How to Decarboxylate Cannabis to Use in Oils, Edibles & Salves
Last Updated on August 30, 2023
Are you interested in using cannabis to create homemade edibles, cannabis-infused oils, or healing topical salves? If so, it is very convenient and effective to start with cannabis that has been properly decarboxylated first. Wait, what? Don’t worry… It’s cool if you aren’t familiar with the term. This article will give you a quick run-down of what cannabis decarboxylation is and why it is important. Then, we’ll go over how to decarboxylate your cannabis, including easy step-by-step instructions on how to “decarb” cannabis in the oven. The result is a ready-to-use, versatile, activated cannabis product.
What is Decarboxylation?
Think of decarboxylation (also known as “decarbing”) as activating raw cannabis into an enhanced potent form. In more scientific terms, decarboxylation is the process of physically altering the chemical structure of various cannabinoid compounds found in raw cannabis plants – including both marijuana and hemp.
When a cannabis plant is growing or freshly harvested, the cannabinoids found within the flower trichomes contain an extra carboxyl ring or group (COOH) attached to their molecular chain. The process of decarboxylating cannabis removes that carboxyl group from the cannabinoid molecule. This process is what effectively transforms THCA into active THC (or, raw CBDA into CBD) described more below.
Some slow and natural decarboxylation occurs as fresh cannabis dries and cures after harvest. However, heat is the most quick and effective catalyst to trigger the cannabis decarb reaction. For example, decarboxylation is virtually instantaneous when cannabis is smoked or vaporized.
Temperature and Decarboxylation
As we explored in this article about vaporizing cannabis, various cannabinoid compounds and terpenes respond to distinct temperature ranges. Some are activated, altered, or even destroyed at different temperatures. This is one of the many reasons we love using a dynamic heat range vaporizer rather than combusting (smoking) cannabis. You get to reap the benefits of far more intricate elements of the bud.
In the same manner, it is best to decarboxylate cannabis low and slow. Experts say that approximately 230-250°F is the “sweet spot” temperature to decarb cannabis. In that range, THCA converts to THC while also preserving many other beneficial cannabinoids and terpenes. The chemical reactions (and THC activation or degradation) will vary with time, as noted in the chart below.
Why Decarb Cannabis
In the cannabis community, the raw or non-decarboxylated cannabinoid compounds are referred to as the “acid” forms – such THCA or CBDA. Cannabidiolic acid (CBDA) is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid and the acidic precursor to potent CBD. Likewise, tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) is not psychoactive until it is converted into the more well-known compound THC. For instance, when you ingest raw cannabis there is very little psychoactive effect or “high” experienced. Then, when cannabis is decarboxylated it becomes psychoactive.
Obviously, this is important for folks who are hoping to feel the psychoactive effects of their cannabis edibles, oils, tinctures, or otherwise. Yet the benefit is so much more than just feeling the “high”. Both THC and CBD exude scientifically-proven powerful healing properties in their decarboxylated forms. This includes providing relief from anxiety, pain, inflammation, and more. THC and CBD readily absorb in our bodies and interact freely with our bodies endocannabinoid system to work their magic.
On the other hand, the raw acid forms of THC and CBD (THCA and CBDA) also have some promising but lesser-studied medicinal applications of their own. Therefore, folks who are interested in a full-spectrum, ultra-healing experience may choose to use a combination of raw and decarbed cannabis in their homemade oils and cannabis salves.
Ways to Decarboxylate Cannabis
The good news is that it is very easy to decarb cannabis. Especially the way we do it – in the oven! Because the basic idea behind decarboxylating cannabis is to heat it, there are clearly many ways you could decarb cannabis at home. This includes heating it on the stove, in a double-boiler, or in a crock pot. Some people add it directly in food or oil as part of the final cooking process.
However, those methods require more hands-on monitoring or stirring. Also, they easily lend themselves to accidentally overheating or unevenly heating the cannabis. Overheating will destroy many of the beneficial cannabinoids, and the resulting product can also become very lethargic. In contrast, decarbing cannabis in the oven is extremely precise, effective, and virtually hands-off. The only easier (and odorless) option is to use one of these badass Ardent Nova or Magical Butter automatic decarboxylator devices.
HOW TO DECARBOXYLATE CANNABIS IN THE OVEN
- Preheat oven to 250°F. Also, keep in mind that this is will make your house smell strongly of weed for a few hours. You’ve been warned.
- Line a baking sheet or glass baking dish with parchment paper. This makes it easy to collect and package everything after baking.
- Choose your cannabis of choice. We specifically save our more fluffy, loose, less-manicured homegrown buds for this. I also like to use the strains we grow that are high in both THC and CBD (as opposed to high-THC, low-CBD strains) to create well-balanced and healing oils or salves. You can obviously do this with a CBD-only strain of cannabis as well. If you’re using homegrown cannabis, it is best to use material that has already been properly dried and cured first. If you need tips about harvesting, drying, and curing homegrown cannabis – see this article.
- Rip the buds into small pieces. See the photos below for scale. Some people grind their cannabis for decarboxylation, but I don’t find it necessary.
- Now, decarboxylate the cannabis on 250°F for 25-30 minutes. You could also use a lower temperature for slightly longer time to preserve more terpenes (e.g. 230°F for 45 minutes). Refer to the chart above.
- Note that CBDA takes longer to fully convert to CBD than the THC decarb process does. So if you’re working with a high-CBD strain and attempting to make CBD oil or salve, double the time at any given temperature.
- Some people cover their baking pan of cannabis with foil or second baking sheet upside down on top, in order trap any cannabinoids or terpenes that may volatilize in the process.
- When the time is up, remove the tray from the oven and allow the cannabis material to fully cool. It should have changed from green to light brown.
- Transfer the decarboxylated cannabis into a glass air-tight container with a tight-fitting lid, such as a mason jar.
- Finally, store the jar of decarbed cannabis in a cool dark place, like you would with other cannabis.
- Plan to use your decarbed cannabis to make oil, salve or edibles within 3-6 months. I recommend a year maximum, unless you wan’t a sleep aid! It won’t “go bad”, but over time the THC naturally degrades to CBN – a cannabinoid that makes weed very sleepy. Your can find our homemade cannabis-infused oil recipe here, instructions to make cannabis tinctures (aka Green Dragon) here, and our healing topical salve recipe here.
That was easy, right?
Now you know how to decarboxylate cannabis, ready to infuse in oil, edibles, or use in any recipe that calls for decarbed cannabis! My favorite use for it is to make homemade topical salve. Or, learn how to make cannabis-infused oil here. Please remember to heed caution when you consume homemade cannabis products. Because it is challenging to determine exact potency, I highly suggest micro-dosing (taking only tiny amounts) at first.
In closing, I hope you found this article to be useful and enlightening! Please feel free to ask any questions, and spread the love by sharing this post.
Until then, you may enjoy these other related articles:
- How to Grow Cannabis, Organically: Soil, Seeds, Containers, & Care
- How to Harvest, Dry, Trim, Cure & Store Homegrown Cannabis
- Vaporizing Cannabis: Science, Safety, Quality & Technology
- How to Make a Cannabis Tincture (Easy Cold Alcohol Extraction)
- Organic Cannabis Pest Control: Keep the Bugs Off Your Nugs
- How to Feed Cannabis, Organically: Top Dressings, Teas & More
Deanna Talerico
Deanna Talerico (aka DeannaCat) is a garden educator and writer with over 15 years experience in organic gardening. She is a retired Senior Environmental Health Specialist, and holds a M.A. in Environmental Studies and B.S. in Sustainability and Natural Resources.
92 Comments
Anita Moeller
Hi H&C! Love your website. I’ve made a few batches of your salve recipe and I now have a following of elders that depend on it for arthrits relief. I’m happy to be able to help them with the weed we grow here at home. My elderly mom had a question for you – before I decarb my next batch (she lives with us.) If the house is going to smell like weed – won’t it make the people and animals in it high? Not my experience but I couldn’t explain to her why it wouldn’t so…before I decarb…got an answer I can share with her? Thanks!1
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Anita, that is so amazing you have been able to help so many people by making them cannabis salve, it can truly be a healing plant! As to your mother’s question, I don’t have any scientific answer for her but when you decarb cannabis, there isn’t any smoke or byproduct that could cause someone to become high unless you eat the decarbed cannabis. Somewhat similar to baking food in the oven or a glass of wine or beer on the counter, we can smell it but we can’t taste it or fell their effects. If you decarb a lot of cannabis, getting an Ardent device may be a good option. It can decarb up to an ounce of flower at a time and it cuts down on the smell quite a bit. I typically use it to decarb in a separate room in the house, keep the door closed and windows open and it keeps the odor to a more concentrated area, plus it decarbs the cannabis very nicely. Hope that helps and good luck!
martin
Hi great article thx. If i wanted a CBD/THC 50/50% quality end product does the extra time you have to heat the cannabis to produce the CBD degrade the THC in the process?
Thx
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Martin, that is a good thing to think about but I wouldn’t worry about it at all, I would be more cautious of converting the CBD to CBN (which is more of a sleep aid) with an extended decarboxylation process. The best thing you can do is use both CBD and THC flower together or decarb a strain that is known to produce a 1:1 (or 50/50) ratio. Hope that helps and good luck!
Kira
You rock! ^_^ I’m equally amazed and intimidated by all this…
I use a handheld dry herb vape.
My ultimate goal is to double-dip; vape the bud, passively save up, then turn the decarbed bud into edibles.
Is there any big issue with my plan? Am I losing out on edible strength by vaping the bud instead of using an oven or whatnot?
Thanks for everything you do!
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Kira, using already vaped cannabis is a great second use for the flower to use in topicals or edibles. I would say that the already vaped cannabis would likely be slightly less potent than regularly decarbed flower as the vaporizer still heats the cannabis to a higher temperature than your oven or decarbing machine so you may just have to use slightly more in your edibles recipe, although you will want to experiment with the potency beforehand to know for sure. Hope that helps and good luck!
Sandy
There is so much internet info on decarbing my weed! First time for me. My husband doesn’t want to stink up the house so I’m looking into using my crock pot outside but I get different instructions on how to do that depending on where I look. I also saw that I can decarb in a sealed mason jar in my oven. If true that sounds best to me. Please advise!! I want to make tincture for sleep and I’d like to make salve as well. Thanks
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Sandy, you can use a mason jar inside the oven but don’t tighten the lid all the way tight in case gases need to escape and we don’t want your jar to explode. The recommended method is to set a baking tray in the middle rack of your oven, lay the mason jar with cannabis on its side (you can use a lightly moistened towel on the bottom if the jar rolls around too easily), every 15 minutes take the jar out and shake it to make sure the cannabis is being equally heated. You may want to heat it for an additional 15 minutes than what we recommend as the air inside the jar may take a moment to get up to temperature.
If smell is a worry, just have your windows open with fans blowing in case it starts to get a little smelly. We use one of these and while some smell still escapes the machine, it’s very easy to just plug it in to an outlet in a room that you aren’t using, keep the door closed to the room and open all of the windows while it decarbs and that’s that.
For your salve, if you are finding it difficult to decarb without making your house smell, you can add your dried but not decarbed cannabis into your oil and use your crockpot outdoors to infuse the oil with the cannabis through heat for 4-6 hours or so and the cannabis will become activated as it heats along with the oil. Hope that helps and good luck!
Texas Pickles
I decarb in the oven using Reynolds’s Turkey roasting bags. I tie them off to be airtight. The house has zero odor.
I’m using my buds to put in a bone broth I give my elderly dog. Works much better than her prescription meds for arthritis. About one gram (dried) to one quart broth. I purée it well. She weighs about 100 pounds, so I give 1/4 cup to 1/3 cup a night and the difference in her gait, comfort and mood is amazing. Funny thing tho- I have never tried cannabis myself. Was just desperate for pain relief that wasn’t an opiod or nsaid for her.
Mark
Hi. Is a mason jar for decarbing safe and effective? I imagine it would prevent the smell as well right> thanks
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Mark, yes you can use a mason jar for decarbing cannabis and it is supposed to dramatically cut down on the smell. Be sure to use a metal lid, don’t screw the lid on too tight, some people recommend placing a lightly damp cloth on a baking sheet so the jar won’t roll around as much when taking it in and out of the oven, lay it on its side and every 15 minutes or so, take out the jar and shake it around so the cannabis will evenly heat. We like to use our Ardent decarboxylator as it does a really great job of decarbing the flower to a beautiful color with no burnt small, it can be a little expensive but if you are interested in making tinctures, edibles or topicals often, it may be worth the investment. Hope that helps and good luck!
Heather
Does cannabis need to be dried before decarb or can it be freshly cut and straight to decarb? Thanks
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Heather, yes you should dry your cannabis before decarbing.
Vera
Why must one dry the buds before decarbing?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Vera, there is still a lot of moisture left in cannabis after it is harvested which will make your decarb times less of a sure thing as it will take a lot longer to fully decarb the cannabis. There will also likely be more chlorophyll in the flower which creates a more “green” type of flavor which isn’t usually as pleasant. Hope that helps and good luck!
Vera
Thank you for your speedy reply! Your site is my favorite as I learn the basics. Blessings.
Vera
Hah. I did it anyway. It’s slow going, tearing the raw buds into small pieces. Now I have sticky fingers up the kazoo, taking forever to get it off. Nasty! Definitely not recommended. 🙂
Joyce b.
Your site is very informatve. I’ve learned a lot.
i’d like to know if cannibis seeds should be used in either topicals or ingestibles? Thanks
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Joyce, cannabis seeds themselves aren’t typically used for either application. The resulting plant material from a seed grown through harvest is what most people would use for topicals, edibles, or inhalation. We do enjoy hemps seeds for eating as they contain a good amount of protein, omegas, and vitamins, however, those can be purchased at most grocery stores. Let me know if I didn’t answer your question as you’d hoped or if you have any other questions.
Kay
This was such great info! I want to recommend the instant pot decarb method. It’s not *quite* as hot but high pressure for 45 minutes on a jar or two is smell-free, controlled temp, fast, and free of having to mess with it. You need to do your grinding first, imo, to get best results but it always works exceedingly well for me! (Did I mention the no stink?)
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Thanks for sharing Kay, maybe we should try out our Instant Pot for decarbing as well as it doesn’t get much use otherwise.
Yaron
Thanks for your very helpful articles.
After I vaporize herb, is it decarboxilated? Can I then use it to prepare infused oil?
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hello Yaron, yes, some people save their already vaped bud (AVB) to use in edibles as it has been decarbed. Hope that helps and good luck!
Stephanie Olin
Hi, Great article. I am going to procur some Cannibis seeds. I called a company, HoliMoli, and asked which seeds are best for plant to harvet to make a topical salve for pain (arthritis, RA, fibromyalgia and general sore muscles from exercising. What I am not sure about, and I am avid gardenenr, is exactly when to harvet the cannibis to make my salve? Looks to me from the photos that the Cannibis is like pre buds kinda like when Basil starts to flower? Is this correct? Thanks so much!
Stephanie
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Stephanie, we have various articles that go over how to grow cannabis, how to feed cannabis, as well as how to harvest and store cannabis. The last article linked goes over when and how to harvest your cannabis, hope that helps and good luck!
Ken Hillaby
Buying seeds for medically licensed user Canada please can you help
Aaron (Mr. DeannaCat)
Hi Ken, check out the seed section in this article for a list of vendors, not all of them, but many have international shipping. If you are looking for plants with both THC and CBD, you may want to check out Hoku Seed Co. as they have an extensive list of high CBD genetics and some with mixed ratios. Were you looking for something specifically or just different seed banks?