A cannabis infusion is the end result of the process of infusing another substance, usually an oil, with the flavor, aroma, and THC of cannabis. This process is growing in popularity throughout the cannabis edibles industry.

Cannabis infusions differ from extracts and concentrates in that they are made to for use in cooking and baking and not for direct consumption. Also, you are diluting the product not concentrating it.

You will always use some type of fat/oil in the infusion process. Most cannabinoids, including THC, are not water soluble, but they blend very well with fats. The most popular fats used are butter, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil, and even bacon fat. Some say that clarified butter is the best at absorbing out of all of these. In this article we will focus on using butter to make canna-butter.

Production Basics - First, be prepared to do quite a bit of experimenting to find the flavors and potency that works best for you. There is an endless variety of combinations between all the possible strains of cannabis and fat/oil types.

Cannabis Prep – You will want to use decarboxylated (Decarbed) cannabis for your canna-butter. In freshly harvested or live cannabis plants the precursor to Tetrahrdrocannabinol (THC), Tetrahydrocannabnolic Acid (THCA) is dominant. THCA slowly converts to THC during drying. Heat is needed to hasten the process. When smoking cannabis, this process occurs naturally. Those who are just venturing into making their own edibles have often never had to think about this process before.

It is a complicated sounding name for a simple process. The basic idea is to heat the cannabis to 240ºC (115ºC) for 45 minutes. The only difficulty is that temperature control is critical. Some people use their oven with a good quality thermometer. There are also electric “decarboxylators” that many say are easier to use and produce more consistent results than the home oven approach.

Be careful about your grind size. In fact, don’t use a grinder. Most people assume or are told to make the grind very fine. If you do this you will up with tiny, gritty flakes in your food. You want to make sure as much as possible is filtered out in the straining process. The best way to do this is to break up your product by hand into similar-sized chunks.

Potency – As many people new to edibles have discovered, ingesting too much cannabis is extremely unpleasant. As a very general rule, eating cannabis doubles the potency and the time you feel the effects. What really gets people in trouble though, is the very delayed onset as compared to smoking.

For most people, a good goal to shoot for is 5-10mg per teaspoon. In practical terms this means you need to test your canna-butter before using it in recipes. Eat a ½ to full teaspoon of your butter and wait at least three hours to feel the full effects.

After a few batches you will have a good idea of what works best for you. Of course, as you change strains of cannabis you use for your butter you will need to adjust for the greater or lesser potency of the new strain.

Steps for Making Canna-Butter –

• Start with 4 sticks unsalted or clarified butter with 1 oz of finely ground, decarbed cannabis. You may need to adjust this ratio as you test your finished product.
• Use a large pot filled halfway with water (cannabis should be floating 2 inches above the bottom of the pot). Bring the water to a boil.
• Melt all of the butter in the boiling water.
• Pour in the cannabis and turn heat down to lowest simmer and cook for 3 hours. 

• Set up a strainer with cheesecloth stretched across on top of glass container (glass makes it easier to remove the butter).

• Carefully pour the pot contents through the strainer set-up.
• Gather up the cheesecloth and squeeze out whatever you can into the glass container. You will want some heat resistant gloves for this.

• Put the glass container in the fridge and cool until the butter is solidified as a layer on top of the water.
• Use a knife to cut around the edges and lift the butter out.

• Flip the butter upside down and scrape off any plant residue or milk solids.

• Store in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container.

Using an Electric Infuser-

An electric infuser can make this whole process easier. You eliminate the steps of cooling and separating the butter layer because water is not used with this method. You only put butter, cannabis, and a small amount of rice or soy lecithin in the container, press a button and let the machine do its thing. You still need to strain the mixture through cheesecloth. If you plan to start making butters, oils, or tinctures on a regular basis, it is definitely worth considering an electric infuser.