The short answer
Decarb first, then infuse. That order matters more than any gadget you buy. The easiest version that works: grind your flower, spread it on a sheet pan, bake at 240°F for 40 minutes, then scrape it into a mason jar with melted coconut oil. Seal the jar, set it in a pot of simmering water, and hold it there for 2 to 3 hours, shaking every 30 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth and you have oil. No double boiler to babysit, no stove-top pot of oil to scorch.
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Why you have to decarb first
Raw cannabis is mostly THCA, which is not psychoactive. Heat plus time converts THCA into THC. Skip that step and you have made a very expensive salad dressing. Bake it too hot and you burn off the compounds you just unlocked, which is why 240°F for 30 to 45 minutes is the range most home cooks settle on. You want the flower to look toasted, dry, and slightly darker, not black.
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Pick a fat that behaves
Coconut oil is the default for a reason. It is high in saturated fat, it sets up at room temperature, and it does not taste like much if you buy refined. MCT oil is the same idea in liquid form. Olive oil works and tastes grassy, but the weed flavor fights it. Butter and ghee work too, though butter has water in it and a shorter shelf life. Whatever you choose, use enough to cover the flower with an inch of oil on top.
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The ratio, and what it means for potency
A common starting point is 1 cup of oil to 7 to 14 grams of decarbed flower. Here is the math I run before every batch. Take your weight of flower, multiply by an assumed THC percentage. Fourteen grams at 15% is 2,100 mg of THC. Assume you extract about 75% of it, so roughly 1,575 mg ends up in the oil. A cup is 48 teaspoons, which puts you near 33 mg per teaspoon. That is strong. A quarter teaspoon is about 8 mg, which is a real dose for most people.
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Three methods, from easiest to most controlled
- Mason jar water bath. Jar in a pot of water, water at a low simmer, 2 to 3 hours. Cheapest and easiest to clean up.
- Slow cooker. Oil and flower on low for 3 to 4 hours, stirring now and then. Use a liner or you will be scrubbing.
- Sous vide. Sealed bag at 185°F for 4 hours. Best control, least smell, most gear.
Strain and store
Line a strainer with cheesecloth or a nut milk bag over a bowl or measuring cup. Pour, then squeeze the pulp hard. You paid for that oil, get all of it out. Store in glass, in the dark, in the fridge. It keeps 2 to 3 months that way, longer in the freezer. If you leave plant material in the oil, it will go off faster and taste stale.
Dosing without guessing
Label every jar with the date and your estimated mg per teaspoon. Start at 2.5 to 5 mg of THC and wait a full two hours before deciding you need more. Edible cannabis can take 30 minutes to 2 hours to peak, and the effects last longer than smoking does. Keep the jar out of reach of kids and pets, and tell anyone you share it with what is in it.
Safety and legal notes
Never leave simmering oil unattended, and keep the heat low. Oil that gets too hot can smoke or catch fire, and a sealed jar of hot oil is not something to shake with bare hands. Make cannabis oil only if you live somewhere it is legal, and follow your state's limits on how much you can possess or produce at home. Homemade batches vary from jar to jar, so treat each one as a new product and dose accordingly.