Want to save money at the dispensary and test your skills in the kitchen? This simple recipe for DIY weed gummies is a great way to get started. Here’s everything you need to know about making your own THC-infused gummies at home.
Why you should try making weed gummies
Many people opt for smoking weed, but edibles are a totally different experience. While the effects of smoking weed come on strong and last for an hour or two, they usually peak after about 15 minutes. On the other hand, edibles offer an almost psychedelic experience. They take about 2 hours to kick in, but you’ll feel strong mind and body effects for up to 8 hours. Edibles are known for a more potent euphoria as well as long-lasting physical relief that makes for excellent recreational fun and strong medicine. But best of all, they’re discreet for taking on the go and won’t stink up the place like dabbing or smoking will.
Making weed gummies at home is a great way to save money at the dispensary, but it also gives you more control over how strong your edibles are. In most states, recreational edibles can only contain 100mg of THC in the whole package. But homemade edibles can be as strong (or as weak) as you’d like them to be. They can also be customized into any shape and flavor that you like, so they’re a lot of fun to make.
At the end of the day, homemade edibles last longer than smoking and allow you to customize the potency. They’ll also save you some money at the dispensary, and won’t stink up your house like smoking or dabbing will. Most importantly though, they’re discreet, tasty, and easy to make. Making homemade weed gummies is the way to go!
What to know before you get cooking
Before you dive into making your own edibles, you should take a look at a few safety precautions first. First and foremost, make sure you keep your edibles safe and secure. Since homemade gummies aren’t labeled for THC, it’s best to store them in a cool dry place in a childproof container. Keep them away from kids and pets who might think your secret gummy bear stash is fair game. You don’t want a trip to the emergency room or vets office, or a call from CPS.
The next precaution involves dosing and eating your edibles. We highly recommend using a dosage calculator like the one developed by our friends at Magical Butter or follow the guide by Alpha420. It will help you alter your recipe to make sure you’re not getting a mystery batch of edibles that may be too strong or too weak to enjoy safely.
Last but not least, If you’ve never tried edibles, always start with a low dose around 5-10mg and work your way up until you know how your dose will affect you. A high dose of edibles often causes long-lasting effects and can lead to feelings of anxiety or paranoia. Edibles usually take about 1-2 hours to kick in, so you have to be patient and avoid taking a second dose until you start to feel the effects of the first dose.
But all that said, if you follow those guidelines, you’re bound to have a great time making homemade edibles. Below we’re covering how it’s done.
How to make weed gummies
Making weed gummies is pretty simple. You just need some cannabis oil and a few ingredients for the gummies themselves. You can buy cannabis oil directly from a dispensary if you’d like to avoid the whole decarboxylation and cannabis oil steps, but flower tends to be a lot cheaper than pre-made oils. Before we jump into the recipe, we’ll talk about how to make your own cannabis oil from flower.
Start by making cannabis oil from flower
To make edibles, you need to bind the THC from your flower to a fat so you can add it to your gummies and feel its effects. If your end goal is gummies, we recommend using coconut oil because it tastes better in the gummies. You can use the instructions below to make them the old fashioned way, or invest in the Alpha420 EdiOven, which will decarb cannabis and make it into oil with no extra time or odor.
- Decarb your cannabis — grind your weed into a medium coarse grind and sprinkle evenly over a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated ovem for 30-45 minutes at 220-245°F (105-120°C). Just toast the buds, and take care to flip the bud midway through and avoid burning.
- Add oil — Using the dosage calculator, add the ideal amount of oil to infuse to your weed. Heat the coconut oil in a saucepan until it hits 130-150°F (55-65°C). Add your decarboxylated weed, and simmer for about 3 hours. Make sure to stir. You can also do this step with a double boiler or a slow cooker.
- Strain with a cheesecloth and store — Once you’re done simmering, strain the oil into a glass jar using a cheesecloth to remove extra weed particles. Seal it with the lid and store it away from kids or pets.
Make the weed gummies
Once you have your cannabis oil made or your storebought oil/tincture ready to go, you can start preparing the gummies.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- Gummy mold (fruits, worms, bears, robots, whatever you’d like. You can find them on Amazon)
- Cooking pot
- Whisk
- Dropper
- Strainer
- 1/2c cannabis oil
- 1/2c cold water
- Small box of your favorite Jell-o or other 85g packet of gelatin
- 2tbsp unflavored gelatin
- 1/2tsp sunflower or soy lecithin
How to do it:
- In your cooking pot, add the water, cannabis oil, and sunflower/soy lecithin. Warm over low heat and stir until the oil is melted and the mixture is smooth and consistent
- Add all the gelatin and stir with a whisk constantly over low heat for about 15 minutes until all the gelatin is dissolved. Don’t allow it to come to a boil. Low and slow.
- Strain the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer to remove lumps of undissolved gelatin and add back to the pot or into a bowl.
- While the mixture is still warm, use a dropper to fill each of the gummy molds. Remember to stir the leftovers frequently to prevent it from setting or separating before you can put them into the molds
- Pop the molds into the freezer for 20-25 minutes. Once they’re set, they’re ready to eat and enjoy!
