How To Make Marijuana Oil

Learning how to make marijuana oil, AKA Canna-oil,  is a big part of becoming a competent cannabis cook.  That's because edibles oil infused with cannabis can be used to make so many different kinds of edibles.  Marijuana oil is a staple of  many cannabis recipes.  

THC, the psychoactive component in marijuana is fat soluble, making edible oils ideal ways to bond cannabis to food.  With cannaoil stored in your refrigerator or freezer you’re always ready to cook with cannabis.

What kind of oil is best for making cannaoil?

I am always asked what kind of oil is best to infuse.  That depends what you are going to use it for.  

A neutral oil like canola, grapeseed, or vegetable oil is most versatile as you can use it most any recipe calling for oil.  For additional flavor elements, olive oil is a great choice.  

You can even infuse solid at room temperature fats like coconut oil or vegetable shortening.  Use whatever works best for what you are planning to cook with it.

What kind of cannabis to use for marijuana oil

You can cook with most any kind of marijuana from trimmings to flowers.  Of course the amounts you will use will differ depending on strength of the cannabis.  Learn more about this below.

The bottom line is, you do not need to cook with top shelf flowers.  Any reasonable priced strain will do.

This is also a good chance to use trimmings, if you grow your own or know someone who does.  You can also use shake, if your dispensary carries it, as it is a terrific economical cooking material.  

If you are not familiar with the term "shake," it refers to the small crumbs that fall to the bottom of large bags of marijuana.  Shake it kind of the cannabis equivalent of the crumbs at the bottom of a bag of potato chips.  Same exact stuff, just in a smaller, finer form and lower cost. 

How to Prepare Marijuana for Making Cannaoil

Most instructions you find throughout the internet tell you to finely grind your plant material.  One cannabis cooking gadget even has this as a built in feature.

We say don't do this!

When you are making marijuana oil, you are extracting the trichomes on the leaves and buds, not what is in them.  When you finely grind the plant material all you end up doing is adding yucky acrid green flavor to your finished edibles.  

We are with author Cheri Sicard, creator of Cannademy's online cannabis cooking course.  Crumble your cannabis like you would if you were rolling a joint before making cannabutter.  But do not finely grind it!

Decarboxylation when Making Cannabis Oil

Decarboxylation activates your cannabis by adding heat.  The process coverts THC-A into THC or CBD-A into CBD.

Some people say you don't need to decarb the cannabis when making oil, because slowly infusing it adds heat anyway and it will decarb in the process.

Yes, some of the THC-A will automatically decarb while making cannaoil.  

But lab tests show you can extract even more potency by taking the time to decarboxylate your cannabis before turning it into infused oil.   This page will teach you how to do it.

How Much Cannabis for Cannaoil?

You will need to adjust the amount of cannabis used depending on the potency of the plant and what parts of it you are using.  Check out the Understanding Cannabis Dosages page for additional information and dose ranges.

We’ve listed the amounts we use to test the recipes for this blog.  You can and should alter the suggested amounts to meet your needs, but these will give you a starting guideline.

To calculate the dosage in your cannabis butter, take Cannademy's FREE online edibles dosing class, or invest $5 in their invaluable dosage calculators that do all the math for you.

To Make About 1 Cup Marijuana Oil:

• 1 1/4 cups oil, olive, vegetable, canola, grapeseed, coconut, etc.
• 1 ounce average to high quality trim or low quality dried bud; OR 1/2 ounce average quality dried bud

How to Make Marijuana Oil

When it comes to how to make marijuana butter, you have some choices when it comes to methods.

Making Cannabutter in a Slow Cooker 

Add oil and plant material to the slow cooker and cook on low for 4 to 8 hours.  

I know some cooks who cook their marijuana oil for as much as 2 or 3 days in the slow cooker.  Feel free to do so if you choose.  It seems like overkill to me and after having tested longer cooking times, I found no improvement in quality or potency.  In fact, I noticed a stronger herbal flavor and not much else.  

You can actually cook for less time, just make sure your mixture has time to come to a full simmer.

Mason Jar Method Cannaoil

This is a simple way to make cannabis oil using an ordinary Mason Jar as a double boiler.

You don't even need special jars. You can save money and reuse food jars that are strong enough to withstand the heat of the simmering water.  For example, a jar that contained spaghetti sauce works great.  Many of these are nothing more than canning jars and a lot of them are even labeled as such. 

Here's what you will need

• A canning jar and lid
• A 2 – 3 qt sauce pan -- If you are using a larger jar use a larger saucepan
• A kitchen towel, folded up and placed in the bottom of the sauce pan to help buffer the heat
• Edible oil of your choice
•  Crumbled decarboxylated cannabis

Here's how to make marijuana oil in a Mason Jar

• Place your decarbed cannabis along with the oil in a the jar and stir to combine.  
• Place a folded up kitchen towel in a bottom of a saucepan
• Place the filled Mason jar on the towel and fill the saucepan with as much hot water as possible, without the jar floating.
• Place the saucepan over medium heat, and let the water come to a simmer.  Be sure to check the water level frequently during cooking, adding water as necessary. Open the jar every half hour or so while infusing in order to relieve any pressure build up. I also like to stir the contents around a bit at the same time.
• Simmer for about 2-3 hours, checking the water level frequently.
• Strain, see below!

Draining and Straining Marijuana Oil

You have several method choices when it comes to straining your marijuana oil.

Cheesecloth and Colander

Place a cheesecloth line strainer over a large pot or bowl and strain the liquid through this.   Allow to cool then squeeze out as much liquid as possible.  Discard the plant material.  

Small Strainer

For small batches of cannabutter a tiny strainer allows you to strain from one jar into another as in the photo above.

Straining Mason Jar Lids!

The easiest way ever.  These specialty Mason Jar lids come in multi-packs and meant for sprouts, BUT they make a terrific way to strain cannabis oil!  For best results stack 2 screens and screw onto the jar.  Simply pour out the strained cannaoil.  Genius!

Optional Straining to Remove Sediment

Now it’s time to strain one more time to remove as much sediment as possible.  (This is an optional step.)  Place a double layer of cheesecloth over a strainer and pour the infused oil through again to move fine particles.  

You’re now ready to start cooking with marijuana oil!

Leftovers from Making Cannabis Oil

People often ask of you can do anything with the leftover plant material after infusing.  If you have done your job you will have gotten most of the good stuff out and what is left is the equivalent of a used tea bag.  We generally just trash it.

Yes there are some trichomes left, but not nearly enough to to make another batch of potent cannaoil.

Some people like to steep the leftovers and make tea.  We don't usually bother as we don't like the taste for such low potency.  But if you are a cannabis dosing lightweight, it might work better for you.   Try it and see!

How to Make Marijuana Oil with Concentrates

You can also make cannaoil with concentrates like kief, hash, hash oils, FECO, resin, or rosin.  This process is super simple.

• Gently heat the oil in the microwave or on the stovetop until warm but not hot.
• Add concentrate to warm oil and stir until evenly incorporated.

That's it, your concentrate infused marijuana oil is ready to use!

What Should Cannaoil Look Like?

Your finished marijuana oil might look pale yellow or pale green all the way up to dark green.  This will depend on the cannabis strain that was used to make it.  

However, know that the color of the marijuana oil has nothing to do with its potency.  Likewise, color variations from batch to bath are nothing to lose sleep over.  They really do not effect much of anything beyond aesthetics.

Can I freeze Cannaoil?

Absolutely, in fact we recommend doing so.  You can also refrigerate infused oil until ready to use.  But the freezer will give you a much longer shelf life and you can always remove just as much as you need at any one time.

Freezing in ice cube trays will give you easy portion control.

Note that fats can still go rancid, even in the refrigerator or freezer. So even when stored in the freezer, try to use your marijuana oil within 3 months.