Whether you are a medicinal or a recreational cannabis user, using coconut oil infused with cannabis is an effective way of getting in your daily dose. Coconut oil is inexpensive, and many people like the fact that it is moisturizing for the skin and can be good for you. You do not need any special equipment to infuse coconut oil with cannabis, so you can make your own at home.
Different Types of Cannabis Oil
With many methods of making cannabis oil, you have to use potentially dangerous solvents, such as benzene, pressurized gas, isopropyl, or naphtha. With butane hash oil, butane is used as the solvent, and you may end up ingesting trace amounts of this when you take your cannabis oil.
In a carefully controlled medical lab, you can use gasses and solvents safely. But today, many kinds of cannabis oil are not made in this kind of environment. This means that many finished oil products have the residue of solvents in them. For cancer patients, this can be an issue since they have to avoid having alcohol. Of course, the residues from solvents also affect the appearance, effects, smell, and taste of your oil. Luckily, cannabis coconut oil has none of these issues.
Advantages of Cannabis Coconut Oil
On the other hand, you can eat cannabis-infused coconut oil since it is not made with a solvent. The infusion process does not create any gasses or dangerous chemicals, either. There are no by-products or chemical precursors in the finished product. You can use organic cannabis with organic coconut oil to make a product that you know will be completely organic. You can’t ensure this with oils that are made with solvents.
You can’t use solvents safely at home, so you can’t make certain kinds of cannabis oil. However, even if you have no experience in the cannabis industry, you can make coconut oil that is infused with cannabis.
Supplies and Equipment to Infuse Your Oil
You will want to read through the instructions to make the oil before you begin to make sure you have all the supplies and equipment. That will make the process easier. To start with, you will want to have good quality cannabis. Look for organic cannabis. If you have a medical condition, you should find a strain that reportedly works well for your ailment. Many medical marijuana patients like to use strains that have a 1-to-1 THC-CBD ratio.
You will need a baking dish to decarb your cannabis before infusing the oil. You should also have a slow cooker or a pot that you can leave on low heat and watch carefully. A slow cooker should have a low or warm setting, so you can avoid burning the oil. You will be heating the oil for several hours, so a slow cooker can make things easier and let you do other tasks.
Of course, you will need to have coconut oil. This will act as the binding agent for the cannabis. The oils and fatty lipids can bind to the herb’s psychoactive components, allowing your body to absorb it quickly.
You will be straining your cannabis after you have infused it, so you will need a cheesecloth. You can also use empty tea bags, coffee filters, or tea filters. This will allow you to press out the oil from the mixture to get everything out of it.
To secure the cheesecloth to the strainer or jar, you will need some twist ties or rubber bands. You can also use string or twine. A jar will also be needed. A canning jar with a wide mouth is the easiest to use. Then, you can use the jar to store the completed oil.
Making Your Own Cannabis Coconut Oil
It is easy to adjust this recipe to your ingredients and your supplies. This is because it is a 1-to-1 recipe. For every one part of cannabis, you will need about one part of coconut oil. That way, you can make as little or as much as you need.
Begin by breaking up your buds. They should be separated well, but you do not want to pulverize them to dust. Make sure that you separate out the stems from the cannabis.
Now, preheat your oven to 115 degrees Celsius. Spread out the buds evenly on a baking dish and put them in the oven to decarb. This will activate the psychoactive substance in your cannabis and make it more effective. Leave it in the oven for around an hour.
The next step will involve melting down the coconut oil in your slow cooker or pot until it is completely liquid. Remember that coconut oil has a very low melting point, so you will want to keep an eye on it, especially if it is on the stove.
Now, stir the cannabis into your oil. Make sure that the oil in your pot covers the marijuana completely. Leave it in the pot to heat for around two and a half hours. Stir it every 10 to 15 minutes. Do not let the oil smoke. If it does, then the mixture is too hot, and you are losing oil while making the cannabis less effective.
Once you have heated it long enough, place the strainer and cheesecloth over the glass jar. Very slowly pour the mixture through the cheesecloth. Remember that it is hot, so you should use heat-resistant gloves while doing this.
Next, gather up the cheesecloth and secure it with the rubber bands or twist ties. Gently wring or squeeze out the cheesecloth and let the oil go into your jar. You want to squeeze hard enough to get out all of the oil, but you do not want to break the cloth.
If you can, you should store the finished oil in the fridge. If you can’t, then it should go into a cool and dark place.
Closing Thoughts
If you are an inexperienced user, you should stick with just a tiny spoonful of cannabis-infused coconut oil at a time. As you continue using it, you can gradually increase the dose depending on what effect or experience you want.
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