Marijuana and cooking are a perfect fusion. But how to make, dose, and what precautions to take when we talk about the famous CBD edibles? Come learn more about it here in this article!
Let's talk about eating cannabis! No, wait a minute, it's not to chew the joint, no: there are amazing strategies to cook with the plant and produce delights turbocharged with cannabinoids, terpenes, terpenoids, and everything that is best in cannabis. In addition to being delicious, CBD edibles are also a way to reduce damage in their consumption and can be a strategy for those who want to enjoy all the therapeutic effects of the plant - together in a unique breeze.
The legal market makes it easy to find options for all tastes and needs, but if you want to make the most of the experience, you can cook your own recipes at an authentic CBD grocery store. That's why it's really important to find a balanced way to cook with the herb, whether it's a breeze (or brawl), magic brownies, space cakes or any other CBD chocolate candy.
Depending on the amount, you can have a very incredible - or very challenging - experience with CBD edibles.
It's always good to talk about it and thus ensure a safer trip: from concepts, recipes and even care with this substance, which, like any other, should be consumed with great awareness.
Decarboxylation: the first concept. As we mentioned above, CBD edibles are foods that include cannabis in their recipe. But don't just throw the plant in the pot! There is a technique for those who want to cook with marijuana: it's called decarboxylation.
Decarboxylation is a way to activate the psychoactive properties of cannabis through heat. This must be done because the fresh herb contains almost no THC, the substance responsible for most of the effects we like best. Fresh flowers and their trichomes are rich in THCA, the acidic form of THC.
To transform THCA into THC, we need high temperatures. When we heat the herb, the molecule breaks down, and we are able to take advantage of its psychoactive action. But to get the most THC when cooking with cannabis, you need to decarboxylate it first! Here, we have already taught you very well how to do this process.
To cook with cannabis, we also need to remember that our favourite herb is fat-soluble. This means that its components dissolve not in water but in fats - like butter and vegetable oils like coconut. These two fats are the most used for cooking cannabis foods and can be made at home and stored for whenever you want/need your favourite treat.
To make cannabutter, you need 50 or 100 grams of butter (if you want a more distributable dosage) and 5 to 10 grams of decarboxylated marijuana.
In a pan, you will melt the butter together with a glass of water. When it starts to form small bubbles, add the ground cannabis. Keep the heat low (control the mixture's temperature so that it never exceeds 90°C) and let the mixture cook 45 minutes for medium use or 90 minutes for maximum use - don't forget to stir occasionally and don't let the mixture boil completely.
Finally, strain the cannabutter and leave the mixture still with the water in a pot. When cool, refrigerate for 1 hour or until butter hardens and drain any remaining water to the bottom.
As for cannabis coconut oil, just change the animal fat for vegetable fat - it will still allow you to make your cannabis recipes with all the potency and flavour you want.
Cooking can be done in several ways: in a bain-marie, on a low setting, for at least 6 hours (8 is best), stirring occasionally; or in a simple pan over low heat for at least three hours, frequently stirring (since the mixture is more susceptible to burns directly in the pan). In all cases, a small amount of water can be added to the ingredients to help prevent burning.
Note: Whichever method is chosen, the oil temperature must not exceed 118°C. To control it, use a kitchen thermometer.
You can use these mixes to make brownies or breezes - we've already taught you around here!
Each person has a unique organism and, therefore may experience different results with various medications. One person's response to one dose of CBD edibles can vary significantly from another, even more than other medicines or herbs. Why?
Several factors are involved, including a previous history of cannabis use, gastrointestinal factors, and the function/sensitivity of the endocannabinoid system. Few people are ultrasensitive to THC and do well with very low doses (eg 1 mg).
Once you go above 100 mg and take extremely high doses, such as 150 mg, 200 mg, or even 500 mg of edible marijuana, the risk of negative effects — such as nausea and paranoia — increases, even for users with very high tolerances.
Therefore, the ideal CBD edibles dose depends on many things, including tolerance, individual body chemistry, and the experience you are looking for. But there are some basic guidelines that can help you find the right dose of edible marijuana, which is measured in milligrams (mg):
In prohibitionism, as is our case in Brazil, it is much more difficult to know how many mg of THC are present in our cannabis samples - unless we are adept at self-cultivation or have a prescription for medicinal and/or therapeutic use. Therefore, our tip is to test very calmly and increase the dosage as your body reacts to the amount initially consumed.
As we discussed above, although it is not humanly possible to overdose on cannabis in large amounts, it can be responsible for negative feelings and discomfort - and even become a trigger for anxiety attacks.
In countries or states where cannabis is legal, CBD edibles have become a very broad market: it ranges from companies that make gummies (those jelly candies that we love, see where to find CBD gums in Portugal), sweets in general, cookies, brownies, cakes and all kinds of delicacies imaginable, even chefs who specialize in cooking with cannabinoids and combining the terpenes and flavours of the food with that of our beloved plant.
Netflix even has an amazing series about it: Cooked With Cannabis shows different cannabis chefs making their own extractions and creating very crazy dishes to make the judges very stoned and stoned.
Since CBD edibles were regulated and sold in dispensaries, some types of problems have been reported. Patients who show up in hospital emergencies after eating food have more psychiatric and cardiovascular symptoms than those who smoke or vaporize marijuana, according to a new study from the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Part of the problem with CBD edibles is that the onset is delayed, and the peak effect is delayed, which means that some people can stack doses when they don't feel the effects right away.
Another problem with CBD edibles is that gummies and chocolates can also be found and eaten by children, who mistake them for common sweets. Poison control centres in the United States say they had seen an increase in the number of children who ingested THC after eating their parents' edibles, from just 19 cases in 2010, before recreational marijuana was legalized in any state, to 554 cases last year. About 400 of these cases were children under the age of 5 years.
Keep your CBD edibles in safe places, hidden from children and animals. If you live with family or friends, flag groceries in the fridge and let no one eat without knowing your secret ingredient. Do the dosage very carefully and wait as long as necessary before eating another serving. Patience is key!
