This is a community contribution from James and Seanofthebits! Thanks guys!

Process for making a Cannabis Oil Infusion

If you are anything like me, you have an ever-replenishing supply of ABV (already been vaped cannabis) and it just feels wrong to throw it away. Let’s make some oil!

Don’t worry we are not going to stink up your house too bad and you don’t have to be a Michelin-rated Chef to make a great cannabis-infused oil for edibles, topical use, Sleepy nighttime drops, or whatever floats your boat. 

Things that you are going to need. 

1. 1oz ABV, in a mason jar (should be ½ full or less, separate into several jars if needed)
2. About 8oz Coconut oil
3. CrockPot big enough to hold the mason jars on their sides
4. Accurate scale
5. Food processor or Blender
6. Spatula, Spoon & funnel 
7. Cheesecloth or another filter bag
8. Jars for your finished product
9. Airtight containers for refrigerating and washing the oil

Step 1 – Decarboxylate Your Cannabis
(Smell notes: With this process, you are going to work with ABV, blending/grinding is the smelliest part but can be done in the kitchen. While it is heating there is little to no smell at all)

For mobile vape and lighter vape users, you should first Decarboxylate Your Cannabis. This is because our ABV has most of the THC activated but not all of it, decarboxylating activates the cannabinoids and allows them to bond with the fats to give us the effect we are going after. Heavy hitters generally do a good job decarboxylating the ABV but if you are after more of a nighttime sleep aid you can do this process as well to activate more of the CBG & CBN.

1. Fill your crockpot about 2/3 of the way with water and turn it to high. 
2. While it’s warming up, either grind your ABV with a fine grinder or give it a few pulses in a food processor to get it to a grainy powder (about the consistency of finely ground coffee). 
3. Measure out 1oz of the ground ABV into a mason jar (make sure the lid seals good and is not over 1/3-1/2 full) seal the lid and float the jar(s) on their side in the crockpot. 
4. Every 30 mins or so tumble the jar(s) flipping the abv inside (this helps to evenly decarb).  You will start to notice that some of the ground ABV will be sticky on the sides of the jar towards the end of the 4 hours, and the appearance will be a more uniform toasty brown. 

Once the time is done, remove the jars to cool on the counter. Empty and turn off the crock pot.

Step 2 – Melt Your Coconut Oil and or other fatty oil, then add your ABV
(Smell Notes: you can definitely smell the cannabis, you will want good ventilation to clear out the smell)

1. Set your crock pot to medium-high heat
2. Measure out 8 oz of your coconut oil to melt in the crock pot. 
3. Gently stir to melt it down to a liquid before the next step. 
4. Dump the ABV in and give it a good stir to make sure it’s distributed evenly throughout the liquefied oil.

Step 3 – Simmer the Weed-and-Oil Mixture for 3-6 Hours
(Smell notes: This is the smelliest stage, you may want to do this out in the garage or in an area that has good ventilation. At one point I went in the house and my wife mentioned the smell when I opened the door, I had purposely not told her what I was doing as a test to see at what point she would notice.)

This is the tricky part when it comes to the potency, for your first batch starts with 4 hours. That will give you a baseline for future batches. 

Be sure to keep notes of the amounts of oil, cannabis temperatures, and times to be able to reference them later on.  While simmering stir it often, this helps the cannabis and oil to create an even infusion. 

4-5 Hours probably will be a nice Body High, and 6-8 would be for making some potent sleep aid drops. 

Once the time is up turn off the crock pot. 

Step 4 – Strain the Infused Oil
(Smell Notes: you can definitely smell the cannabis but it is mild and good ventilation will clear it out quickly)

Take a cheesecloth, double or triple it up and stretch it out over the bottom of your colander or strainer. Next, position the colander or strainer over a mason jar or other resealable glass container. While the weed-infused oil is still nice and hot, pour it through the strainer and into the waiting container.

Use the edge of your spatula to scrape out all those good bits that would otherwise be left behind.

Give the oil a minute or two to seep through the cheesecloth filter. Then, fold the edges of the cheesecloth down around the saturated ABV to form a small pouch. Squeeze the pouch from all angles to extract as much additional oil as possible.

Trust me. You don’t want to waste so much as a drop of this stuff. For every point that you strain or filter you will lose some so be careful.

Note: Glass containers are preferable to plastics and other materials, as they won’t leach harmful chemicals into your infusion or interfere with its flavor characteristics in any way.

Step 5 – Water washing your oil to help with flavor and clarity
(Smell notes: Mild cannabis smell, each wash is less and less)

Previously you would “water cure” your ABV to take out the gross flavors before extraction. Water curing can be done but it is a lot of work rinsing and time to let it do its thing, it also can leave excess moisture in the ABV which will not allow the oil to fully infuse with the cannabis. This process saves a lot of work and time with arguably better results when compared to water curing before extraction.  

The process …

1. Add room temp water to your oil infusion before it cools down.
2. Stir for about a minute
3. Put it in a wide dish or container for more solid oils/fats (for MCT or liquid oils use a tall narrow container, this will help to cut waste with the washes) and then refrigerate overnight (be patient do not try and put it in the freezer to try and speed up the process.
4. The next day removes the container from the fridge and cut off the solid oil layer. Dispose of the excess water. 
5. Heat the oil back up over low heat in a saucepan, and then repeat the water process. 2 washes should be enough to tame the weed flavor and to smooth over the taste, but I have heard of people doing as many as 10.
6. Pour your final product into the storage container of your choice. You also can take some and blend it with other oils (shea butter, cocoa butter, essential oils, etc for topical use). Keep in a cool dark place. 

From there you will have a coconut oil base cannabis infusion that you can use to supplement your vaping, make a space cake, or use topically as a balm or massage oil.  Just remember everyone reacts differently to edibles and may need higher or lower doses, so be sure to test your dosage in a safe environment where you have plenty of time for it to wear off before you have to go somewhere.