Edibles are cannabis you eat or drink rather than smoke. The mechanism is different — your liver metabolizes THC into 11-hydroxy-THC, which has a longer onset, longer duration, and a different feel than inhaled cannabis. This guide is the umbrella tutorial for making your own at home.
Specific recipes: cannabutter · cannabis cookies
How edibles differ from smoking flower
| Trait | Smoked flower | Edibles |
|---|---|---|
| Onset | 5-10 minutes | 60-90 minutes (sometimes 2 hours) |
| Peak | 30 minutes | 2-3 hours |
| Duration | 1-2 hours | 4-8 hours |
| Dose feel | Predictable, fades fast | Slow build, longer plateau |
The slower onset is where most overdose stories start: someone takes a dose, doesn't feel anything at 30 minutes, takes another, then both kick in at hour 2. Wait at least 90 minutes before re-dosing. That's the rule.
The base ingredient: cannabutter (or cannabis oil)
Most homemade edibles start with cannabutter (cannabis-infused butter) or cannabis oil (coconut, olive, or canola oil with cannabis simmered in). Once you have a batch, swap it 1:1 for regular butter or oil in any recipe — brownies, cookies, sauces, salad dressings.
The full butter recipe lives at how-to-make-cannabis-butter. The shortened version:
1. Decarb flower at 240°F for 40 minutes (activates THC).
2. Simmer with butter + water on low heat for 2-3 hours.
3. Strain through cheesecloth, refrigerate overnight, lift the butter disc off.
Cannabis oil follows the same process — substitute oil for butter in step 2.
Dose math
The dose math is identical regardless of recipe:
1. Total THC in your flower = grams × (THC% × 10). E.g., 7g of 20% flower = 7 × 200 = 1,400 mg theoretical max.
2. Real-world extraction is 50-70% of theoretical with a home simmer. Call it 60% to be safe.
3. Total THC in your butter batch = step 1 × 0.60.
4. Per-serving dose = step 3 ÷ servings per recipe.
Example: 7g of 20% flower simmered into 1 lb butter, used to make 24 brownies:
- 1,400 × 0.60 = 840 mg THC in the whole pound
- 840 ÷ 24 = 35 mg per brownie (cut in half for ~17 mg, into quarters for ~9 mg)
For a first-timer: start at 2.5-5 mg. You can always eat more at the 90-minute mark; you can't undo eating too much.
What flower to use
The cooking process doesn't care if the flower is pretty. Older flower, shake, or trim works fine — extraction is the same. The flower section at Seattle Cannabis Co. carries singles, eighths, and ounce options at value pricing for cooking; tell a budtender you're making edibles and we'll point you at density-per-dollar options.
What if it goes wrong
Too much THC at once is uncomfortable but not dangerous. Symptoms: anxiety, racing heart, paranoia, dry mouth, drowsiness. The classic remedies:
- Hydrate. Sip water, not chug.
- Find a safe place. Couch, blanket, dim lights.
- Eat something. A real meal helps absorption normalize.
- CBD if you have it. A 1:1 CBD:THC tincture can take the edge off.
- Sleep. Most uncomfortable peaks pass during sleep.
It will pass. Edibles overload is over within 4-8 hours. If anyone is in genuine medical distress (chest pain, can't breathe, etc.), call 911 — but the vast majority of "I ate too much" experiences are uncomfortable, not dangerous.