Things
to be aware of
How
it works:
The
most important thing to know about ingesting cannabis
is that it takes a while to have any effect. Nothing
will happen for an hour or so, but when it does it can
be far more potent than smoking the same amount. Many
people say eating cannabis produces a more "trippy"
effect, it can be very intense if you over do it and
that may not be a nice experience, especially if you've
never got stoned before and don't know what to expect.
Don't
eat cannabis without a little bit of planning, including
where you are and who you're with and what you intend
to do for the next few hours
Dose:
When
prohibition ends, cannabis foods will no doubt be available
in known doses, just like alcohol is today. Until then
we have to live with this uncertainty. Trouble is, street
cannabis varies greatly in strength from the pathetically
weak to the nailing to the ground strong, so it simply
isn't possible to give any firm advice on how much to
use, beyond the rather vague "go by how much you
smoke".
Once
the hash cake or whatever has gone down the neck, there's
no going back. So it's important to start low and go slow!
If
you do have a dose which is really too high, it can
last a long time and might be very unpleasant. If you're
in the wrong place or with the wrong people it can become
very upsetting, perhaps even frightening. Although any
bad effects usually pass when the cannabis wears off,
for some people, especially children or young teenagers,
this might contribute to emerging mental health issues.
In any case, having a bad time is not the reason to
take any drug.
Never
give cannabis food to children, eating cannabis when
pregnant included
Contamination:
There
is an additional problem caused by the prohibition (illegality)
of cannabis
Cannabis
which you grow yourself or which was grown by someone
you know will be OK But it's important to realise that
cannabis is supplied by an illegal economy and the so
called "black market" weed and hash may be
very contaminated.
In
the UK this not only means "Soap
bar" (which should always be avoided anyway),
but it may well apply to any imported hash or weed.
Also the problem of contamination isn't limited to the
"grit weed" which become so widespread.
Eating/drinking
cannabis can be extremely dangerous due to the presence
of chemical contaminants and / or pathogens (microbes),
given the high possibility of adulterants in imported
cannabis, you should really think twice before using
a nonsmoking method.
There
is no reliable way to clean contaminated cannabis, for
example if your grass comes from sprayed crops there's
nothing you can do about that. Crops in the producer
countries are being sprayed by the US government (and
probably by ours as well) with cancer causing herbicides
as a part of the UN plan to eradicate cannabis form
the world by.. er .. 2008. Seriously, that was the plan
Cooking
at a high temperature will kill most pathogens, but
maybe not all of them - if you crank up you're oven
too high you'll nail the THC too... not to mention burning
the brownies!
At
the very least, NEVER eat street cannabis which hasn't
been cooked, e.g., hash which has just been crumbled
up and sprinkled on a sandwich; you'll probably be OK,
but you might just end up with the runs - you could
conceivably end up with hepatitis.
The
obvious answer to all this is the end of Prohibition
and the introduction of quality controls, but meanwhile
please be careful regarding the eating / drinking method.
It's generally good advice not to buy cannabis supplied
by organised crime, get to know someone who grows at
home.
Note
to governments and the UNODC: All of the above problems
are caused directly and solely by prohibition, they
need not be happening and they are happening because
of your policies. If cannabis were legal and properly
regulated, consuming cannabis in food or drink would
be the safest way to consume it.
Cooking
with Cannabis
Rather
than tell you how to make a cake (go look up the recipe!),
this section is dedicated to the theory of how to use
cannabis successfully in any recipe that requires butter,
fats or oils.
So
you can add cannabis to any food that contains animal
or vegetable fats, such as cakes, biscuits, stews or
drinks such as milkshakes, drinking chocolate or yoghourts.
Important
points to remember when cooking with cannabis are that
you need to ensure an even spread of cannabis throughout
the chosen dish and that the meal or item produced should
not be too heavy. If you have a full stomach then the
cannabis constituents will take longer to enter the
bloodstream.
The basic principal in cooking with cannabis is to first
extract the THC into a fat, for example butter or an
oil. You
do this by grinding up the cannabis into a fine powder
and then adding it to a small amount of hot oil and
allowing it to dissolve, then you add the oil/cannabis
mix to the food you're preparing.
If
you live in or near an Asian community, you can do even
better by using ghee (clarified butter) which is widely
used in Asian cookery. Because ghee has been clarified,
had all the impurities taken out, it tends to become
very hot when liquefied, so be very careful when melting
it.
When powdering the cannabis, the pieces should be as
small as possible. Now we come to the difficult issue
of how much to put in. One suggestion is to make several
items each the same size, for example cup cakes or squares
of chocolate. Think of each one as being a spliff and
put that amount in the mix, times the number of items
you're making. If you assume 20 items to 2 grms (a "teenth")
- 0.1 grm in each - that might be as good a starting
point as any but remember, it's impossible to give firm
advice. If it's too weak, you can always eat another
but be warned you might find that even this dose is
a bit too much..
If
you're making a few items with a couple of grams of
cannabis, you only need a small amount of oil, say a
large spoonful or so. Heat this in a ladle or serving
spoon but be careful not to burn your fingers.
Once up to temperature turn down the heat so that the
oil is not burning or cooling off.. Sprinkle in your
crumbled cannabis and stir gently. It is up to you how
long you heat the mixture, stirring occasionally, to
ensure the THC fully dissolves, but around an hour is
a good guide. When this is done, add it to your cooking
- any recipe calling for marg or butter - biscuits and
cakes are a favourite or if you're really lazy melt
it into chocolate.
Getting
the strength right is the difficult part, since this
depends on the strength of the cannabis you're using
as well as simply the amount, as we say thanks to prohibition
there's no way of knowing how strong it is without "sucking
and seeing". UKCIA sugests that you make a large
number of cakes or biscuits - say make 10 from 2grms
(1/16th ounce) for starters and see how you go from
there. You can always eat more than one if you think
you need it.
Tincture
of Cannabis
Not
so sure about this one as it involves mixing cannabis
with strong alcohol and on the whole we wouldn't advise
mixing the two drugs, but one way to make a drinkable
form of cannabis is to infuse it in a a strong spirit.
A reasonably sweet drink with a high percentage of alcohol
is recommended, for example fruit schnapps.
It
is also better to use grass rather than resin as it
tends to be purer and easier to filter out the solid
that remains after the extraction.
Either
way grind up your chosen form of cannabis as finely
as possible, before you add the alcohol soak it in warm
water over night. This will remove any water soluble
impurities but not any of that precious THC. After soaking
drain of the excess water and place in an airtight jar
and pour in the alcohol. Seal the container and place
in a cupboard.
Most
of the THC will have been absorbed within a week, but
connoisseurs may leave it for a year or more! Whenever
you feel like it drain of the liquor. If you use weed
strain it through a sieve and then a coffee filter,
for hash the coffee filter alone should be enough.
Pour
liquor back in bottle and consume as desired. Using
a fruit drink, rather than a clear spirit like vodka,
will help hide the colour change and the sweetness will
mask the bitter taste the cannabis extract can cause.
A little practice will let you find your personal favourite
flavours and strengths.
|
