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Pot O’ Gold Cannabutter

How to make Cannabis Butter

Making Cannabis infused butter “Cannabutter” can be a tedious task with unpredictable and uncomfortable results. ACS offers trusted products for infusing, simple step-by-step recipes, and guidance for calculating an accurate dose. Cannabinoids, the therapeutic compounds found in the cannabis plant, are “lipophilic” or fat-soluble. A variety of oils can be infused, including butter and plant-based coconut oil or olive oils. When using Cannabutter, it is important take note of the THC content. THC is the cannabinoid responsible for producing the euphoric and psychoactive effects or the “high” of cannabis.  We’ve all heard stories about homemade infused brownies producing either no effect or an out of body uncomfortable experience. Labelled, lab tested ACS dispensary products, reflect the THC percentage allowing for accurate dosing to provide a pleasant edible experience.

Why make Cannabutter?

Many people have food allergies, sensitivities, or dietary restrictions. Food limitations make it a challenge to find compatible edibles at a dispensary. Making edibles, at home, provides the ability to infuse cannabis into healthier options, like low sugar or gluten-free recipes. Along with food sensitivities, every person has a preferred taste and palate. Some enjoy salty, sweet, or savory food.  Making infused edibles provides the flexibility to make a favorite snack, dessert, or entrée. Plus, cooking can be fun! See the guides below for choosing what form of cannabis to use for infusing, the proper infusion recipes, and calculating the dose per Tablespoon (TB) of Cannabutter.

Infusing with Cannabis Flower or Concentrate

Believe it or not, cannabis flower does not contain high amounts of THC or CBD. In its dried form, cannabis flower has high levels of THCA or CBDA, the Acidic precursor to the activated THC or CBD compounds consumers usually look for. These acidic cannabinoids do have medical value in their own right. To activate THCA and CBDA into THC and CBD, these acidic compounds must be transformed via heat, through a process called decarboxylation. When using flower, decarboxylation is an essential step before infusing. Without it the resulting Cannabutter will have low psychoactive effects.

Decarboxylation is easy and can be done in just a few simple steps:

  1. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
  2. Spread the coarsely ground cannabis flower evenly over sheet (ex: 7 grams)
  3. Bake, (or decarboxylate), the flower in the oven at 220OF for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. (If the flower is high in CBDA, bake the material at 240OF as CBD decarboxylates at a higher temperature than THC. The cannabis will have a roasted, nutty aroma and once cooled, will be ready to use to make Cannabutter .

Concentrate, Distillate or RSO are easier, as they come already decarboxylated. Distillate is a potent cannabis extract where the terpenes and cannabinoids are stripped away during the extraction process, yielding pure THC. Comparatively, RSO, or Rick Simpson Oil, is a rich, full cannabis extract containing the original terpenes and cannabinoids, maintaining the integrity of the original plant in a concentrate. Studies have shown this collection of terpene and cannabinoid compounds together offer synergistic impact called the entourage effect.

Depending on the form used, cannabis flower or concentrate, additional steps will need to be taken. 

Making Cannabis butter using Flower

Once the cannabis flower has been decarboxylated, it is time to infuse some butter! The stove-top method below is quick and easy.

  1. Using a food processor or blender, transform the desired dosage of cannabis, (ex: 7 gm) of coarsely ground flower to finely ground.
  2. Melt 1 stick of butter or oil (8 TB) in a saucepan or double boiler on low heat.
  3. Add the finely ground flower into the melted butter or oil, a little bit at a time, stirring in between.
  4. Simmer, on low heat, for 45 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
  5. Once simmering is complete, strain the butter into a fine mesh strainer lined with several layers of cheese cloth to filter out the excess plant material.
  6. Press a spoon against the flower in the metal strainer and cheese cloth to press out all the cannabis butter. Using gloves, take the cheese cloth and squeeze out the excess oil. Caution – contents will be hot.
  7. Let the Cannabutter cool at room temperature before placing it in the fridge for storage.

Filtering out the excess plant material will result in a better tasting cannabis butter, but flower-based infusions tend to have an earthy-herb taste.

Making Cannabutter using RSO

For an easy, hassle-free recipe, without the need for decarboxylation and straining, infusing butter with RSO is ideal.

  1. Place ½ stick of butter or oil (4 TB) into a saucepan or double boiler on low heat.
  2. Add desired dosage of RSO (ex: 2 grams).
  3. Stir continuously until both butter and RSO are well mixed.
  4. Remove from heat and let cool at room temperature before putting in the fridge.

Making the recipe is fun and easy, but how is an accurate dose of THC or CBD per TB of Cannabutter calculated?

Calculate the dose of THC in Cannabutter

Both cannabis flower and concentrate can be infused into butter, but careful calculations are needed to ensure precise dosing. Looking at the product’s test results is key. Determining the dose of THC or CBD in milligram (mg) per Tablespoon (TB) of butter provides accuracy in dosing to curate a more consistent and comfortable experience.  We calculate mg per TB of THC as THC is the compound responsible for the euphoric high effect. The starting edible dose of THC for patients new to cannabis is 2.5-5mg. All calculations below can be used for CBD and 1:1 infusions. To calculate the potency, we will need to know:

  1. The amount of butter or oil used (measured in TB)
  2. The amount of cannabis used (measured in gm)
  3. The percentage of THC in the cannabis used (THC%)

Let’s break it down.

Calculate the amount of cannabis used per Tablespoon (TB) of butter

Using the flower infusion recipe above, we are going to calculate the amount of cannabis used per TB of butter. To find the amount of cannabis used to infuse 1 TB of butter, divide the grams(gm) of cannabis by the servings of butter.

(Amount cannabis in gm) ÷ (TB of butter) = gm of cannabis per TB

Ex: (7gm of cannabis) ÷ (8 TB of butter) = 0.875gm of cannabis per TB

Calculate the milligrams (mg) of THC in the cannabis

The calculation above dictates how much cannabis is in each TB of Cannabutter but does not determine how many milligrams (mg) of THC are in the Cannabutter. It is essential to use a dispensary tested and labelled product showing the percentage of THC of the cannabis. Cannabis flower averages anywhere from 15% to 30% THC.  (For this example, we will use ACS’s last batch of Purple Chemdawg, testing at 27% THC.) This percentage will indicate how much THC is present in one single gm of cannabis. Remember 1 gm = 1000 mg. To calculate how many mg are added to the butter, convert the percentage of THC per gm into mg.

(%THC ÷ 100) x 1000mg = total THC mg

Ex: (27% ÷ 100) x 1000mg = 270mg of THC

Calculate the dosage of mg per TB of butter

With the first two calculations, we can now determine the dosage of cannabis butter.

(Amount cannabis in gm) ÷ (TB of butter) = gm of cannabis per TB

(%THC ÷ 100) x 1000mg = total mg of THC

(cannabis gm per TB) x (total mg of THC) = total mg of THC per TB

Ex:

(7g of cannabis) ÷ (8 TB of butter) = 0.875g of cannabis used per TB

(27% THC ÷ 100) x 1000mg = 270mg of THC

(0.875g per TB) x (270mg of THC) = 236mg of THC per TB

To skip a few messy and tedious steps, check out the calculations using the RSO infused recipe from above.

Ex:

(2gm of cannabis) ÷ (4 TB) = 0.5 gm per TB

(75.4% THC ÷ 100) x 1000mg = 754mg of THC

(0.5gm per TB) x (754mg of THC) = 377mg of THC per TB

Using the calculations above can help determine the dose per serving of TB of the Cannabutter. For weaker or stronger infusions, add or subtract the butter to cannabis ratio, taking note of the cannabis percentage. If using 377mg of THC per TB with a preferred personal dose of 10mg, there would be about 37.7 servings in the one TB of Cannabutter.

Keep in mind these calculations give an approximate estimate regarding the potency of the edibles as these numbers are not exact. It is best to assume there is less THC in the Cannabutter since only 80% to 90% of the cannabis gets infused. Some of the compounds have been lost due to heating, some may be clinging to the plant matter, or some never became fully decarboxylated. Nevertheless, infusing cannabis into butter to make Cannabutter provides recipe freedom and the empowerment of having a tasty and pleasurable homemade experience.