No-Bakes That Will Get You Baked

Many of us have a serious sweet tooth, and we know how to use it. Edibles provide a discreet, tasty and effective way to reap the benefits of cannabis without smoking up your lungs. The effects can last up to 4–6 hours—far longer than smoking flower—and give more a “body” high than a “head” high.

Stories of enhanced experiences from edibles going wrong avert some people from experimenting with canna-food, but there is a right way to enjoy them, too! With new laws regulating edibles, ingredients and cannabis percentages are clearly labeled, making it easier to dose appropriately. At-home recipes are a bit different, so it’s important to know how many milligrams of cannabis are in each batch.

Here’s how to roughly calculate the amount of THC in your homemade oil or butter, according to Jessica Catalano of the The Ganja Kitchen Revolution.

Let’s say your flower strain contains 15 percent THC. Fifteen percent of 1000 milligrams equals 150 milligrams, so 1 gram of cannabis contains 150 mg of THC. These calculations can be tricky, so here is an easy-to-use dosage converter.

For beginners, it’s extremely important to start with a low dose. The enhancements from smoking cannabis do not correlate equally to eating edibles, so start slow .

As a rule of thumb, edibles with 5 mg–10 mg of THC are recommended for starters. Dosages are typically in increments of 10 milligrams, which is equivalent to one blueberry or a bite of a cookie. Remember, edibles can take up to two hours to take full effect, so go slow.