What is THC Decarboxylation + Activation?

Sounds complicated, can I skip this step?

What do these words mean? How much flower do I use? How do I figure out how potent it is? Will I get f***ed up? Can I skip this step? Am I doing it right? These are just some of the questions I struggled with as a new cannabis user and home baker. 

Want to make your own edibles at home but don’t know where to start? Reddit is a rabbit hole. Google and YouTube search results are a murky sea of overwhelming information.

Welcome to the DIY Edibles for Beginners series! Where I teach you how to cook and bake with cannabis, and explain each step of the process in bite-sized chunks. Follow along to make your first batch of edibles at home, or save this and come back when you’re ready to bake.

I’ll show you how to make accurately dosed homemade edibles, be a confident baked baker, and save money on your cannabis consumption. 

Talk to me. What do you want to know? I’ll cover these topics in upcoming posts.

Step 1: Decarb + Activate THC // Step 2: Measure Cannabis Flower // Step 3: How to Infuse Cannabis Oil // Step 4: How to Bake with Cannabis // Step 5: Types of Cannabis to Use for Cooking and Baking // Step 6: Double-Check Dosing // Step 7: Cannabis Infusion List // Step 8: How to Make Cannabis Milk // Step 9: How to Make Cannabis Tincture // Step 10: How to Make Cannabis Sugar

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This series is for paid subscribers. Please consider upgrading your subscription to learn this valuable information. The cost and wellness savings of making accurately dosed edibles at home makes the $4.20/month a worthwhile investment. Quippy humor and cat photos included. Thanks for your subscription and for helping to feed my hungry cats. 

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DIY EDIBLES

Step 1: Decarboxylate + Activate the THC

• What does this mean?

• Can I skip it? 

• What happens if I don’t do this? 

• Can I make it ahead and store for use later?

Let’s use my 5mg THC pot brownie recipe as a reference guide. This is a super easy recipe to practice DIY edibles using cannabis flower and a box brownie mix so you can focus on the infusion rather than the recipe. And brownies are delicious no matter how you make them. Win-win! 

As you start your first batch of pot brownies, you’ll need to decarb and activate the cannabis flower. Now… what does that mean and why is it important for making edibles?