What Is Decarbing?

Decarboxylation sounds like a complicated lab procedure, but the truth is that you’re probably a master decarboxylator already. If you’ve ever heated marijuana at all, you’ve already decarbed it. Consider yourself a total newbie? No worries! If you’ve ever successfully cooked something in the oven or microwave, you’re ready for decarboxylating cannabis. Basically, decarboxylation is the process of heating up marijuana to a specific temperature to activate the compounds in it.

When to decarb marijuana

Simply put, you need to decarboxylate marijuana if you want to feel the potentially euphoric effects of THC or if you want the benefits of CBD. Raw cannabis plant doesn’t contain much CBD or THC just yet, these compounds are synthesized in marijuana from CBDA (cannabidiolic acid) and THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid) respectively through the decarbing process.

Decarbing can be as simple as touching a flame to the flower. But igniting cannabis can lead to partial loss of many of the compounds that make cannabis use enjoyable and beneficial for many.

Additionally, if you want to make edibles that aren’t going to be baked or cooked before eating, you’ll need to decarb it—otherwise, you will just have marijuana-flavored food.

How to Decarboxylate Cannabis

By now you know the importance of decarboxylation in any mode of cannabis consumption, but which method is the most efficient? Smoking marijuana requires high temperatures to combust the flower, but decarboxylation itself doesn’t require nearly so much heat. The key to decarbing when cooking is just like using a Crock-Pot: low and slow. And remember, you want your cannabis lightly browned, not dark brown.

There are many ways to decarb at home, ranging from easy enough to unbelievably easy—it’s all a matter of how much THC loss matters to you and how much time you want to devote to the process.

Natural Method

Entropy affects cured marijuana—given time, cannabis will actually decarb itself, but this process takes an exceptionally long timeframe and provides no quality control. In other words, there’s no telling just how much of your THCA has been converted to THC. Unless you’ve got flowers and time to spare, and we’re talking over a year, this method is probably not ideal. (Hey, it would make a pretty cool long-term science experiment, though.)

Baking Sheet

By far the simplest and most common way to decarb marijuana is to bake it in an oven: Place a baking sheet-covered pan in the middle level of your oven

Grind up your flower and spread it over a parchment-lined baking sheet

Set your oven to 220- and 240-degrees Fahrenheit (105-115 C) and bake for 30 minutes

You’ll notice that your cannabis has slightly changed its color to a more golden hue

Don’t let it overheat and get too brown, this will make it lose its potency

Oven Bag

Nearly identical to the baking sheet method:

• Place a baking sheet-covered pan in the middle level of your oven

• Put your ground-up cannabis in an oven bag and tie it up

• Place it on the baking sheet

• Same temperature and time

• Let it cool for a bit and store for future use

You can also throw an oven bag into a pot of water and boil for 90 minutes. Though it is more time-intensive, the major benefit to boiling is that the cannabis will not burn.

Mason Jar

Using a mason jar to decarb is great if you want to control odors:

• Set your oven between 220- and 240-degrees Fahrenheit

• Place the oven rack in the middle position

• Cover a baking tray with a sheet of baking paper with a lightly wet kitchen towel on top of it

• Put the ground cannabis flower in the jar

• Lightly screw on the lid (just don’t make it too tight, as this can cause the jar to burst)

• Place your jar on top of the towel

• Bake for approximately 60 minutes

• Carefully remove the jar from the oven and give it a shake every 15-20 minutes to make sure the cannabis is dispersed evenly

• When done let cool for 20-30 minutes

WARNING: The glass will be VERY HOT!!!

Microwave Oven

For those without a lot of time to spare or who would like to scale test decarbing, using a microwave is a quick—albeit more hands-on—method.

• Grind the cannabis and put it in a microwave-safe bowl

• Cook on high for 90 seconds

• It should smell pungent but not burned. If you’re not getting either, run it for another minute and repeat as needed.

• Stay close, because if you smell burning you’ll need to stop the microwave immediately

If you’re concerned about burning, you can also try a lower setting. (Just stand by and keep an eye on the microwave!)

*We Do Not Recommend This Method*