The best base for a homemade cannabis drink is a water-soluble infusion: an alcohol tincture or a cannabis simple syrup. Cannabutter and cannabis oil float on cold liquids, stick to the glass, and dose uneven, so save those for hot drinks with milk or cream. Measure 2.5 to 5 mg of THC per serving, stir it into tea, lemonade, soda, or hot chocolate, and wait two hours before you pour a second glass.
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What is the best base for a homemade cannabis drink?
You need a base that mixes into liquid without separating. Three options work, and each one stores and doses in a different way.
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- Alcohol tincture: ethanol pulls THC out of decarbed flower. A few drops blend into any cold drink, and the bottle keeps for a year or more.
- Cannabis simple syrup: sugar, water, and tincture or glycerin. Pours into lemonade and cocktails like normal syrup but needs refrigeration.
- Canna-sugar or canna-honey: sweeteners laced with tincture and dried. Useful when you sweeten each glass yourself and want the dose to stay adjustable.
How do you make a cannabis tincture for drinks?
A tincture is the workhorse of homemade cannabis drinks. It gives you a liquid you can measure by the drop.
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- Decarb 7 g of ground flower at 240 degrees F for 40 minutes. Let it cool.
- Put the flower in a sealed jar with 1 cup of 151-proof ethanol. Shake.
- Store the jar in a cool, dark spot for 3 to 5 days and shake it once a day.
- Strain through a coffee filter, then bottle the liquid in amber glass with a dropper.
Seven grams of 15% flower holds about 1,050 mg of THC before losses. Expect 10 to 15 mg per teaspoon in the finished tincture, so start with a quarter teaspoon per drink. Only a lab test tells you the exact number.
How do you make cannabis simple syrup?
- Warm 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water in a pan until the sugar dissolves. Do not boil.
- Cool the syrup to room temperature.
- Stir in 2 to 4 tablespoons of tincture.
- Bottle and refrigerate. Use within 3 weeks.
One tablespoon of syrup carries the THC of whatever tincture you added, divided across 16 tablespoons total. Do the math before you pour.
How do you make canna-sugar?
Spread 1 cup of sugar on a tray, drizzle 1 tablespoon of tincture over it, and let the alcohol evaporate overnight. Stir once, then jar it. Dose the whole cup into a full pitcher of drinks rather than a single glass, because the THC is spread across the batch.
Four homemade cannabis drink recipes
1. Cannabis iced tea
- 12 oz brewed black tea, chilled
- 1 tsp cannabis simple syrup (about 5 mg)
- Lemon wedge and ice
Stir, taste, and add more syrup only if you plan to wait two hours before drinking more. Cold tea hides the herbal edge of cannabis better than hot tea does.
2. Cannabis lemonade
- 8 oz fresh lemonade
- 1/4 tsp alcohol tincture (about 3 mg)
- Mint sprig
Add the tincture last and stir for 10 seconds. Citric acid covers the taste of the flower, and a mint leaf finishes the glass.
3. Cannabis hot chocolate
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp cannabutter or cannabis coconut oil (about 5 mg)
- Sugar to taste
Warm the milk, whisk in the cocoa and butter, and drink it hot. This is the one recipe where fat works, because the milk keeps the THC in suspension.
4. Cannabis smoothie
- 1 cup mango or orange juice
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 tsp cannabis honey or 1/4 tsp tincture
- Handful of ice
Blend until smooth. Yogurt adds body, and ripe fruit covers the cannabis flavor without extra sugar.
How much THC should one drink contain?
Start at 2.5 mg and treat 5 mg as a standard adult dose. A drink that tastes like nothing still counts as a dose, so measure with a dropper or a measuring spoon instead of pouring freehand.
- First time: 2.5 mg
- Occasional consumer: 5 mg
- Daily consumer: 10 mg
- Wait 2 hours before a refill
Why do cannabis drinks hit harder than smoked flower?
Your liver turns THC into 11-hydroxy-THC, a compound that reaches the brain with more force than inhaled THC. That is why a 10 mg drink can feel stronger than a 10 mg joint. Onset runs 30 to 90 minutes and effects last 4 to 8 hours.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Using cannabutter in a cold drink. It floats, coats the glass, and leaves each sip with a different dose.
- Skipping decarboxylation. Raw flower holds almost no active THC.
- Sweetening a whole pitcher before you test one glass.
- Drinking on an empty stomach and judging the batch after 20 minutes.
- Forgetting to label the bottle. A tincture and a plain syrup look the same in the fridge.
How do you store homemade cannabis drinks?
Tincture keeps a year or more in amber glass at room temperature. Syrup and canna-honey last 2 to 3 weeks in the fridge. Mixed drinks are best fresh, though tincture-dosed lemonade freezes well in ice cube trays for a month.
Frequently asked questions
Can you make a cannabis drink without alcohol?
Yes. Use a glycerin infusion or cannabis honey in place of tincture. Glycerin pulls less THC out of the flower than ethanol does, so plan on a steep of 4 to 6 weeks.
Do you have to decarb flower before making drinks?
Yes. Decarboxylation converts THCA into THC. Bake ground flower at 240 degrees F for 40 minutes before infusing, or the drink will do nothing.
Can you put tincture in hot coffee?
You can, but heat burns off some alcohol and pushes the cannabis taste to the front. Let the coffee cool for a few minutes, then add the tincture and a splash of cream.
How do you test the strength of a batch?
You cannot get an exact number at home. Take a small measured dose, wait 2 hours, and write down the effect along with the flower weight and ratio. A log lets you repeat a batch that worked.
Check your state rules before you brew. Home infusion is legal in some states and restricted in others, and driving after any THC drink is a bad idea.