CANNABIS EDIBLES: HOW THEY'RE MADE AND WHAT THEY DO
Introduction to Edibles
Some people might feel that edibles need little introduction because most of us who have consumed cannabis in one form or another have enjoyed a brownie, cookie, or one of the other many options that are now available in states where marijuana is legal. For a lot of folks, their first experience with an edible was perhaps an episode in getting really, really high (maybe much too high) given the fact that until recently accurate dosing of cannabinoids in ingested products wasn’t a thing. That’s changed though and now cannabis edibles are made in an unlimited variety of candies, baked goods, tinctures, beverages, capsules, and much more, all with advertised amounts of the cannabinoids they contain. With the advent of modern processing techniques and use of scientific chromatographic sample testing, manufacturers can ensure consistent inputs so that your edibles are not the roll of the dice they once were. In this article we’ll explore what different kinds of edibles are out there, how edibles interact with your body’s chemistry, how they’re made, and what the best method is to figure out your ideal dose.
It’s not surprising that edibles are among the most popular products that dispensaries sell aside from dry smokeable flower and concentrates. They can be very potent and discrete, which are attributes many consumers are looking for. It’s much easier to ingest a large amount of cannabinoids quickly by way of infused foods than to smoke it, which is particularly helpful for those with medical conditions in need of care. Edibles are also now being made in almost every form imaginable. Like chocolate? There is bound to be a bunch of flavors to choose from. How about weed soda? That’s already been out there for years, and new brands are popping up everywhere with infused drinks, including drink mixers. Candy more your thing? Gummies represent the majority of edibles sold at most dispensaries because they’re usually tasty and remind us of something most of us loved from our childhood. The list of choices goes on and on, but one thing is for sure – there’s something out there for everyone.
People tend to have different experiences with edibles compared to dabbable concentrates, vaporizers, or smoked flower. Cannabis edibles usually confer stronger body highs and longer lasting effects for many. They also usually take longer to set in compared to smoking. When you puff on a joint or take a dab, the reaction is immediate. You’ll be high almost instantly and if you stop there, most of us will come back down within a few hours or less. With edibles, the delayed onset of their full potency can sometimes take an hour or two to realize. This is due to the fact that the THC, CBD, and other cannabinoids are absorbed differently into our bloodstreams when they’re ingested. This requires heating the various cannabinoids present in order to sufficiently unlock their potential. This process is known as decarboxylation.
The Chemistry of Decarboxylation
In order for the human body to feel and benefit from the effects of cannabinoids, decarboxylation has to occur in order to enable uptake through our brain’s cannabinoid receptors. Decarbing as it’s known colloquially is a little more complicated than many give it credit for and a lot of biochemistry is involved, but you don’t have to be a neurologist to understand how it all works. Every person has what is known as an endocannabinoid system and has specialized G-protein receptors (CB1R and CB2R). The CB1 receptors are the most prevalent in our central nervous systems, being most concentrated in our brains but are also spread out across our bodies (Zou & Kumar, 2018).
In order for THCA, the acidic form of THC, to be absorbed and alter our consciousness it has to be heated first. The same is true for CBDA, CBGA, and other cannabinoids as well – they all must be heated in order to create bioavailability. If you’re unfamiliar, “bioavailability” essentially means how much your body absorbs and can use the substance or drug you’ve consumed, but it’s a topic dealing with dense mathematical formulas that is most often found in nutritional and pharmacological sciences. Smoked cannabis has a bioavailability of between 10% and 35%, whereas oral consumption ranges from 4% to 12% (Chayasirisobhon, 2021). One of the few scientific studies on decarboxylation of these cannabinoids indicates that while THC decarboxylates at a fairly steady rate, CBD and CBG are less predictable in this department (Liebert, 2016). According to the study, THCA will just about fully decarboxylate in as little as 9 minutes at 266°F, but takes as long as 30 minutes at 230°F. CBD is similar, but takes longer. For CBDA to convert to CBD, it takes at least 45 minutes at 230°F, or 20 minutes at 266°F. If you’re making edibles at home and are using hemp or CBD-rich material, make sure to take this time difference into account!
When sufficient heat is applied for long enough, decarboxylation occurs through removal of carboxylic acid and the subsequent release of CO2, which is the chemical reaction that allows cannabis to create a psychoactive effect when absorbed through our bloodstream. Edibles get their potency via this process but through different oils depending on what types of extraction methods were used to make them. When cannabis is smoked or concentrates are vaporized, it is done at higher temperatures and decarboxylation happens quickly. For anyone reading this who is familiar with terpenes, the temperature at which decarboxylation happens can matter a lot in the final product if the goal is to create a rich, full spectrum edible. High temperatures volatilize these delicate molecules that give cannabis its unique aromas, meaning they’re gone forever. Some volatilization is inevitable when decarbing cannabis for edibles, but some methods are better than others, especially if the cannabis used is particularly terpene rich to begin with.
How To Decarb Rosin
Preheat your oven to 230°F.
Place desired amount of Rosin in 4oz Ball Jar. Fasten lid on tight.
Place your jar onto a baking sheet and place it into your pre-heated oven for about 25-30 minutes*.
Rosin will melt down and bubble during the entire process until it reaches a translucent yellow to orange oil consistency.
Remove your rosin from the oven, and let it cool.
*The decarboxylation process is complete when it stops bubbling. Time may vary based on the volume and quality of the starting Rosin.
Unfortunately, most edibles at dispensaries are devoid of terpenes and are made with distillate or CO2 oil even though they are often widely marketed as “full spectrum” because non strain-specific terpenes have been added after the fact. For these methods, the cannabis used is decarbed before it goes through either process, rendering the resulting oil fully ready for use afterwards. There are some benefits for a formulator to using CO2 or distillate because terpenes can impart hashy flavors and smells, so when they are not present it makes them easier to work with from a taste perspective. Like we mention in our What are Solventless Extracts blog, the types of cannabis used for these types of extraction methods also vary widely, and low quality trim is the principal input. Solventless edibles on the other hand tend to be more terpene rich and require a longer, slower decarb to make properly, but more care must be taken to develop a great formula that people enjoy.
How Edibles are Made
If you’ve made magic brownies or any other homemade infused treat before, this next section will be particularly relatable. The process of making edibles at home is similar to how it’s done at commercial scale in licensed laboratories, but is a lot more variable compared to the precise methods that professionals use. It all starts with a base cannabis oil, which is either decarbed already in the case of CO2 or distillate, or needs to be in the case of solventless ice water hash or rosin oil. Despite some lingering myths, when rosin is made it doesn’t decarboxylate more than a miniscule amount, so it still needs to be decarbed in order to work with edibles. The best edibles are made with solventless inputs due to the higher quality of material used to make them in the first place, along with higher prevalence of terpenes as we talked about before. This tends to lead to a more dynamic experience – it’s kind of like listening to an album you love on a great sound system compared to cheap headphones. There’s just a lot more going on with solventless oils and hashes whether they’re eaten, dabbed, or vaped.
Image of solvent based extracted THC oil. Odorless & Flavorless.
Image of full spectrum solventeless (rosin) hash oil with authentic bold aroma and flavor.
Next, lipids (also known as fats) are a necessary carrier for cannabis oil in foods, which is why butter is mostly used at home, or coconut oil is often used in commercially licensed kitchens. MCT oil is another one which may be familiar, which can be derived from coconuts or palm kernels, and stands for medium chain triglyceride. Each type of oil has its merits, but shelf stable ones are prized by manufacturers because edibles at dispensaries remain at room temperature sometimes for many months at a time. Once the right oil has been selected, it’s infused with cannabis and then added to the recipe to make the food itself. This holds true for everything from tinctures to gummies and everything in between. Infused beverages for example require nanoemulsion processes, which take the infused oils and separates them into as many microparticles as possible for even dispersion in the liquid. If you look carefully at the ingredient list of your favorite edibles, you can learn a lot about what goes into them. Just like it’s prudent to read an ingredient label at a grocery store, you should practice doing the same at the dispensary.
MCT oil infused with Decarb Rosin.
Blue River Live Rosin Syrup 300mg uses decarb live rosin with water, organic sugar, pasteurized blends of organic fruit puree, and avocado oil.
Making a delicious edible for sale at a dispensary is no easy task. For starters, infusing cannabis into any kind of food and having it taste great is extremely challenging. Product formulators spend months or years dialing everything in and still might not get it exactly right. This goes for just about any edible, whether it’s a candy product, a baked good, or something else entirely like our recently perfected Blue River Live Rosin Syrup. In addition to the rigors of getting the recipe right, in virtually all legal markets there are stringent requirements for consistent dosing, which demands proper homogenization of the original batch so that one gummy isn’t twice as strong as the next one. Usually 5-10 milligrams is a common maximum dose for a single serving for adult use products, with 50 milligrams or much more being common for medical edible servings to create a much stronger effect. Edibles also usually need to be stamped or otherwise have some physical indication that they contain THC, must be sold in a child resistant container, and have to be properly labeled as to what they contain. Getting all of this right takes practice and patience. Some of the most creative edibles makers are infusing all kinds of cannabinoids into their products, including combinations ranging from THC + CBD, THC + CBN, and everything in between for unique experiences.
Blue River Super Spectrum Live Rosin & Solvenltess CBN oil used to create gummies in Florida in-collaboration with Trulieve.
Live Rosin CBN Capsules by Blue River are powdered capsules that offer multiple deliver options.
Getting Dosage Right
Eating the right amount when it comes to edibles can be a little bit tricky to the unacquainted. Eat too little and you feel like you’ve been jipped by the budtender. Eat too much and you’re out of commission for the rest of the day. Instead of having a stated cannabinoid potency percentage like flower or concentrates do, edibles are dosed in milligrams of cannabinoids per serving. Paying close attention to serving size is the first step to have a great experience. How do you find the right balance? It takes some experimentation for everyone because of our body’s propensity to absorb the cannabinoids we ingest. If you’re a bigger human being who can comfortably consume alcohol in large volumes compared to your skinnier friends, that doesn’t mean you’re going to have the same sort of tolerance with edibles. We always advise that anyone who doesn’t quite know where they stand in the milligram department to proceed slowly with curiosity regardless of your personal characteristics. Here’s a good guideline of how to think about common edible doses.
As they say, you can always eat more, but you can’t eat less. How many times have you heard a friend say, “I can’t feel it” only to take more and then find themselves an hour later far higher than they hoped to be? This is a common situation with newcomers to edibles, so if you’re in that category, take the advice on the packaging and from your budtender. Start small. If after an hour or two you want more, go for it, but make sure to give your body enough time to metabolize what you’ve eaten since it takes far longer for edibles to kick in. In the case of solventless edibles, they often come on more quickly so you can get a better idea of the peak effect compared to other oils used. The onset of an edible can vary, so make sure not to eat one right before you drive or do something where you need to be sober in the event it gets you high quicker than you expect. Regardless of if you eat chocolates, gummies, or our Rosin Capsules these guidelines will tend to hold true. Does your favorite dispensary not carry Blue River products or is there an edible you want us to make? Drop us a line and let us know!
References
Chayasirisobhon, S. (2021, March 1). Mechanisms of Action and Pharmacokinetics of Cannabis. The Permanente Journal. https://www.thepermanentejournal.org/doi/10.7812/TPP/19.200
Liebert, M. A. (2016, December 1). Decarboxylation Study of Acidic Cannabinoids: A Novel Approach Using Ultra-High-Performance Supercritical Fluid Chromatography/Photodiode Array-Mass Spectrometry. NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5549281/
Zou, S., & Kumar, U. (2018, March 13). Cannabinoid Receptors and the Endocannabinoid System: Signaling and Function in the Central Nervous System. NCBI. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5877694/