles from organic hemp flowers, which can be an excellent way to benefit from therapeutic effects without psychoactivity.

How to Make Edibles

weed edibles steps

Conceptually, the process of making edibles is very similar to that of cannabis concentrates: the goal is a pure, therapeutic combination of cannabinoids and terpenes.

The primary difference is that edibles typically utilize a food-grade solvent like coconut oil (or another fatty substance) as opposed to a solvent like alcohol or supercritical CO2 to extract the cannabinoids from the starting material.

There are literally hundreds of ways to make weed edibles, and most of them will work — to some degree. However, what makes our recipe especially effective is the increased bioavailability of the cannabinoids – in essence, our process makes it easy for your body to absorb the THC, CBD, and other beneficial compounds.

Necessary Items to Make Homemade Edibles

  • Starting Material:
  • Oil:
    • Coconut Oil
    • MCT Oil
      • Other types of oils will work effectively to extract the cannabinoids, but MCT oil specifically can help your body absorb the THC compounds quickly
  • Emulsifying Agent (optional):
  • Cooker:
  • Strainer:

Step 1: Select Your Starting Material

canna comforts cbd flower

Homemade edibles can be made using nearly any cannabis product: buds, trim, kief, solventless hash, solvent-based concentrates, reclaim — anything with a measurable cannabinoid content will work. We have even used the washed trim from an ice water hash extraction to make edibles.

While, technically, “anything goes,” we should note that the quality and potency of your starting material will play a large role in the strength of your edibles. Thus, edibles made from cured, ground buds will be significantly stronger than the same batch derived from already-been-vaped (ABV) buds.

Similarly, it’s important to be mindful of whether your starting material is Indica, Sativa, or Hybrid so you can anticipate the effects it will induce. You can also seek out starting material with a specific cannabinoid profile, i.e. selecting the ratio of THC to CBD that produces the effects you desire, whether for recreational use or medicinal purposes.

Note that CBD-only edibles will be non-psychoactive, whereas THC-rich weed edibles are, of course, psychoactive. If you only have access to high-THC starting material and you seek relief without the psychoactivity, we recommend juicing raw cannabis or using organic hemp flower which is federally legal in all 50 states (yes, you can buy it online and have it shipped to your house).

To calculate the amount of starting material you should use, see “How to Calculate Edible Potency” below.

Step 2: Prepare the Cannabis or Hemp

flower for edibles

If using whole buds or trim, make sure that the cannabis is finely ground. We prefer to use a traditional grinder as opposed to a food processor or blender, as these options tend to pulverize the cannabis too much.

If you’re using hash that has greased up or congealed into a sticky ball, attempt to break up the hash into smaller pieces.  The goal here is to increase the surface area of the concentrate to facilitate

Step 3: Decarboxylate

decarboxylate cannabis

This is a very important and often-overlooked step in the homemade edible baking process. For the uninitiated, the cannabinoids present in your starting material likely exist in their acidic, non-activated form.

What does this mean in practical terms? Essentially, it means that THCa (‘a’ signifies acid), for instance, maintains many of the therapeutic properties associated with THC but NOT its psychoactive properties. Thus, if you desire the typical ‘high’ associated with edibles, you need to decarboxylate or activate, your cannabinoids prior to infusing.

Although the decarboxylation process begins immediately following the plant’s harvest, it must be accelerated with heat to ensure that all of the cannabinoids have converted from their acidic to their activated forms before extraction. For reference, this same process of decarboxylation is what occurs when you light up a one-hitter or joint of cannabis.

Unless you’re working with a cannabis concentrate (like CO2 oil) that is labeled ‘activated’, you will need to decarboxylate your cannabis to maximize the effect of your edibles. To do so, we recommend preheating your oven to approximately 220-225°F (our preferred range to decarboxylate effectively without risking combustion). It helps to use an oven thermometer to check the accuracy of your oven; ours ran nearly 20 degrees hotter than it was set!

Here’s a popular simple oven thermometer, but we prefer this dual-probe thermometer with many more features (hey, we like to cook regular food too!)

The specific temperature will dictate how long it takes for your starting material to decarboxylate. As you can see on the chart below, it will likely take between 45 and 60 minutes to fully decarboxylate your cannabis at this temperature. If using a different temperature, be sure to adjust your oven time accordingly!

However, if you’re a weed edible enthusiast, and want to make homemade edibles regularly, it could be worth it to consider investing in the Ardent Decarboxylators.

decarboxylation-graph

We recommend slightly amending your decarboxylate time based on the moisture levels in the starting material; very dry material will need less time, and fresher material will need significantly more time (the material will need to be dry in order to decarboxylate effectively). In our experience, it is better to overdo the decarboxylate than to come up short and not fully activate your cannabinoids.

Pro tip: if you continue to decarboxylate after all of the THCa has converted to THC, it will begin to convert to CBN, the strongest sedative of the known cannabinoids. If you suffer from insomnia or sleep disturbances, you should leave the tray of material in the oven longer than is suggested on the chart above. The length of additional time will impact the ratio of THC to CBN in the edibles — the longer the time, the less THC and more CBN.

If you want to use edibles for insomnia, a decarboxylate time in excess of 2-3+ hours will convert significant amounts of THC to CBN and you will produce significantly more sedative edibles.

Note that although the decarboxylation process can continue somewhat during the actual oil infusion, it happens at a significantly slower rate. Therefore, we suggest activating the material prior to placing it in the oil or butter. Here are specific recommendations for each type of starting material:

  • If using trim or buds, spread the ground starting material thinly on a cookie sheet and place in the oven at 220-225°F.
  • If using kief, dry sifts, or ice water hash (cooking grade or otherwise), spread the concentrate thinly on an oven-safe Pyrex or ceramic dish and place in the oven at 220-225°F.
  • If using BHO, PHO, or other solvent-based oil, put concentrate on parchment paper in an oven-safe bowl and place in oven at 250°F until bubbles taper off (roughly 30 minutes per the chart above).
  • If using reclaim or activated CO2 oil, you do not need to decarboxylate further as these forms of cannabis are already fully activated.

Step 4: Infuse and Emulsify

make edibles weed

Place the cannabis and coconut oil in a crock-pot on low for 2-3 hours. If a slow cooker is not available, you can use a tin foil-covered, oven-safe dish at 220°F for 2-3 hours. Keep in mind that if you infuse the coconut oil for longer than 3 hours, some of the THC can begin to convert to CBN, making the effects more sedative.

This seems to be the step where many recipes differ; some call for butter heated in a crockpot while others call for honey heated on a hot plate…who is right?

Nearly all of these recipes will work to some degree. However, our goal is not to make cannabis oil with the most aggregate THC possible, but rather cannabis oil with the highest available THC for your body to absorb. Thus, we are going to select the best inputs for increased systemic bioavailability (meaning the same amount of THC will be absorbed more effectively and, therefore, felt more intensely).

use coconut oil for weed edibles

For increased bioavailability, we suggest using coconut oil, which is high in medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs). This is because MCTs are small and easily digested relative to the long-chain triglycerides (LCTs) found in most fatty foods like olive oil, canola oil or butter.

Unlike other types of fats, MCTs don’t need to be broken down before they’re used for energy, and they don’t require any extra energy to digest or absorb. This makes the use of coconut oil especially helpful for those who suffer from impaired fat digestion and gallbladder issues. You can also use pure MCT oil if you prefer – links to both are above, under “Necessary Items.”

use soy lecithin for edibles

Bonus: Add Soy Lecithin
For an additional boost in bioavailability, we suggest adding 1+ teaspoon of soy lecithin to the crockpot with the cannabis and coconut oil. Soy lecithin is a naturally occurring compound found in all cells in nature, plants, and animals.

The inclusion of lecithin homogenizes the oil and boosts your body’s ability to absorb the cannabinoids; resulting in more intense effects from the same starting material.

If you’ve ever felt frustrated because edibles don’t affect you, try switching to coconut oil and incorporating the use of soy lecithin.

*Special thanks to Kat for her research and information regarding bioavailability and edibles.

Step 5: Cool and Strain

making edibles use cheesecloth

Once infused, let the oil cool to a level where it won’t burn your hand when touched. If you used buds or trim, you should strain the cannabis from the oil. Pour the oil over a folded cheesecloth set in a metal strainer (optional, but very helpful).

making edibles

After most of the oil has drained, use your hands to squeeze the remaining oil from the cheesecloth. For maximum efficiency, you can also use a potato ricer on the bundle of starting material to squeeze out as much oil as possible.

strain cheesecloth for edibles

Note that if you used grinder kief, dry sift, ice water hash, or a solvent-based oil, there will likely be nothing to strain. That’s okay, your oil is ready to go as it is!

Step 6: Consume or Wrap & Store

weed oil

Voila! You have just created an easy-to-absorb, homemade cannabis oil that is packed with activated, beneficial cannabinoids. You can inject the cannabis oil directly into empty gelatin capsules, take a spoonful straight, or incorporate it into your favorite edible recipes in place of cooking oil or butter.

How to Calculate Edible Potency

Edibles Dosage Chart

Preparing your weed edibles is only half the task — you also need to figure out how to dose them. Calculating potency is the most difficult part of making weed edibles because most people don’t know the cannabinoid content of their cannabis or hemp.

Unless you have access to a testing facility, knowing the cannabinoid composition of your starting weed or concentrate is much easier said than done.

The good news is, you can use average THC (or CBD) percentages of the starting material to help ballpark the potency level of your edibles. We should emphasize that edibles made from 7 grams of top-shelf, California sun-grown OG Kush flowers are going to be significantly stronger than edibles made from 7 grams of synthetically grown trim.

Need help determining the potency of your cannabis? Besides visual inspection, you can do a quick smoke test and rank it among the other strains you have smoked.

*Please note that this data pertains to THC-rich strains (i.e. the stuff that is intended to get you high, most ‘street weed’) as opposed to medically oriented high-CBD strains, which typically contain lower levels of THC, or organic hemp flower, which contains less than 0.3% THC in accordance with federal regulations. With regards to the bud itself, legal states like Colorado will average more like 18% THC, whereas non-legal states could be closer to 10% THC.

The easiest way to calculate the amount of cannabis starting material required is to back into the number based on what you consider to be a personal dose of THC. For some people, this is 5mg of THC, and for others, it’s in excess of 100mg. For more on how to choose the right dose for you, check out our comprehensive consumption guide.

You can also use this handy Edible Dosage Calculator.

The next step is to determine how many servings the recipe makes; i.e. does it make 12 or 24 cookies? Multiply the number of servings in the recipe by the desired THC content in each serving; this will yield the total amount of THC in milligrams required to achieve your desired potency level for each serving.

Next, use the estimated potency of your starting material to determine how much of the material is needed, and use that alongside the amount of oil your recipe calls for (unless you’re making extra infused oil, in which case, you’ll need to calculate accordingly).

Although this may sound confusing, my friend Jeff the 420 Chef has put together an easy-to-use calculator to help you determine how much cannabis material and oil/butter should be used for any recipe. It will also break down the mg of THC or CBD in each serving size.

If you’re using already-infused coconut oil and it’s too strong, you can dilute it with additional coconut oil to lower its concentration. On the other hand, if it’s too weak, you can re-infuse or add a small amount of highly concentrated cannabis coconut oil to the weaker batch. It may take a few batches before you achieve your perfect dose, but it will get easier and more precise each time.

Using Hemp Flower for CBD Edibles

canna comforts cbd flower

While CBD oils are an easy way to add a therapeutic punch to your food,  you can also use organic hemp flower to make CBD Oil at home.

This homemade hemp extract is perfect for creating therapeutic edibles without psychoactive effects, or for using alongside material with a high THC content to boost the CBD content of your final batch.

We like the organic, non-GMO, federally legal hemp flower strains created by Canna Comforts.  Each varietal looks, smells, tastes, and smokes just like the top-shelf cannabis strain that inspired it, creating an outstanding medicinal smoking or vaping experience and delicious whole-plant concentrates.

As their products are independently tested for quality, purity, and potency, calculating dosage is easier with hemp flower than with traditional cannabis.

Cannabis Edibles FAQ's

How is this recipe different from others I’ve seen?

This recipe is designed to make THC oil with the most amount of available THC for your body to absorb, rather than oil with the most aggregate THC possible.  A high dose of THC doesn’t do much good if your body can’t absorb it effectively.

What does that mean?

From a solubility standpoint in cooking, cannabinoids like THC and CBD are only soluble in lipids (fats) and alcohol – not water. Furthermore, certain types of fats are easier for the body to absorb than others. Because alcohol extractions are typically used for tinctures, we chose a fat-based extraction with coconut oil for traditional edibles.

Why is it better?

Coconut oil can be especially helpful for those who suffer from impaired fat digestion and gallbladder issues.  The medium-chain triglycerides (MCT’s) are also easily absorbed by the body compared to longer molecules. This is why CBD products often use MCT oils as a carrier oil — to boost absorption.

Do I get higher?

The effects may feel more intense with this method, as the THC is more easily absorbed by the body when bonded to the MCTs in coconut oil.

My coconut oil solidified, is that normal?

Yes! Coconut oil, infused with cannabis or not, is saturated fat and will, therefore, remain solid at room temperature. To turn it back into a liquid, use a hot water bath and double boiler or place it in a heatproof dish in the oven at 200°F until liquefied.

What can I make?

Literally, any recipe that calls for butter or oil can be made with cannabis-infused or  CBD-infused coconut oil. That said, we should make a special note about baking recipes that call for butter: the texture of the butter makes a difference to the texture of the finished product.  If you’re making a cannabis pastry (advanced, but attainable), it may take some experimentation and blending of butter, coconut oil, and/or vegetable shortening to find the right texture.

Another thing to keep in mind when cooking with cannabis oil is to keep the oven/stove temperatures at or below 300°F. As temperatures begin to exceed 315°F, you risk inadvertently vaporizing your precious cannabinoids and weakening your edibles. If a baking recipe calls for a temperature of 350+°F, we recommend baking at 300°F and extending the baking time accordingly (even if that means 30+ minutes longer).

Can I save the extra cannabis oil?

If you do not wish to consume the cannabis oil immediately, you can store it in a cool, dark place (like a pantry) for months on end. Whether you realize it or not, you have also made an activated topical oil that can be used on the skin to relieve pain, swelling, soreness, and arthritis!

How do I get long-term relief provided by weed edibles without the high?

There are two main ways to achieve this objective; juicing high-THC strains or consuming an edible made from hemp-derived CBD or organic hemp flower. We’ve written the guide to juicing cannabis here – all you need is some fresh plant material.

While you can use CBD extracts and isolates to make non-intoxicating therapeutic edibles, you could also try using a strain of organic hemp flower to achieve the same effect.  The process with hemp flower will be the same as with traditional cannabis buds, but you’ll be extracting CBD and other beneficial cannabinoids without high levels of THC.

We enjoy the hemp flower produced by Canna Comforts, whose high-CBD strains look, feel, smell, taste, and smoke just like the top-shelf cannabis strains that inspired them.  Canna Comforts is committed to whole-plant medicine and cultivates top-quality, effective, organic, non-GMO hemp flower (Lifter strain is our favorite) that can be used to create therapeutic edibles, tinctures, and extracts — or enjoyed straight in a joint or bowl.

How many mg of THC should I eat?

Unfortunately, there’s no hard-and-fast rule to this.  Everybody and every body is different! Please consult our dosage guide, which breaks down recommended dosages by experience level.

Overdoing it straight out the gate can make for an unpleasant experience, so start slow! Remember, you can always have another cookie or brownie, but once the THC is in your bloodstream you’ll have to ride it out.

Why are edibles so much stronger than any other consumption method?

The effects induced by weed edibles are more intense because THC is converted to the more psychoactive 11-hydroxy-THC by the liver when processed through the digestive system. This compound is approximately 5 to 10 times stronger than run-of-the-mill THC.

Additionally, the effects of THC last much longer when consumed orally than when inhaled.  This is why it’s so important not to overdo the edibles:  it can lead to that dreaded, uncomfortably high, couch-locked, “never coming down” feeling.

How long does it take for edibles to hit?

Edibles have a delayed onset time, which means it can take anywhere from 20 to 90+ minutes before any effects are felt.  We know that looks like a wide window, and it is, but edible absorption time is finicky.

Onset time is directly related to the digestive process – eating them on an empty stomach results in faster processing and vice versa.

How long do the effects associated with edibles last?

The effects associated with ingested cannabis last anywhere from 4 to 8+ hours, which is much longer than the other consumption methods.

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