How to Make Cannabis Gummies

There are lots of choices when it comes to cannabis-infused edibles: cookie, chocolate, gummy, capsule, sublingual tincture, etc.

In this article, you’ll learn all about cannabis gummies and how to make them at home! I’ll also teach you how to make cannabis butter and cannabis oil.

Ready to get started? Grab your oven mitts and prepare yourself for lots of cannabis puns. It’s time to get cannacookin’!

Use the Table of Contents above to jump to each recipe

None of the information presented in this post is meant to provide or replace medical advice. Consult with a qualified physician.

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate + Green Compass Advocate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Benefits of Cannabis Gummies

Many of those newer to cannabis are choosing ingestion via edible, capsule, or sublingual tincture for better potency control and ease in dosing.

Additionally, it’s much easier to microdose (i.e. repeated use of low doses) with edibles to treat certain ailments.

Cannabis cookies or cannabis gummies can be physically broken up into smaller pieces for this purpose.

For example, if one cannabis gummy has 20mg THC, you can halve or quarter that gummy to reduce the amount of THC (i.e. reducing the psychoactive effects and intensity).

Whereas smoking cannabis is much more of an estimate based on how long and hard you rip (inhale) that bong. Potency is also tougher to determine when inhaling.

Different conditions are treated better with different cannabinoid ratios, so something like a cannabis gummy is a great option when trying to achieve your minimum-effective dose.

Cannabis gummies are an excellent choice to help with:

• Anxiety
• Creating a sense of calmness
• Insomnia/sleep
• Muscle spasms
• Nausea
• Pain
• Poor appetite
• Relaxation

Since ingestion delivery methods take longer for effects to set in (30-120+ minutes) as it has to pass through the liver first, the effects will then in turn last much longer, especially compared to smoking. 

Keep this in mind when using edibles for sleep. Give yourself 30-60 minutes before you’re ready to sleep since the onset takes a little longer and could initially wake you up if you take it right before bed.

Although there are lots of great gummies with THC, not every state is allowed to sell or manufacture them. Check with your local state laws.

The Hard Truth When It Comes to Edibles

Many factors such as your metabolism, ECS, stress levels, etc. will contribute to the time of onset and duration of effects, especially edibles. 

For example, if you’ve got a full belly when you take your edible, your body still needs to go through the whole digestion process of that meal before it’ll get to the edible.

Regardless, your best (and safest) bet is to just sit back, relax and wait.

THC edibles can be more psychoactive than THC from smoking due to that first pass through the liver, which converts THC into a more potent metabolite known as 11-hydroxy-THC.

Now if you do get a little too high, have some CBD and beta caryophyllene handy as these can help reduce your high if needed.

Beta caryophyllene is a terpene found in several cannabis strains, but also in peppercorn, cinnamon, and basil.

Even when using CBD edibles (without the same “danger” of overindulging), doses need to be slowly titrated up for the best overall experience.

Who Can Benefit Most from Cannabis Gummies?

This delivery method can be an excellent choice for children to help treat epilepsy (under a cannabis physician’s supervision), the elderly to help treat chronic pain, those trying cannabis or CBD for the very first time, and those sensitive to the effects of CBD and/or THC.

Cannabis gummies can come in a variety of shapes, colors, and flavors! With that being said, take extra care to keep any and all cannabis & CBD gummies out of the reach of children & pets.

How & When to Use Cannabis Gummies

Start low, and go slow! In addition, many people opt for this method to remove the stigma of the act of smoking from the household.

For example, many parents are choosing to use CBD gummies for their young children experiencing epileptic seizures since they’re convenient & easy to administer, dose, conceal and travel with (i.e. no one around you knows if they’re infused or not).

No one needs to be judged for how or why they choose to use cannabis.

Why Would I Make Cannabis Gummies?

There are many brands on the market now that manufacture cannabis gummies, making them convenient to purchase and obtain.

However, lab testing and potency can be highly variable depending on the farm, manufacturer, the lab itself, potential cross-contamination, etc.

In fact, according to this study from Johns Hopkins University that tested 75 edibles, only 17% of edibles had accurate labels for THC concentrations.

Let’s break that down further. 23% of those edibles had higher levels of THC than advertised, and 60% had far less. 

Much like in the dietary supplement world, the issue with mislabeling is that it could put cannabis users at risk for adverse or unwanted effects, especially in those highly sensitive to the effects of THC.

On the other hand, if THC levels are lower than what’s labeled, then little to no treatment effect may be felt at all.

The same could also be true for CBD levels in cannabis and hemp-derived CBD gummies in which little to no THC should be present.

Especially critical for those required to be routinely drug tested and for states in which THC is not yet legal, requiring all products to have less than 0.3% THC.

So to avoid this, consider making your own cannabis gummies at home! This way you have full control over the potency, dose, and accuracy.

You can even send your products off for lab testing to see how you fare against the competition! 

Before You Begin

Be sure to decarboxylate first! There are several ways to decarb cannabis at home, so be sure to go back to my Cannabis Decarboxylation: How to Decarb Cannabis at Home article to learn about the first (and most important) step in this process.

Once you’ve decarbed your cannabis to the potency you’re happy with (i.e. CBD vs. THC-dominant), you’re ready to start cannacookin’ ! (Remember, longer cook times for CBD-dominant products, shorter cook times for THC-dominant products). 

But first, you’ll need to decide which fat-source base you’d like to use: butter or oil?

Cannabis Butter Recipe

Also known as cannabutter, cannabis butter is an ideal base for edibles since cannabinoids are fat-soluble and protein-binding which maximizes its therapeutic effects.

There are a few different ways to make cannabutter such as in a slow cooker or infusion machine, but below is a super simple and classic method using the stovetop.

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 4 hours

Note: this will produce a distinctive cannabis aroma during the cooking process

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups water
• 8 oz. melted or clarified butter/ghee (or solid coconut oil for a vegan, dairy-free option)
• ½ oz. decarbed cannabis (higher or lower amounts depending on your preferred potency)

Reefer Recipe:

1. Add water and butter to saucepan on low heat.
2. Once butter has melted, add the decarbed cannabis, mixing until well-incorporated. Cover with lid.
3. Simmer mixture gently for 4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes to make sure there is no burning (try not to lift the lid all the way up to prevent heat loss). You want to maintain a temperature of 185°F, so check the temperature often with a candy thermometer to ensure it doesn’t get too hot or too cool.
4. After 4 hours, strain the butter using either a cheesecloth or mesh strainer into an airtight glass container or mason jar. Allow butter to cool to room temperature first before using or storing. 
5. Then either use your cannabutter immediately in recipes, in coffee, on top of pancakes or toast, or keep it in the fridge/freezer in an airtight glass container or mason jar for up to six months.

Recipe Notes

• Final product will have a green hue due to the chlorophyll content in cannabis flower. It’s safe to consume.

• When using in recipes, use the same amount of butter you would in a non-infused recipe.

Cannabis Oil Recipe

Sometimes referred to as cannaoil, cannabis oil can be a great vegan-friendly, dairy-free, gluten-free fat-source base option not only for infusion or ingestion but also as a topical for self-care. Nothing like versatility!

Categories of cannabis oils:

• Hemp Seed Oil
• Cannabinoid-specific Oils – THC oil, CBD oil, CBN oil, CBG oil, etc.
• Infused Cooking Oils
• Extracts, Concentrates or Distillates

Just like with cannabutter, you can also make cannaoil in a slow cooker or infusion machine, but below is a classic stovetop method.

Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 4 hours

Note: the below recipe is for cannabinoid-specific oils and will produce a pungent cannabis odor during the cooking process

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. carrier oil of choice (i.e. MCT oil, coconut, olive, avocado) – I used avocado oil
• 1 tsp. lecithin (optional)
• 1 oz. decarbed cannabis with predominant cannabinoid of choice (higher or lower amounts depending on your preferred potency)

I’ll be using THC-dominant flower in my cannabis gummies recipe (since it is legal in my state, and I react well to and enjoy its effects)

Reefer Recipe:

1. Add oil to medium saucepan or double boiler over low heat. If you’re choosing to use lecithin, add it here.
2. Now add the decarbed cannabis, mixing until well-incorporated. Cover with lid.
3. Simmer mixture gently for 4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes to make sure there is no burning (try not to lift the lid all the way up to prevent heat loss). You want to maintain a temperature of 185°F, so check the temperature often with a candy thermometer to ensure it doesn’t get too hot or too cool.
4. After 4 hours, strain the oil using either a cheesecloth or mesh strainer into an airtight container or mason jar. Allow oil to cool to room temperature first before using or storing. 
5. Your cannaoil is now ready to be used in your favorite foods and drinks, topically on hair, skin and nails or stored in a cool, dark, dry place or fridge in an airtight glass container or mason jar for up to six months to a year.

Recipe Notes

• If you notice distinctive oil separation when adding cannaoil to beverages, add an additional 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. of liquid lecithin to the beverage. Adding lecithin during infusion may help prevent this from occuring with your final product.

• Potency may change over time as THC naturally oxidizes to the most sedative cannabinoid, CBN.

• If using as a topical agent for hair, skin and nails, consider storing in an amber roll-on bottle or dropper.

• Since your final product will look no different than regualr cooking oil, be sure to store your infused and non-infused oils in separate locations to avoid unintended dosing (especially around children and the elderly).

• When using in recipes, use the same amount of oil you would in a non-infused recipe.

Sound like too much work? Then check out these USDA-organic, hemp-derived CBD oils from Green Compass instead. Use them just like you would if you made it yourself.

Recipe: How to Make Cannabis Gummies

Inspired by Emily Kyle, MS, RDN, CLT, HCP

Now that you’ve got your decarbed fat source, it’s time to get cannacookin’!

PRO TIP: If this is your first time making gummies, try making at least one non-infused practice batch first using regular oil or butter. The last thing you want to do is waste your weed before you’ve improved your cannaculinary skills!

Yields: ~20-22 gummies (depending on the size of the mold openings)

Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 15 minutes Set Time: 30 minutes Air Dry Time: 24 hours

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp. lemon juice or potassium sorbate
• 2 tsp. liquid or powdered lecithin
• ¾ – 1 cup* unflavored gelatin (¾ cup if using cannabutter; 1 cup if using cannaoil)
• 1 cup water (halved)
• 3 oz. box of flavored sugar-free Jell-O
• Food-grade flavor drops (not essential oils) – optional, yet recommended when using sugar-free Jell-O
• ½ cup cannabutter or cannaoil (I’ll be using cannaoil)

*Serving size is based on personal preference. In some instances, 1/2 cup (i.e. 2 packets) of unflavored gelatin may produce a more desirable texture/thickness. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

Reefer Recipe:

1. Add ½ cup water to a bowl.
2. Using a whisk, slowly incorporate unflavored gelatin into water. Set aside to settle.
3. In a double boiler, place water in bottom pan over medium-high heat. Just before boiling, turn heat down to low to simmer.
4. In top pan, whisk cannabutter (or cannaoil) and lecithin together. If using butter or solid coconut oil, melt first before incorporating with lecithin.
5. Add ½ cup water to additional small saucepan and bring to a boil. Then add lemon juice (or potassium sorbate) and entire flavored sugar-free Jell-O packet to boiling water. Stir until dissolved.
6. Carefully take the small saucepan, and slowly pour contents into top pan of double boiler (with butter or oil & lecithin) while whisking to blend ingredients. Avoid splashing. Mixture should now look opaque with a brighter hue.
7. Next add the gelatin/water mixture (from step 2) to top pan of double boiler. Whisk vigorously & consistently for 10 minutes to avoid any clumps. Add flavor drops (if using). Mixture should now look even more opaque in a slightly lighter/pastel hue.
8. Fill pipette (or squeeze bottle) with gummy mixture, and carefully squeeze into your mold trays.
9. Set for at least 30 minutes before removing from molds.
10. Remove gummies from molds, place onto parchment paper and allow to air dry for 24 hours on the countertop. Once fully cured, store your gummies a cool, dark, dry place or fridge or freezer in an airtight glass container.

Recipe Notes

• *If using boxed gelatin with packets, 1 unflavored gelatin packet = 1/4 cup

• **Looking for a less pungent or more vegan-friendly option? Substitute the unflavored gelatin for something like Druid’s Grove Vegan Gelatin.

• If you notice either a strong cannabis taste or overwhelming gelatin flavor/aroma in your gummies, this is where you can use the food-grade flavor drops, which lend no color. This is common when using sugar-free Jell-O.

• If you use regular Jell-O, the flavor drops may or may not be necessary depending on your preference. When choosing to use these, add them (in your desired amount) during step 7 with the gelatin/water mixture.

• ***Or if you’re storing them together, you can lightly toss your fully-dried gummies (after 24 hours) in coconut sugar (for a sweeter flavor) or citric acid (for a more sour flavor) to keep them from sticking together. Otherwise keep gummies stored with spacing between them.

Air Drying Notes

• ****“Sweating” of oil may occur during this drying process like in the above photo. For this reason, I recommend air drying them on the countertop. In my experience, the fridge and freezer cause excessive sweating (and what you see above). To keep contaminants in the air from falling on your drying gummies, trying making a parchment paper tent to sit over the molds.

• The biggest consideration in the drying process is that there is NO heat as this will melt your finished products. If this does happen, you can always reform your gummies starting with step 8 above.

Mold Inhibitors

Since we’re making fresh products that tend to retain a lot of moisture, there’s potential for mold growth, especially if you don’t plan to use them within 2 weeks.

In order to combat this, you’ll need an acidic preservative agent to act as a mold inhibitor, such as lemon juice or potassium sorbate, neither of which adds any flavor or acidic taste.

Lecithin

Lecithin acts as an emulsifier that can help prevent oil separation in finished products.

Even if using cannaoil with lecithin already added during the infusion process, you’ll still need lecithin in this gummy recipe to fully incorporate all ingredients. And if you’re using cannabutter, you will most definitely need to add lecithin for the same reasons.

In addition, don’t expect liquid lecithin to be runny. It’s closer to a molasses-like consistency and can be somewhat sticky.

Why Sugar-Free Jell-O?

Typically, when the munchies hit, we often crave something sweet and sugary or sometimes savory. But the problem with sugar is that it’s one of the quickest ways to bring down your high.

Read more about the endocannabinoid system here & here, but as noted above, fat and protein are most optimal to ensure a long-lasting sensation since cannabinoids are fat-soluble and protein binding. 

You can totally make this recipe with regular Jell-O, but if you really want to maximize the therapeutic (and intoxicating) effects of edibles, I’d recommend going with a sugar-free option.

And whether you have diabetes or not, you’ll be doing your blood sugar a favor! Why not kill two birds with one stone(r)??

How to Infuse Store-Bought Gummies with Cannabutter or CannaOil

Don’t have the time (or patience) to make your own infused cannabis gummies at home? 

You can simply buy store-bought gummies of choice and/or cannaoil from a dispensary.

Whether you choose store-bought gummies or non-infused homemade gummies (i.e. the first batch you practiced with), simply inject each gummy with either cannaoil or melted cannabutter.

You can find blunt tip syringes on Amazon for this purpose. Synergies make it very easy for you to dose each gummy individually since you’ll know exactly how much you’re injecting into your gummy.

You could also do this with a tincture by simply dropping a few droplets onto each gummy, and allowing it to soak into the gummy for 4-5 hours in the fridge.

How Much Should I Take?

This is where you’ll really want to start off slowly. If it’s one of your first times, try starting with ¼ or ½ of a gummy. 

You may not feel any effects at this dose, and that’s ok. You’ll need to build some tolerance first so that you don’t over-intoxicate, which could really ruin the entire experience and any future experiences. And I don’t want that to happen to you!

Go Forth and CannaConsume Responsibly!

Now all that’s left to do is enjoy the fruits of your labor. 

If you opted for CBD gummies, trial your doses during the day when you have lighter responsibilities or at night when you have a bit more downtime, especially if you’re unsure if you properly decarbed for CBD-dominance.

When choosing THC gummies, get yourself prepared for when it kicks in with your favorite music or movie, some ambient lighting, your favorite “bud”dies (whether that’s people, pets, books or snacks), and enjoy the slow ride.

Let me know how you liked these recipes (or how I can help you troubleshoot) in the comments below!

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>>> If you enjoyed this article, then you’ll want to read: Cannabis Decarboxylation: How to Decarb Cannabis at Home before getting started on your cannagummy-making journey! <<<

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