Are you a marijuana enthusiast? Are you interested in exploring the benefits of marijuana for health and nutritional values? Read on to learn how to make marijuana coconut oil.
Marijuana is a plant best known for its ability to get you high when smoked or vaped. But did you know that it can be infused with different kinds of food materials, such as coconut oil? Infusing coconut oil with cannabis is a versatile way to enjoy cannabis and its many other values.
In this article, you'll learn how to make marijuana coconut oil at home. The process is easy and straightforward.
Ingredients Needed
Two things are needed:
2 cups of unrefined coconut oil, and
40g of cannabis flower buds, trims, or kief
Recommended Dosing
Dosing is an essential aspect of this process. If this is your first time trying your hands on canna oil, you should start light, especially if you're interested in making THC-rich cannabis.
Typically, your cannabis trim or buds should be between 0.5 – 1.5g per tablespoon of oil. For 2 cups of coconut oil, you can use 16 grams of decarboxylated cannabis. If you're using buds, you may need to use less than you would if you were to use a trim. This is because there's more THC in cannabis buds. For instance, 0.5g of bud would be okay for each tablespoon of coconut oil.
Tools Needed for the Process
To make the process easy and seamless, you'll need the following materials:
- A large cup for measurement
- Strainer or cheesecloth
- Sizeable jar or bowl to store the coconut oil
- A simple hand grinder to grind the raw cannabis
- A slow cooker. Alternatively, you can get a double-boiler
- A pot or saucepan
- A candy thermometer
Making Your Cannabis Coconut Oil
Now that you know what is needed, the amount of oil, and the dosing of cannabis, let's go over the process of making your cannabis oil.
Decarboxylation
First, we begin with grinding the cannabis buds or trim, but be careful not to grind it too fine. If it is too fine, it will end up in your final product or cannabutter. It would be best if you avoided that. It's important to note that you can only enjoy the cannabinoids (CBD or THC) in your weed when you decarboxylate it by heating. Decarboxylation is done on very low heat for some time. The essence is to activate the cannabinoids and terpenes in cannabis.
When you heat cannabis at a controlled temperature, the THCa molecule is converted to THC, the weeds psychoactive and potent molecule. This also applies to CBDa and CBGa. You will need to decarboxylate your CBDa into CBD before making CBD infused-coconut oil. Note that THC or Tetrahydrocannabinol is the dominant cannabinoid in marijuana and is responsible for its psychoactive effect. CBD or cannabidiol, on the other hand, is primarily extracted for medicinal purposes. However, you're going to need hemp plant materials (a variety of marijuana, from which CBD is extracted) to achieve this.
Combine the Marijuana and Coconut Oil
After decarboxylating, the next thing is to mix the decarboxylated cannabis with coconut oil and allow it to steam and steep on low heat for several hours. If you're using a slow cooker, cook for 4-6 hours. For a double boiler, you'll need to heat for 6-8 hours on low heat.
Here, it would be best to use the double-boiler, saucepan, or slow cooker on low heat. To ensure that you do not destroy the potency of the cannabinoids, do not heat for longer than necessary. You can add water to the content to ensure it does not burn. Use the thermometer to maintain the cooking temperature at a maximum of 245°F. One more vital thing to take note of at this stage is stirring. Stir regularly at intervals of, say, 30 or 40 mins. Turn off the heat and allow the content to cool.
Strain and Store your Marijuana-infused coconut oil
One more thing — you'll need to strain out the oil and separate it from the plant material. Place the cheesecloth inside a bowl and pour the Cannabis-infused coconut oil into it. Do not squeeze the cheesecloth too hard, as you may end up adding more chlorophyll to the oil. Gather and discard the plant material left behind in the cheesecloth.
Store the oil in a jar. Refrigeration is preferable, but note that it is best before two months. Also, please keep it away from sunlight.
Precautions — What to do and What to AvoidÂ
- Avoid grinding the marijuana too fine. It will ruin the process.
- When cooking or decarboxylating, try not to cook for too long, as overboiling will kill the cannabinoids. Keep an eye on the time and temperature throughout the process. Note also that the strain of marijuana you use might also affect the heating.
- Boil or cook on low heat throughout.
- If you're a beginner, best start with lower levels of cannabis and increase it according to your capacity over time.
Why coconut oil?
Ever wondered why coconut oil seems to be a perfect choice everywhere for making cannabis-infused coconut oil?
Well, the answer isn't far-fetched. Coconut oil is rich in fatty acids (over 80% saturated fats). These fatty acids account for the oil's ability to bind very well to cannabinoids (CBD and THC). So during the infusion process, the saturated fatty acids bind and retain enough cannabinoid, making coconut oil an excellent medium for infusing cannabis.
Benefits of using Marijuana Coconut Oil
Both cannabis and coconut oil have excellent benefits they offer individually to the body. Unlike canola oil, olive oil, or butter, coconut oil is the ideal oil base for infusing cannabis. Coconut oil contains lauric acid, a fatty acid that helps to create monoglyceride, which acts as an antimicrobial agent in the body.
Cannabis, on the other hand, is known to help relieve pain, reduce inflammation, combat seizures in children (when CBD is involved), and so on. Therefore, the combination of cannabis and coconut oil offers an array of nutritional and medicinal benefits to the body, beginning with improving the immune system, boosting cognition, increasing metabolism, and protecting your heart health.
