You’ve probably heard the horror stories. Someone eats a brownie, waits ten minutes, feels nothing, eats three more, and suddenly they’re questioning the fabric of reality while glued to their kitchen floor. Making edibles is an art, but it’s mostly a science. If you just grind up some bud and toss it into a bowl of brownie mix, you’re basically throwing money away. It won’t get you high. It’ll just taste like lawn clippings.
The chemistry has to be right. Raw cannabis contains THCA, which is non-psychoactive. To turn that into the THC that actually does something, you need heat. This is a process called decarboxylation. People call it "decarbing." If you skip this, your edibles will be duds. Period.
Honestly, the hardest part isn't the cooking. It's the patience. You're looking at a multi-hour commitment to do this properly. But once you master the infusion, you can put it in almost anything—butter, oil, honey, even bacon grease if that’s your vibe.
Why Decarboxylation Is the Only Step That Actually Matters
Think of decarbing as the "on switch" for your weed. In its raw form, the plant is full of cannabinoid acids. According to various lab studies from places like Steep Hill Labs, THCA requires a specific temperature for a specific amount of time to drop its carboxyl group and become THC.
Most people mess this up by going too hot. If your oven is at 350°F, you aren't decarbing; you're vaporizing the good stuff into your kitchen vents. You want a low, slow simmer. Aim for 240°F (115°C).
The Parchment Paper Method
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. This prevents sticking and makes the transfer easier. Break your cannabis into small, pea-sized pieces. Don't pulverize it into a fine powder yet, or it'll burn. Spread it out evenly. Slide it into the oven for about 30 to 45 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when the color shifts from vibrant green to a toasted, brownish gold. It should smell nutty and pungent.
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Choosing Your Fat: Butter vs. Oil
Cannabinoids are fat-soluble. They need a carrier to get into your system. This is why how to make edibles from weed almost always starts with a fat-based infusion.
Butter is the classic choice. It tastes great. However, butter has water and milk solids that can burn or spoil. If you want a shelf-stable infusion, go with Coconut Oil. It has a high saturated fat content, which is perfect for binding with THC. Some enthusiasts swear by adding Lecithin—a phospholipid found in soy or sunflowers—which reportedly helps the THC cross the blood-brain barrier faster. Does it work? Anecdotally, yes. Scientifically, it's a bit of a debate, but it definitely improves the texture of your gummies or chocolates.
The Infusion: The Long Game
Once your weed is decarbed, it's time to marry it to the fat. You can use a slow cooker, a double boiler, or even a specialized machine like a MagicalButter or a Levo. If you're doing it on the stove, use a double boiler. Putting a pot of oil directly on a flame is a recipe for scorched cannabinoids.
- Mix your decarbed weed with your oil or melted butter.
- Maintain a temperature between 160°F and 200°F. Never let it boil.
- Simmer for at least 2 to 3 hours.
- Stir occasionally.
Some people leave it for 6 or 8 hours. Honestly? You don't need to. After a few hours, you've extracted the vast majority of the available THC. Any longer and you're just extracting more chlorophyll, which makes the final product taste like a swamp.
The Straining Process
Grab a cheesecloth. Fold it over a few times. Slowly pour your mixture through the cloth into a glass jar. Don't squeeze the cloth. It’s tempting to get every last drop, but squeezing pushes out the bitter plant material and waxes. Let gravity do the work.
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Calculating Potency (So You Don't See Through Time)
This is where most home cooks fail. If you don't know the strength of your edibles, you're playing Russian Roulette with your afternoon.
Let's do some quick math. If you have 1 gram of flower with 20% THC, that's 200mg of THC total. Even with perfect decarbing and infusion, you'll likely only recover about 70-80% of that. So, one gram of "good" weed might give you around 150mg of active THC in your butter.
If you put that whole gram into a batch of 10 cookies, each cookie is 15mg. For a beginner, 5mg is plenty. For a veteran, 25mg is a standard dose. Know your audience.
What Most People Get Wrong About Terpenes
We talk a lot about THC, but the flavor and the "vibe" of the high come from terpenes. Myrcene, Limonene, Pinene—these are volatile. They evaporate at relatively low temperatures. When you are learning how to make edibles from weed, you have to accept that you will lose some of these during the oven process.
To preserve flavor, some chefs use a "sous vide" method. They vacuum seal the weed and oil together and submerge it in a temperature-controlled water bath. It’s discreet, smells way less, and keeps those delicate flavors locked in. It’s the pro move if you have the gear.
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Storing Your Creation
Light and heat are the enemies of potency. THC degrades into CBN over time when exposed to oxygen and UV light. CBN won't get you high in the traditional sense; it'll just make you incredibly sleepy.
Store your infused butter or oil in a dark glass jar in the fridge. Better yet, freeze it in an ice cube tray. Each cube can be a pre-measured dose you can pop into a pan or a cup of coffee whenever you want.
The Infusion Is Only the Beginning
Once you have your "green gold," you aren't limited to brownies. You can make salad dressings, stir-fry, or even infused honey for your tea.
The trick is to never cook the infused oil again over high heat. If you're making a stir-fry, cook the food normally, then drizzle the infused oil over the top right before serving. This protects the THC from the high heat of the wok.
Actionable Next Steps for Success
- Buy a digital thermometer. Don't trust your oven dial; most ovens fluctuate by 20 degrees. Accuracy is everything.
- Start with a small batch. Don't use your entire ounce on your first try. Use an eighth (3.5g) to test your technique and your oven's temperament.
- Test your potency. Eat a tiny amount of your finished oil—maybe a quarter teaspoon—and wait two full hours before deciding if it's "weak."
- Label everything. Seriously. An unlabelled jar of "special" butter in a shared fridge is a lawsuit or a very weird family brunch waiting to happen.
- Keep CBD on hand. If you overdo it and feel anxious, CBD can help level out the psychoactive effects of THC. It's the "emergency brake" for a bad trip.