How to Make Cannabis Butter (Cannabutter)

Cannabutter is the backbone of homemade edibles. Here's a step-by-step recipe — including decarboxylation and dosing math — for a smooth, usable infusion.

Cannabutter is the workhorse of homemade edibles — once you've nailed it, you can use it in cookies, brownies, pasta, popcorn, you name it. Here's the Hive Cannabis approach, including the often-skipped step that makes or breaks your batch.

Step 0: Decarboxylation (Don't Skip This)

Raw cannabis flower is full of THCA, not THC. To convert THCA into the THC that actually gets you high, you need to apply heat — a process called decarboxylation, or "decarbing."

To decarb 7 grams of flower:

1. Preheat your oven to 240°F (115°C). 2. Break the flower into small, pea-sized pieces (don't grind it to dust). 3. Spread evenly on a parchment-lined baking tray. 4. Bake for 40 minutes, gently shaking the tray halfway through. 5. Let it cool. It should be lightly golden and dry, not burnt.

Skipping this step is the #1 reason home cannabutter "doesn't work."

Ingredients

- 7 grams of decarbed cannabis flower - 1 cup (227 g) of unsalted butter - 1 cup of water

Instructions

1. Combine the butter, water, and decarbed flower in a saucepan over low heat. The water keeps the butter from scorching. 2. Simmer gently for 2 to 3 hours, stirring occasionally. You want a *bare* simmer — small bubbles, never a boil. Aim to keep the temperature below 200°F (93°C). 3. Strain through a fine mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth into a heat-safe container. Don't squeeze the cheesecloth hard — that pushes plant material and bitterness through. 4. Refrigerate until the butter solidifies on top of the water layer. 5. Lift off the butter with a knife, blot the bottom dry, and transfer to a sealed container. Discard the water underneath.

Dosing Math (Roughly)

Let's say your flower tests at 20% THC. That's 200 mg of THC per gram. For 7 grams, that's 1,400 mg of THC in the starting material.

Home extractions are not perfectly efficient — a reasonable assumption is 60% to 70% of the THC makes it into the butter. So estimate around 900 mg of THC in your 1 cup of cannabutter, or roughly 56 mg per tablespoon.

When you bake, calculate per serving:

- mg in cannabutter used in recipe ÷ number of servings = mg per serving

Always err on the side of less. Edibles are unforgiving when overdone.

Storage

- Fridge: up to 2 weeks in a sealed container - Freezer: up to 6 months - Label it clearly with "CANNABIS — ADULTS ONLY" and the estimated potency

Tips for a Better Batch

- Don't use a brown paper grocery bag of trim unless you know its potency. Use lab-tested flower from a regulated retailer like Hive Cannabis so you actually know what you're working with. - Keep heat low. Boiling destroys THC and turns butter bitter. - Test with a tiny dose first. Spread a quarter-teaspoon on a cracker, wait 90 minutes, and see how it feels before committing to a recipe.

A Few Reminders

Cannabutter is for adults 19 and over. Never drive after consuming edibles. Keep infused products clearly labeled and out of reach of kids and pets. If you've got questions about flower selection, our budtenders at any BC Hive location are happy to help.