How Much Weed Do You Need to Make Edibles?

Making edibles at home can be a very fun and satisfactory activity, the best part being when you finally get to sample them. Edibles are a lot of users’ favorite way to use weed, especially those who like long-lasting effects. 

However, edibles can be pretty potent and are notoriously easy to go overboard with, so when you make some at home, you should know exactly how much weed to use. That way, you’ll know the potency of an edible you made, at least roughly.

Therefore, in this article, we’ll talk about how much weed you should use when making edibles, how to dose them and calculate the potency, as well as share the recipe for the most popular homemade edibles – cannabis-infused butter and brownies.

The Most Important Thing When Making Cannabis Edibles

A very important part of making cannabis-infused food aka cannabis edibles that you should never skip is decarboxylation. 

Decarb-what? The word is a mouthful, but the process itself refers to exposing raw cannabis to a high temperature to allow the cannabinoids to convert to their active forms. Raw cannabis isn’t psychoactive because THC and CBD are present in their inactive forms, the precursors THCA and CBDA. When raw weed comes into contact with high temperatures, a chemical reaction happens where the cannabinoids “get activated”, and that’s the weed you should use to make the edibles.

Also note that this refers to all Indicas, Sativas, and hybrid strains, with no exceptions.

How to Decarboxylate Cannabis

Decarbing the weed may sound complicated but it’s really not, and the easiest way to do it is by putting it in the oven. 

1. Preheat your oven at 220-235 degrees Fahrenheit and in the meantime, break up the cannabis flowers (or whatever you’re using) into smaller pieces;
2. Spread the plant material on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and put it in the oven;
3. Bake it for about 30-40 minutes while checking on it and stirring every 10 minutes or so. It’s really important to prevent it from burning because this will destroy the terpenes and weaken the cannabinoids. It’s done when it has changed its color to brownish green;
4. After the decarb process is done, set it to cool to room temperature, and then use your grinder to grind it coarsely. Don’t grind it too fine because it will give your edibles a grassy flavor.

How Much Weed Do You Need for Weed Edibles?

The potency of your edibles depends on two things – the potency of the weed you’re using and its quantity. For example, schwag weed contains very little THC (about 3 to 6 percent THC), whereas mids weed (what most people use) usually contains 10-15 percent THC, sometimes up to 20 percent if it’s home-grown. Dank weed is the most potent where its THC content can easily reach 30 percent, but most people would save it for smoking rather than for edibles.

You should also take into consideration the part of the plant you’re using. Cannabis flowers are the most abundant in THC, but trim is also okay, even though it’s less potent. 

That being said, 1 gram of cannabis flowers is roughly 1000 mg in dry weight. If the strain you’re using has 15 percent THC, then the calculation would go like this: 1000 x 0.15 = 150. Therefore, it could be said that 1 gram of cannabis flower contains 150 mg of THC.

Let’s say you have a quarter (which is 7 gr) of weed containing 15 percent THC. If you want to calculate how many milligrams of THC you have in that quarter, use the following formula: 7 x 1000 x 0.15 = 1050, or in other words, a quarter of weed contains 1050 mg of THC.

Once you know how to calculate the THC content in the amount of weed you have on hand, calculating the dose per serving should be much easier.

How to Dose Homemade Edibles

Dosing is much easier with dispensary-bought edibles because the THC content per serving size has been accurately calculated and is disclosed on the package. The edibles (eg. gummies, candies, chocolates) usually come in 5 mg and 10 mg THC per serving. This way, you can divide an edible in half and know exactly how much you’re ingesting.

With homemade edibles, you really have to make a rough estimate. Once you perfect a recipe, you should stick to it because any minor changes may affect the outcome significantly. Overall, with homemade edibles, you should always err on the side of caution and start with the lowest serving size possible. If that means only a quarter of a brownie, then so be it.

How to Make Cannabutter

Cannabis butter or cannabutter is one of the most popular edibles because it’s very versatile. You can cook or bake with it, as it fits into literally any recipe. The two basic ingredients are regular butter and weed. For a vegan version, you can use vegan butter or coconut oil.

Once you have decarboxylated and ground the weed, you can begin making the infusion. For this recipe, you need 1 cup of butter and 1 cup of weed. If you want to adjust the potency, you can use more or less weed.

1. Turn the stove on to low heat and add half a cup of water to the saucepan to prevent burning. The water will evaporate by the end, but you need it during the infusion process. 
2. Slice the butter into smaller cubes, add it to the saucepan, and wait until it melts. It may take a while to melt because of the low heat, but be patient and don’t increase the heat because you’ll risk burning the butter. When the butter has melted, add the decarbed ground cannabis and stir;
3. The mixture should simmer for 2-3 hours so that the cannabinoids can be fully incorporated into the butter. Remember to stir often to prevent burning and add a little more water if needed. The mixture is done when it looks thick and glossy;
4. Set it aside to cool a little and while it’s still liquid, use a strainer or a cheesecloth to separate the plant material from the butter. Pour it into an airtight container, such as a mason jar, and wait until it cools some more before you store it away. Cannabutter will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks and in the freezer for 6 months.

How to Make Weed Brownies

Weed brownies are a classic, which is why we had to include the recipe here. You can use cannabutter to make the brownies, but this recipe uses dry decarboxylated cannabis to keep up with the classic method of making it.

You’ll need:

• 4 eggs
• 100 g butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 200 g cooking chocolate (for melting)
• 4 g weed

1. To begin with, preheat the oven at 248°F. Chop the chocolate into smaller pieces to make it easier to melt. You can do the same with the butter, especially if you use it straight out of the fridge. Turn on the stove at medium to low heat, add them both to a saucepan, and gently stir until they’re melted and combined.
2. In a different, larger bowl, whisk the eggs with the sugar and then add the flour. Then, pour the chocolate mixture over them, little by little, so the heat doesn’t cook the eggs. Stir well. Finally, add the decarbed weed and mix again.
3. Pour the brownie batter into an 8×8 pan and bake it at  248°F for about 60 minutes. It’s best to use a toothpick to check on the progress and give it more time if it looks too fudgy. When it’s done, take the pan out on a cooling rack and slice the brownies once the batter has cooled a bit.

The Takeaway

Cannabis edibles are some of the best ways to get a long-lasting high while eating a delicious treat. However, since they’re more potent than your average joint, you really need to be particular with dosing. While there are ways you can roughly calculate the amount of weed you need for edibles, erring on the side of caution for both dosing and ingesting is the safest option.