How to Make Cannabis Coconut Oil: Your Complete Guide

With cannabis being legalized in many states now, more and more people are looking at what they can do with cannabis at home.

Perhaps you want to be more in control of the edibles you enjoy vs. buying them from a shop all the time.

If you’re suffering from chronic pain or your doctor has prescribed cannabis edibles, you might want to look into making your own. So if this piques your interest, keep reading for a great cannabis coconut oil recipe.

Benefits and Uses of Coconut Oil

Coconut oil contains a few beneficial acids that are known to have a list of health benefits. One example would be lauric acid. Once digested, this fatty acid creates a monoglyceride that acts as an antimicrobial.

These fatty acids are abundant in coconut oil, making it a prime choice for anyone looking for a healthier oil base than another oil like canola or even butter.

Coconut oil remains solid at room temperature, which lends itself well to being used as a topical cream. Additionally, you can also create gelatin capsules with the oil in its solid state, which is a popular way to consume cannabis.

Why Use Coconut Oil?

Cannabis needs a higher fat content in order to retain more cannabinoids, and coconut oil has precisely this – an excess of fatty acids. When compared to olive oil’s 20% saturated fat content, coconut oil comes out on top with 80% saturated fats.

This allows it to retain more cannabinoids when infused. The result is a far more efficient option when creating edibles.

Cannabis Coconut Oil Recipe

Here is a simple recipe for making your own cannabis coconut oil at home. If it’s your first time making cannabis oil, you might want to cook it for a shorter amount of time; otherwise, your edibles could end up very strong.

Ingredients:

• Quarter to a half-ounce cannabis flower
• 1 cup refined coconut oil (or any other neutral oil)

Materials:

• Baking dish
• Foil
• Parchment paper
• Cannabis grinder
• Stainer or cheesecloth
• Candy thermometer
• A clean jar or glass storage container

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 245°F
2. Weigh your flour and break up the buds with your hands into smaller pieces (this is to expose more of the flower to the heat)
3. Gather the broken-up bud and wrap it in parchment paper. Next, wrap the parchment pouch in foil and place it in a small baking dish.
4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. The longer you cook it, the more THCA will be converted to THC.
5. Remove the baking dish from the oven and let your bud cool at room temperature.
6. Once cool, grind up the buds that are now decarboxylated. If you don’t have a  grinder, you can always go old school and chop it up with a sharp knife. You’re looking to get a grind that is closer to coffee than espresso-sized grains.
7. Add the ground bud to a saucepan along with the oil. Cook over low heat for 15 minutes. It’s important not to exceed 245°F, so use your candy thermometer to assist.
8. Place a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth over a heatproof bowl or a clean jar. Pour the infused coconut oil into the strainer and, using a spoon, press the solids so that they release as much oil as possible.
9. Cool the jar of oil completely and use it as soon as possible. You can store your cannabis-infused coconut oil in the fridge for up to one month, but after this, it can go rancid, so be careful.

How to Make CBD Coconut Oil

If you don’t want the effects of THC (the part that gets you high), you can follow the exact instructions as above. However, you will need to use CBD buds instead of THC buds to get the health benefits of CBD.

How to Use Cannabis Coconut Oil

There are so many things you can do with cannabis-infused coconut oil, and we’ll list some here for you to get started.

• Use your cannabis coconut oil in place of regular oil in your recipes, and make a variety of infused dishes
• Create a cannabis-infused Chai tea
• Cannabis oil can be used as a lubricant in the bedroom (however, coconut oil may compromise condoms)
• Mix your infused oil with beeswax and aloe to make an infused topical
• Put your cannabis coconut oil into gel capsules for easier dosing

Cannabis Infusion Ratio

If you’re new to making cannabis coconut oil, then you might be feeling a bit lost at how to measure your cannabis infusion. A good rule of thumb is to use 1/4 to 1/2 oz of flour to 1 cup of oil.

You are welcome to use more if you prefer your oil to be stronger, or you can use less if you’re still getting into edibles. It’s important to note, however, that you don’t want to use too much bud that you’re unable to get the most out of the extraction, but you also don’t want to use too little, resulting in you having to consume a much larger quantity of edibles to get the desired result.

Why Decarboxylation is Important

Decarboxylation is essential when making cannabis-infused oil, because decarboxylation is the process of activating the THC or CBD in your bud, allowing it to be infused into the oil. Without heat, the cannabinoids in the bud cannot be processed in the same way in your body.

When smoking cannabis, the flame activates the cannabinoids, while when making cannabis-infused oil, the oven heat will decarboxylate the bud.

It’s essential not to skip this step in creating your cannabis coconut oil.

Getting Your Medical Marijuana Card

Learning to make cannabis coconut oil can seem like a daunting task, but hopefully, with the recipe we’ve provided, you should feel less overwhelmed and confident to try and infuse your coconut oil at home.

If you suffer from chronic pain or anxiety, then a medical marijuana card might be your best friend. If you are in Maryland, you can contact us today to book an appointment to get started on the process of claiming your card.Cannabis