Despite its growing popularity amidst its legalization among many states, many people still do not understand the chemical processes involved to fully enjoy marijuana’s benefits. For one, only a few realize the importance of decarboxylating cannabis before consumption. To decarb, bud means to heat them, essentially, to make them safer and more effective to use.
What is Decarboxylation?
The process of decarboxylation involves using low heat to convert THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) into the THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol) compound faster. As we all know, THC is the main cannabinoid that causes the plant’s psychoactive effects. This process naturally occurs when cannabis is cured but usually takes a long, long, long time to reach its full effectiveness. Thus, many people turn to their ovens to speed up the process. If we skip the decarboxylation process, we end up with edibles that are lackluster, weak, and ineffective in giving us the benefits we are used to.
There are two basic means of consuming cannabis – smoking it or eating it. When you vaporize or smoke cannabis, the heat applied immediately decarbs the weed. A regular cooking process, on the other hand, is typically not enough to decarb bud fully. Thus, in many cannabis recipes, you will see that decarboxylating the weed is always the first and crucial step.
How to Decarb Bud?
Over the years, people have become creative when it comes to the ways of consuming their cannabis. We see recipes for weed that has been boiled into a tea, baked into cookies and brownies, and even extracted to make tinctures. We can now pretty much add weed to almost anything, from lollipops to gummies to butter and even to capsules.
If you do decide to consume your weed through any of the methods mentioned above instead of smoking it, you will have to decarb your buds. Upon reading the steps of the decarboxylation process, however, many people would probably take a step back as the entire method sounds pretty counterintuitive. We have read that cooking will not only reduce the potency of cannabis but it could also burn all the good stuff – aka THC – in it. This, however, is not true especially if you follow the guidelines of properly decarboxylating cannabis.
Break up the weed There is quite a debate around the proper way of breaking up your weed – some advocates swear that breaking up the cannabis by hand is the way to go while others find grinding the plant with processors is a much more efficient method. Regardless, the important thing is to break the weed into smaller pieces to ensure that heat is applied more evenly as compared when whole nugs are used.
Method 1: Start the decarboxylation process using the oven.
In this article, we will discuss two popular ways to decarboxylate weed. The first and most widely-used method is using the oven. To start the whole decarb process, we need a few simple tools and equipment:
- Oven
- Baking tray
- Parchment paper (not wax paper)
- Broken down weed
To start, pre-heat the oven to at least 220 degrees Fahrenheit or 105 degrees Celsius. Place the parchment paper on your baking tray and spread your broken down marijuana flowers or buds over it. Any large chunks should be broken down into smaller pieces using a pair of sterilized scissors or your hands. Also, make sure not to crowd the tray as all the buds may not dry out properly. If needed, divide your buds into separate trays as you would want to maintain a fairly thin layer of buds on each baking sheet.
For well-dried weed, bake for approximately 25 to 40 minutes to completely dry the weed and make them crumbly to touch. For fresher marijuana, however, you would need to let them hang out in the oven for approximately 90 minutes as they will have more moisture in them. Many seasoned cannabis users invest and rely on a hygrometer, which is useful in measuring the amount of moisture left in the herb.
Once the weed is dry enough, remove the tray from the oven, and let it sit on the counter to completely cool. The decarboxylation process is done and a good majority of the THCA compounds have been converted to THC.
A few things that you need to know about this process:
- First, decarboxylating your weed will fill your space with the pungent, easily identifiable smell of cannabis. Thus, if you want to avoid nosy neighbors, your parents, or the cops, make sure to have exhaust fans and carbon filters installed to keep your business on the down-low.
- Make sure not to turn the dial too much as temperatures that are too high can ruin the herb. According to several studies, a temperature of approximately 200 to 230 degrees Fahrenheit is the safe range to decarboxylate the weed efficiently. Bear in mind that oven temperatures tend to fluctuate by 10 degrees in either direction. Similarly, keeping the weed in the oven too long will also result in THC levels falling off quickly.
Method 2: Start the decarboxylation process using the water bath method.
This method is also widely referred to as the Sous Vide method. With this method, water is boiled at a consistent temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit. To start the whole decarb process, we need a few simple tools and equipment:
- Plastic bag
- Vacuum sealer
- Water
- Cooking pot
- Sous Vide precision cooker
- Broken down weed
Start by sealing the grounded flowers or buds in a plastic bag. Fill your cooking pot with water, install the precision cooker in the pot, and set it at a temperature of about 200 to 212 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the required temperature has been maintained, place the bag of weed into the pot for an hour. After the hour has passed, remove the bag from the pot, allow it to completely cool, and remove the weed from the bag.
Conclusion
The decarboxylation process is a crucial part of enjoying the recreational and medicinal effects of marijuana. It, however, is the least misunderstood part. A decarb bud will ensure that the needed molecules are active as compared to their raw version. The good news is that the entire process is easy and simple and when done correctly, you will be able to enjoy your weed to the fullest.
