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With an Arkansas medical marijuana card, you have the option to buy edibles at the dispensary. But what fun is that? There is something rather enjoyable about creating your own edibles at home.
One of the biggest benefits of making homemade cannabis-infused foods is that there is no limit to what you can create. You can make your favorite baked goods or savory dishes using your own homemade cannabutter (more on this shortly), allowing you to reap the benefits of edibles with the culinary experience of your homemade favorites.
But homemade edibles are tricky. Sprinkling dried marijuana flower into your cookie batter or as an herb atop dishes like pasta simply won’t do the trick. The psychoactive component of cannabis, THC, is not so euphoric when it hasn’t undergone a process known as decarboxylation.
The THC in dried flower is in an inactive form called THCA. It needs heat to change form and yield the therapeutic benefits that you’re looking for. While there may be limited decarboxylation if you throw some into cookie batter before you bake it, the result won’t taste great and will be relatively weak, wasting valuable cannabis.
To convert the highest quantity of THC into its active form, it must be exposed to prolonged low heat to decarb it. Next, the herb must be combined with fats to extract THC and other healthful compounds from the bud. A favorite way to do this is by making marijuana-infused butter (known as cannabutter) on the stovetop. Once you make a batch, you can store it in your fridge and use it in place of butter or oil in multiple recipes.
Making Cannabutter From Cannabis Flower
Step 1: Pick Your Strain
Before you begin your at-home chemistry experiment, choose your favorite strain of cannabis. You may have one that provides you with just a bit of energy for use during the day, or another that calms your mind and body, allowing you to get a good night’s rest.
A typical cannabutter recipe calls for an equal ratio of butter to bud. Try using 1 cup of your favorite butter or butter substitute with 1 cup of cannabis flower (roughly 7-10 grams). The more potent the cannabis your use (the higher the THC), the less you need. So, if your favorite strain is high-THC, go with 7 grams. If it is lower in THC, try 10 grams.
Step 2: Decarb Your Flower
Next, you will need to oven-roast your marijuana flower. This is the step needed to activate a good percentage of the THC.
Preheat your oven to 240 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Lightly break apart your herb and spread it in an even layer on your parchment-lined baking sheet.
Heat for a total of 30-40 minutes, mixing every 10 minutes. 30 minutes is best for older, drier flower and 40 minutes for fresh, sticky flower.
Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool until it is easy to handle.
Further break apart your cannabis until the flower is in a coarse grind (you do not want to grind it too fine or it will be hard to filter out of the butter later). We like to use a few pulses of a food processor.
Step 3: Make the Cannabutter
Add 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of water to a medium-sized saucepan.
Set the saucepan on the stovetop on low heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer.
Once hot, add your cannabis flower from step 2. Stir together.
Keep mixture on low heat for three hours, stirring occasionally. Do not allow the mixture to reach a boil.
Strain the cannabis flower out of the butter using a cheesecloth. You can do this over a mason jar or other container that you can store the cannabutter in.
Once your cannabutter is complete, be sure to keep it refrigerated. Excess water may pool at the bottom; you can drain this water once the butter is completely cool.
About Cannabutter Dosing
The biggest downfall of homemade edibles is that there is no way to confidently know how strong your edibles are. Every batch can differ based on slight variations in oven or stovetop temperature or by what strain of cannabis you use.
Our advice is to first experiment with the cannabutter to find the right dose for you. Start with ¼ teaspoon of cannabutter on something like a slice of bread. Wait a minimum of two hours before upping the dose. If you feel like you need more, add another ¼ teaspoon.
Keep a journal of how much you take and how you feel so you can find the best dose for you. It can take a few times of experimenting before you find the best dose.
Cooking with Cannabutter
Once you find the correct dosage for you, you can use this knowledge to help direct you in how much cannabutter to use in your recipe. We recommend using 1 dose of cannabutter per serving.
So, if you find that ½ teaspoon is a good dose and you are making a batch of 12 cookies, use 6 teaspoons of cannabutter in the recipe. Simply replace 6 teaspoons of the butter or oil called for in the recipe with the cannabutter. This is the best way to avoid accidentally becoming uncomfortably high.
If you are an Arkansan suffering from one of these 18 medical conditions you may be eligible to treat your ailment with medical marijuana, which includes both THC and CBD products.
Click here to learn more about what Arkansas Marijuana Card's state-certified medical marijuana doctors can do for you, or give us a call at (844-249-8714) and our friendly support team can walk you through the entire process, and set you up with an appointment.