Cooking with Cannabis

Why Cook with Cannabis?

• Discreet — Unlike smoking or even vaporizing, edible cannabis provides a discreet way of ingestion.
• Long Lasting — While the effects of smoked or vaporized cannabis are more immediate, the effects of edible cannabis last longer — 3 to 4 hours or more depending on your metabolism.
• More effective for certain ailments — Those who deal with chronic pain, neurological pain and insomnia report marijuana being more effective with edibles.
• Control — You can use the type of cannabis that works best for you. When you make it yourself you control which strain is used, the strength, and all the ingredients — no salt, gluten free, vegan, organic — you decide.

What Kind of Cannabis to Use

The best kind of cannabis to use in your cooking is the kind that works best for you. Different strains affect people in different ways. A strain that makes one person feel energetic and euphoric might make another person feel anxious or paranoid. The beauty of making your own edibles is that you customize them for your specific needs. The number of different strains available now is mind boggling — it will take experimentation with many different strains to find the ones that work best for you, rather than blindly choosing varieties based on their often silly names.

Metabolism Differences

Inhaled cannabis enters the body through the lungs. Edible cannabis is metabolized by the liver. When you inhale cannabis, you feel the results almost instantly. When you digest cannabis, it takes at least 30 minutes and as much as an hour and a half or longer before you feel the effects.

Duration of Effects

The effects of inhaled cannabis dissipate relatively quickly. An hour or so after smoking or vaporizing, most effects if not all will have worn off. With edibles, the effect can last for several hours and will usually completely dissipate in about 4 hours.

Dosing Challenges

It's easy to get just the right amount of inhaled cannabis — when you feel the effects you stop. The strength of edibles can vary widely, even when using similar plant material to make them. Furthermore, because it takes so long to take effect, people often think edibles aren't working and eat more, resulting in overmedication.

Conditional Effects

Certain medical conditions such as insomnia or chronic pain tend to respond well to edible cannabis. For some patients it is not necessary to have a psychoactive dose in order to receive some benefit. In fact, for pain management, many patients eat small amounts throughout the day in order to keep a baseline dose in their system without ever feeling high.

Side Effects

Regardless of how it is taken, the most commonly reported side effect of using cannabis is what some call "cottonmouth" — dry mouth is the medical term. This unfortunate but not serious side effect tends to be more pronounced with edibles.

Edible Marijuana Essentials

• Both combustible and edible cannabis depend on THC to produce the "high"
• The effects of edibles have a longer onset and take longer to dissipate than combustibles
• The most common side effect of cannabis is dry mouth
• It is not necessary to feel high in order to experience medicinal benefits from cannabis
• Indica strains tend to produce a relaxing "full body high"
• Sativa strains tend to produce energetic, creative "head highs"
• Hybrid strains combine the best of indicas and sativas in varying proportions

Cooking Dosages

It's easy to get a proper dose when inhaling cannabis — you feel the effects almost immediately and when you've had enough you simply stop. Getting the proper dose with edibles is much trickier. Thankfully in the state of PA, all product is lab tested so we know what percentage of THC or CBD we are working with when we buy the product.

All cannabis is not created equal. The same amounts of different strains will not be equal in potency. Even identical strains from different growers, or different crops of the same strain from the same grower, will vary. If you are cooking with a new strain, test its potency and effects before cooking and before eating a normal portion in order to estimate its strength. Keeping notes on the strains you cook with has value — as you become more experienced you will find some that work better than others.

In addition to the type and quality of cannabis used, other variables affect the strength of edibles. The weight of the person eating the food will alter how much they feel the medicine. Different individuals have different metabolisms, tolerance levels, and react to cannabis in different ways. The frequency of use will also affect how much is needed — the more you use, the greater your tolerance. Before adding cannabis to your cooking, consider the desired final outcome. Some patients want little psychoactive effects, others seek a strong high. Dose accordingly. Also be careful when consuming alcohol with cannabis as it can compound the effects.

What if the Dose is Too High?

Getting too strong a dose is a common problem, especially for people who are new to edible cannabis. In fact, there is no easier way to take too much marijuana than by eating it. Because it can take so long for the edibles to kick in, many people will think it's not working and eat more — by the time it all kicks in they realize they've overdone it.

If this happens, do not panic — it is impossible to ingest a toxic dose of cannabis. Overdosing on cannabis will not kill you. You may feel dizzy, groggy, nauseous or get chills. Your coordination might be affected, and some people experience heart rate acceleration which can further increase anxiety. The best remedy is to simply sleep it off. The peak of the effects should take place about an hour after you begin to notice them, and then begin to dissipate after that. It's common to feel anxious or hyperactive in the first hour, before becoming tired afterwards. Unlike too much alcohol, you won't have to deal with a hangover.

Should you discover a given batch of any recipe is stronger than you want it to be, don't discard it. The remedy is simple — consume a smaller portion in order to decrease the dosage.

How to Test an Edible's Strength

A quick way to get an indication of the strength of cannabis before cooking with it is to smoke or vaporize a small amount. While cooking will produce a somewhat different and often stronger effect, smoking or vaporizing will give you a ballpark idea of what to expect in regard to potency.

If you don't know how strong a given batch of cannabis butter, oil or edibles is, it's best to test the waters before chowing down. Start with half a portion, or even a quarter portion if you consider yourself a lightweight. Wait at least an hour and a half — if you feel the effects of the cannabis, don't eat anymore. If you don't, try another piece or alternatively wait until the next day and try a larger portion. Even if you don't feel a high you will still be getting medicinal benefits.

Cooking Considerations

THC evaporates at temperatures greater than 392°F. You can cook at temperatures higher than that, as long as the temperature of the food itself doesn't get that high. Baked foods pose no problems when cooking with cannabis even at oven temperatures in excess of 400°F. The same can be said of deep-fried foods, as long as the internal temperature of the food itself doesn't go above 392°F and the cannabis is contained inside the food.

You also have to be careful when sautéing, as the surface temperature of foods can get very high. You always want to avoid using cannabis butter or oil as the fat that goes into the pan — use them as the fats that go into the food instead. When making marinades, very little of the cannabis oil will actually be absorbed into the food and most will end up in the trash. Since cannabis is an expensive cooking ingredient, don't waste it in a marinade — add it to the food that will actually be consumed instead.

Metabolism Considerations

In order for THC in cannabis to metabolize, it needs the presence of fat, alcohol or glycerine. If you are cooking with cannabis-infused butter or oil this step is covered. Dairy products work especially well in cannabis cooking because of the presence of lecithin, an emulsifier that helps bind THC to fat. Vegetarian and vegans should note that lecithin is also present in many milk substitutes, including soy milk and rice milk.

Flavor Considerations

Generally speaking, the more delicate the recipe's flavor, the harder it will be to make it taste good with cannabis added. Unless you enjoy the herbal flavor of cannabis infusing your food, you will want to consider the flavor profile of the recipe you are trying to adapt. Normally the higher the levels of THC in your edibles, the more 'green' flavor you will taste.

What Makes Edibles So Potent?

When cannabis is smoked, it's THC that produces the range of psychoactive effects experienced — but it's a different story with edibles. Although it's THC that is eaten, the molecule takes a different metabolic pathway. Orally consumed cannabis travels through the digestive tract, where THC is absorbed and gradually transported to the liver. When it reaches this vital organ, the molecule is metabolised into its derivative, 11-hydroxy-THC. This substance then makes its way through the blood-brain barrier and produces much stronger psychoactive effects than THC itself.

Math for Edibles

To figure out the strength of your edibles, first determine the strength of your cannabis:

Next, figure out the volume of what you are infusing and the size of a serving. For example, if you have 838 mg of THC from distillate and infuse it into 300 grams of gummy mix with 3 ml molds:

If cooking with butter or oil, say you infuse 2 cups (480 ml) with 839 mg of distillate:

These numbers will vary based on the recipe and product you use, but by plugging the numbers in correctly you can figure out how to properly dose your edibles and control the strength of them. You can also use an online edible dosage calculator to make this easier.