Students for Sensible Drug Policy

Official Guide to Marijuana Bakery

This is a step by step guide to making cannabutter and brownies. The most important and often overlooked step is decarboxylation (step 2). It is suggested to read until the end before starting the process for yourself. Included are lots of solutions to the small problems that you will run into throughout the process. You should start with cheap bud rather than smoking grade bud. Ideally, marijuana growers use their leaves and trimmings that they would otherwise throw out. Weed too nasty to smoke makes impressive brownies. 1. Grind your bud into powder: freezing the bud overnight will make it easier to blend. Use a coffee grinder or a blender to maximize surface area. After, lay out a 6x6 square of aluminum foil and remove all the powder from the grinder. 2. Decarboxylation: Preheat your oven to 220F, then heat the bud powder at this temperature for 15 minutes. a. These 15 minutes evaporates all water in the plant tissue and allows for uniform heating of the powder b. After 15 minutes, increase the temperature to 250F for 60 minutes i. This temperature converts THC-acid to its active, chemically neutral form. ii. The temperatures are based on lab studies found here. iii. Your green powder will come out light brown but the potency INCREASES. All of the cannabinoids will now be absorbed in their active form. You could technically eat the brown powder straight and get the full effects of your bud. iv. You will not lose cannabinoids to the air because the temperature is 100F below the vaporization point.

This information is based off of information from GW Pharma Limited, and other internet sites; it is not written in the first person.

3. Extraction into oil: Using coconut oil and the one pot method. Coconut oil is purely saturated fat, and sat fats cause a higher spike in blood lipid levels. This is normally bad for you, but for our use, it would get you higher. Butter also has lots of sat fat. The one pot method means that the water, oil, and weed will all be mixed into the same pot and will require future separation. While this is an additional step, it also minimizes impurities and decreases the strong taste of the bud. The water will absorb a lot of the plant flavor and particles that would otherwise be left in the oil. Also, the churning, simmering movement of the water helps the mixture to stir itself. a. Boil 1-2 cups of water, then add your pre-determined amount of oil and bud to the water (based on the amount of batches you will be making, and amount of bud per batch) b. Let the mix simmer with frequent stirring for 40-60 minutes i. The oil and water will both have a brown tint c. Prepare a tall pitcher to store the mixture while it cools. i. A tall, narrow pitcher is better because the oil layer on top will be thicker and easier to scrape off d. Cover the top with multiple layers of cheese cloth and secure the perimeter with rubber bands 4. Separation of plant matter and water a. Pour the hot mixture through the cheese cloth and use a scraper to get all plant particles and oil out onto the cloth filter. b. Use a turkey baster to wash water through the oily plant matter. After multiple washes, lift the corners of the cheese cloth and try to squeeze all of the excess fluid from the plant mass at the center. (rubber gloves or grill tongs work well) c. You now have oil and water in a pitcher without any plant matter d. Put the mixture in the freezer for a few hours, or in the fridge overnight i. Do not let the water freeze, but wait for the oil to solidify so it can easily be picked up off the surface. ii. Store the budder in a Tupperware container and microwave it until it liquefies when its time to pour it into your recipe. (takes like 10 seconds) 5. Use the budder in any recipe a. Be careful with recipes that call for temperatures above 350F, this is close to the vaporization temperature of some cannabinoids. b. Betty Crocker mixes call for 350F, but the brownies turn out softer if you cook at 325F for 10 minutes longer than recommended, also its a safer temperature. c. Surprisingly, its easier to cut brownies with a small plastic knife than a large metal one. Use a plastic knife and a sawing motion for more effective cuts.

This information is based off of information from GW Pharma Limited, and other internet sites; it is not written in the first person.

6. Eating etiquette: a. Brownies work much better on an empty stomach (this means no food for 3 hours before). On an empty stomach, the effects should be felt around 20-45 minutes depending on your metabolism. After a meal, it could take as long as 90 minutes. b. If you eat a brownie, then eat a full meal right after, you should feel it soon after the end of the meal. c. The high produced from edibles is much more of a body high, and it lasts much longer than one smoking session. d. The length of the high depends on the amount ingested and the persons metabolism. While some people will be high for 4-5 hours, others (especially girls) may be high for 12-18 hours. e. The amount it takes to get you high depends on the starting quality of the bud, how much oil it was dissolved into, and the number of brownies the oil was separated into, but generally, a .brownie with .5g of raw bud will get you really high. SSDP meetings are in Schroeder 242 every Thursday at 8:00pm. Be there, or be square.

This information is based off of information from GW Pharma Limited, and other internet sites; it is not written in the first person.