Ask Cheri

Can you make good edibles from bad weed? 

By Cheri Sicard
February 23, 2022

Dear Cheri,

Can you make good edibles from bad weed?

Well, the answer to that question depends on what you mean by "bad."

Can you make good edibles from bad weed that's moldy or gross?  Heck no, nobody wants to eat moldy gross foods.

But if by "bad" you mean a lesser quality of cannabis or a lower priced cannabis, than the answer is absolutely yes!

When cooking with cannabis, there is no need to buy top shelf cannabis.  Find a reasonably priced, reasonably potent strain of  cannabis and that will be perfect for making edibles.

In the cannabis industry, there is a saying "smell sells." That means the tight beautifully manicured, terpene-rich flowers will fetch the highest price.

Yes, some gourmet chefs like to match the terpenes in their cannabis to the terpenes in their recipe ingredients.  However, many of the terpenes will burn off during decarboxylation, infusing, and the cooking of edibles.  So it really doesn't make sense for cannabis cooks to pay for top shelf.

More Options for Frugal Cannabis Cooking with Trim and Shake

Besides purchasing flowers on the lower economic end of the scale at the dispensary, look for options to buy shake.  Shake is the small crumbs that break off from flowers and float to the bottom of large bags of marijuana.  Not all dispensaries carry shake, but if yours does it can be great frugal cooking materials.

Another economical cannabis cooking product are the tiny popcorn buds.  A grower can't sell these for as much as those big pretty manicured buds, but they still have plenty of trichomes and are terrific to use in cannabis cooking.  As an example of these small buds,  Trulieve sells them under the brand name of "minis."

More resources for frugal cannabis cooking with lesser quality/more frugal cannabis

can you make good edibles from bad weed?

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About the author

Cheri Sicard is the author of Mary Jane: The Complete Marijuana Handbook for Women, and The Easy Cannabis Cookbook.  Her online courses at Cannademy.com have educated 1000s of students about marijuana, cannabis cooking for home cooks, and making infused topicals.

  • Hi Cheri,
    My question is this: why does weed have to be decarbed prior to cooking or baking with? In the 70’s I used to make wicked brownies from naturally dried weed from my backyard and the high was amazing. Now every comment or articles state you must declare to get the benefits of the THC.

    Thanks.

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