MzJill's Medicinal Marijuana Butter & Cookies

[MzJill]

Most of us are aware that marijuana has medicinal values. Cannabis has been used for medicinal purposes for over 4,800 years. Marijuana provides symptomatic relief from a list of medical aliments, such as nausea and vomiting, appetite stimulation, promoting weight gain, pressure from glaucoma, reduces muscle spasms from spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis, and diminishes tremors in multiple sclerosis patients, it also provides relief from migraine headaches, depression, seizures, insomnia and chronic pain.

Tetrahydrocannabinol, also known as THC is the main psychoactive substance found in marijuana. THC receptors are found in animals, mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles. There are two known types of cannabinoid receptors; CB1 and CB2. The CB1 receptors are mainly found in the brain, they are also found in both the male and female reproductive systems. The CB1 receptors seem to be responsible for the euphoric and the anticonvulsive effects. The CB2 receptors are mainly found in the immune system and are responsible for the anit-inflammatory effects.

Although many people desire the medicinal effects of marijuana, they are unable to smoke it, instead they must ingest their medicine. When eatten marijuana can be a quite potent medicine that relieves deep and chronic pain. Since THC is not a water-soluble compound, butter is a good carrier substance for ingestion.

Cannabutter is a butter-based mixture, which has been infused with cannabinoids. The high from cannabutter is a bit different than the high from the traditional method of smoking. The high from digesting marijuana comes on much slower and lasts much longer than the high from smoking. Consuming marijuana by eating provides superior medicinal relief from pains and spasms. Unlike taking prescription drugs for pain, eating cannabis still allows a person to have full function ability. Eating cannabis can sometimes cause nausea and may detour a person from consuming cannabis orally, but this side affect will diminish partially or completely as your body becomes accustom to the intake of cannabinoids.

Cannabutter can be made using remains of the plant, which are normally thrown away after harvesting. However the most potent butter will come from using actual buds or bud leaves containing a significant amount of visible resin. The higher quality ingredients you use, the more potent and flavorful your butter will be. If you choose to use the leaf matter from your plants, it is important to allow the trim to dry fully to avoid the taste of chlorophyll in your final product.

I have been making cannabutter for approximately nine years now. I have a marijuana patient, John whom previously took a variety of prescription medications; Oxycotins, Wellbutrin, Zoloft and Viagra. I had recently learned of the benefits of eating cannabis, so I made some cannabutter cookies and gave them to him. Approximately eight years later, I still make canna-cookies for him, and canna-cookies are his only form of medication. He no longer needs Oxycotins for his pain, or Zoloft & Wellbutrin for his mind, now he also has a happy sex life without the use of Viagra. John doesn’t enjoy smoking marijuana, but he is happy to eat one canna-cookie a day.

Making cannabis cookies is normally a two-day process. Day one consists of making the butter and day two is cookie-making day. The process of making butter has an extremely strong smell, which can last for several hours after the process is complete.

The first step in making cannabutter is to assemble your ingredients and preparation tools. The amount of butter and cannabis used can vary depending on how potent you want the end product to be. I use four to six ounces of cannabis material and 1.25 cups of butter (5 sticks). It is important to use real butter rather than margarine; butter will better set up after the process is complete. You will need a large (Dutch Oven) stainless steel pot with a lid, a large stainless steel bowl, and a fine mesh metal strainer, and metal slotted spoons. It is best to use stainless steel cookware and utensils rather than plastic because product can be lost in porous plastic.



Fill your large pot almost ¾ full, enough that will cover all of your cannabis material. Put the butter in the water and allow it to come to a rapid boil. Once the water is at a rapid boil, add the cannabis material, stir well and allow the mixture to return to a rapid boil. Cover the pot, turn the burner to med and allow the mixture to boil for about an hour. After an hour turn the burner off and leave the mixture to sit for another hour, leaving it covered. Be sure not to over boil or boil for too long, as it degrades the potency of the product.



Put a strainer over the large mixing bowl and carefully pour your mixture through the strainer. Be very careful not to get scalded by the hot liquid or the hot steam. Don’t rinse any of your cooking utensils until your process is complete, or you will waste THC. After pouring the mixture threw the strainer your bowl will likely be full, so now put your strainer over the empty pot. Push the excess liquid through the strainer with a large slotted spoon or smasher; set the smashed material aside, I use the lid from cooking or a small metal bowl. Pour the liquid from the pot into the rest of the mixture in the bowl. Place the strainer over the pot again and then hand squeeze the material (a handful at a time) threw the strainer. The liquid will be very hot and you may think about bypassing this process, but don’t, thick rubber cooking gloves may be helpful. There is a lot of valuable medicine trapped in the material that you will lose if you skip this process. It is important to do this process while the material is still hot so that the butter doesn’t set up in the material and become lost. Now restrain your material back into the pot. Double check your large bowl to ensure it doesn’t have any material particles present, then place your strainer back over the bowl and pour your liquid back threw once more. Tightly cover your bowl full of butter with aluminum foil, be sure you cover extra tight so that your whole fridge won’t smell of cannabutter, refrigerate over night.





After sitting over night your mixture will have separated. The butter containing the THC will harden on top, the waste will remain in the liquid below. Prepare a bowl (slightly larger than your strainer) with several paper towels folded up inside. Place a metal strainer over the paper towels. Use a metal slotted spoon to scrap the butter off of the liquid, and then place the butter in the strainer. Pour out the wastewater; it will look very dirty and full of sediment. Leave the butter to sit for approximately thirty minutes, to allow the excess water to drain and evaporate. If you plan on making cookies right away you can set your strainer on top of a clean plate and set it in the refrigerator for approximately fifteen minutes to harden back up some. If you don’t plan on immediately using the butter it can be placed into a freezer bag or freezer safe container and refrigerated for short-term storage or frozen for long-term storage.





When you are ready to make your canna-cookies, you will use your cannabutter in the same manner that you would use regular butter. Preferably use a recipe that calls for butter rather than oil. I like to use Betty Crocker cookie mixes, as they are simple. The Chocolate Chip and the Sugar Cookie mixes both have proven to work very well. When using the Sugar Cookie mix I like to add a few drops of vanilla and lemon extract for added flavor.




Bake the cookies as per the package directions.



The cookies will keep best frozen in a freezer safe container or freezer bag.



Enjoy!!!
(Article can be found in Treating Yourself Issue #13)