Cannabis’ main cannabinoids, THC and CBD, is a heat activated chemical. That basically means it has to be heated to a certain temperature for you to actually get high from it. That’s the main reason it is most commonly smoked, as that would usually be the easiest way. That doesn’t help much when it comes to making edibles though. Before you can make cannabutter, or tinctures or anything else you plan on eating you have to active the THC and CBD. You do this by a process called decarboxylation. In other words you have to decarb your cannabis. Let’s learn how we do that, but first a little more of the science behind decarbing cannabis.

Why Do You Decarb Cannabis

As explained in the first paragraph, you need to decarb to active the THC and CBD in the cannabis. Why is that though? THC isn’t stored as THC inside of the plant, same with CBD. Instead it’s actually THCa and CBDa. They won’t get you high as is. If you are make cannabutter or tincture you need to convert the THCa to THC. That’s not something you have to worry about it when you are smoking though. That’s because THCa gets converted to THC when it is heated. This happens automatically when it’s lit, but you can’t make edibles out of the ash after it’s already burnt. Instead stoners use an over to bake their weed so they can eat it. If you want to dive more into the science here’s an interesting article.

Decarbing Weed in an Oven

To decarb cannabis in an oven, you will need a few things. First and foremost, an oven and cannabis. Next you’ll want to get yourself a baking sheet or casserole dish or something similar. Make sure it is oven safe, you don’t want it shattering in the oven and losing all of that cannabis. Lastly, a grinder. Let’s get started.

Preheat the oven to 230–250°F (110–120°C). You know your oven better than I do so if it runs hot, go on the lower end of the range and vice versa.

While waiting for the oven to preheat, grind up your desired amount of cannabis and spread out evenly onto your baking sheet or whatever you are using.

Once your oven has reached the desired temp, place the cannabis in the oven and start a timer for 35-50 minutes. Less time the higher the oven is set. If you want to bring out the CBD, you should go for about 60-100 minutes as it takes longer to decarboxylate. I personally believe in the low and slow method, set at 230 and go for around 50 minutes for THC strains. To make sure everything gets even heat distribution, you can mix it up halfway through or better yet, every 15-20 minutes. You’ll notice the weed will go from green to a golden-brown shade.

Take it out of the oven once the timer goes off and let it cool down. You now have decarbed weed!

Decarbing Weed in an Air Fryer

Decarbing cannabis in an air fryer isn’t much different from an oven, except the heat can be more direct and you can’t decarb as much material at one time. Use a baking sheet and some parchment paper to make sure your cannabis doesn’t touch what I’m sure is a fairly dirty air fryer you have at home. Grind up your weed and place on the baking sheet.

Set the Air Fryer to 240°F (115°C) and wait till its heated up. Place weed in the air fryer and set timer for 40 minutes for THC dominant strains and 80 minutes for CBD dominant strains. Make sure to stir halfway two or three times! As the weed starts to decarb, you’ll notice it turn from green to a shade of golden brown. That’s when you now its ready.

Pull the cannabis out, and wait for it to cool down. Once its cool, you now have cannabis that can be used to infuse a ton of different types of food and drinks. Most popular would be using decarbed weed to make potent cannabutter, which can be then used to make baked goods or to cook with. Your creativity is the limit!