Making Canna-Oil: Math Included

If you have ever tried to find a definitive answer to a dosage question on the internet, you were out of luck, until now that is. 

As a Medical Cannabis Partaker (and a busy parent) I need to know what my results are going to be before I make my oil. I also need to know that my results can be reproduced. But how do I do that with kief instead of bud was my dilemma.

I understand the typical ratios for bud to butter to use for baking. I didn't know how to measure and account for the dosage using kief, or how many pills to take instead of food. So I had a few questions that were nearly impossible to find consistent answers to. Not one source I checked out agreed with the next as to how much kief to use. There is apparently no Bud To Kief Ratio "rule of thumb" out there either, though I'm proposing one here.    

And I've done all the math.  It was confusing at first, but I've figured it out. There will be diagrams, or at least pictures. With all the guess work now gone we can happily medicate knowing our results should be the same every time and increasing our dosage as our tolerance increases will be easy as well.

The Bud to Butter Ratio

For making Canna Budder, or Canna Oil for baking or cooking you will get consistent results using these ratios.

My Cheat-sheet 

 Kief, which is basically the tiny resin particles that have fallen off the bud, weighs much less than bud. So 1oz. of bud is not equal to 1oz. of kief when it comes to strength of dosage! One ounce of kief would be much stronger.

That was the challenge! Sadly, every "weed authority" I searched online did not discuss the topic at all of how much kief to use instead of bud. Oh, there are more than a few kief recipes out there, just nobody but me is apparently looking for this exact information.

Except, this is exactly what is needed in the industry; a standard to use that will deliver the same results every time for edibles, tinctures, and other blends. Listening to The Cannabist has taught me that the industry in Calorado has (and still is) suffered lots of different growing pains,  inconsistency of product was one of those major issues!
About to give up, I finally found a reliable source! Big shout out to MFT. If you have never heard of them, please check them out. These bunch of guys might look rough, but they are a bunch of sweeties! Marijuana For Trauma in Oromocto, New Brunswick. A few good people there have been cooking with Cannabis for a long time and so the information was passed down to me verbally.

Here's the ratio I finally found and would like to propose that this become the...

Golden Ratio of Bud to Kief

1oz Bud  =  4g Kief

14g Bud  =  2g Kief  

7g Bud  =  1g Kief  

3.5g Bud  = 0.5g Kief 

Keeping to this ratio will generally give you the same results as the Bud to Butter Ratio above, all other things being equal, of course. Consistency is as important at home as it is from the edibles you purchase at your local or favourite dispensary.


Quick note about the kind of oil or fat you are using to absorb the cannabinoids while it is decarboxing. Butter, olive oil, coconut oil are all fats, but not all fats are the same. One might absorb less cannabiniods than another, even with all else the same. I'm not a scientist, but I know that this area needs research to take all the guess work out of making the most potent oil infusion. Until that happens take time to learn about what you are putting into your body.


Decarboxylating: Don't forget about it!

Decarb the kief the same as Bud; in oil or dry but make sure you cook it at no higher a temperature than 285'F, for no less than 30 minutes. This time around I personally used my Crockpot on low, than high, than low again. I used a candy thermometer to test the temp of the oil over the 5 hour process. It never when over 275'F. Important to note, a temp higher than 285'F will cause the THC to evaporate off, losing some of your high. So a lower temp, but a longer time should give you better results.There are lots of methods out there, find yourself a favourite and get to it; as long as it follows these general rules above for temp and time it should work.


Note: I've been informed that though adding lecithin to the process of infusing your chosen oil with Cannibis is a suggestion and not necessary, it does increase the potency. And a real quick Google search of Lecithin tells me there are varying qualities and sources of it to pay attention to when purchasing. 

The Big Math: How to know your dosage

The big complicated math...well not really. The trick is having the formula!
And I'm giving it to you right here.
As medical marijauna users managing a chronic condition know, it is important to know your dosages. We keep track of how much or how often we dose, so consistency, quality, and potency are imperative. 
To know what dosage your baked goods are when making cookies or brownies fill in the blanks as best you can. I realize, if your medicating illegally you might not have the ability to know what percent your bud's THC is, so you will have to guess. I think I've read that most street side weed is around the 15 -16%THC. At least it's a good ballpark figure to guesstimate with.

The formula is:

 g x 1000 x THC% divided by #pieces = THC dose per piece.

So in Real life my last brownie batch I measured the dose like this:

4.09grams (bud) x 1000 = 4,090mgs

4090mg x 13.3%THC = 543.97mg

543.97mg divided by 24 pieces

= 22.66mgs per piece.

So my tolerance level for edibles right now is just over two doses, according to Colorado's term "Dose" which is 10mg (other States list a "dose" as 5 mg). Perhaps that is not a big deal to know now if you are not in a place where edibles are available, but it is good to know what constitutes a dose so you are aware and don't have to guess or even be in fear of over doing it. 

With the Kief in Coconut oil to put into pills the math got a little more complicated, because there were two different formulas I ended up needing to use. I can't describe this math. But I wrote it out nice and took a picture...

One last time, I'm not a scientist or professional anything. I'm a medical marijuana user. And I like to know what I'm putting in my body. I like consistency, I like predictability. I do not like to be in the position of being over medicated and suddenly incapable of getting my chores or errands done, or visa-versa, haven't medicated enough and in too much pain to be as active as I wish.                                                               This formula can be used to determine how much bud (or kief) to use for your right dosage, as well as say,  how many pieces to eat or divid the recipe into.                                                                                       

The bonus is, if you know how potent your cookies or brownies are you can wisely introduce a newbie with a low first dose of 3 or 5mg. There's nothing more sad than turning someone off Mother Natures best medicine by over dosing them on their first time like I did with my daughter...

but that's another story.

P.S. If you know for a fact that I am incorrect in this proposal that 28g of bud = 4g of kief, please comment below. I'm still learning and willing to be corrected.

I'm That Mom Next Door

“You probably don’t expect the nice mom next door to be getting high,” starts a report on ABC’s “Nightline” titled “Confessions of a Pot Mom.” It originally aired Sept 23rd, 2014 and now seems to be coming up in my Facebook news feed featured in High Times Magazine, and of course The Cannabist. Well, this Canadian Mom is one of those mom’s next door who’s getting high. And I make no apology for it, thought I’m not about to start announcing it from the roof top just yet. Give me at least a year on this stuff and then we shall see. 

Not being in Colorado or Washington States where it is legal to use Cannabis, but instead being in Canada where nothing yet has changed presents some unique challenges. Here are a few I am struggling with.

The first is me! I’m the kind of person who likes to hit the ground running. When I take something on I’m all in, or not at all. I’m not a half-assed type person. So one of my struggles is that I am a newbie. Somehow I want to be more seasoned before I hardly have started. One month and only nine doses in and I’m already wishing I was into bongs, and pipes, and edibles, able to have a puff and head to work, or hang with some friends for the evening and enjoy a bowl together. I have to be reminded frequently to just take one dose at a time and keep on keepin’ on. Gotta start somewhere and not despise my new (and small) beginnings.

Second biggest frustration is all this information available on the internet about strains, and special varieties of cannabis. Each one with slightly different personalities and effects depending on what you need medically or want recreationally. The two families; Sativa or Indica plus hybrids of the two. Then there are the variations with names like Royal Kush, Sour Diesel, or Bubblegum. Before I started I asked Sensei what strain it was that they usually purchased from the supplier. I was actually disappointed to hear I can’t choose what I purchase on the illegal market. Ha! Funny. To some degree I’m over educated on weed! Of course, this only makes me want to get into growing my own so I can have a choice, but that’s not going to be happening any time soon either! That, or I need to encourage Sensei to get a passport so we can do a road trip across country to do some testing where it is legal! Hmmm, Cannabis Vacations sounds like a good business for someone to start. (Note: It already exists...http://coloradohighlifetours.com/ )

Third frustration. I have to hide my cannabis use. Seeing Jane West smoking pot on National television, standing up to society to re-educate a Nation is admittedly inspiring. It’s exactly the kind of thing I would love to eventually do, or at the very least support.  But I think for Canadians, at least for now, that’s not going to happen for a few years. So in the meantime I will have to follow and learn from what’s happening in the States. If jobs are increasing currently in the Cannabis Industry there, they will eventually grow here. If Women are making a big impact in the States both in advocacy and business now, we will eventually be doing the same thing here. Meanwhile, I am willing to watch and learn, and wait my turn to join in when things do change here. For the time being I will learn to be content in continuing this journey as I get more experienced in smoking and hand rolling my own little joints. Eventually taking on new experiences with pipes, bongs, and edibles. Probably even experimenting with dabs, vapes and finding out what this crystal catcher on my grinder will provide me! (See? Such a newbie!)

So I guess I have a pot bucket list of things to experience before I can be any kind of mentor to others when prohibition lifts here in Canada. Lots to learn, lots to do, and courage to gather. But as I said before, when I start something, it’s all or nothing. And I’m all in baby! 

For your entertainment, and education. Here is a video called Stoned Moms that I watched even prior to my first experience with pot. This is partly why I'm over educated in some areas. Highly educational. 
Enjoy.